Indian PowWow

Introduction: Your teacher has received a letter from the Fairfax Bureau of Indian Affairs. They state that most people learn about Native Americans from books and movies. They never get a chance to enjoy a wonderful tradition called the PowWow. The bureau is challenging your class to hold a powwow to show all that you have learned about American Indians over the course of the next six weeks. You can invite your families and important dignitaries to the celebration. Everything is detailed in the letter.

Task: Learn about three of the American Indian regions/tribes-Woodland-Powhatan, Plains-Sioux, and Southwest-Hopi. Find out about their food, clothing, shelter, recreation and transportation. Create artifacts that you can put in a classroom museum. Learn some indian songs or chants and dances. Invite your families to join you at the powwow and enjoy the songs, dances, food and displays.

Process:

1. Do some research to find out the information you need to fill out the American Indian Tribes Data Retrieval Chart. Try the following:
   1. classroom or library books
   2. Powhatan scavenger hunt and crossword puzzle
   3. Southwest scavenger hunt and crossword puzzle
   4. Plains scavenger hunt and word find
   5. Kings Park student Native American webpages
   6. go.groliers.com
   7. watch a video-Native American People of the Forest, Native American People of the Great Plains, Native American People of the Desert (Rainbow Educational Media), The Native American series (Turner Home Entertainment)
2. Complete the following class projects that will be displayed in the museum (see examples).

   Powhatan

   • pouches
   • wampum
   • dream catchers
   • spirit masks (art class)
   • dictionary of terms
   • stories written from a Powhatan child's point of view

   Sioux

   • create games such a Pokean, feathered darts, spear throwing and juggling
   • parfleches
   • circle stories on make-believe hides
   • dictionary of key words

   Hopi

   • weavings (art class)
   • kachina dolls (art class)
   • pictures of the southwest and puebloes using pastels (art class)

   Projects that encompassed more than one Indian group

   • authentic Indian portraits-import student digital photos into KidPix and draw natural resources of the area and other defining features to turn students into indians
   • invitations to powwow using KidPix
   • research paper on one of the groups including text and images in AppleWorks
   • read authentic indian legends and create your own
   • painted drums and rainsticks
   • flags that represent each of the American Indian group
   • horses out of socks, felt and hockey sticks
   • headdresses and necklaces
   • tasting table with help from parents
   • using KidPix create pictures depicting transportation used by the different groups
   • learn indian chants (music class)
   • learn indian dances (pe class)
   • owner sticks
   • brochures that represent one of the American Indian groups
   • using MapMakers Toolkit to locate tribes on a US map and add natural resources. Then label.
3. Complete a quarterly project at home. Choose from the list provided by your teacher.
4. Create a naming stick as a homework assignment. Follow your teachers instructions.
5. Complete the Native American Unit student survey.

Opportunities to share:

1. The PowWow presented many opportunities to share with a large audience. They were invited to enjoy the Opening Ceremonies and then return to the classrooms (trailers) to view the museum and partake of the Native American treats.
2. The class created a newspaper to further inform their families and some photos were chosen for the second grade webpage.

Assessment: A student survey is given after the unit is finished. A customer satisfaction survey is given to guests of the powwow.

1. Project list
2. Naming Stick instructions
3. PowWow food letter for parents
4. Brochure Homework letter

To see pictures from the unit, click on the buffalo.
To see the unit design click here.

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Unit designed by Gail Allen and Kim Morrison
Page created by Brooks Widmaier
March 29, 2002