Native Americans Day 21: Northeast Woodland: Shawnee

Northeast Woodland: Shawnee

1. Review: We learned about the Iroquois tribe in the Northeast Woodland region last time. Today we will learn about another tribe in the Northeast Woodland, the Shawnees tribe. Remind students where the Northeast Woodland region is on the regional map.

2. Map Skills: Compare the regional map to the globe or map today and see what countries or states are in the Northeast Woodland region.

3. Discuss: Fill out the Tribes Chart after reading each section. Have the child listen closely to choose what word to put on the chart. Bold type words are good suggestions.

• Habitat:  Northeast Woodland The original Shawnee home land was in Ohio, Kentuky, and Indiana. But the Shawnees were far-ranging people.
• Homes: The Shawnee lived in small round dwellings called wikkums, or wigwams. Each Shawnee village also included a larger council house built from wood.
• Dress: Shawnee women wore skirts with leggings. Shawnee men wore breechcloth and leggins. Both men and women often wore ponchos in cool weather. The Shawnees wore moccasins on their feet. As they migrated from place to place, the Shawnees adopted clothing styles from many other Indian tribes and from white settlers as well. Sometimes they wore a beaded headband with a feather or two in it. Shawnee people usually wore their hair long, though Shawnee warriors sometimes shaved their heads in the mohawk style. Many Shawnees painted designs onto their faces, and some wore tribal tatoos .
• Food: The Shawnees were farming people. Shawnee women planted and harvested corn and squash. Shawnee men hunted in the forest for deer, turkeys, and small game and went fishing in the rivers and lakes. Shawnee Indian food included soup, cornbread, and stews.

4. Read: Shawnee by Barbara A. Gray-Kanatiiosh

5. Comprehension questions:

• What region did the Shawnee live in? Northeast Woodland
• What kind of homes did the Shawnee build? Wigwams
• What kind of clothes did the Shawnee wear? Breechcloth, leggins, skirts, ponchos, moccasins, mohawk, painted and headband
• How did the Shawnee get their food? Hunted and farmed

Native American Animal Races

We used page 61 of Native Americans Thematic Unit by Leigh Hoven to do a few animal walks.

First J walked like a bear.

  Then he walked like a crab and then a frog.

 

Native American Similes

Introduce students to similes (using like or as to compare two objects).

Give examples such as “fast as a cheetah” or “shy as a turtle.”

Explain to students that Native Americans sometimes had names that described who they were or what they did by comparing themselves to something in nature—for example, “Fast as a Cheetah” or “Wise As an Owl.”

Encourage students to think of three adjectives to describe themselves.

Have them write these words the board.

Next to each adjective, have students list something in nature that matches their word—for example, tall/tree or pretty/parrot.

Copy the following sentence frames on the chalkboard: ______ like a/an ______, and _____ as a/an _______. 

 

Headbands

Materials:

• Heavy paper (tagboard)
• Construction paper in various colors
• Markers
• Scissors
• Stapler or tape

Directions:

1. Decorate your headband with markers using geometrical shapes.
2. Cut feathers from paper and staple them to the headband.
3. Staple or tape the ends of the band together to fir your head.