NATIVE AMERICA BEFORE EUROPEAN CONTACT
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GRADES: HIGH SCHOOL
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APPROXIMATE LENGTH OF TIME: 1--50 MINUTE SESSION​
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SUMMARY:
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This lesson introduces students to Native Americans who were culturally diverse, exchanged commodities, negotiated purchases of goods, created new technologies, domesticated plants (corn, squash, and beans), continued their cultural practices, and built a network of roads throughout the vast lands of what we call America before European contact.
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LEARNING TARGETS:
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The students will be able to discuss how Native Americans were advanced in farming and new technologies and travel infrastructure.
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Students will summarize, in writing how Native Americans built a network of trade and travel throughout the United States before contact with Europeans.
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Materials:
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PDF--Native America Before Contact
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PDF--Worksheet--Native America Before contact
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Print out of Worksheet (for all students)--Native America Before Contact
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Computer
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(Optional)--whiteboard and markers
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(Optional-but recommended for the instructor) Book- An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States: For Young People by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, adapted by Jean Mendoza and Debbi Reese.
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LESSON:
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Native America before European contact.
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a. Project the following materials from the book An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States: For Young People, and review the material with the students for discussion (PDF)
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i. Class discussion about Native America before European contact.
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*Ask students to talk about the American history they have traditionally learned in comparison to what Indigenous history is.
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*Example--were they aware of the importance of corn, the vast network of cultural exchange, expansive road systems, and how many people lived throughout the Americas before European contact.
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A. Activity--
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i. Have each student complete the following worksheet Native America Before European Contact (worksheet PDF).
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* Project the worksheet on the board or distribute it to each student as a handout.
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B. Discussion--
i. Ask students to reflect on the history of Native America before European contact.
*Ask students if they were aware of this history.
*Were they surprised to find out the population of the Americas was larger than Europe at the same time.
*Did they realize how many Native American tribes/nations existed then and today.
*Ask them to think of ways in which this history can be incorporated into the history of the United States.
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ASSESSMENT IN THIS LESSON:
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1. Informal assessment through class discussion.
2. Quiz--completion of worksheet--Native America Before Contact.
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