Being an ecologically literate citizen involves making decisions that are based on ecological knowledge and accepting responsibility for personal actions. Using writing-to-learn activities in college science courses, we asked students to consider personal dilemmas that they or others might have in response to how human choices can impact coastal…

Describes new perspectives that should be used to teach fourth-grade topics in the 1981 California History/Social Science Framework, California Indians and the major historical periods, and the diverse people who made that history. Lists of materials and organizations that have current Indian publications are included. (AM)

This article offers ideas and activities to help develop a multidisciplinary unit that motivates students to learn about the languages, legends, and lifestyles of Native Americans. (DF)

Describes an environmental education program which focuses on nature in Indian myths. Instructional strategies used in the program include storytelling, free association, play-acting involving members of the audience, dancing, and sharing of artifacts during a question and answer period about Vermont Indians. (JN)

A companion to The Mamook Book (ED 214 720), the student activity book teaches about Plains Indian cultures (in particular about Lakota life) through a series of activities such as: coloring panoramas of a Plains tipi encampment and a contemporary reservation; depicting historical and contemporary children; making a mobile; constructing a tipi and…

Presents a theme unit that includes elementary-level, cross-curricular lessons about lifestyle, belief systems, traditions, and history of Native Americans. The unit includes a poster which offers a traditional Cherokee story, literature on Native American legends, and a variety of cross-curricular activities. The unit ends with students writing…

In this activity, elementary students analyze and discuss photographs of an American Indian tribe--the Minnesota Dakota family--and compare and contrast the Dakota family with their own family. They learn that families are alike in their basic structure. (RM)

Compares Minnesota elementary school teachers' attitudes toward teaching about Native Americans in 1977 and 1981. Finds classroom materials better in 1981, but a majority of teachers still feel inadequately prepared to teach about native peoples. Makes recommendations for teacher training institutions, in-service programs, interaction between…

Tips for teaching students about Native Americans include reading poems that lead to the study of certain tribes, studying the present day as well as the past, having Native Americans visit the classroom, reading culturally sensitive books on Native Americans, and acknowledging differences between tribes. (SM)

Comprised of two separate booklets, this resource unit assists elementary teachers in explaining how the Ojibwe people harvest maple sugar and wild rice. The first booklet explains the procedure of tapping the maple trees for sap, preparation for boiling the sap, and the three forms the sugar is made into (granulated, "molded," and…

This biography for elementary school students highlights the life of Charles Bender (Ojibwe), an American Indian who became a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1953, and includes his photograph and a map of Minnesota showing his birthplace, Brainard. A teacher's guide following the biography contains background information on…

Developed for elementary students, the booklet explains how Winnebago people weave baskets from the bark of the black ash tree. The booklet begins with a poem about Grandma making a basket and a story about how basket-weaving came to the Winnebago people. Both are illustrated with line drawings. The following section uses black and white…

Designed for classroom use, the booklet is a collection of the easiest-to-use classroom ideas taken from past issues of the "Daybreak Star Indian Reader," published monthly throughout the school year by the United Indians of All Tribes Foundation. The selection of articles and activities focus primarily on Plains and Northwest Indian cultures,…

A biography for elementary school students of a 19th century American Indian physician and author, Charles Alexander Eastman (Sioux), includes photographs of Dr. Eastman and his wife. A teacher's guide following the bibliography contains information on the Sioux Uprising of 1862 and the Wounded Knee Massacre, learning objectives and directions for…

A biography for elementary school students describes the life and career of Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve (Sioux), a Native American free-lance writer, and includes her photograph and a map of South Dakota reservations. A story by Mrs. Sneve tells about a half-Sioux boy who confronts his heritage when his grandfather makes a long journey between his…