This unit on American Indians: By studying the regions of the United States and the cultures that live in each region, students are able to compare/contrast within regions and across regions how tribes used their environments, and their cultural and other contributions to American life.

Note that the emphasis here is on broader groups of tribes for each region with some instruction on specific tribes representing each region. In no way is this case study approach to learning about one tribe meant to be generalized to all tribes of that region. We understand that each tribe was and continues to be unique in its culture, practices, lifeways, and traditions.

The unit is focused on the examination of geography in terms of “place.” Students dive into inquiry to answer the compelling questions, “Where are we?” and “Who are we?” Through these two questions students will understand where they live and where people around the world live. Students will also dive into the term “culture” and define it through many characteristics. Students will examine and reflect upon their own culture and research different cultures of North America.

This inquiry by Kristina Labadie, Evergreen Public Schools, is based on the C3 Framework inquiry arc. Third-grade students view the lifestyle and cultural development of Early Native Americans through the same lens of how lifestyles today have developed.

A curriculum unit of three lessons in which students explore Hopi place names, poetry, song, and traditional dance to better understand the ways Hopi people connect with the land and environment through language. The unit is centered on the practice of growing corn. Students make inferences about language, place, and culture and also look closely at their own home environment and landscape to understand the places, language, and songs that give meaning to cultures and communities

Lessons about Thanksgiving in elementary classrooms have historically misrepresented the events and people involved in the “first Thanksgiving.” Teachers are looking for guidance in teaching culturally and historically accurate lessons to young children. Updated research and texts supported by primary documents and tribal oral histories allow us to present more accurate representation of the story behind this tradition. The lessons presented here invite students to share their own fall and harvest traditions, and teach students some of the cultural values and traditions of our country’s indigenous peoples. Lessons are designed to be integrated into existing curriculum on fall/autumn, food, harvest, celebrations, and/or salmon prior to the Thanksgiving holiday, but could be taught independently of other curriculum as well. Lessons 1-4 are written for k-3 and should be adapted for developmental appropriateness.