Native American WebQuest

Native American WebQuest
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for Fourth Grade Social Studies

Introduction

Task

Process

Resources

Evaluation

Conclusion

Introduction:

You have been commissioned by the United States Postal Service to develop a series of postage stamps for the coming year to commemorate Native Americans. These stamps will be used all over The United States and even put into stamp collections. This assignment is an important part of our history as a country. Click here to see examples.

Task:

You will work as a team of researchers to learn more about Native Americans. Your team will find facts about a Native American tribe that lived in a particular region. Your team will then design a set of 4 stamps for your series. Each member of the team is responsible for one of the stamps. You will use the Internet, library materials, and classroom resources to learn about the tribes: types of homes, clothing, transportation, jewelry, pottery, rugs, and any other artifacts found. You will also be required to write a paragraph telling people about your stamp and its importance to the tribe you have researched.

Process:

Divide into teams of 4 students.
Your team will be assigned a group of Native Americans from a region of the United States to focus your research.
Each member of the team will take notes about the tribe they are learning about using the note-taking sheet.
The team members will compare notes.
Each team member will choose a particular topic to illustrate and write about - every member should have a different topic. ( For example: member A - homes, member B - tools, member C-clothing, member D-jewelry, rugs, pottery)
Your stamp illustration must have detailed pictures that are drawn large enough to fill up the whole page.
Your paragraph should be at least 5 complete sentences long describing the item(s) on the stamp including other facts about the group of Native Americans.

Resources:

Tribes listed by region:

Northeast

IROQUOIS:

1. Iroquois 2. Iroquois Food and Customs 3. Iroquois Culture

4. The Iroquois of the Northeast

NARRAGANSETT:

1. Narragansett Indian Tribe 2. Narragansett 3. Narragansett People

4. Regions - Social Studies Textbook pages 126-129.

Southeast

CHEROKEE:

1. Cherokee Indians 2. The Cherokee 3. Cherokee

4. Regions - Social Studies Textbook pages 188-193.

Midwest

OJIBWA:

1. Ojibwa 2. The Ojibwa Indians 3. Ojibwa Culture

4. Regions - Social Studies Textbook pages 256-259.

SIOUX:

1. Sioux Indians 2. Sioux Culture 3. The Sioux 4. The Plains/Sioux Indians

Southwest

NAVAJO:

1. Navajo Indians 2. Navajo 3. Navajo 4. Regions - Social Studies Textbook pages 324-329.

HOPI:

1. Hopi Indians 2. Hopi Tribe 3. The Hopi 4. Hopi - The Real Thing

West

TLINGIT:

1. Tlingit/Northwest Indians 2. Tlingit 3. The Tlingit

4. Regions - Social Studies Textbook pages 394-397.

Evaluation:

Postage Stamp Rubric

	1 point	2 points	3 points	4 points
Postage Stamp Drawings	Drawings are sloppily done and do not represent the object(s) well.	Drawings represent the object(s) but do not look authentic.	Drawings look authentic but lack good detail.	Drawings look authentic and have good detail.
Drawing(s)	Item(s) chosen for the postage stamp do not represent the tribe.	Item(s) chosen for the postage stamp do not represent the tribe well and are of little importance to the tribe.	Item(s) chosen for the postage stamp represent the tribe but are not of great importance to the tribe.	Items(s) chosen for postage stamp represent the tribe well and are important to the tribe.
Appearance of Postage Stamp	Drawings do not fill the postage stamp well with many large areas of white space.	Drawings somewhat fill the postage stamp with some large areas of white space.	Drawings mostly fill the postage stamp with some areas of white space.	Drawings fill the postage stamp without large areas of white space.
Descriptive Paragraph	Paragraph does not describe the object(s) on the postage stamp and the importance to the tribe.	Paragraph somewhat describes the object(s) on the postage stamp and the importance to the tribe.	Paragraph mostly describes the object(s) on the postage stamp and the importance to the tribe.	Paragraph describes the object(s) on the postage stamp and the importance to the tribe.
Paragraph is written in at least 5 complete sentences.	Less than 3 complete sentences.	Three complete sentences.	Four complete sentences.	At least 5 complete sentences.
Paragraph has been proofread and edited for errors.	Many errors. More than 5	Some errors. 5 or less	A few errors. 3 or less	No errors.
Appearance of Paragraph	Paragraph not written in cursive.	Paragraph sloppily written in cursive.	Paragraph written in cursive.	Paragraph neatly written in cursive.
Total	Comments:			/28 points

Conclusion:

By completing this project, you will earn an appreciation for Native Americans. Native Americans' customs and traditions were influenced by the world around them -- they were excellent adaptors to their environment. You will also learn through research that Native American groups are still active and are preserving their way of life.