Grade 5 Lesson at a Glance: Chapter 4, Lesson 2

Houghton Mifflin Social Studies
America Will Be

Lesson at a Glance
Chapter 4, Lesson 2: Four American Indian Cultures (pp. 86-92)

The Big Idea
Framework Concept: Diversity Four American Indian cultures were affected by their surroundings in the way they lived, what they ate, and how they made sense of the world.

Discuss with students what the environment is like in their community and how it affects the kinds of things they do. For example, talk about the climate, what the land looks like, how people use the natural resources to make a living, and how they use the land for recreation. Make a chart of the four Indian cultures to compare and contrast their lifestyles. Divide the chart into location, food, dwellings, and beliefs.

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

Have pairs of students write questions about the four Indian cultures on index cards with the answers on the back. Put the questions in a pile and divide the class into small groups. Take turns asking each group one of the questions.
Draw the outline of a map of North America on butcher paper and label the locations where the Creek, Mississipians, Makah, and Anasazi lived. Have students draw pictures of the four different Indian peoples showing what they did, where they lived, what kind of ceremonies or festivals they had, and what the land was like. Attach the art to the map in the area where the people lived.

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