Comparing Native American Tribes

Subject: Social Studies

Ages: 6-12
Grades: 1-6

Lesson Objective

In this activity students use Kidspiration® to visually compare similarities and differences of two Native American tribes or groups. In addition to learning more about Native American history and culture through the research process, students will also be challenged to categorize and analyze the information. In this way, students will be engaged in higher order thinking and will also be more likely to retain what they learn.

Teacher Instructions

1. Open Comparing Tribes.kia from Kidspiration Starter>Activities>Social Studies.

2. Tell students they will be researching the similarities and difference between two tribes. Point out the references available; for example, the web site:

Native American Facts for Kids: www.native-languages.org/kids.htm.

3. Demonstrate how to fill in the names of the tribes in the title box. Decide the three categories (food, homes, art, clothing, tools, etc.) that students will research for similarities and differences.  Students should add images from the Symbol libraries to illustrate their similarities and differences.

4. Close with a discussion about the exercise. What interesting similarities and differences did they discover? Were there more similarities or differences between the tribes? Are there factors that help to account for these similarities and differences, such as environmental conditions? For example, did the climate and types of food available influence the development of the distinct cultures?

Assessment

• Students may be assessed on accuracy of their research. 
• Students may also be assessed on the details added in Writing View and/or the completed paper if assigned (see Lesson Adaptations, below).

Lesson Adaptations

• Students can go to Writing View to add additional details. From this view they may also select the Publish Tool to move the document to a word processor to complete a paragraph or report on the similarities and differences between the two tribes.
• Teachers in Grades 1-2 may want to do this activity as a whole-group exercise. To make this activity easier or more challenging, one category could be added or removed.
• This activity may be used to compare any two things, not only Native American tribes.