Cultural Heritage Research + Action
ANV Lesson 1
ANV Teaching Resources > Lesson Plan: Contacts and Connections
CONTACTS AND CONNECTIONS (1521-1620)
Topic: Intersection of Southeast Native Peoples and Europeans
Grade Level: 8th
Introduction
How did life for Native peoples shift pre- and post- European contact? In this lesson, students will work in teams and move from station to station to analyze primary and secondary sources to understand Native lifeways in the Carolinas prior to and after European contact.
Image caption: Teacher field trip to Town Creek Indian Mound State Historic Site, July 2021. Photo by Diane Slocum
What counts as civilized?
When there is no ‘written’ history, how does one learn about the past?
What impact did early Spaniards have on Native peoples of North Carolina?
What do we know about Native Mississippian peoples prior to European contact?
In what ways did Native societies change over time?
8th grade: I., 8.B., 8.C&G., 8.E.1.2, 8.G., 8.H.
(see https://www.dpi.nc.gov/media/11819/open)
Lesson may use digital platforms such as google Jamboard, Canvas, or Nearpod, but not required.
https://blogs.loc.gov/maps/2016/11/celebrating-native-american-cartography-the-catawba-deerskin-map
Key Concepts (e.g., main ideas, important understandings)
Indigenous life was varied and well-established prior to contact.
How to understand historical phenomena through different kinds of evidence (or lack thereof).
Key Vocabulary (important vocabulary, academic language)
Political power, Colonizer, Agency, Survivance, Mississippian, Shatter Zone
Pre-contact/post-contact
Key Content (e.g., Events/People/Places)
Juan Pardo, Town Creek, Political, organization of Indigenous societies
In this lesson, students will be organized into teams to move from station to station gathering information through note taking and engaging in various activities. Students may be assigned to work in small groups of 2-3 or they may be allowed to work independently, but each “group” should move from station to station as a unit for pacing purposes.
Teaching Procedures
In this lesson, students will be organized into teams to move from station to station gathering information through note taking and engaging in various activities. Students may be assigned to work in small groups of 2-3 or they may be allowed to work independently, but each “group” should move from station to station as a unit for pacing purposes.
Instructional Strategies
small group organization, learning stations
- Students should be organized in small teams of 3-4 with whom they will rotate from station to station. Teacher will assign each team a “starting station”. Students will complete the task for each station within the allotted time (recommended time is 7-10 minutes per station depending on the capabilities of your students).
Stations:
a. Archaeological Dig Simulation
i. Required station materials: dig aquarium, artifacts, two-page information reference
ii. Individual student work: field log
b. Early Spanish Expedition
i. Required station materials: 2-page passage
ii. Individual student work: text question responses (7)
c. Town Creek Video
i. Required station materials: Town Creek video/video player
ii. Individual student work: video notes
d. John White Painting: Secotan, an Algonquin Village, ca. 1585
i. Required station materials: digital text and lithograph
ii. Individual student work: I see/notice/wonder Graphic organizer
e. Mississippian Shatter Zone
i. Required station materials: word bank and 1-page passage
ii. Individual student work: vocabulary chart Graphic organizer
- As they are working through the stations, students should be instructed to generate 1 or 2 questions they have from each station. (These questions will be addressed in later steps).
- After circulating through all five stations, each team will share their conclusions to the questions from station e in whole group: What do we understand about Native societies pre-contact? What do we understand about post-contact changes in Native societies? What questions do we still have?. For answering this latter question, students may bring forward questions they generated from each station. Finally, students will deliberate as a class – what does it mean to be civilized? citing evidence from the materials across the entire lesson.
- Possible follow-up performance tasks may include:
a. Blog post
b. Video response
c. Quick write
d. Structured Academic Controversy
Assessment Performance Tasks
Informal:
Teacher observation of student teams during rotations for:
- On-task behaviors
- Evidence of understanding
- Development of critical questions
Student responses on station documents
Student team summative discussions
Whole class discussion
Formal:
Individual student performance task of teacher’s choice (see options above).
Accommodations / Modifications
- The amount of time allotted to each station may be adjusted to support struggling learners.
- Careful construction of student teams should be considered to maximize peer support.
- For classes whose historical skills are at a lower developmental level, teachers may decide to have the whole class encounter the same station at the same time in small groups then debrief each station as a class before proceeding to the next.
- Reading selections may be modified for struggling readers to simplify language or add glossaries of unfamiliar or difficult terms and concepts.
- Group members should be assigned specific roles such as leader/manager, recorder, researcher, timekeeper, based on their skill development and learning needs.
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