Lesson 3: Northeast Native Americans
Getting Started
Questions to Explore
- In what ways did the Native Americans depend upon and respect the environment?
- How did the Native Americans affect the environment?
- How were people in the past dependent on plants and animals?
- How do resources from the environment help meet people's needs?
Facts and Definitions
- Iroquois tribes lived near the Great Lakes.
- Many words in the English language came from Native American tribal languages.
Skills
- Compare how people in different communities adapt to or modify the physical environment to meet their needs. (SS)
- Analyze similarities and differences among people in different times and in different places. (SS)
- Explain cultural traditions in Native American communities. (SS)
- Describe and compare cultural characteristics of regional tribes and evaluate their significance. (SS)
Materials
- The Very First Americans by Cara Ashrose
- colored pencils
- dictionary
- journal
- map of the U.S.
- plain paper
Introduction
Materials: The Very First Americans by Cara Ashrose
Ask your child to reread the pages about the Woodland Indians in the book The Very First Americans. Ask him how the lives of the Native Americans in the Northeast would have been different from those in the Southwest. Discuss the differences in the environment, most notably forest vs. desert and a cold climate vs. a warmer climate.
Tell your child that the Iroquois Confederacy was made up of a number of small tribes that banded together to ensure peace and to act as a united force against other tribes. Help your child find information about the Iroquois online.
Tell your child that the Iroquois Confederacy was made up of a number of small tribes that banded together to ensure peace and to act as a united force against other tribes. Help your child find information about the Iroquois online.