Design Topic:_Pre-Columbian Settlements_ Subject(s) __Social Studies__Grade(s) __5__Designer(s)_Maricela Cordova_

STAGE 1 – DESIRED RESULTS

Unit Title: ___Making a New Nation/ The Land and People Before Columbus (Pre-Columbian Settlements)___

Established Goals:

Students describe the major pre-Columbian settlements, including the cliff dwellers and pueblo people of the desert
Southwest, the American Indians of the Pacific Northwest, the nomadic nations of the Great Plains, and the woodland
peoples east of the Mississippi River.

a. Describe how geography and climate influenced the way various nations lived and adjusted to the natural
environment, including locations of villages, the distinct structures that they built, and how they obtained
food, clothing, tools, and utensils.
b. Describe their varied customs and folklore traditions.
c. Explain their varied economies and systems of government.

Understandings: Students will understand that… Essential Questions:

• “Settlers” are not people (Europeans or foreigners)
necessarily coming to or from another place. It is
people residing in a place. They don’t have to come
from across the ocean.
• Where people live impacts what they do and how
they do it (e.g., getting water, growing certain foods,
clothing, etc.)
• Folktales were told and passed down for many
purposes (e.g., remember who they are (identity),
explain how things came to be, convey their customs
and beliefs, tell an important message/lesson)
• Native Americans are not “Indians”, geographically.
• Native American tribes are unique and different in
their beliefs, songs, tools/technology, clothes, etc.
They are not the “same” or “one people,” for there are
over 500 tribes.
Big Idea: How did the regions thatthe Native Americans live in
influence their culture and the way they live?
Follow-up Questions:
- How did geography, climate, and proximity to water affect
the lives of North American Indians?
- How were different groups of North American Indians
organized into systems of governments?
- How were family and community structures of North
American Indians similar to and different from one another?
- What technology did the Native Americans use and how
does it (including art) reflect Native American culture?

Knowledge:Students will know:
• Who were the Native Americans? Discuss them as
contemporary people.
• Pronouns and vocabulary of the different plains and
tribes in the U.S.
• Terminology of the houses or shelters the Native
Americans lived in.
•Main events, social and economic structures of the
Pre-Columbian period and how they differ across
different plains, as well as how they reacted to each
other.
• What is a settlement and who were the people
during the pre-Columbian time.
Knowledge of what students should know:
•Visual arts:Basic knowledge of colors, lines, shapes,
textile for art (the foundations of art should be known)
• English:Adjectives, similes, personification, and
other literary devices.
• History:What was life like for Native Californians
before other settlers arrived?
•History:Why did Europeans come to California? (This
will help students learn and understand why
Europeans decided to come to the East and
Mesoamerica).
Skills (from the content, literature book(s), and art): Students will be
able to:
• Compare and Contrast different arts from different tribes
• Describe the geography and climates of different regions
• Describe the government and/or structure of their society
• Read, analyze/detect, argue, and synthesize various literatures and
their features/elements
• Construct and write stories that convey a theme
• Cut and create a totem
• Present their written and final piece to the class and provide
effective critiques
• Construct a story with a beginning, middle, and end
• Draw and paint images on postcards (additional art/history activity)
• Paint an image with the theme of “thanks” or something similar to
the unit of study (additional art activity) Can write a response on the
theme also.
• Infer why the Bear Clan had to move, and predict what might
happen to the clan and others in Sign of the Beaver.
• Analyze and summarize information from totem reading and other
sources
• Use reader text comprehension skills to understand content
• Value the diverse Native American culture
• Write journals from different perspectives/ complete prompts
Basic skills students should know how to:
• Read, write, communicate/take-turns talking (pragmatics), listen

Source: Understanding by Design, Unit Design Planning Template (Wiggins/McTighe 2005) 1

Design Topic:_Pre-Columbian Settlements_ Subject(s) __Social Studies__Grade(s) __5__Designer(s)_Maricela Cordova_
STAGE 2 – ASSESSMENT EVIDENCE
Performance Tasks:G.R.A.S.P
 A friend of yours, who lives on the other side
of the country, strongly believes that all
Native Americans are the same people, just
scattered across North America. Your friend
thinks that they share the same beliefs,
speak similarly, dress the same, live similar
lifestyles, and are uncivilized people. The
obstacle to overcome is to change your
friend’s generalizations about Native
Americans. In order to change his/her belief,
you will write a persuasive letter convincing
your friend that they are incorrect.
Challenge(s): Point out your friend’s mistakes/ errors.
Be respectful and objective as much as possible.
Provide evidence and a clear explanation supporting
your position.
Standards and Criteria for Success: Your work needs
to include the cultural features(e.g., historic,
economic, geographical, and governmental) of the
Native regions. Provide acquired knowledge and
show understanding of the Native American culture.
Rationale: This performance task is authentic
because it touches on a few of the 6 facets of the
UBD: empathy, perspective, explain, apply, and even
interpret (interpret and analyze the friend’s
misconceptions).Students are encouraged to think
about this task and see how it related to real-life. That
is, evaluate class history book(s) providing
information about the Native Americans. Is
information vague, biased, general, ambiguous? The
task encompasses all information students should
know from the standard and it ties in the big idea.
Key Criteria:
Performance Task: Persuasive Letter to a Friend: Who Are the Native Americans?
Other Evidence:
- Games: KAHOOT/Jeopardy/Design board game (*ideas*)
- Quizzes— vocabulary, content, misconceptions. Quiz for
each region. May focus on similarities and difference
between the pre-Columbian settlements.
- Evaluations and checklists
- Open-ended questions to promote grand discussions about
lesson, content, and unit
- Graphic organizers/ Big Ideas— “Sum it All Up”
- Reflections/Learning Logs: What was learned, what needs
clarification, how am I improving, how do I feel about the
topic, summarize material, analyze, compare & contrast,
synthesize, etc.
- Writing prompts (1-3 minutes)- usually answering enduring
questions and asking questions that tie any of the 6 facets of
understanding.
- (2 stars & 1 wish)
- KWL chart: what students know, made improvements on,
what skills they utilized to tackle the unit or lesson on Native
Americans.
- Performances & work samples: do students understand how
geography influence art? Can students point out and
synthesize other cultural features of the North American
Indians in a dance, story, technology, art?
- Literature book: can students make inferences and
predictions for what they will learn next about the Native
Americans? Can they understand “perspective” and
“empathy?”
- Art lesson: Totem –serves to think about the big idea
- History lesson: aims at stage 1 understanding/knowledge
- Observations/anecdotal notes

Category 1 2 3 4

Conventions

Piece missing; Grammatical &/or Some grammatical Little to no

Grammar, spelling, Punctuation, spelling errors &/or spelling grammatical
proper tenses make it difficult to errors but they do errors.
and/or has too read and not hinder the Punctuation is
many spelling understand the effectiveness of correct and does
mistakes to be read letter. the letter. not hinder the
fluently. effectiveness of

Source: Understanding by Design, Unit Design Planning Template (Wiggins/McTighe 2005) 2

Design Topic:_Pre-Columbian Settlements_ Subject(s) __Social Studies__Grade(s) __5__Designer(s)_Maricela Cordova_

the letter.

Tone Tone of letter is Lacks consistency Demonstrates Maintains

unclear. of persuasive tone persuasive tone in consistency of
in the letter. parts of the letter. persuasive tone
throughout letter.

word choice Poor word choice Word choice Word choice is Word choice is
(language) to communicate partially works to adequate to descriptive and
writer’s thoughts, communicate communicate effective to
position, and writer’s objective writer’s objective communicate
knowledge. Shows thoughts, position, thoughts, position, objectivity in the
no respect for the and knowledge. and knowledge. writer’s thoughts,
views of audience. Shows little Shows respect for position, and
respect for the the views of knowledge. Shows
views of audience. audience. respect for the
views of audience.
Content and
Organization

Letter format Missing 3+: Missing 2: Missing 1: Missing 0:

- Heading - Heading - Heading - Heading
- Greetings/Salute - Greetings/Salute - Greetings/Salute - Greetings/Salute
- Intro Statement - Intro Statement - Intro Statement - Intro Statement
- Body - Body - Body - Body
paragraph(s) paragraph(s) paragraph(s) paragraph(s)
- Concluding - Concluding - Concluding - Concluding
statement statement statement statement
- Closing signature - Closing signature - Closing signature - Closing signature

Intro Statement Intro Statement Intro Statement Intro Statement Intro Statement
missing or somewhat states vaguely states clearly states
unclearly states opinion/position opinion/position opinion/position
opinion/position

Closing statement Concluding Concluding Concluding Concluding

statement missing statement weakly statement statement strongly
or does not make summarizes summarizes summarizes
reference to opinion opinion opinion
opinion
Facts and Provides no Provides minimal Provides Provides enough,
examples/evidence evidence/facts to and relevant moderate, persuasive,
support position. evidence/facts to relevant, and concrete and
Or facts/evidence the culture of the persuasive relevant
is irrelevant to Native people to evidence/facts of evidence/facts of
goal. Not support position. the culture of the the culture of the
Source: Understanding by Design, Unit Design Planning Template (Wiggins/McTighe 2005) 3
Design Topic:_Pre-Columbian Settlements_ Subject(s) __Social Studies__Grade(s) __5__Designer(s)_Maricela Cordova_

persuasive. Lacks Native people to Native people to

persuasiveness. support position. support position.

Explanation for No explanation Partial Fully elaborated Fully elaborated;

supporting goal provided. elaboration. and student student provides
demonstrates exciting insights
understanding of and demonstrates
the goal and understanding of
content. the goal and
content.

Conventions:
Total: _/12

Content and Organization:

Total: _/20
Total: _/32

STAGE 3 – LEARNING PLAN

Summary of Learning Activities:

(SEE OTHER ATTACHED DOCUMENT FOR STAGE 3)

Source: Understanding by Design, Unit Design Planning Template (Wiggins/McTighe 2005) 4