TeachersFirst's Native Americans Resources

This editor's choice collection of reviewed resources from TeachersFirst is selected to help teachers and students learn about the rich heritage and legacy of Native Americans and to plan projects and classroom activities so students can explore the contributions and experiences of the native nations of North and South America.  Whether you spend one class exploring these resources or plan an entire unit on Native Americans, the ideas included in the "In the Classroom" portion of reviews will launch discussions and projects your students will not forget.

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U. S. History Images - Karen J. Hatzigeorgiou

Grades
7 to 12
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U.S. History Images is a large site of Public Domain images beginning with Native Americans up to the Civil War. Choose from categories offered to locate images within the different...more
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U.S. History Images is a large site of Public Domain images beginning with Native Americans up to the Civil War. Choose from categories offered to locate images within the different choices. For specific searches, use the search bar or site map to locate content. Be sure to view the Terms of Use for understanding of proper use of images.
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tag(s): 1800s (75), american revolution (82), civil war (136), colonial america (94), colonization (21), emancipation proclamation (11), images (260), industrial revolution (22), industrialization (11), lincoln (65), native americans (95), pioneers (9), states (124), transportation (31), washington (28)

In the Classroom

Bookmark and save this site to share during classroom lessons on your projector or interactive whiteboard. Share with students as a place to explore and to "get the picture" of early events in American History. As an alternative a traditional report and to enhance learning, create a newspaper using a site such as Printing Press, reviewed here, to report on Civil War events. This site is a wonderful source for students to find raw materials for multimedia projects in general. Be sure to provide a mini lesson on how to cite their image sources!

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America in Class - The National Humanities Center

Grades
5 to 12
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Discover American History lessons correlated to Common Core reading and social studies literacy standards, especially those that require close reading and evidence. The goal of these...more
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Discover American History lessons correlated to Common Core reading and social studies literacy standards, especially those that require close reading and evidence. The goal of these lessons is to use primary resources, background information, and the analytical strategies suggested to meet the Common Core standards. In addition to these outstanding American History lessons, also find free online seminars and secondary sources. The secondary sources, under TeacherServe, include essays on topics in American literature and history.

tag(s): abolition (7), american revolution (82), civil war (136), colonial america (94), colonization (21), democracy (20), native americans (95), primary sources (119), religions (85), slavery (78), women (143)

In the Classroom

Use your interactive whiteboard or projector to help your class learn the background information and read the material through once. Work through the lesson together; then consider assigning groups of four students to go through the readings again, discovering the answers to the essential questions. Have students post the group's answers on a back channel chat program such as YoTeach!, reviewed here, so all groups can see all answers. Where answers differ, have students go back into the reading and cite evidence to support their answer on Today's Meet for all to see.

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Navajo Code Talkers - Navajo Code Talkers Foundation

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6 to 12
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The Navajo Code Talkers Foundation site tells the story of young Navajo men who transmitted secret communications on the battlefields of World War II. Their unbreakable code played...more
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The Navajo Code Talkers Foundation site tells the story of young Navajo men who transmitted secret communications on the battlefields of World War II. Their unbreakable code played a pivotal role in saving countless lives and hastening the war's end. Choose the link to the "Code Talkers" to read their story from beginning, through the battles, and coming home. Understand more about the only unbroken code in modern military history by watching the various videos. Meet several of the code talkers through their bio, photos, and interviews available on the site.
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tag(s): cryptography (5), native americans (95), world war 2 (161)

In the Classroom

Share this site with your students on your interactive whiteboard (or projector) during your World War II unit or a unit on Native Americans. This would be a great link to share during Native American Heritage Month. Enhance student learning by replacing pencil and paper and use an online tool such as the Interactive Two Circle Venn Diagram, reviewed here to create a visual comparison of the Code Talkers vs other World War II battle units or cryptographers. Put a link to Fun Facts For Kids on station computors or your website for your students to learn even more.

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Native Voices: Native Peoples - Concepts of Health and Illness - U. S. National Library of Health and Medicine

Grades
4 to 12
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Native Voices takes an extensive look at Native Peoples' health and beliefs through pictures and descriptions. Begin with an introductory message from the Director of the National Library...more
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Native Voices takes an extensive look at Native Peoples' health and beliefs through pictures and descriptions. Begin with an introductory message from the Director of the National Library of Medicine. This explains content on the site and the background of the exhibition. Read interviews of health professionals, healers, and other community leaders organized by theme, name, or region. An extensive timeline highlights key events searchable by time period, tribe, or keyword. The resources area provides links to lessons, online activities, suggested reading, and more. Explore the exhibition to view Native American art and stories about healing. This site is a must-visit for anyone interested in learning more about Native American's beliefs in regard to health and healing.

tag(s): cross cultural understanding (167), medicine (56), native americans (95)

In the Classroom

Bookmark and save this site as a resource for Native American, American History, health, and other units. Read on your interactive whiteboard (or projector) together. Have groups of students read about individual tribes, then enhance learning by challenging students to create a newspaper article using the online tool such as Interactive Two Circle Venn Diagram, to create a visual comparison of tribal beliefs-- or perhaps comparing with "mainstream" beliefs in their own culture.

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Four Directions Teaching - 4D Interactive Inc.

Grades
5 to 12
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A Canadian site focused on five "first nations" central to Canada's history, Four Directions Teaching, uses technology to create a visually beautiful site about the Blackfoot, Cree,...more
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A Canadian site focused on five "first nations" central to Canada's history, Four Directions Teaching, uses technology to create a visually beautiful site about the Blackfoot, Cree, Ojibwe, Mohawk, and Mi'kmaq tribes. There are also extensive teacher resources, sorted by challenge level, to download, a photo collection, audio narration, and printables. These resources are appropriate not only for use by Canadians, but also for understanding the development of Native American culture throughout North America. (The Native Americans preceded any national boundaries!).

tag(s): canada (23), cross cultural understanding (167), cultures (145), native americans (95)

In the Classroom

The series of animated mini lessons are perfect for use on an interactive whiteboard (or projector) and help anchor the learning activities available for download. They could also be used as stand-alone resources to complement lessons you have designed. You might choose to look at creation myths across the various tribes or how each culture constructed shelters or conducted ceremonies. These themes make the lessons useful even for those not studying specifically Canadian history. Have students make a multimedia presentation on a chosen topic using one of the many TeachersFirst Edge tools reviewed here. Some tool suggestions are (click on the tool name to access the review): PBWorks (wiki), Site123 (blog), Renderforest (newscast video), and Genially (poster/bulletin board).
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American Indian Response to Environmental Changes - National Museum of the American Indian

Grades
4 to 12
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This site documents how four Native American communities are responding to changes in the environment where they live. First click the link in the first paragraph or the picture on...more
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This site documents how four Native American communities are responding to changes in the environment where they live. First click the link in the first paragraph or the picture on the right to find this unit. Through videos and primary sources, you can explore these four Native American cultures. Each tribe's section is broken down into the following areas: Getting Started, Meet the People, About Our Homeland, Our Environmental Challenge, Our Strategies, and Our Future.

tag(s): environment (245), native americans (95), natural resources (37)

In the Classroom

Project this site on an interactive whiteboard and watch the videos on each of the tribes. If you have laptops available, have students navigate on their own. Have the class take the included interactive quizzes to see what they've learned. Group students and have each group read about a different tribe. Then using the online story project planner, have students create a presentation about their tribe that can be uploaded to the site. Be sure to visit the teacher area for lesson plans, links and other resources.
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Daria -World Music for Children - World Music by Daria

Grades
K to 5
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World Music for Children, though a commercial site, shares some simple treasures of music: song lyrics, audio files, and music-related craft projects to engage children with music at...more
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World Music for Children, though a commercial site, shares some simple treasures of music: song lyrics, audio files, and music-related craft projects to engage children with music at school or at home. Steer clear of the items for sale, and you will find songs to play for Martin Luther King Day, Hispanic Heritage Month, Native American Heritage month, Cinco de Mayo and more. This review directs you to the Teacher section where you can also find directions and photos to make simple percussion instruments from all over the world. The site is simple, but the options for making music are many. PDF files of song lyrics are available.
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tag(s): hispanic (32), martin luther king (45), musical instruments (49), native americans (95), songs (44), sound (73)

In the Classroom

Turn up your speakers and try the limbo. Make simple instruments as part of your cultural heritage celebrations. Enhance learning by recording your class (or with older children - small groups) singing one of the simple songs using a simple tool such as Acast, reviewed here, or your computer's own recording software; then share the link to the recording on your class web page for younger students to sing along at home. During units on sound in elementary science class, make some of the instruments to explore how sound is created and transmitted. PE teachers can teach lessons using the song/dance options, such as the limbo. World language classes and world cultures classes may even find some of the ethnic instruments from other parts of the world interesting, despite the more juvenile appearance of this site.
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Kennedy Center Digital Resources - Formerly ArtsEdge - Kennedy Center

Grades
K to 12
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This site, created by the Kennedy Center, offers a wealth of interactive lesson plans for grades K-12 dealing with a variety of topics, all with an "arts" spin. Search by ...more
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This site, created by the Kennedy Center, offers a wealth of interactive lesson plans for grades K-12 dealing with a variety of topics, all with an "arts" spin. Search by subject, keyword, or grade level (K-4, 5-8, or 9-12). Some examples of topics include Native Americans, Civil War, Shakespeare, myths, melodrama, adjectives, monsters, baseball, and countless others! Be sure to check out the category "Our Best Resources Organized by Subject." After that click on the the top menu for Education and get even more resources. There are many interactive lessons: some with video, audio, or slideshows. The lessons provide an estimate of time required and complete, step-by-step instructions. There are printables included with some of the lessons.
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tag(s): african american (110), baseball (31), civil war (136), comics and cartoons (53), dance (28), folktales (34), greece (28), habitats (88), immigration (68), literature (218), mexico (30), musical instruments (49), myths and legends (24), native americans (95), painting (54), surrealism (2)

In the Classroom

Search this site for a topic that you are teaching in your class. Share the lesson on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Better yet, make the video or slideshow a learning station for students to watch in small groups. This site is so wonderful and HUGE, that after students are one with the resources you have for them, you may want to allow them to explore on independently or in small groups for a specific interest of theirs.
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A Listening Doll - Joyce Payne

Grades
K to 4
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Students discuss the process of storytelling and listening to stories. Then, they create a listening doll from clay in the tradition of the Native American storyteller dolls. The lesson...more
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Students discuss the process of storytelling and listening to stories. Then, they create a listening doll from clay in the tradition of the Native American storyteller dolls. The lesson is in 2 45-minute segments. The students will learn about Native American storyteller dolls, create their own image of a person listening to a story, discuss and assess the various listening dolls created by the class.

tag(s): crafts (54), native americans (95), stories and storytelling (50)

In the Classroom

Some arts & crafts materials are needed for these lessons. This would be a great option to accompany the study of Native Americans in an elementary classroom, drawing in your language arts time for story writing and telling.

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Native American Crafts Unit - TeachersFirst

Grades
3 to 6
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This is a collection of craft projects based on toys or articles that Native American or colonial children might have used. There are complete instructions for each item, with illustrations....more
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This is a collection of craft projects based on toys or articles that Native American or colonial children might have used. There are complete instructions for each item, with illustrations.

tag(s): crafts (54), native americans (95), thanksgiving (22)

In the Classroom

Try using this unit with a study of Thanksgiving, colonial settlements, or Native Americans of the eastern U.S. Share the hands-on crafts and be sure to take digital pictures. Ask students to write explanations of the crafts on your class wiki (with the accompanying pictures)! Or include the link to directions for one of these crafts on your class web page for students to try as a summer activity.

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American Indian FAQs for Kids

Grades
4 to 7
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Although this informational site is heavy on text, it is filled with answers to 20+ questions that kids typically ask about Native Americans. ...more
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Although this informational site is heavy on text, it is filled with answers to 20+ questions that kids typically ask about Native Americans.

tag(s): cultures (145), native americans (95)

In the Classroom

There is so much information on this site that you may want to design a simple scavenger hunt using Goosechase.edu, reviewed hereor a Jigsaw activity, reviewed here around the site on a weekly basis to cover all or most of the questions. Another alternative would be to create a reading guide for every 5 o10 questions using Read Ahead, reviewed here. Or, use this site as a reference for student research. This is a very easy-to-navigate Q & A format.

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National Museum of the American Indian - Smithsonian

Grades
8 to 12
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This national museum dedicated to the Native people of the Americas provides beautiful collections of online multimedia exhibitions on a variety of cultural and historical subjects....more
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This national museum dedicated to the Native people of the Americas provides beautiful collections of online multimedia exhibitions on a variety of cultural and historical subjects. The Education (under Lesson Plans) link offers a search feature that can include the Featured Nation. Choose lessons from Civics, History, STEM, and Geography. Also find downloadable classroom guides and gentle suggestions on how to avoid stereotyping when teaching your students about Native American culture. Although the site strongly emphasizes artistic contributions of Native Americans, several exhibits examine the tragic loss of native traditions at the hands of social reformers.

tag(s): native americans (95)

In the Classroom

Use the images on this site to create a picture walk in your classroom during a unit on Native American culture. Select 10-15 of the more descriptive and diverse images, hanging them around the classroom in different places. Have students rotate around the classroom, moving every 30-45 seconds jotting down what they see in each image. At the end of the walk, have a class discussion based on what students saw in the images and what the walk has portrayed about Native American culture in the time period being studied. This is a great way to introduce the unit in a non-lecture format.

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Images of Native Americans - UC Berkeley

Grades
6 to 12
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Of interest to teachers of social studies, American history, or art, this site from UC Berkeley samples over 400 years of artistic portrayals of Native Americans in a variety of ...more
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Of interest to teachers of social studies, American history, or art, this site from UC Berkeley samples over 400 years of artistic portrayals of Native Americans in a variety of settings. The site is notable both for the quality of the images but also for the contexts in which they are presented. Suitable for a wide age range, depending on the amount of guidance the classroom teacher provides.

tag(s): art history (89), native americans (95), painting (54)

In the Classroom

Use this site on a projector or interactive whiteboard to discuss and informally assess prior knowledge as you start your study of Native American Culture. Besure to see the interactive timeline. It could be used to discuss Native American culture both pre-colonialism and during Westward Expansion. Have students research the site in order to better understand the way Indians have been depicted in modern culture rather than the reality. To show what they have learned from this site, extend learning by challenging students to create an online graphic to share using Visme, reviewed here. Visme allows you to choose to create a video, infographic, charts, and others.

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Circle of Stories - PBS

Grades
4 to 12
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Native American cultures offer wonderful examples of oral traditions and storytelling. This site from PBS provides examples of these, a look at some common story themes, and audio...more
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Native American cultures offer wonderful examples of oral traditions and storytelling. This site from PBS provides examples of these, a look at some common story themes, and audio files with a number of different stories. Try using this one in a study of Native Americans or as part of a unit on stories from different cultures. Although this site is slightly dated, and some of the audio files are not updated, the content of this site remains relevant and useful to many classes; there is a lot of good information here.

tag(s): native americans (95), oral history (14), stories and storytelling (50)

In the Classroom

Use the educators guide to find ways to incorporate this site into your classroom, either through lesson plans or classroom activities. This would be a very useful site for a US history or English teacher, studying Native American Culture and story-telling.

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