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.
Click here to see our complete listing of resources tagged Native Americans.
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U. S. History Images - Karen J. Hatzigeorgiou
Grades
7 to 12
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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!You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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America in Class - The National Humanities Center
Grades
5 to 12tag(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.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Navajo Code Talkers - Navajo Code Talkers Foundation
Grades
6 to 12This site includes advertising.
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.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Native Voices: Native Peoples - Concepts of Health and Illness - U. S. National Library of Health and Medicine
Grades
4 to 12tag(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.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Four Directions Teaching - 4D Interactive Inc.
Grades
5 to 12tag(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).Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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American Indian Response to Environmental Changes - National Museum of the American Indian
Grades
4 to 12tag(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.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Daria -World Music for Children - World Music by Daria
Grades
K to 5This site includes advertising.
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.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Kennedy Center Digital Resources - Formerly ArtsEdge - Kennedy Center
Grades
K to 12This site includes advertising.
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.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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A Listening Doll - Joyce Payne
Grades
K to 4tag(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.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Native American Crafts Unit - TeachersFirst
Grades
3 to 6tag(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.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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American Indian FAQs for Kids
Grades
4 to 7tag(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.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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National Museum of the American Indian - Smithsonian
Grades
8 to 12tag(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.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Images of Native Americans - UC Berkeley
Grades
6 to 12tag(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.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Circle of Stories - PBS
Grades
4 to 12tag(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.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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