The Native Americans: Powhatan Indians of Virginia

From John Smith's Map of Virginia,
published in 1612.
The Native Americans: Powhatan Indians of Virginia
A Teaching Unit for Grade K Students
Prepared By: Cassandra Surles
Url: http://csurles.wmwikis.net/
Submitted as Partial Requirement for ED 405
Elementary Social Studies Curriculum Instruction
Professor Gail McEachron
The College of William and Mary
Spring 2010
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Table of Contents
Historical Narrative ……………………………………………..3
Lesson 1 – Map/Globe Skills………………………………….. 11
Lesson 2 – Critical Thinking/Art……………………………… 17
Lesson 3 – Civic Engagement/Biography…………………….. 22
Lesson 4 – Inquiry …………………………………………….. 28
Assessment 1………………………………………………….. 35
Assessment 2………………………………………………….. 37
Bibliography…………………………………………………... 38
Appendix A……………………………………………………..40
Expenses ………………………………………………………..42
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Historical Narrative
Introduction
The Powhatan Native Americans are an important area of study, because the lands
we are living in were first occupied by the Native Americans. As Wendell H. Oswalt
writes, “We tend to forget that we are most indebted to American Indians for our country
itself, because this land was theirs” (2002, p.4). Equally, it is important to learn how we
have been influenced by the Indian culture.
The Native Americans are the indigenous people, the first people to arrive in
North America. Prior to Columbus, as well as other settlers arriving in America, the
Native Americans had been here for thousands of years adapting to diverse climate
changes, and developing a diversity of cultures and complex societies (Pritzker, 1998).
Since the Native Americans were already here when the first Europeans arrived,
students would want to know, “How did they get here?” and “Where did they come
from?” Although the theories about the origins of Native Americans vary, the most
accepted theory is that, at the end of the Ice Age (about 15,000 to 40,000 or more years
ago), Paleo Indians migrated from Asia, across the Bering Strait, on a land bridge
between what is now Siberia and Alaska (Pritzker, 1998).
Their ancestors were nomadic hunters looking for herds of mammoths and giant
bisons, which are now extinct. The ancient Indians took over an enormous but untouched
land mass and learned to thrive in an extraordinary variety of habitats. By the end of the
Woodland period, the Powhatan culture had developed unifying the coastal Indian tribes
(Claiborne, 1973).
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The Powhtan tribes are important to study, because kindergartners need to know
and understand the significance of the interaction between the Powhatans and English
colonists. While studying about the Native Americans, students will learn about their
culture, diversity, and vital contributions to society. State and National Standards support
this topic because students will draw upon historical data about the Powhatans, learn of
historical accounts of Pocahontas, past events, holidays, and be able to distinguish
between past and present, as well as develop map and globe skills. (See Appendix A for
list of standards listed in this unit).
Key Ideas and Events
On May 14, 1607, the English colonists arrived, in Virginia, on three British
ships: the Susan Constant, Godspeed, and the Discovery. The previous year King James
I had granted a charter to a group of London entrepreneurs, the Virginia Company, to
establish an English settlement in the Chesapeake region of North America. The
colonist settled on a site near the James River, which they named Jamestown, in honor of
their king.
When a group of 104 colonists disembarked from three small ships to establish
the first permanent English settlement in North America, it sparked a series of cultural
encounters that has helped shape our nation and world. This settlement called
Jamestown is where the United States of America, as we understand it today, began
(Jamestown Settlement, 2006).
As a nation took root, the fall of the Powhatan Empire began. As author James
Axtell writes, “For the first decade of the seventeenth century what became the United
States began in Virginia as a fierce clash of empires” (1995, p.1). The British sought
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wealth, a trade route to the Orient, and precious metals. The Powhatans sought to protect
their land.
The Powhatan Indians were Algonquian-speakers who inhabited eastern Virginia
in the sixteenth, seventeenth, and early eighteenth centuries. They consisted of as many
as thirty-odd separate tribes, who shared similar languages and cultures, on the Virginia
coastal plain, including the Eastern Shore. All but the Chickahominies and the
Chesapeakes, belong to the general territory called Tsenacomoco. The name Powhatan
encompasses all of the tribes who were apart of the leader Powhatan paramount chiefdom
(Rountree, 1993).
Powhatan, known as Wahunsonacock, was the recognized paramount chief and
leader of the Powhatan. Powhatan society was matrilineal, with kinship and inheritance
passing through the female line. In the last quarter of the 16th century, through his
mother‟s line, Powhatan inherited the control of six tribes in the Tidewater area of
Virginia. Through intimidation or warfare, by 1608, Powhatan had created an empire that
consisted of thirty-five tribal groups, and had centrally located his headquarters at
Werowocomoco, on what‟s now the York River (Axtell, 1995).
During the 1520s, the Powhatan‟s empire encountered its first contact with
Europeans, when Spanish and Portuguese explorers arrived. However, it was not until
around 1560, that the Spanish unsuccessfully attempted to establish a colony in the area,
which resulted in the death of many missionaries and thirty Indians. In 1571, Don Luis, a
young Indian who had been kidnapped by the Spanish to serve as an interpreter, led a war
party to the mission of the Jesuits, killing all of them all except one young boy
(McDaniel, 1996).
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Initially, the relationship between the Powhatan Indians and the English was
mutually beneficial. In early 1608, Powhatan and English allies became trading partners.
The Powhatan provided the English corn and food, in exchange for metal and guns.
Both sides exchanged youths to learn the other‟s language and ways. Without the food
assistance of the Powhatan, the colonists were forced to admit that, “had the Savages not
fed us, we directly had starved” (Kupperman, 2000, p.1); more than 60 of the 104
colonist did not survive the first winter. However, a power struggle began when the
English wanted Powhatan to pledge allegiance to King James I, in a coronation
ceremony. Captain John Smith writes that Powhatan‟s response was: “If your king have
sent me presents, I also am a king, and this my land…. Your father is to come to me, not I
to him, nor yet to your fort” (The American Indians, 2010, p. 2). Thus, the relationship
slowly began to deteriorate as the English began to encroach on Powhatan‟s territory.
In December 1607, Captain John Smith, leader of the colonist, was captured by
Opechancanough, Powhatan‟s brother, and taken to meet Powhatan. According to Smith,
Powhatan threatened to kill him, but his daughter Pochontas intervened and saved his
life; however, scholars consider this unlikely. Powhatan offered to trade with the
English, and provide them with food in exchange for firearms (Feest, 1990).
During the winter of 1609, known as the “Starving Time,” the relationship
between Powhatan paramount chiefdom and the English grew more hostile. Captain
Smith returned to England because of a gun powder accident. One of the central
disagreements concerned the Indian provision of corn to the English. The region was in
the midst of a drought and corn was in short supply. The colonists, who consisted mostly
of gentry, had failed to plant crops, store grains, and had little food supply from England.
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The English, of which many died, were desperate for food. They raided nearby villages,
robbed graves, and ate corpses (Axtell, 1995).
In 1618, Chief Powhatan died. His brother, Chief Opechancanough assumed
control. The next two decades consisted of conflict and tense coexistence. By the year
1646, the cultural interactions between the Powhatans and colonists were strained due a
tenuous relationship and much warfare. In 1649, the empire that Powhatan built had
vanished. As Atwell states, “the haunting prophecy of a Powhatan priest that „bearded
men should come and take away their Country‟ had at last come to pass” (1995, p.40). By
the 1700s, the British population had increased to 100,000 colonists and the Powhatan
population had dwindled to fewer than 1,000 Indians due to war and disease (Feest,
1990).
In 1619, the arrival of the first Africans, twenty men and women, to Jamestown
colony, signified the beginning of plantation agriculture and the African slave trade. The
Africans were from a Portuguese colony in the Congo-Angola region of West Central
Africa. It is not known if they were considered slaves or indentured servants. It was
customary for all Portuguese slaves to be baptized and christened, before departing to the
New World. One such African woman was known as “Mary a Negro Woman” (Brown,
2000, p.13).
Men, Women, Youth & Children
In the Powhatan culture, women cooked, grew crops such as corn, beans, squash,
and tobacco, built and maintained houses. Men were hunters and warriors. They built
canoes, by hollowing out logs of wood with stone axes, and made fishing equipment.
They hunted deers, muskrats, squirrels, raccons, oppossums with wooden bows and used
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the skin for clothing. At an early age, children were trained for traditional Powhatan
duties. Boys were taught how to fish and hunt, while girls helped with weeding gardens,
pounding corn, and caring for younger children (McDaniel, 1996).
Girsl married at puberty. A man paid a bride price to the family of his future wife,
as compensation for the loss of her labor. Marriage was accompanied by exchanging gifts
and feasting. Men were allowed to have as many wives as they could afford (Feest,
1990).
When the Powhtan Indians were not working, they enjoyed singing songs, music,
dancing, and games. They would play music on their deerskin drums, reed flutes, and
dried-gourd ratteles. There was a song and dance for mourning, ceremonial feasting,
war, and social events. They enjoyed playing games like wrestling, running footraces,
and stickball, a game similar to soccer (Boraas, 2003).
The Powhtans lived in a ranked society of rulers, great warriors, priests and
commoners, with status being determined by inheritance or achievement. They used a
type of matrilineal succession, which means the title was passed through the female line.
In 1612, John Smith recorded the following observation about how inheritance of
Powhatan‟s paramount chiefdom was decided in Powhatan society: “His kingdome
descendeth not to his sonnes nor children, but first to his brethren…and after their
decease to his sisters. First to the eldest sister then to the rest and after them to the heires
male and female of the eldest sister, but never to the heires of the males.” (Jamestown
Settlement, 2006, p.2). Each tribe was ruled by a leader called a werowance or, if a
woman, a weronsqua. Werowances were the most prominent members of Powhtan
society. They had great wealth. Although political positions were inherited through
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women, little political authority was given to them except in the case of a female chief, or
“werowansqua.”
Powhatan Indians believed in two major gods. Ahone, the creator and giver of
good things, and Okewas, the evil spirit, whom they tried to appease with offerings of
tobacco, shells, copper, beads, furs and foods. In observance of the after life, the bodies
of dead werowances were housed and preserved in village temples by the
quiyoughcosucks, or priests, who were advisors to tribal leaders, also performed religious
rituals, (Feest, 1990).
The Powhatan people spoke a form of Eastern Algonquian, a family of languages
used by various tribes along the Atlantic Coast, from North Carolina to Canada, and had
no form of written communication. It did not survive as a spoken language, and no one
knows precisely what it sounded like (Jamestown Settlement, 2006).
Many famous individuals contributed to the founding of Jamestown. The state of
Virginia was named in honor of Queen Elizabeth I of England, the “Virgin Queen” (King
William Historical Society, 2010). Pocahontas, daughter of Indian chief Powhatan, is
probably the best known. She was born around 1595, to one of Powhatan's many wives,
where she was named Matoaka. The legend of Pochontas‟s rescue of Captain Smith is
well known but many historians think it is untrue, since this account did not appear in his
earlier writings. Pocahontas became a peace emissary between the Powhatans and the
English. In 1613, when she was 18 years old, she was kidnapped by the English for
almost a year. During that time, she learned the English way of life and was converted to
Christianity, taking on the name Rebecca. She fell in love with, and married John Rolfe,
bore a son, and traveled to England, where she died a few years later (Feest, 1990).
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As a means to encourage English men to become permanent settlers in
Jamestown, in 1619, the Virginia Company sponsored 147 English women, of elevated
social position, to come to Virginia with the hopes that English men would work harder,
and invest more into the colony. During the time of English women arrival, the tobacco
industry was thriving. It was not unusual for English women to spend part of their day
doing labor related to tobacco production (Brown, 2000).
Closing and Legacy
The founding of Jamestown is important to understanding humanity and Virginia
history. The Powhatans, the English, and the Africans each had their own separate
languages, traditions, and ways of life. As a result of the interactions of these different
cultures, a seventeenth century Virginia society was born. Although the fall of the
Powhatan Empire resulted in a lost of much of the Powhatan culture, the Powhatan tribes
continue to thrive today.
Almost every aspect of American life has been influenced by the Native
Americans, the indigenous people of America. Their contributions in agriculture, trade,
government, religion, arts, and craft have helped shaped America as we know it today.
The English colonist probably would not have survived their first winter without the help
of the Native Americans. Therefore, the significance of accepting and embracing others
of different cultures is essential to fighting intolerance and teaching our children about
social understanding and civic efficacy.
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Lesson plan preparer: Cassandra Surles
Lesson #1- Powhatan Village
Audience: Primary, Grade Kindergarten
Standards: National Geography Standard 1: How to use maps and other geographic
representations, tools, and technologies to acquire, process, and report information from a
spatial perspective.
Virginia Standards: K.3: The student will describe the relative location of people,
places, and things by using positional words, with emphasis on near/far, above/below,
left/right, and behind/in front. K.4 The student will use simple maps to, a) develop an
awareness that a map is a drawing of a place to show where things are located. K.5 The
student will develop an awareness that maps, a) show a view from above; b) show things
in smaller size; c) show the position of objects.
Materials, time, and space: The book “As the Crow Flies: A First Book of Maps”, the
classroom document camera, laser pointer, map handout of the “Powhatan village,
crayons, paper, multiple choice question handout, classroom space for whole-group,
(approximately 20 students); one hour.
Lesson Description:
Anticipatory Set: At the front of classroom, gather students and ask them what they
know about maps, what is a map, and how do they help us. Explain to students that maps
help us get around and keep us from getting lost.
The Objective and its Purpose:
1) Given teacher directions, students will draw a map of the Powhatan village. 2) Using
relative terms they will draw a picture of an Indian and place him or her in different
places on the map according to teacher-posed scenarios called out in the game “Simon
Said.” 3) Students will correctly answer one multiple choice question related to relative
directions and the structure of a Powhatan village.
Instructional Input: Tell students that they have been learning about the Powhatan
Indians. Today, you will use relative terms to locate different places on a map of a
Powhatan village. You will see these places from far above like a bird flying in the sky
this is called the birds-eye-view. Read the book, As the Crow Flies: A First Book of
Maps. Explain to students they will be like the crow in the book and they will see a
Powhatan village from a birds-eye-view like. Tell students you want them to pretend they
are birds or flying in an airplane seeing the village from below. Using a document
camera, display a picture of the Powhatan village (see attached illustration).
Model: Tell students you are pretending to be a bird flying over the Powhatan village, “I
see lots of Powhatan Indians below who look very small because they are so far away.
Some Indians are standing in front of their homes, behind their homes, some trees are
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far away and some are near. There is a camp fire on the left and Indians dancing on the
right. Use a laser point to show these relative locations.
Check for understanding:
Using a laser pointer, shine the light on other objects on the map stating their relative
location. Ask students to give a thumbs up if what you say is correct; down if incorrect,
and to the side if they are not sure.
Guided Practice: Give paper to students to draw a map of the Powhatan village. Display
a picture of the Powhatan village. Draw an example map of the village on the document
camera. Playing the game “Simon Said”, tell students to: 1) Draw a red circle around the
long houses on the left. 2) Draw a blue circle around the corn fields on the right. 3) Draw
a yellow circle around the fire behind the Indians. After each direction, walk around
classroom to observe students work checking for accuracy. Prior to this lesson, students
will have learned about long houses, sources of food, and about the Powhatan culture.
Independent Practice: Tell class what a great job they have done so far with their maps.
Continue playing the game: 1) Draw a green circle around the Indians dancing in front of
Indians sitting below on the ground. 2) Draw a purple circle around the trees far away
from the Indians. 3) Draw an orange circle around the trees near the Indians. 4) Draw a
pink circle around the smoke rising above the fire. 5) Draw a brown circle around the
Indians sitting below dancing Indians.
Closure: Gather students in front of classroom to share their maps and talk about their
experience of seeing things from a birds-eye-view. Have students return to their seats to
complete work sheet with a multiple choice question about relative directions. Read the
directions aloud (see attached sheet). Collect when students finish.
Evaluation:
Formative: The teacher will observe students‟ attentiveness and participation during
modeling while they are working on their maps.
Summative: The teacher will evaluate the maps made by the students and performance
on multiple choice assessments.
Background information: The Powhatans lived in longhouses. Longhouses were made
of wooden poles covered with bark or grass mats. A longhouse would hold one or many
families. Wooden frames for sleeping lined the inside walls. An indoor fire was used for
warmth and for cooking in bad weather. Powhatans grew vegetables like corn, beans, and
squash. Many of these crops were dried or smoked by the Powhatan women for later use
during the lean winter months. They celebrated with dancing and feasts and had songs for
a variety of occasions like grief, war, and feasting. They made music with reeds, drums,
and dried gourds. Food was cooked by the women over outdoor fire pits (barbecues) and
soups and stews of corn, beans and squash simmered in large clay pots at the cook fire
and breads and corncakes were baked in the ashes of the cooking fire.
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Resources
Garrett, N. (n.d.) Algonquian language group Powhatan tribe. Retrieved February 27,
2010, from http://mal.sbo.hampton.k12.va.us/fourth/socstudies/indianwebquest/
algon.htm
Hartman, G. (1991). As the crow flies: A first book of maps. New York: Bradbury Press
Rockingham County Public Schools (n.d.) Kindergarten social studies technology
integration. Retrieved February 27, 2010, from http://web.archive.org/web/20051214
222702/richmond.k12.va.us/schools/thirteenacres/historyK1.htm
Virtual Jamestown (1998). Powhatan. Retrieved February 27, 2010, from http://www.
virtualjamestown.org/Powhat1.html
Kindergarten Social Studies Technology Integration
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Picture used in this lesson will only
contained the portion of the map
located below to allow students to
only focus on one area of the map.
This picture is not cropped because I
did not want to distort the image.
14
A drawing of a map of a Powhatan village using relative directions.
15
Directions: After the teacher dictates the questions to students, they will circle the correct
answers below.
Name ___________________________________________
(1)
Date _____________
(2)
The ostrich is _______ the tree.
a)
b)
c)
d)
The eagle is _____ the tree.
above
far from
behind
on the right side of
(3)
a) below
b) in front of
c) above
d) on the right side of
(4)
The owl is _______ the tree
a)
b)
c)
d)
behind
in front of
on the right side of
on the left side of
The man is _____ the tree.
a) near
b) far from
c) above
d) on the right side of
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Lesson plan preparer: Cassandra Surles
Lesson #2- Powhatan Pottery
Audience: Primary, Grade Kindergarten
The National History: History for Grades K-4—Historical Comprehension G: Draw
upon the visual data presented in photographs, paintings, cartoons, and architectural
drawings.
National Standards for Art Education (Visual Arts): (K-8) Content Standard 4:
Understanding visual arts in relation to history and cultures. 5: Reflecting upon and
assessing the characteristics and merits of their work and the work of others.
Visual Arts Standards of Learning in Virginia: 3.13 The student will discuss how
history, culture, and the visual arts influence each other. 3.17 The student will identify
how works of art reflect times, places, and cultures.
Materials, time, and space: Document camera, pictures of Powhatan pottery, Five (5)
pounds of self hardening gray clay, raffia, paint stirrers, glue, multiple choice question
handout, class room space for whole-group, (approximately 20 students); individual table
centers (approximately 6 students); one hour. Note: Gray clay, rather than red, is used
because it is not as messy and washes out easier).
Objectives:
1) After seeing representations of pottery used by the Powhatan, students will give
examples of what the pottery was used for by the Powhatan Indians.
2) Students will create their own clay pinch-pots representative of the cultural
practices used by the Powhatan Indians.
Lesson Description:
Introduction
Gather students in the front of classroom. Ask students what their parents use to cook
food with and what kinds of dishes do they use to eat and drink with. As students
generate ideas, write them on the white board. Bring out examples of pots, pans, pitchers,
and dishes we use today. Tell students that Powhatan Indians did not use these types of
dishes and pots to cook with. The Powhatan women used clay from the ground to make
pots for cooking and storage. Show students pictures of the different kinds of pottery
vessels used by the Indians.
Content Focus
Key Questions: Objective: What do you notice about the bottom of the pots? What kind
of designs do you see? How do you think they made these designs? Reflective: Do you
have a favorite bowl or dish to eat out of? Would it be the same as eating out of a bowl
made by the Powhatans? Interpretive: What do you think these pots were used for?
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Why are the bottoms cone-shaped? Decisional: Would you like to make your own clay
pinched pot?
Closure: Gather students in front of classroom and have them share the various ways
they will use their clay pinch-pots. Have students return to their seats to complete work
sheet with a multiple choice question about Powhatan Indian pottery. Read the directions
aloud (see attached sheet). Collect when students finish.
Evaluation:
Formative: Student‟s participation during discussion of the uses of pottery.
Summative: The teacher will evaluate the students‟ created clay pinch-pots and their
performance on multiple choice assessments.
Background information:
The women were responsible for making pottery and wooden plates. They made pots and
dishes out of clay that was put out in the sun to dry and hardened. Pots were made with
cone shaped or rounded bottoms, which allowed for placement into soft and hot coals of
fire for an even heat distribution when heating or cooking food. This shape goes back
thousands of years in this region of the country (A. Hardister, personal communication,
March 22, 2010).
The clays used by the Powhatans were found usually by streams, creeks, and riverbanks.
The Powhatans dug the clay from these locations and removed pebbles, rocks, or twigs
by sifting. After cleaning the clay, water was added and the clay was kneaded into a
workable lump. Powhatans used two methods to shape clay: the pinch method and the
coil method. The pinch method is the easiest and requires a minimum amount of clay and
little equipment other than your hands. This method only worked for small vessels,
although the Powhatans used the pinch method as the beginning of a coil pot, which was
the method used for making large cooking vessels. In order for clay vessels to hold water,
they must be heated or fired for a long period of time. One of several methods the
Powhatans may have used is carefully stacking the air-dried pots and then surrounding
them with branches of different sizes, like creating a pyre. The pyre would be very slowly
burned and more fuel added gradually, over a day or more. Sometimes the fire was
smothered with leaves or soil to reduce the heat and help cool the pots. The Powhatans
did not glaze their pottery. The reason for this is because the clay mixture and firing
process that the Powhatans used were sufficient means of providing them with vessels
that were used in cooking and holding liquids. Woodland pottery derived its color from
the natural minerals contained in the clay, such as iron, which gave the clay a reddish
hue. Pots also had some type of surface treatment derived from the technique used to
make the pot. A cordage wrapped paddle was used to help keep the sides of the pot the
same thickness. It was wrapped with cordage made out of dogbane, yucka or woven
fabric to cut down on surface cohesion and sticking while paddling. There is no evidence
that the Powhatans purposely decorated their pottery except for a narrow band of cordage
around the rim (Triantafillos, 2008).
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Resources
Triantafillos, Anastasia (2008). Making Pottery. Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation.
Clay pinch-pot (gray)
Cord wrapped paddle made out of raffia used to make designs on clay pots
Clay pinch-pot
(Note: Photos taken at Jamestown Settlement, Powhatan Village, Williamsburg, VA)
19
A student representation of clay pinch-pot and cord wrapped paddle
20
Directions: After the teacher dictates the question to students, they will circle the correct
answer below.
Name ______________________
Date _______________
What was this Powhatan pot made out of?
a)
b)
c)
d)
plastic
clay
rubber
sand
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Lesson plan preparer: Cassandra Surles
Lesson #3- Pocahontas Biography
Audience: Primary, Grade Kindergarten
Virginia Standards: K.1: The student will recognize that history describes events and
people of other times and places by (a) identifying examples of past events in legends,
stories, and historical accounts of Pocahontas. K.2: The student will describe everyday
life in the present and in the past and begin to recognize that things change over time.
K.8: The student will demonstrate that being a good citizen involves (e) practicing
honesty, self-control, and kindness to others; (f) participating successfully in group
settings.
National State Standards: Standard 3A: The student understands the history of
indigenous peoples who first lived in his or her state or region and is able to (b) Draw
upon legends and myths of the Native Americans who lived in students' state or region in
order to describe personal accounts of their history.
Materials, time, and space: The book, My name is Pocahontas by William Accorsi,
chart paper, markers, crayons, and drawing paper, multiple choice question handout, class
room space for whole-group, (approximately 20 students); individual table centers
(approximately 6 students); one hour.
Objectives:
3) After read aloud, students will identify ways in which Pocahontas was a
peacemaker and good citizen.
4) Students will draw two pictures: a) Pocahontas being a friend to the settlers, and
b) One showing how the student is a good friend to others in the class.
Introduction
Gather students in the front of classroom. Ask students to raise their hands if they have
seen the Disney movie, Pocahontas. Tell them the movie was about a real person who
lived long ago but most of it was not true. It was fiction. Ask students if they know what
fiction means. For example, Pocahontas was not in love with John Smith. She was a
young girl about 10 years old and he was old enough to be her father. Tell students that
Pocahontas was a real Indian girl who was friendly with settlers and lived in a village not
far from here in a place that the English settlers named Jamestown which is not far from
here. Tell them that they will learn about the real life of Pocahontas and how she was a
peacemaker for the Powhatan Indians and the English settlers who had come from
England to start a new life in America. Ask students to raise their hands if they know
what the word “peacemaker” means. Tell them a peacemaker is someone who helps solve
problems. Read the book aloud to class. Write on chart paper facts learned from the
story.
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Content Focus
For this portion of the lesson, bring the book and the chart paper used in the Introduction
to the group table. Explain to the students that history relates events that have already
happened, and teaches people about the interesting lives of people long ago. Introduce the
terms long ago, past, and present. Explain that Pocahontas lived long ago in the past and
is no longer living. Ask students if they remember what a peacemaker is. Have them
give you a thumbs up if they think Pocahontas was a peacemaker. Ask students to name
ways in which Pocahontas helped the English settlers living in Jamestown. Write their
responses on the chart paper. Tell students that Pocahontas was also a good citizen
because she was kind to the English settlers and did nice things for them. Refer back to
students‟ responses on the chart. Have students give you an example of things they can
do in the classroom to show that they are also good citizens. Possible responses are taking
turns, sharing, and being honest, and being kind to others. After discussing the story
together, allow students time to draw two pictures: one of Pocahontas being a friend to
the settlers, and one showing how the student is a good friend to others in the class.
Closure: Gather students in front of classroom. Have them tell you one way they can
keep or make peace at home, in the classroom, in the school and in the community. For
example, sharing instead of fighting with classmates and/or siblings, including people in
the games they play, following classroom, school and city rules and laws. Have students
return to their seats to complete work sheet with a multiple choice question about
Pocahontas. Read the directions aloud to students and collect when finish.
Evaluation:
Formative: Student‟s participation during read aloud and discussion of Pocahontas.
Summative: The teacher will evaluate the students‟ two drawings and their performance
on multiple choice assessments.
Vocabulary: fiction, long ago, past, present, and citizen, and peacemaker
Background information:
Pocahontas, daughter of Indian chief Powhatan, was born around 1595 in present day
Gloucester County, Virginia. She was named Matoaka, which means "Little Snow
Feather." This was a name used only within the tribe because it was believed that if
anyone spoke your name outside of your tribe you would become curse. She was given
the nickname of Pocahontas which means “playful one.” Many people are familiar with
the Disney cartoon, Pocahontas. However, most of it is fiction. The legend of
Pocahontas‟s rescue of Captain Smith is well known but many historians think it is
untrue, since this account did not appear in his earlier writings. However, it is true that
Pocahontas befriended the English settlers, brought them food, and taught them her
language. In 1613, when she was 18 years old, she was kidnapped by the English for
almost a year. During that time, she learned the English way of life and was converted to
Christianity, taking on the name Rebecca. She fell in love with, and married John Rolfe,
bore a son, and traveled to England, where she died a few years later. Pocahontas was a
peacemaker between her people and the English. She will always be remembered for her
kindness and help given to her own people and the English settlers.
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Resources
Accorsi, W. (1992). My name is Pocahontas. New York: Holiday House.
Feest, C.F. (1990). The Powhatan tribes. New York: Chelsea House Publishers.
Strandberg, D. (2009). Pocahontas. SPECTRUM Home & School Magazine. Retrieved
March 27, 2010, from http://www.incwell.com/Spectrum.html.
Teacher Link (2010). Retrieved March 27, 2010, from http://teacherlink.ed.usu
edu/tlresources/units/Byrnes-famous/poca.html#Objectives
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25
A drawing of Pocahontas being a friend to Captain Smith and a student being a
friend to their classmate.
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Directions: After the teacher dictates the question to students, they will circle the correct
answer below.
Name___________________________________
Date ________________
Pocahontas helped keep peace between the Powhatan Indians and English settlers by
a)
b)
c)
d)
being kind to the English settlers.
fighting with the English settlers.
teasing the English settlers.
running away from the English settlers.
27
Lesson plan preparer: Cassandra Surles
Lesson #4- Inquiry Lesson
Audience
Kindergarten, whole group/independent activity; 2 hours; 20 students
Standards/Objectives
Standards:
National History Standard K-4:1: Historical Analysis and Interpretation: Students will
(A) Formulate questions to focus their inquiry or analysis.
National Standards for Art Education, Understanding the Visual Arts in Relation to
History and Cultures: a) Students will know that the visual arts have both a history and
specific relationships to various cultures.
Objectives:
1. Given a mystery box as a catalyst, the students will make guesses about its
contents.
2. Given an ear of corn with a feather in mystery box, the students will generate
questions about its form, function, and history.
3. Given a class-generated list, students will investigate one question by selecting
task card with activities for historical research, construction, or playing the
Powhatan‟s Aiming Game.
Materials, time, and space: Mystery box with ear of corn with feather placed inside, 20
ears of dried corn, 20 feathers (type of feather varies based on what is available), vine
hoop, laptop computer w/access to Internet, white board, chart paper, markers; class room
space for whole-group (approximately 20 students), 3 individual table centers
(approximately 6 students); 2 hours.
Content & Instructional Strategies
Introduction: Show students decorated mystery box. Shake so they can hear the contents.
Tell students that you are holding a mystery box that has something inside of it. Their
mission is to guess what is inside by asking questions and that everyone must take turns
asking a question about the box you are holding in your hand. Write on the whiteboard
the words: who, what, where, why, when. Tell students they can ask questions that begin
with these words. Tell them no guessing is allowed until everyone asks a question.
Using chart paper, write down the questions posed by students. After all of the students
ask a question, and then ask if anyone would like to guess what the object is. Listen to all
responses before telling them what it is.
Content Focus
Show the studens the corn cob dart and explain that is used in a Aiming Game played
outside. The corn cob dart is thrown through a vine made hoop hanging from a tree
branch. Explain to students that this game is like a dart game that may have been played
by the Powhatan children. Ask students if they know what a dart game is and if they have
ever played a dart game. Tell students that in a Powhatan village you could find lots of
28
corn and feathers. Explain to them that using the questions they asked earlier they can
find out more interesting facts about corn and feathers. Talk to students about how asking
questions can be fun and that they can learn a lot by doing so. Tell them that today they
will become “master questioners.” Let students know by asking questions we all
(including the teacher) can learn together because there are some questions for which the
teacher may not have answers to. Explain to students that there are things in the
classrooom that will help them in their search. Encourage students to keep their thinking
caps on and as a “master questioners” they are always thinking of questions. Ask
students to create and write them on the chartpaper. Group children into three groups: (1)
Corn and Feathers Researchers, (2) Corn Cob Dart Maker, and (3) Aiming Game Players.
Have the (2) teacher assistants and/or cooperating teacher assist students with the
activities relevant to investigating their questions (see activity cards for three groups).
Closure: Ask students what was it like being a “master questioner” and what did they
learn at each of the stations as they went on their search for answers to their questions.
Evaluation:
Formative: Student‟s participation during the generating of questions portion of this
lesson and how they engage in the process of inquiry.
Summative: Essay question (attached)
Background Information
Answers for Card #1: The Powhatan Indians lived on land that was rich and abundant
with a variety of plant and animals. There were lots of animals including turkey, ducks,
deer, bears, raccoons, foxes, and wolves. The soil was very rich which made it easy to
grow vegetables. Growing vegetables was very important to the Indians because they got
about half of their food through farming. During the summer months, the women and
children planted corn, beans, and squash. The Powhatans did not have a refrigerator to
keep their food fresh so they dried it. Corn was one of the most important crops and was
dried and preserved for later use throughout the year. The Powhatan men were
responsible for hunting for food. There were plenty of deer and turkeys located
throughout the land. They used bows and arrows for big animals and snares and traps
for smaller animals. Turkey feathers were worn by the Powhatan Indians. They wore
turkey feathers in their beaded headband. The mantles and cloaks they wore in the winter
were also made of turkey feathers.
Sources: (1) http://www.historicjamestown.com/learn/pdf/elementaryschool/45powhatan_living.pdf (2) http://www.historyisfun.org/pdf/Living-withIndians/LivingwiththeIndians.pdf (3) http://www/denacwilliams.com/
/nativeamericans.htm#powhatanfood (4) http://mal.sbo.hampton.k12va.us
/fourth/socstudies/indianwebquest/algon.htm
29
Answers for Card #2: Corn Cob Dart Maker. With the assistance of the adult at this
center, students will make corn cob darts. The following are the steps: (1) Take a piece
of dry corn cob about 10cm long, (2) Insert feathers in the end of dry corn cob.
Source: (1) N. Hardister, personal communication, April 2, 2010). (2) http://www.wnit.
.org/OutdoorElements/pdf/corncobdarts.pdf
Answer Card #3: Aiming Game. Native American children were taught life skills,
survival, and social and physical development through games they learn. They played
many games using corn since they had lots of it. One of the games they played was a
game called Corn Cob Dart. It is a game that requires eye and hand coordination. Have
students generate questions about the game. Write responses on white board. Tell
students how the game is played. The following steps are: (1) Make a target ring from
grapevine, branches, or corn husks. (2) Hang the ring from a tree branch or place on the
ground. (3) Throw the corn cob through the ring or, (4) Toss corn cobs into circle on
ground, if ring is on ground to score points. Take students outside to play the Aiming
game..
Source: (1) N. Hardister, personal communication, April 2, 2010 (2)
http://www/turtletrack.org/Issues03/Co01112003/CO_01112003_Games_1.htm (3)
http://www/ehow.com/facts_5558627_kinds-indian-children-play-past.html
Inquiry Cards
Activity Card #1 – Corn and Feathers Researchers.
Questions: How did the Powhatan Indians get corn? Where did the feathers come from
that was used by the Powhatan Indians?
Ask your teacher to explain how corn was preserved and what kind of animal‟s feathers
was used by the Powhatan Indians.
After watching a WebQuest about the types of food used by the Powhatan and hearing
your teacher read a primary document written by William Strachey about how the
Powhatan gathered food, write three interesting things you learned on a separate sheet of
paper. Using your “master questioner” thinking brain, write down two more questions
you can think of.
Answers to Activity Card #1:
1. During the summer, the Powhatan women and children planted corn and it was
dried so they could eat it all year long.
2. Powhatan men hunted and caught plenty of turkeys.
3. Turkey feathers were worn by Powhatan Indians.
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Additional Questions:
1. What did they use corn for?
2. Why did they use turkey feathers?
Note: Teacher or adult helper will dictate students‟ responses.
Activity Card #2 – Corn Cob Dart Makers
Questions: How is a corn cob dart made? What is it used for?
Ask your teacher to help you make a corn cob dart.
Record the two steps for making a corn cob dart on a separate sheet of paper.
Record two additional questions you have about corn cob darts or how they are used.
Answers to Activity Card #2:
1. Stick a feather into a dry corn cob.
2. Corn cob darts are used to play a game.
Additional questions:
1. Can you use other animals‟ feathers?
2. How do you play the game?
Activity Card #3 – Playing the Aiming Game
Questions: How did playing the Aiming Game with corn cob darts help Powhatan boys
learn how to be good hunters?
Ask your teacher to take you outside to play the Aiming Game.
As you think about playing the game, write down three questions you have about the
game.
Possible Answers to Activity Card #3:
1. It helped Powhatan boys practice their aiming and throwing which made it easier
to learn to use the bow and arrow.
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Following is an excerpt from a primary source which refers to the way the Powhatans in
Virginia in the 1600s gathered food. The writer was Englishman William Strachey, who
settled at Jamestown. This was written in 1609.
“… albeit they have great store of turkeys; nor keep birds, squirrels, nor
tame partridges, swan, duck, nor geese. In March they live much upon
their weirs and feed on fish, turkeys, squirrels, and then, as also in May
they plant their fields and set their corn, and live after those months most
off acorns, walnuts, chestnuts, chechinquamins, and fish.”
Translation for kindergarten students:
An English colonist named William Strachey saw lots of turkeys running around the
village where the Powhatan Indians lived. He also noticed that the turkeys, ducks, birds,
and squirrels were not kept in a fence but allowed to run around freely. When the
Powhatan Indians needed food to eat, they would go out and catch the animals. During
the month of May, he saw the Indians planting corn in their fields.
Source: http://www.historicjamestown.com/learn/pdf/elementary_school/45_powhatan_living.pdf
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Mystery Box as a catalyst
Corn Cob Dart
33
Directions: After the teacher dictates the question to students, they will draw a picture.
Name____________________________
Date ________________
Essay Question
Draw a picture of Powhatan boys playing one of their favorite games.
34
Assessment #1
Directions: After the teacher dictates the question to students, they will circle the correct
answers below.
1)
(2)
The ostrich is _______ the tree.
e)
f)
g)
h)
The eagle is _____ the tree.
above
far from
behind
on the right side of
(3)
a) above
b) in front of
c) below
d) on the right side of
(4)
The owl is _______ the tree
e)
f)
g)
h)
behind
in front of
on the left side of
on the right side of
The man is _____ the tree.
a) near
b) far from
c) above
d) on the right side of
35
5. What was this Powhatan pot made out of?
e)
f)
g)
h)
plastic
rubber
clay
sand
6. Pocahontas helped keep peace between the Powhatan Indians and English settlers by
a)
b)
c)
d)
being kind to the English settlers.
fighting with the English settlers.
teasing the English settlers.
running away from the English settlers.
36
Assessment #2
Directions: After the teacher dictates the question to students, they will draw a picture.
Essay Question
Draw a picture of Powhatan boys playing one of their favorite games.
37
Bibliography
The American Indians. (2010). Capt John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail.
Retrieved February 17,2010, from http://www.smithtrail.net/nativeamericans/natives-and-smith/smith-powhatan-pocahontas.aspx
Axtell, J. (1995). The rise and fall of the Powhatan empire: Indians in the
seventeenth-century Virginia. Williamsburg: The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.
Boraas, T. (2003). The Powhatan: A confederacy of Native American tribes.
Mankato: Bridgestone Books.
Brown, K.M. (2000). Women in early Jamestown. Retrieved February 17, 2010, from
http://www.virtualjamestown.org/essays/brown_essay.html
Claiborne, R. (1973). The emergence of man: The first Americans. New York: TimeLife Books.
Feest, C.F. (1990). The Powhatan tribes. New York: Chelsea House Publishers.
Jamestown settlement. (2006). Jamestown- Yorktown Foundation. Retrieved February
17, 2010, from http://www.historyisfun.org/Jamestown-Settlement.htm
King William Historical Society. (2010). Retrieved February 17, 2010, from http:
http://kingwilliamhistory.org/historic_timeline.html
Kupperman, K.O. (2000). Indians and English meet on the James. Retrieved February
17, 2010, from http://www.virtualjamestown.org/essays/kupperman_essay.html
McDaniel, M. (1996). The Powhatan Indians. New York: Chelsea House Publishers.
National Center for History in the Schools. (2004). National standards for history for
grades K-4. Retrieved February 17, 2010, from http://nchs.ucla.edu/standards/
dev-k-4.html
38
Oswalt, W.H. (2002). This land was theirs: A study of Native Americans. Boston:
McGraw Hill.
Pritzker, B.M (1998). Native Americans, An encyclopedia of history, culture, and peoples
(Vol. 1). Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO.
Rountree, H.C. (1993). Powhatan: Foreign relations 1500-1722. Charlottesville:
University Press of Virginia.
Virginia Department of Education. (2010). Testing and standards of learning (SOL).
Retrieved February 17, 2010, from http://www.doe.virginia.gov
39
Appendix A: Standards
Introduction to History and Social Science
History
K.1
The student will recognize that history describes events and people of other
times and places by
(a) identifying examples of past events in legends, stories, and historical
accounts of Pocahontas.
(b) identifying the people and events honored by the holidays of Thanksgiving
Day.
K.2
The student will describe everyday life in the present and in the past and begin
to recognize that things change over time.
Geography
K.3
K.4
K.5
The student will describe the relative location of people, places, and things by
using positional words, with emphasis on near/far, above/below, left/right, and
behind/in front.
The student will use simple maps and globes to
a) develop an awareness that a map is a drawing of a place to show where
things are located and that a globe is a round model of the Earth;
b) describe places referenced in stories and real-life situations;
c) locate land and water features.
The student will develop an awareness that maps and globes
a) show a view from above;
b) show things in smaller size;
c) show the position of objects.
National State Standards
Standard 1A: The student understands family life now and in the recent past; family life
in various places long ago.
Standard 1B: The student understands the different ways people of diverse racial,
religious, and ethnic groups, and of various national origins have
transmitted their beliefs and values.
Standard 2A: The student understands the history of his or her local community
a) Create a historical narrative about the history of the Native Americans.
b) Identify historical figures in the local community and explain their
contributions and significance.
Standard 3A: The student understands the history of indigenous peoples who first lived in
his or her state or region and is able to
a) Draw upon data in paintings and artifacts to hypothesize about the
culture of the early Hawaiians or Native Americans who are known to
have lived in the state or region.
b) Draw upon legends and myths of the Native Americans who lived in
students' state or region in order to describe personal accounts of their
history.
40
Standard 3B: The student understands the history of the first European, African, and/or
Asian-Pacific explorers and settlers who came to his or her state or region.
a) Examine visual data in order to describe ways in which early settlers
adapted to, utilized, and changed the environment.
b) Analyze some of the interactions that occurred between the Native
Americans and the first European explorers and settlers in the students'
state or region.
Standard 4D: The student understands events that celebrate and exemplify fundamental
values and principles of American democracy and is able to
a) Describe the history of holidays, such as Thanksgiving
Standard 6A: The student understands folklore and other cultural contributions from
various regions of the United States and how they help to form a national
heritage is able to
a) Describe regional folk heroes, stories, or songs that have contributed to
the development of the cultural history of the U.S.
b) Draw upon a variety of stories, legends, songs, ballads, games, and tall
tales in order to describe the environment, lifestyles, beliefs, and struggles
of people in various regions of the country.
National Standards for Art Education (Visual Arts)
Visual Communication and Production
3.17 The student will identify how works of art reflect times, places, and
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Expenses
There were no expenses incurred in preparing this unit. All supplies were donated.
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