Description

Develop framework of knowledge about  groups of Native Americans living in geographic sections of America. Length: One week. Grade Level: 6.

Essential Questions

How does the environment affect a culture, and
how does technology change this relationship?

Preparation

For any web quest it is a good idea to test all the Internet links. There are sounds on various pages. You should know how to control the volume on the computers.

Suggestions

Steer students to choose tribes who have links listed under resources, unless you are confident that team can handle the additional burden of finding good sites for research.
Once teams have chosen their tribe, refer to them by that name during class time.

Each major page has sound that plays when the page loads. If you would like to keep students from going ahead in the quest, tell the students that you know the sounds for each page, and if they go ahead, you will know it by the sound.

Consider playing a nature CD in the background of class during research. It's very calming. There are also web sites that stream real audio sounds
 

Critical Thinking & Deeper Understanding

Phase 2 offers students note-taking sheets with questions to prompt each individual's initial research based on their role. Phase 3 presents a list of important topics to consider including. The team must analyze the list to determine which team member will cover which item. The Conclusion has a list of questions which require higher level thinking skills.

While the presentation which students create only requires them to present knowledge which they've researched (comprehension, analysis), the students could be channeled into making presentations which compare & contrast historical Native American and modern ways of living, evaluating the impact on the society's relationship with nature. Students could also research current Native American lifestyles and evaluate historical versus current aspects of these tribes.

 

Web Resources for Teachers

http://www.nativevillage.org/ has newsletters with current events and news compiled from various sources.

 

Extensions

Classrooms from the same school or from other schools could do this webquest together. Each class could research one tribe and then come together in a physical or virtual space to make their presentations. The whole school could participate in the webquest and each classroom or grade level could research a different tribe.

Invite an American of Native American descent to your classroom as a guest speaker!