Grade 5 Lesson at a Glance: Chapter 15, Lesson 4

Houghton Mifflin Social Studies
America Will Be

Lesson at a Glance
Chapter 15, Lesson 4: Conflicts with the American Indians (pp. 389-393)

The Big Idea
Framework Concepts: Conflict and Scarcity The migration of settlers made it hard for Plains Indians to find food and caused them to fight with other tribes and harass settlers.

Make a two-column chart on the chalkboard. In the first column, list the names of different Plains Indian peoples and characteristics of their lives before the migration of white settlers. In the second column, list the ways in which the settlers' arrival affected those Indian ways of life.

Review with students what both sides hoped to achieve from the Fort Laramie agreement and then discuss why that agreement broke down.

Lesson Outline
Use the Lesson Outline to preview the content of the lesson. You may wish to print it for your students as a guide during reading.

Check for Understanding

Ask students to consider the points of view of the American Indian leaders attending the meeting at Fort Laramie. Have them prepare speeches these American Indian leaders might present to the U.S. government.
Have students draw a mural that shows different scenes of Plains Indian life both before and after settlers moved west through their lands. Whenever possible, have students identify which Plains Indian group they are drawing.

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