Susie Gummere Collegiate School Richmond, Virginia Susie Gummere, a first grade teacher at Collegiate School in Richmond, Va., has presented her teaching ideas at national seminars for social studies educators. She is currently working toward a doctorate in reading.

Objectives Students identify the different Native American regions &##8212; Eastern Woodlands, Pacific Northwest Coast, Plains, and Southwest. Students describe adaptations made by Native American people, given the natural resources available to them. Students investigate climate and geography as factors affecting Native American life. Students compare and contrast the food, shelter, and clothing used by Native Americans in the different regions. Students create a large class map that depicts the different regions. Students are introduced to economic terms: wants, needs, interdependence, division of labor, and natural resources. Time Required 4 weeks Materials Various fiction and nonfiction books about Native Americans Construction paper, butcher paper, scissors, markers, and pencils Handout 1 How Plains Indians Used Buffalo

Overview
It is little wonder that Native American culture is a valued and popular topic of study in elementary school classrooms. It provides a wealth of curricular ideas for educators. Schools throughout the country have benefited from investigating the ways in which Native Americans used natural resources to provide food, shelter, and clothing to their people. To the surprise of some, the teaching of key economic concepts fits naturally into a study of Native American culture.

The lessons that follow make up a month-long unit of study for first graders. As described here, the lessons presuppose a classroom located in Virginia, and the Eastern Woodlands region is therefore used as an initial point of geographic reference. The lessons can be easily adapted, however, for use in classrooms anywhere in the United States. In the course of their study, children discover the influence natural resources had on Native American life. They investigate different regions of the country and determine the effect of climate and geography on Native American people in their efforts to obtain basic human needs — food, shelter, and clothing.

Teaching Activity
Some lessons may need to be spread over two days, depending on the attention span of your students.

Lesson 1
Begin the session by reading a book that gives a simple introduction to Native American life. Sample introductory books include Giving Thanks, The Native Americans Told Us So, and Little Hawk's New Name. Following the reading, discuss with the children the different regional groups of Native Americans in the United States. Explain to students that they will learn how climate and geography affected Native American life. Explain that they will look broadly at the Eastern Woodlands, Plains, Southwest, and Pacific Northwest Coast groups.

Introduce a teaching tool called a KWL chart, and explain how it will be used here. To develop a KWL chart, students brainstorm as a group what they know (K), record on chart paper what they want to learn (W), and later list what they learned (L). In this initial work with the KWL chart, the teacher can dispel any misconceptions children may state about Native Americans. For instance, many elementary students mistakenly believe that all Native Americans lived in teepees. In discussing the KWL chart, gently explain to students that they will soon discover the wide variety of shelters Native Americans utilized. The KWL should pique children's curiosity and help them to organize their thinking.

Lesson 2
Create an oversized outline map of the United States on white butcher paper. Hang the map on a bulletin board that is easily accessible to students. Ask students to locate on the map the region where they live. Discuss the climate. Explain that Native American people who live near Richmond, Va., are part of the Eastern Woodlands group. Introduce students to three other groups — Southwest, Plains, and Pacific Northwest Coast. Label the regions on the oversized map. Give students small versions of the map. Ask them to label the following locations: Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Richmond, Va. (or, for children living elsewhere, their hometowns), and the four Native American regions.

Lesson 3
Introduce students to the lifestyle of the Eastern Woodlands Indians by reading them a book like Little Runner of the Longhouse. Following the reading, ask students to discuss their initial impressions. Help them contrast the lifestyle depicted in the reading to our lifestyles today. Discuss food, shelter, and clothing that was typical for Eastern Woodlands tribes. Introduce students to the term natural resources. Have students cut out small longhouses (a typical Eastern Woodlands home) and deer from construction paper. Add these small pictures to the class map. Also ask students to draw small pictures of longhouses and deer on their individual maps. These activities will help students to associate longhouses with Eastern Woodlands tribes.

Lesson 4
Invite a local Native American expert to discuss the traditional lifestyle of his or her people with the class. Each fall, we invite a member of the Powhatan tribe to spend the day with our first graders. The tribe member shares authentic artifacts and, most importantly, her knowledge of traditional tribal life with students. She carefully explains the division of labor between males and females that existed in the tribe. She also introduces the idea of interdependence within the tribe.

Lesson 5
Introduce the Plains region by reading aloud from an appropriate book, such as Indians of the Great Plains. Discuss how the Plains and the Eastern Woodlands differ in terms of topography. With some guidance, students should come to understand why buffalo chose to live in the grassy Plains region. Display pictures of the expansive grasslands that gave the Plains its name. Compare the longhouse home of an Eastern Woodland family to the teepees used by the Plains tribes. Tell students that Plains Indians needed homes that could be moved easily as they followed the buffalo herds. Ask students to cut paper teepees and buffalo to add to the large class map. Students should also illustrate their personal maps.

Lesson 6
Distribute Handout 1, How Plains Indians Used Buffalo. Discuss the many ways in which the Plains Indians used the buffalo. Review the term natural resource and discuss how the Plains Indians were dependent on the buffalo for a wide array of purposes. Ask students to list and draw pictures of the different uses for buffalo on their handouts. Compare the Plains Indians' use of the buffalo to the use of the deer by the Eastern Woodlands Indians. Discuss how both groups hunted animals to satisfy their basic human needs.

Lesson 7
Introduce students to the Indians of the Southwest. Read a book that gives an overview of the climate and topography of the Southwest region, such as Pueblo Indians of the Southwest. Discuss the pueblo home of the Southwest Indians. Compare and contrast the homes found in the different regions. Emphasize that the pueblos were designed to deal with the heat of the region. Ask students to cut small paper pueblos and add them to the large class map. Students should also add pictures of the pueblos to their personal maps.

Lesson 8
Discuss the role of farming in the Southwest region. Although the region has little rainfall, Southwest tribes grew corn and other important crops for sustenance.

Lesson 9
Introduce students to the Pacific Northwest Coast region. Again, use quality children's literature, like Northwest Coast Indians, as an excellent means of introducing the region to first graders. Compare the cooler, wetter climate of the Pacific Northwest Coast to the Southwest region. Establish the point that many Indians in the Pacific Northwest Coast were avid sailors and fishermen. Describe how they built homes called plank houses from the readily available trees. Ask students to cut small plank houses and salmon (symbolizing the importance of fishing) from construction paper. Add the items to the large class map. Students should also add similar details to their personal maps.

Lesson 10
Use the large class map and the KWL chart from Lesson 1 to review the unit. Focus on the last two sections of the KWL chart: what they want to learn (W), and what they learned (L). Fill in the final section of the chart as a group.

Extension Activity
With the help of the art, music, and physical education teachers in your school, put on a first grade version of a Native American pow-wow. Different classes can represent different tribes in dress and dance. Gather as a group to share stories, songs, and dances. Students can even create costumes to wear to the pow-wow in art class.

Conclusion
By focusing on how climate and geography affected the lives of Native Americans, teachers can introduce young children to Native American culture — a culture rich in history and art. The first grade introduction can then be developed in later grades.

Economic Concepts Division of Labor    To divide work in order to produce more goods and services. Interdependence   A supportive relationship between two or more people, organizations, or societies. A link between decisions and events in one part of the world or in one sector of an economy to other parts of the world or other sectors of the economy. Natural Resource    All gifts of nature that can be used to produce goods and services. Natural resources include such things as farmland, water, fish, crude oil, mineral deposits, and climatic conditions. Scarcity    The condition that results from the existence of relatively unlimited wants with relatively limited resources available to satisfy those wants. This condition forces people to make choices. Specialization   The concentration of one's efforts as related to the division of labor. Wants   Goods and services that people would like to purchase.

Suggested Children's Literature Swamp, Chief Jake. Giving Thanks. New York: Scholastic, 1995. Swamp, Chief Jake. Giving Thanks. New York: Scholastic, 1995. Berger, Melvin. The Native Americans Told Us So. New York: Newbridge Communications, 1996. Bolognese, Don. Little Hawk’s New Name. New York: Scholastic, 1995. Baker, Betty. Little Runner of the Longhouse. New York: Harper Collins, 1990. Bartók, Mira, and Christine Ronan. Indians of the Great Plains. Illinois: Scott Foresman, 1996. Bartók, Mira, and Christine Ronan. Pueblo Indians of the Southwest. Illinois: Scott Foresman, 1996. Bartók, Mira, and Christine Ronan. Northwest Coast Indians. Illinois: Scott Foresman, 1996.