Western Communities of the Past

Erin Feige

3rd Grade

Lemmon Valley Elementary

Author: Erin Feige
Title: Western Communities of the Past
Historical Topic: Native American and Pioneer Communities from 1800-1850

Nevada Standards:

Economics
3.3.1 Differentiate between barter and monetary trade

Geography
2.3.2 Identify how language, music, stories, art, and customs express culture
2.3.7 Identify neighborhoods and communities as places where people live, work, and play

History
5.3.6 Identify Native North American life prior to European contact
6.3.17 Describe the life of pioneers

Language
4.3.5 Make connections to self, other text, and/or the world
6.3.7 Write friendly letters following an established format
7.3.1 Listen for a variety of purposes including gaining information and understanding directions

Background:
It is estimated that anywhere from about 10-90 million Native Americans inhabited America at the time of European arrival.  Although by 1800 many Europeans had traveled through what would become the United States and made contact with Native American tribes, Native Americans still held their land, customs, and ways of life.  Native Americans were a people who adapted well to their region and made use of all natural resources available to them.  They built homes with whatever resources were available on their land.  With Americans moving west and the United States wanting to secure western lands, Native Americans were continually forced to move off of their land and onto reservations.

In 1836 the first emigrants made the trip across the Overland Trail, but the first mass migration did not occur until 1843 when approximately 1,000 pioneers made the journey.  In the early spring pioneers would prepare for their journey.  While waiting for the right time to leave, they would stock up on supplies, try to find traveling companions, and make other preparations for their journey.  If they left too early, there would be no grass for their animals to eat.  If they left too late, they would get caught by the winter snows in the mountains.  Most pioneers traveled in farm wagons pulled by oxen with a thousand pounds of food, extra clothing, and a few family heirlooms.  The journey across the Overland Trail took pioneers about seven months and over 2,000 miles of land.  When pioneers arrived in Oregon or California they would start their new life by either building a farm or setting off to the gold mines to strike it rich. 

Table of Contents

Activity 1-Primary Source Activity: Pioneer Journal
Learning Goal: Students will use what they have learned about pioneers to write a journal entry.  (I can describe the life of a pioneer).

Activity 2-Wordle: Drop the Handkerchief (game comparison)
Learning Goal: Students will compare a pioneer game to a game they play now.  They need to compare and contrast to find how their lives today are similar and different from the life of a pioneer child. (I can tell you about the life of a pioneer child).

Activity 3-Literature Connection: Pioneer Comic
Learning Goal: Students will complete a story using a blank comic template to tell about pioneer life. (I can describe pioneer life).

Activity 4-Foldable: Tribe Overview
Learning Goal: Students will compare how some Native American tribes lived before westward expansion. (I can describe Native American life).

Activity 6-Art Piece/Writing: Bead Barter
Learning Goal: Students will make and decorate clay beads and then they will barter their beads.  After they have the beads they need/want they will make a bead necklace.  After this they will write about their experience with bartering. (I can tell you about bartering).

Activity 7-Student Project: Pioneer Skit
Learning Goal: Students will write and perform a short skit based on a problem pioneers had on the Overland Trail. (I can describe pioneer life).

Bead Barter

Bead Barter
This lesson is a 3 day process.  The first day students will make their 15 beads out of clay.  The second day students will paint/decorate their beads.  The third day students will barter their beads, make their bracelet or necklace, and then write about the process.  I think it is important for the kids to make their beads so they can feel what it’s like to trade something that they have spent a lot of time and effort making.

Time: Each day will take about 45 minutes

Materials: See page 39-40 of Pioneer Days by David C. King

Assessment: I will check their Bead Barter worksheet to make sure they understand the concept of bartering.

Days 1 and 2: see page 39-40 of Pioneer Days by David C. King for detailed instructions.  I am going to have the students decorate each of their beads in the same style/color.  (So each student has one style/color but every student in class will have a different style/color). 

Day 3: This day will also take about 45 minutes. Before we start this activity I will review what bartering is.  First students can lay their beads in their area and then take 5 minutes to walk around and look at everyone’s beads.  Then students will collect their beads and start to barter with their classmates.  They have about 10-15 to barter are required to barter at least 3 times with 3 different people.  When they are done bartering students can head back to their seat and make their necklace or bracelet.   When they have finished creating their piece of jewelry they can write about the process using the Bead Barter worksheet attached.  If this is done towards the end of the year you may want to give the students lined paper and have them write about the process on their own.

Drop the Handkerchief (game comparison)

This activity is part of a continuing discussion about what pioneer life was like and how it compares to our modern day life.

Time: 30-45 minutes

Materials: 2 wordles per group, 1 Venn diagram per student, a handkerchief

Assessment: I will check each student’s Venn diagram to make sure they each completed at least 3 comparisons in each section.
During this activity students will work in small groups.  Give each group of students both of the wordles.  Also hand out one Venn diagram to each student.  The students can work together to find similarities and differences between these two games.  After each student has filled in their diagram (at least 3 comparisons in each section) they can write their guess about what each game is called on the lines above the diagram.  After I have given them the answers I will read the rules of Drop the Handkerchief to them.  We can have a short talk about how Drop the Handkerchief is different from Duck Duck Goose and why pioneer children would be able to play that game on the Overland Trail.  With the time that is left I will my class out to the grass and play Drop the Handkerchief.

Pioneer Journal

This activity should be done as an end of unit activity/assessment.

Time: 30-45 minutes

Materials: Primary Source Pictures (http://www.loc.gov/index.html), writing paper

Assessment: see attached rubric

I will start this activity by doing a quick brainstorm on the board about things we have learned about pioneer life.  I will also review what a journal entry is and what it looks like and explain the rubric I will be using to grade their journal entries.  Then I will pass out one pioneer picture to each student.  I will give the class a couple of minutes to study their picture and think about what they want to write about.  They should choose one person in the picture to “be” and write their journal entry as if they were there in the picture. They need to write a minimum of 5 sentences and each sentence must have at least 7 words in it. 
           

Pioneer Journal Rubric
Name:_______________

Tribe Overview

The lesson is an overview of Native American life.

Time: 45-60 minutes

Materials: Foldable pattern, Native American Tribe review sheet

Assessment: see attached rubric
To start this activity I will have the students get their foldable ready.  To do this they will cut it out and label each front label with one of the four tribe names we will be learning about today.  They will also label each topic section of the foldable with the title of: tribe, shelter, food, and clothing.

I will then break the class up into 4 groups.  Each group will be given a page about Native American life for a different tribe (Nez Perce, Maidu, Navajo, and Sioux).  Each group will choral read their page, then fill in their tribe’s foldable section.  For example, a group will read a page about Maidu life, then fill in each foldable tab under Maidu.  So each member of this group will have the shelter, food, and clothing filled in for the Maidu tribe.

Next, each group will be given a number 1, 2, 3, or 4. Now students need to make new groups, each new group needs to have a 1, 2, 3, and 4.  In their new groups students will teach each other about the tribe they read about, at the same time filling in their foldable sections. 

Tribe Overview Rubric

 
      Total Points: ______/16       

Pioneer Comic

This activity should be done towards the end of a unit on pioneer life.

Time: 60 minutes

Materials: Dandelions by Eve Bunting, blank 4 box comic strip

Assessment: peer assessment
To start this activity read aloud the first three pages of Dandelions.  Tell the students what is expected from their comic (use the characters from the story, 4 pictures with captions, and some sort of problem/action and solution). You may want to brainstorm some problems pioneers had along the trail.  Next hand out a blank comic strip to each student.  Give them time to work on their comic strip.  When most students are done, start reading the rest of Dandelions aloud to the class. 

Next, have each student switch comics with the person sitting next to them.  Students will read their shoulder partner’s comic to check for the 4 requirements.  If a student does not have one of these requirements then their partner needs to help them correct their comic.  When students are done editing their partner’s comics they switch back so each student has their own comic. 

Pioneer Skit

This activity should be done towards the end of a unit on pioneer life.

Time: 3-5 days, 30-45 minutes each day

Materials: 5 index cards with a different pioneer life problem on each one, lined paper, costumes (optional)

Assessment: see attached checklist
First explain to students your expectations for each skit (see attached checklist).  Next students should break up into small groups (3-4 students).  One person from each group can pick an index card with an event (sick family member, buffalo stampede, lost child, broken wagon wheel, out of food, or any other events pioneers encountered) on it.  Give groups 5ish minutes to discuss how they are going to solve their problem in their skit (you may want to have the students write their solution on the back of the card).  Each group should then create a short skit based on the event on their card. 

How much time this will take really depends on each class and how quickly they work.  I would aim for the following schedule:

Day 1: Write skit
Day 2: Finish writing skit and start practicing
Day 3: Continuing practicing
Day 4: Final practice, start performances
Day 5: Finish performances

I like to break the performances up into two days so the kids don’t get too antsy sitting through multiple skits.