Posts Tagged ‘Native Americans’

« Older Entries

Explore the History and Holiday of Thanksgiving

November 18th, 2021

Fran’s World: Thanksgiving Social Studies Activities!

(franw.com/category/holidays/thanksgiving/)

Grades: All, with parental supervision 

Learning takes on a life of it’s own at this website created by veteran homeschool mom Fran Wisniewski who provides terrific Thanksgiving-themed activities that explore the history of the holiday and the symbols associated with it.

Get ready to have some fun!

When you get to the site you will land on the Thanksgiving category page. You can simply scroll down the page to read the entries or use the menu on the left side of the page that includes:

  • Wild Turkeys – Trace your hands and feet to create a turkey masterpiece.
  • The Three Sisters – Find out why Native Americans referred to corn, beans, and squash as the “Three Sisters” and do an art activity that combines all three!
  • Squash Pumpkins – Bake a pumpkin pie right in the pumpkin shell!
  • Beans – Make Bean Soup and grow a bean plant.
  • Corn – Make traditional cornbread.

Not only does Fran provide the complete instructions for how to do the activities at home, but she provides pictures of her family’s efforts that clearly illustrate the results you can expect. Plus you’ll find links to more web-based resources to further your learning experience.

Fran wrote “The Three Sisters: A Native American Curriculum for Thanksgiving” that is featured for free on UniversalPreschool.com. It is chock-full of innovative ways to learn math, science, history, and art – all themed around Thanksgiving! The whole family will enjoy these educational activities.

Fran wrote, “In my world education is interesting, the choices are endless and everyone learns at their own pace, in a way that works for them.” Her website is a testament to her point of view. Don’t miss it!

No comments »

Posted in social sciences

Tags:

All About Cranberries!

November 17th, 2021

TeacherVision: Cranberry Facts

(www.teachervision.com/food/cranberry-facts)

Grades 3-5, with parental supervision

Cranberries — Read All About It! At this site, you can read lots of information about cranberries including the origins of the name, how Native Americans used them, and best of all — fun facts about cranberries.

For example, did you know that Native Americans made a survival cake out of deer meat and cranberries called “pemmican”? Did you know that Americans consume some 400 million pounds of cranberries each year? About 80 million pounds — or 20 percent — are gobbled up during Thanksgiving week! For more fun facts visit the site!

Have fun solving this Thanksgiving word search puzzle that you can print or do online. The information and words you learn from reading fun facts about cranberries will help you to recognize words like: “cranberry”, ”Pilgrims,” and “Plymouth” and more. Happy Thanksgiving!

No comments »

Posted in language arts

Tags:

Take a Virtual Field Trip to See Castle Rock Pueblos

March 19th, 2021

Castle Rock Pueblo Field Trips

(www.crowcanyon.org/EducationProducts/ElecFieldTrip_CRP/index.asp)

Grades 4-8, with parental supervision

 

This site offers a tour of the pueblos and cliff dwellings of Native Americans in the Southwest including the Anasazi, Puebloans, and those who lived in the Mesa Verde region.

When you get to the site, there is a brief introduction. Use the menu to explore 3 different field trips of the Castle Rock Pueblo region located at the Crow Canyon archaeological site that focuses on three different historical time periods: 

  • Trip 1 – A.D. 1200s
  • Trip 2 – A.D. 1800s
  • Trip 3 – A.D. 1990s

On each trip, you collect clues to solve a mystery as you read the detailed history and look at photographs, maps, sketches, and paintings of the adobe and stone pueblo dwellings, ancient artifacts, and petroglyphs. As you read the account of the region and the people who lived there, you may come across words that are unfamiliar (i.e., kiva, Hopi, Zuni, adobe, etc.). These words are highlighted in the text – if you click on them a definition from the Glossary pops up. You will also learn much about methods used by archaeologists when they excavate sites of historical significance.

Study Guides and Lesson Plans are also available for the fourth and eighth grades.

This is a well-presented and carefully crafted educational site – don’t miss it!

No comments »

Posted in Virtual Field Trip

Tags:

Become a Virtual History Detective

January 28th, 2021

Wessels Living History Farm

(livinghistoryfarm.org/farming-history/)

Grades 3-12, with parental supervision

 

This website is a companion to a real “Living History Farm” in Nebraska, where you and your children can learn about the history of agriculture in America and how technology has changed it.

You can also learn about the man, David Wessels, whose estate made possible his vision of a Living History Farm. One of his major concerns was “that today’s kids – both urban and rural – have almost no idea how farmers went from essentially a medieval system of plowing with horses to huge tractors run by computers with global positioning systems and air-conditioned cabs.” 

The story told on the website, goes back to Native Americans who first cultivated the fields, through the first European immigrants staking out the prairie ground, to boom and bust cycles, and then the incredible technological innovations of the 20th Century. 

When you get to the site you’ll find information on: 

  • Farming in the 1920s
  • Farming in the ’30s
  • Farming in the ’40s
  • Farming in the ’50s
  • 70’s to Today

You’ll see videos and/or graphics and sound for each, along with links to these categories: 

  • Farm Life
  • Making Money
  • Water
  • Machines
  • Crops
  • Pests & Weeds
  • World Events

Listen to interviews on many aspects of farming history as well.

Also, on the left sidebar, be sure to check out the link for Ted Kooser – podcasts from a former U.S. Poet Laureate. And the video link has all the videos in one place.

The Living History Farm seeks to educate everyone about the role agriculture plays in providing nourishment to the world. If you can’t make it to Nebraska to explore the farm in real-time, this is the next best thing.

No comments »

Posted in history

Tags:

Learn the History of Farming – and more!

January 30th, 2020

 

It’s Thursday, January 30, 2020, and time for Social Sciences at ClickSchooling!

 

Recommended Website:

Farming History

(livinghistoryfarm.org/farming-history/)

Age Range: 8-18 (Grades 3-12 approximately, with parental supervision)

 

This website is a companion to a real “Living History Farm” in Nebraska, where you and your children can learn about the history of agriculture in America and how technology has changed it.

You can also learn about the man, David Wessels, whose estate made possible his vision of a Living History Farm. One of his major concerns was “that today’s kids – both urban and rural – have almost no idea how farmers went from essentially a medieval system of plowing with horses to huge tractors run by computers with global positioning systems and air conditioned cabs.” 

The story told at the website, goes back to Native Americans who first cultivated the fields, through the first European immigrants staking out the prairie ground, to boom and bust cycles, and then the incredible technological innovations of the 20th Century. 

When you get to the site you’ll find information on: 

  • Farming in the 1920’s
  • Farming in the 30’s
  • Farming in the 40’s
  • Farming in the 50’s
  • 70’s to Today

You’ll see videos and or graphics and sound for each, along with links to these categories: 

  • Farm Life
  • Making Money
  • Water
  • Machines
  • Crops
  • Pests & Weeds
  • World Events

Listen to interviews on many aspects of farming history as well.

Also, on the left side bar, be sure to check out the link for Ted Kooser – podcasts from a former U.S. Poet Laureate. And the video link has all the videos in one place.

The Living History Farm seeks to educate everyone about the role agriculture plays in providing nourishment to the world. If you can’t make it to Nebraska to explore the farm in real time, this is the next best thing.

No comments »

Posted in social sciences

Tags:

Learn all about Jamestown and Captain John Smith

January 9th, 2020

 

It’s Thursday, January 9, 2020, and time for Social Sciences at ClickSchooling!

 

Recommended Website:

On the Trail of Captain John Smith

(www.nationalgeographic.org/interactive/trail-captain-john-smith/)

Age Range: 9-14 (Grades 4-8, with parental supervision)

 

This website offers a fun, interactive game that allows kids to learn about Captain John Smith’s voyage from England to America and the establishment of a colony in what is now Virginia.

When you get to the site simply click on “Let’s Go” to play the game. Be sure to turn on your speakers so you can hear the narrated video presentation that is also displayed in text below the screen.

The topics are:

  • Off to Virginia – Watch an introduction and brief history about the initial voyage.
  • Building A Fort – Learn about the disagreement among the colonists about building a fort to protect the colony.
  • John Smith is Captured! – Discover the difficult conditions the colonists face and the exploration they embarked upon to find relief. Find out how John Smith was captured by Native Americans and the result of his capture.
  • Powhatan’s Power – Learn about Captain John Smith’s meeting with the Indian Chief Powhatan. Is the legend of how Pocahontas saved John Smith’s life true? Discover historians’ perspective on this story.
  • Help from the Indians – Play a treasure hunt game to find the natural resources in the bay and marshlands that helped the colonists survive.
  • Exploring the Chesapeake – John Smith and the colonists were seeking gold and a Northwest Passage. Find out what they DID find, and play some games that will test your skill at virtual fishing and boating.

And more!

No comments »

Posted in social sciences

Tags:

css.php