Academic Standards

 

Learning Objective:

Children will identify common things used today that were invented by Indigenous people.

 

Social Studies Focus:

Native American Heritage Month

 

Page 4 Skill:

read a graph

 

Vocabulary:

invented, resin, hammocks, lacrosse, kayaks

 

CCSS:

RI.1.1 ask and answer questions; RI.1.2 retell key details; RI.1.5 text features; RI.1.10 read informational texts; RF.1.3 decode words; W.1.8 gather information; W.1.2 writing; SL.1.1 participate in collaborative conversations

 

Watch the video

Build background knowledge about Native American Heritage Month by watching “Indigenous Inventions.” When you’re done watching, ask the following question: What is one invention you learned about?

Preview new vocabulary words

Project the online vocabulary slideshow and introduce this issue’s featured words.

Set a purpose for reading

  • Have students do a picture walk through the issue, then read and discuss the cover. Do any students love maple syrup? What other things did they recognize in the issue? What are they excited to learn about?
  • Then, before turning to page 2, say, “As we read the article, think about the different things Indigenous people invented.”
  • As you read, pause after each box. Are there any students who use, play, or eat those things today? What can they share about it?
  • Complete the page 4 activity as a group or individually.

Deepen students’ learning with any of these supplemental activities:

(skill: vocabulary)

Complete a hands-on activity: Be an Inventor

Kids discuss, write about, and draw an invention to help solve the problem in the issue’s sidebar. (skill: engineering, critical thinking)

Read a paired text: Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story by Kevin Noble Maillard

Discover another invention, which brings loved ones together in Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story by Kevin Noble Maillard.