Students have learned about a second tribe, the Seminole of the Southeast. They have discovered the Seminole were part of the Creek people who settled in Florida. The word Seminole means wanderer or runaway. Students have learned that they often wore colorful clothing, many beaded necklaces, and cerimonial headresses. Over the past few days, they’ve enjoyed coloring and adorning their own headresses.
Like the Iroquois, the Seminole planted corn, beans, and squash. While hominy was a favorite food of the Seminole, it was certainly not so among first and second graders. After assembling and reading a “Hominy How To” students tried it out, and not surprisingly, most didn’t care for it.
Student have learned about Seminole homes. As many lived in swampy areas, they traditionally built wooden huts above the ground called chickees. Chickees didn’t have walls, which allowed cool breezes to flow through. Students are creating their own chickee diagrams complete with “palmetto leaf” and grass roof tops.
Students are enjoying comparing and contrasting the Seminole and the Iroquois tribe. Using a large graph that will be posted in our classroom as well as individual graphs, we will track information as we learn about each new region and tribe.
