November is National Native American Month and Alaska Native Heritage Month, and EducationWorld has you covered when it comes to teaching about the history and culture of the Native American and Alaska Native heritage.
What is National Native American and Alaska Native Heritage Month?
According to CollegeFund.org, National Native American and Alaska Native Heritage Month is celebrated in November to "recognize native cultures and to educate the public about the heritage, history, art and traditions of the American Indian and Alaska Native people."
The first American Indian Day was declared on the second Saturday in May 1916 by the governor of New York. Several states celebrated the holiday of the fourth Friday in September, while others considered Columbus Day as Native American Day. In 1990, President George Bush approved a joint resolution designating November 1990 as "National American Indian Heritage Month."
Here is a list of lesson plans and other resources teachers can use to educate their students during National Native American and Alaska Native Heritage Month.
Source: ReadWriteThink
Grade: K-2
Lesson: In this lesson, students will use a Venn Diagram to compare and contrast different types of nonfiction writing. Students can focus on reading fiction ad nonfiction books relating to Native Americans or Alaska Natives.
Source: Smithsonian Education
Grade: K-12
Lesson: Students will learn about different types of Native dolls and examine their history, importance in Native culture, and learn how they are made by looking through photographs, reading interviews, and more. Students will also learn about the history of Navajo, Inupiat, Ojibwe, Seneca, and Seminole tribes.
Source: ReadWriteThink
Grade: 3-5
Lesson: In this lesson teachers will use photo essays and other texts to introduce students to Native children and their families, and counter the idea that Native people no longer exist in the United States. Students will first brainstorm what they know about Native Americans, and will then read books and explore websites looking at Native Americans today.
Resources:
Source: PBS.org
Grade: 6-8
Lesson: Through this lesson students will learn about the several diseases white settlers introduced to the Native American population. This lesson plan compares cholera, a disease that was spread during that time to Ebola and other infectious diseases. After this lesson, PBS says students will be able to:
Source: ReadWriteThink
Grade: 6-8
Lesson: Every student has head the phrase, "Give me liberty or give me death!", but have they heard of Tecumseh's "Sell a country? Why not sell the air?" speech? This lesson will look at both speeches and learn about Native American resistance to oppression between 1775 and 1820.
Source: NPS.gov
Grade: 6-8
Lesson: Through this innovative interface, students will learn about the Pueblos by following a window filled with photographs, audio, and text. Students can learn new vocabulary words and choose what they want to learn, such as how the Pueblos gardened, or what it took to build a home. Students can choose to explore the canyon, spearheading their own voyage of learning. The site also offers a list of Teachers' Resources where teachers can get materials to teach about different Native cultures.
Source: PBS.org
Grade: 8-12
Lesson: In this lesson, students are asked to look at westward expansion through the eyes of Nez Perce and their leader Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-ket (Chief Joseph). Students will see the struggle that Nez Perce endured with the U.S. government. After this lesson, PBS says students will:
Source: ReadWriteThink
Grade: 9-12
Lesson: In this lesson students will write a three-voice narrative based on The Way to Rainy Mountain by N. Scott Momaday. At the end of the lesson, ReadWriteThink says students will be able to:
Article by Kassondra Granata, EducationWorld Contributor