Lesson 4: The Plains Native Americans
Getting Started
Questions to Explore
- How were people in the past dependent on plants and animals in the environment?
- How do resources from the environment help meet people's needs?
- How were white men dependent on Native Americans and vice versa?
Facts and Definitions
- Sitting Bull was a famous Sioux Chief.
- Quanah Parker was a famous Comanche Chief who fought for the Native American way of life.
Skills
- Compare how people in different communities adapt to or modify the physical environment to meet their needs. (SS)
- Analyze changes that have occurred in communities past and present. (SS)
- Describe how individuals, events, and ideas change over time. (SS)
- Identify Native American groups in the Western Hemisphere before European exploration and describe the regions in which they lived. (SS)
Materials
- The Very First Americans by Cara Ashrose
- 8 small sticks for poles for the tipi
- 8 small sticks for poles for the tipi, 12-14" long
- cardboard
- fabric hole or screw punch
- journal
- manila folder
- map of the U.S.
- paint
- paintbrush
- scissors
- string or yarn
- timeline
- white or off-white fabric
Introduction
Materials: The Very First Americans by Cara Ashrose, map of the U.S., timeline
Tell your child that today she will learn about a different group of Native Americans called the Plains Indians. Read about the Plains Indians in the book The Very First Americans. On a map of the U.S., locate the states where the Plains tribes lived. Help your child locate additional information online about the Plains tribes, including the Sioux and Comanche. Let your child record the deaths of Sitting Bull (1890) and Quanah Parker (1911) on her timeline.