In our studies of Native Americans of North America, first grade students have learned about two regions and tribes, the Iroquois of the northeast and the Seminole of the southeast. Students are locating these regions on individual maps that we will build upon incrementally as we study various tribes.
Students have discovered that the name Iroquois means “people of the longhouse.” The Iroquois built long narrow buildings called longhouses, using upright logs and cross poles which were then covered with elm bark. In art, students worked collaboratively to construct gingerbread longhouses, focusing on the exterior of the structure. In the classroom, students created pop-up longhouses, focusing on the interior. First graders were asked to demonstrate how multiple families lived in each longhouse and to include a lofted food storage area, multiple rooms partitioned with deer skin, and shared fires with ventilation smoke holes. Students learned about the three sisters, corn, beans, and squash, each of which were important crops for the Iroquois. Finally, students created their own virtual wampum belts. They learned that wampum belts were strands of purple and white bead-like shells that were woven together and then used for trading.
Moving on from the Iroquois, students are currently learning about the Seminole tribe, who were once part of the Creek people that settled in Florida. The word Seminole means “wanderer” or “runaway.” Many of the Seminole lived in swampy areas, and thus they built chickees, raised wooden huts without walls that allowed cool breezes to flow through. Students have learned that the Seminole often wore colorful clothing and many beaded necklaces, extending from the neck up to the ears. Like the Iroquois, the Seminole planted corn, beans, and squash. Hominy was a favorite food of the Seminole. Several projects highlighting the Seminole are planned in the coming days including making our own beaded necklaces, making hominy, building chickee models, and designing colorful headdresses.
