Design for Learning

Instructor: Annie Walker Grade Level/Cooperating Teacher: 3rd

Lesson Title: Tribe It Out Date: 12/07/2015
Curriculum Area: Social Studies Estimated Time: 1 hour
Standards Connection:
3.)DescribeprehistoricandhistoricAmericanIndiancultures,governments,and
economicsinAlabama.(Alabama)
Learning Objective(s):
Students will describe the daily life of one of the four Indian tribes in a writing
assignment entitled If I were a ________ Indian for a Day, I would including 3 facts
about culture, 2 facts about government, and 1 fact about economics.

Learning Objective(s) stated in kid-friendly language:

Today, we are learning about the 4 different tribes of Indians that lived in Alabama at one
point in time. These tribes are the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Cherokee, and Creek Indians. At
the end of the lesson, you will write a journal entry for me pretending that you are in one
of these tribes, and describing to me what the culture, government, and economy is like.
Evaluation of Learning Objective(s):
The students will turn their journals into me at the end of the lesson. I will grade the
journal using the journal entry rubric. I will read each entry and make sure that the
students included the 3-2-1 facts that they were instructed to include. They should also
have used proper syntax, spelling, and grammar. Finally, students should be creative and
expressive in their writing. Students who receive all exceptionals will have the
opportunity to write about what they would do if they were chief of a tribe, and to create
their own tribe. Students who receive a mix of exceptional and average will work on
researching more basic facts about the 4 tribes with a partner using the books in the
classroom. Students who receive all needs improvements will work in small groups
with the teacher, working on writing skills by learning more basic details about Indians,
like what they eat and wear, and who famous Indians are.

Engagement:
Divide the students into 4 groups, and assign each group a name: Choctaw,
Chickasaw, Creek, or Cherokee. Then, each tribe will be given a different task. The
Choctaws will invent a new game using a stick and a ball, because they are known for
inventing the game stickball. The Chickasaw tribe will make some kind of jewelry from
beads because that is what they are famous for. The Creek tribe will make headdresses,
because they were known for their highly decorated clothing. Finally, the Cherokee tribe
will create a language for their tribe because they were the only tribe to have a system for
writing. If you can hear me, clap once. If you are going to stop talking and pay attention,
clap twice. If you arent paying attention, clap once. Okay, glad to see that everyone is
paying attention and ready to go! Today, we are learning about the 4 different tribes of
Indians that are known as the civilized tribes. These tribes are the Choctaw,
Chickasaw, Cherokee, and Creek Indians. At the end of the lesson, you will write a
journal entry for me pretending that you are in one of these tribes, and describing to me
what the culture, government, and economy is like. But first, we are going to do an
introduction activity. Im going to number you all off into four different groups. I want
the ones to come stand at the table by my desk, the twos to go stand at the table in the
back of the room by the bookshelf, the threes to go stand at the table by the window, and
the fours to come stand at the table by the white board. Number the students off, and wait
for them to get in their proper groups. At each station, there will be a small table with two
pieces of paper. One piece will say the name of the tribe, and the other sheet will say the
task that they are completing. The materials they need to complete this task will also be at
the table. I want each group to notice what tribe they are. Group 1, you will be Choctaw.
Group 2, you will be Chickasaw. Group 3, you will be Creek. And group 4, you will be
Cherokee. Next to the piece of paper that tells what tribe you are, there is another piece
of paper. I want you to read this as a group, and complete the task that it is telling you to
do. We will discuss why you are completing this task when you present it to the class. You
have 15 minutes to complete these tasks, so if there arent any questions, you may begin.
Once the students have completed the tasks, have them present their projects to the class.
Tell the significance of each tribes task as they present: Choctaw invented stickball,
Chickasaw was famous for their jewelry, Creek was known for elaborate clothing, and
Cherokee was the only tribe to have a written language. Then, transition to teaching.

Learning Design:
IV.
Teaching:
If you can hear me, clap once. Im not going to continue until everyone is silent. We
just learned some very interesting facts about the first civilized Indian tribes. Now, we
are going to learn more in depth information about each of the tribes. First, does
anyone know why these Indians are referred to as civilized? These tribes were the
first group that the American settlers in the New World found to be civilized. They
had more civilized ways of acting, thinking, dressing, and behaving. Because of this,
we usually group these 5 tribes together. Today, we are going to learn about the

government, culture, and economy of each of the different tribes. I will fill the chart
out on the document camera as we go along in case you get lost or confused. First,
we have Choctaw. Will the Choctaw tribe please stand up? We already know one
thing about their culture: They invented Stickball. They believed that spirits ruled
them, a good spirit and an evil spirit. They also worshipped the Sun. Raise your hand
if you like to tell stories, or listen to stories. Well, then you would get along well with
the Choctaw Indian tribe because that was a key part of their culture. Finally, they
liked to weave baskets. Has anyone ever made a basket before? Its not easy, is it?
But these hard-working Indians loved to make them! Lets review: underneath culture
we should have written down stickball, good spirit/bad spirit, worshipped the sun,
enjoyed telling stories, and liked to weave baskets. Moving on to the next heading, we
have government. Turn and talk to your neighbor for one minute about how you think
the Choctaws governed their tribe. All right, our minute is up. Will anyone share
what they talked about? The Choctaws actually had a chief that governed them, as
many of you said, but they honored women as the head of the household, which was
rare. They believed that murder could be solved by revenge, like an eye for an eye,
which was a vicious cycle. So, we should write governed by a chief, women were the
head of the household, and eye for an eye under government. Finally, we have
economics. The Choctaws, just like most tribes, traded among their neighbors for
goods. Are there any questions about the Choctaw tribe? Who thinks they would like
to be a member of this tribe? Keep this tribe in mind, while we move on to the next
tribe, Chickasaw.

Indian Tribe

Culture

Choctaw

Invented
stickball
Believed in a
good spirit and
a bad spirit
Worshipped the
sun
Storytelling
was an
important part
of their culture
Liked to weave
baskets

Government

Murder was
handled by
revenge. Eye
for an eye
Honored the
women as the
head of the
household
Governed by a
chief

Economics

They traded
amongst
themselves
and other
similar tribes
for goods

Who were our Chickasaws? Will you show the class what you made again? They made
the bead bracelets, because the Chickasaw tribe was known for their jewelry. In their
culture men were hunters and warriors, while the women farmed and took care of
children. The men had shaved heads except for one piece of hair. What do you think this
tribe wore? Let the students throw out some ideas. The men wore minimal clothing and
the women wore bright skirts. So, we should have written down that they were known for
their jewelry, the men were hunters and warriors, had shaved heads, and wore little
clothes, and the women farmed and took care of the children and wore bright skirts. How
do you think this tribe was governed? It was actually a clan of chiefs, and they had one
head chief, called a war chief. So, in this classroom, you all would be the clan, and I
would be the war chief. Make sure you have written that down! Finally, for economy, the
Chickasaws traded with nearby neighbors in order to buy and sell goods, specifically
with the Chickasaw. Are there any questions about this? Does anyone just really want to
be a Chickasaw Indian? Hold on to those thoughts, because we have two more to go!
Men were
Ruled by a
Traded with
hunters and
council of clan
nearby
warriors
chiefs,
neighbors,
especially the

Women
were

Led
by
a
war
Chickasaw
Choctaw
farmers and
chief
took care of
children
Had shaved
heads, without
headdresses
Men wore
minimal
clothing,
women wore
bright skirts
Known for
their
containers and
jewelry
Our next tribe is Cherokee! Will my Cherokee Indians please come to the front and share
what you all made again. Thats right, the written language! The Cherokee Indians were
very civilized. They lived in house instead of teepees. Similar to the Chickasaws, the men
were hunters and warriors and the women farmed and took care of the family. They were
known for being farming people. Lets make sure we copied all of that down before we
move on to government. The Cherokees were governed by one war chief and one peace
chief. Do you think this was difficult at times? Do you think it would ever lead to
arguments? Let the children think and then respond. Okay, last category is economy, and
just like the other two tribes, the Cherokees traded frequently, especially for pipes and
pottery, two of their prize possessions. How many people in here think that they would

like to be Cherokee Indians? Alright, well we have one more to go, and then I expect to
hear a decision out of everyone!
Men were
Led by one
Traded,
hunters and
war chief, and
especially for
warriors
one peace
pipes and
Cherokee
chief
pottery
Women were
farmers and
took care of
children
Lived in
houses, not
teepees
Farming
people
Had an actual
written
language

Our final Indian tribe is the Creek tribe. Will my Creek tribe come up here please with
their headdresses? Tell the class why you made headdresses. Thats right, because in the
Creek culture, elaborate and decorative clothing was the norm. Just like the other tribes,
the men were hunters and warriors, and the women farmed and took care of families.
Storytelling was also important for the Creek tribe, just like it was for the Choctaw tribe.
A chief ruled them, and they fought constantly with the Cherokee and the Choctaw. They
also liked to trade with different tribes, just not the Choctaw or the Cherokee. Lets copy
these last details down. Does anyone have any questions?
Men were
Led by a chief
Traded with
hunters and
was selected
nearby tribes
warriors
by a tribal
council.
Women were
Creek
Fought with
farmers and
took care of
Cherokee and
children
Choctaw
Famous for
their elaborate
clothing
Storytelling is
important in
their culture

Okay, then before we practice, I want everyone to go back to the 4 stations, but this time,
I want you to choose the tribe that you would most like to be in. Now, transition to
practice.
II. Opportunity for Practice:
When the students have all decided what tribe they want to be in, instruct them to talk
among themselves for 5 minutes about why they chose this tribe. Each person should
have at least 2 good reasons of why they chose the tribe they did. Then, once everyone is
finished with that, they will line up in 2 lines. 10 students will be facing the back of the
room and 10 students will be facing the other line of students. They will do tribe speed
dating. Each pair will have 45 seconds to tell what tribe they picked, and why. Has
everyone picked a tribe? Now, spend five minutes in your tribe group discussing why you
chose it. At the end of the five minutes, each of you will need to have 2 reasons why you
picked the tribe you did. You may begin. Let the students talk for five minutes. Walk
around and listen to the conversations, answering questions and fixing misconceptions. If
you can hear me, clap once. I need 10 volunteers to come stand in a line up front, facing
the bookshelf in the back. The first ten students then proceed to the line. Now, I need the
remainder of you all to go and stand facing them, like you are about to dance with them.
This is called Tribal Speed Dating. You have 45 seconds to tell your partner what tribe
you chose, and why you chose it. Remember, though, that you both have to talk in those
45 seconds so dont go on for too long. When the timer beeps, rotate to your left. If you
are on the end, then you move all the way back to the beginning. Then, you start over
again, telling the person why you chose the tribe that you did. We will do this until
everyone on one side has talked to everyone on the other side. Are there any questions?
And START!
III. Assessment
Once the students have finished the speed dating, they will return back to their seats.
They will get our their journals, and respond to the journal question If I Were a ______
Indian For a Day, I would Im so glad that everyone enjoyed the speed dating. When I
count to five, I want everyone to be back in their seats and ready to go, with their
journals out on their desks. 54321. I like what I see. I have put the journal
question on the board for everyone to see. It says, If I Were a __________ Indian for a
Day, I would I want you to choose an Indian tribe (it can be the one you picked for
tribe dating), and I want you to write 10 sentences about what you would do as Indian in
this tribe for one day. You will include 3 culture facts about this tribe, 2 facts about their
government, and 1 fact about their economy. I will be using the usual rubric for grading
the journals, so remember to stay on topic, include all details of the prompt, use correct
grammar, and be creative. I am looking forward to reading all of these! Please hand in
your journals when you are done.
IV. Closure:
We will watch a clip from Pocahontas of her in her village, so that the students see what
typical Indian villages look like, with the women farming, the men hunting and fighting,
and the chief in his teepee.

Materials and Resources:

1. Stick and a ball
2. Beads
3. Construction paper and materials to make headdressesscissors, stapler, tape,
glue, markers, etc.
4. Pieces of paper with each tribe name written on it.
5. Pieces of paper with each of the tasks written on them
6. http://www.fivecivilizedtribes.org/FiveTribes/Choctaw/ChoctawHistory.aspx
7. http://www.bigorrin.org/chickasaw_kids.htm
8. Indian Thought Organizer
9. Journals
10. Rubric
11. Timer
12. Beginning clip from Pocahontas

Differentiation Strategies (including plans for individual learners):

Students who receive all exceptionals will have the opportunity to write about what
they would do if they were chief of a tribe, and to create their own tribe. Students who
receive a mix of exceptional and average will work on researching more basic facts
about the 4 tribes with a partner using the books in the classroom. Students who receive
all needs improvements will work in small groups with the teacher, working on writing
skills by learning more basic details about Indians, like what they eat and wear, and who
famous Indians are.
Data Analysis:

Reflection:

Samford University
Design for Learning

Indian Tribe Thought Organizer

Indian Tribe

Culture

Government

Choctaw

Chickasaw

Cherokee

Creek

Journal Entry Rubric

Economics

Category
Follows
Instructions/
Answered
Prompt/
Included All
Necessary
Details

Exceptional

Average

Needs
Improvement

Notes:

Notes:

Notes:

Notes:

Notes:

Notes:

Shows creativity
and originality
in writing
Notes:

Notes:

Notes:

Used correct
grammar,
spelling, and
syntax