Teacher Page

Introduction:

    This WebQuest was developed to compliment the Native American Unit found in Exploring America's Heritage by Heath Social Studies (Copyright 1991).  If you do not have this text, I have included the necessary information to cover with your students while exploring the WebQuest.  Please use this information to supplement the WebQuest at your discretion.

    The focus for this WebQuest is on having students gather information and synthesize it to solve a problem.  Students must be familiar with Native American Tribes, their resources, and their environment.  Students will then use this information to form a summary.  This focuses on the reading and writing skills found in the Pennsylvania State Standards.

Learners:

    This WebQuest can be modified to accommodate LS and LD students.  Accommodations include having students pair up to buddy read, using the link for the text, discussions of material, and so on.  Please feel free to modify this WebQuest to meet your individual classroom's needs.

Objectives:


Standards:

Included are the Pennsylvania Standards this WebQuest and project should hit.

To View the detailed Standard, follow the above link.


Process:

The duration of the unit if highly flexible.  Before beginning the WebQuest, you should have covered the following topics:

All the above information is supplemented by the research sites the students will be visiting on the Quest.

During the Quest, students may work individually or in groups (dependent upon your technology availability).  Students should be monitored.  Teacher should serve as a guide, not an information resource.  It is recommended that the students explore the information on one tribe over the course of 2-3 days before moving on to the next tribe.

After students have explored all tribes, they may move on to the task of identifying the artifacts.  The key for the artifacts is as follows:

  1. 1 - Haida Cedar Canoe.  Used for fishing and whaling.  Cedar was the most abundant wood in the Queen Charlotte Islands.
  2. 2 - Pebbles.  Used by the Anasazi Tribe in Dry Farming - process of setting stones on a hill side to create a run-off into planted areas.
  3. 3 - Iroquois Longhouse.  Created using Birch Bark.  Housed several families.  Also used were wigwams.
  4. 4 - Buffalo Hide Teepee.  Used by the Pawnee tribe of the Great Plains.  Buffalo was an important resource and all parts of the Buffalo were used.  The teepee was a portable lodge.
  5. 5 - Haida Totem Pole.  Used by the Haida to represent families and tell stories.  The Haida were highly creative and decorated everything in their surroundings, including houses.
  6. 6 - Birch Bark Canoe.  The Birch tree was native to the New York area where the Iroquois lived.  The bark was used to shape canoes for fishing and travel.
  7. 7 - Harpoon.  The Haida used these harpoons, carved from cedar, to hunt whales off the coast of Canada.  Highly dangerous.
  8. 8 - Buffalo Hide.  Used by the Pawnee for clothing, as well as shelter.
  9. 9 - Wolf Pelt.  Also used by the Pawnee.  Was worn for hunting, as Buffalo did not fear wolves.  The tribe members could sneak up on the Buffalo in the wolf pelts.
Students should focus on how and why the artifacts were used, and not what the artifacts are.

Grading:

A rubric for scoring has been supplied on the student page.  This rubric may be modified to suit your individual needs.  Suggestions for additional assessment include:

Helpful Links and Resources:

The following are links to Native American indexes, site compilations, and educational resources.
 

Conclusion:

I hope you found this WebQuest a helpful and fun supplement to your Native American Unit.  If you have any questions or comments, please contact me!