1. define and understand the term culture.
2. participate in a classroom activity that will create a "Culture Web" depicting the major aspects of a culture.
3. establish what he/she already knows about Indians in general, and the Iroquois Indians of New York State in particular.
1. Motivation is a key ingredient in creating a successful learning environment in the classroom. Before the formal lessons begin in this unit, motivate and arouse the curiosity of students by involving them in activites that all students enjoy: storytelling, eating, and music. Simulate an Indian storytelling scene by creating a symbolic campfire (made out of oaktag, or small rocks and pieces of wood), around which students will sit as they listen to Indian music and stories while enjoying an Indian "snack" that Iroquois children might have eaten in the l500s (popcorn, berries, nuts, grapes, spring water). (Solicit help from parents and students in providing and preparing the snack.) During this time, read The Woman Who Fell From the Sky: The Iroquois Story of Creation, by John Bierhorst. This storytelling atmosphere can continue throughout the unit taking advantage of the multitude of interesting and beautifully illustrated books available on Indians (see bibliography for suggested read- alouds). At the conclusion of this activity, give the students an overview of the whole unit and what they can expect to learn.
2. The next part of the lesson should be teacher-directed, and involve the entire class. Ahead of time, prepare oaktag signs that will be used in creating a bulletin board display. The signs should have the following words written on them:
CULTURE represents the term students will be defining and should therefore be much larger than the other words; the other terms represent the various aspects that make up a culture.
Students will be asked to define the term culture by first using their background knowledge. Ask "What do you already know about this word?" Response should be recorded on the chalk board. If some students have no understanding of the term, they can use a dictionary or other resource material (textbook) to come up with a definition. Paraphrasing of dictionary definitions may be necessary to insure that a definition is generated that is understandable to all students. This definition should be displayed on the bulletin board that will be created during the lesson.
At this point, display the large CULTURE sign on a bulletin board and surround it in a circular fashion with the other signs. Tell students that each of the surrounding signs represents a particular aspect (or feature) of a culture. Students will be asked to describe each aspect in terms of their own or another culture. Help students do this by asking: "What kinds of houses do people live in?" "What kinds of clothes do people wear?" "What kinds of foods do people eat?" "What customs and traditions do people celebrate?" etc.) This will lead students to understand that a culture can sometimes be identified by what it eats, wears, lives in, celebrates, etc. After all the aspects have been discussed, connect the cards with pieces of yarn or string, creating a web effect. The purpose of creating this web is to illustrate the interrelatedness of each aspect of a culture. An analogy can be drawn between the culture web and a spider's web--if something happens to one of the strands of either web, the whole web is affected. Students can better understand this analogy by thinking about situations in history where one or more aspects of a society's culture were altered or destroyed (e.g., the potato famine in Ireland destroyed the food staple in Ireland resulting in thousands of people dying, or losing jobs, or leaving the country; pollution problems and environmental issues threaten all aspects of American life).
3. Background knowledge plays an important role in what a student understands (or misunderstands) about a subject. At this point, lead the class in a discussion of what students already know about Indian culture. Record this information on the chalkboard. Next a list of "Who, What, Where, When, How, and Why" questions should be generated by students to find out what they need to know about the Iroquois. This activity sets a purpose for the rest of the unit.
4. Next, give students a brief overview of what they will be doing during the course of the unit. Students will be told that they will be "walking in the moccasins" of a Indian boy or girl for the duration of the unit, and that they will be divided into the six tribes of the Iroquois Confederacy, working cooperatively to gather and present information about their tribe. Use cooperative learning guidelines in selecting students for each tribe. (See resource section of this unit.) An Iroquois village atmosphere can be created in the classroom by grouping desks together to represent the individual tribes. Students can use some kind of Iroquois symbol to identify their tribe (e.g., a cut-out of a longhouse with the name of the tribe written on it). Finally, you may want to use the following terms to motivate the students as they do their research: hunt, gather, plant
"We're going to hunt for information in the classroom, the library, in museums;
We're going to gather that information together so that we can learn about the Iroquoian culture;
We're going to plant new ideas in our minds about the Iroquois (and all Indians) so that we can appreciate and respect the contribution they have made to our heritage.
5. At the conclusion of this lesson the "tribes" will establish goals regarding communication, cooperation, and conflict resolution. This will help all students to feel connected to one another and will help them to feel safe, open, and confident in their interaction with each other on a day-to-day basis. These goals can be written on paper that resembles deerskin or birchbark, and should be referred to as the need arises. (The art teacher could help students produce these illustrations.)
Suggested Goals:
Bierhorst, John. The Woman Who Fell from the Sky: The Iroquois Story of Creation. (New York: William Morrow and Co., 1993).