The second graders study Native Americans from four main regions of the United States; Eastern Woodland, Plains, Southwest and Northwest. This unit is a collaboration between classroom time, library/technology and art classes. Each of the three second grade classes are divided into four groups with each group focusing on one topic consisting of food, shelter, geography and clothing of the four regions. These groups take notes on their topic for each of the regions.
Then, after taking notes from informational videos and non-fiction books, students in each of the groups take on one of two jobs; they become a writer or a creator. Over the course of the unit every student will do both jobs. The creators are responsible for building a triarama to represent what life was like in that region. The writers write a paragraph based on their notes describing the triarama. Then the students each type a portion and using Word toolbar features, they change the font style and size as well as add clip art images to support their paragraph.
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Student creators designed and built triaramas to represent
clothing, shelter, food and geography of each region. |
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Student writers used the research they gathered to write a
paragraph and insert photos describing each region. |
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| The projects highlight each students creativity and imagination. |
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To celebrate the end of this Native American units families came
to the library to check out the students work! |
This unit develops over a few months and is done entirely in school. To wrap up the unit the Library and second grade team host a special Native American Day celebration. It is set up museum style with a question and answer format. Family members are invited to attend. Each class is designated an area in the library. The students sit at tables by their triaramas and parents move through the displays asking students questions written out on sticks at each table. The students have the opportunity to show what they create as well as share the knowledge they gained. It is great to have the opportunity to share beyond our classrooms and the students are beaming with pride as families members look at their work. It's a great way to end a unit and share the hard work of our students!
