How To Teach History At The Museum Of The Rockyand

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1 Museum of the Rockies Teacher Resources ENDURING PEOPLES EXHIBIT: Meeting the Basic Needs 6 th 8 th Grade Exhibit Overview: The Enduring Peoples exhibit shows that, despite hundreds of years of persecution, Indian cultures are still in existence, not as they were 100 years ago, but still enduring. The languages still are spoken, religious practices occur, and traditional notions of family are being lived. To underline that point, each panel has a final line with the heading of TODAY which explains how certain traditional ideas are still active today. The Enduring Peoples exhibit does not focus on any single tribal group in this region. Instead, the exhibit deals with the similarities among the various tribes of the Northern Plains and Rockies. This neglects the many unique elements of each culture. Please make sure to address this issue with your class before you visit the Museum. Lesson Description: Explore the permanent exhibition of Montana's Plains Indian cultures with grade-appropriate lessons specifically tailored for the. Student s grade six through eight will have the opportunity to discover ways Plains Indians from met basic human needs. Pre-lessons and extensions are provided to maximize each school s visit to the Museum and student learning. Goals: Students will be given the opportunity to: 1. Discover basic human needs are universal across all cultures. 2. Investigate how the Enduring Peoples exhibits can provide historical evidence to demonstrate cultural universals. 3. Reflect on ways different cultures meet basic human needs. Objectives: Students will be able to: 1. Identify four universal basic human needs. 2. Find examples in the exhibit that demonstrate universal human needs. 3. Analyze cultural context within basic human needs. Essential Understandings Addressed: EU 1, 2, 4-6 Montana Social Studies Standards/Benchmarks Addressed: Standard 1, Benchmark 8.1 Standard 4, Benchmark 8.2 Standard 6, Benchmark 8.4 Vocabulary: Basic needs Bias Culture Stereotypes Visible Culture Invisible aspects of culture

2 PRE-LESSON DETAILS: Materials: Comparing Cultures worksheet attached Knowing your Vocabulary worksheet attached Introduction to Basic Human Needs All cultures must meet the basic human needs. How those people meet those basic human needs may vary from culture to culture. As students visit the Enduring Peoples exhibit at the Museum of the Rockies they will be able to investigate how the Plains Indian tribes from approximately met the basic human needs. Basic Human Needs: There are four universal needs that must be met by all people. These four basic universal needs are: 1.The need for food and water (economics) 2. The need for protection from the elements (clothing and housing) 3. The need to reproduce a culture (marriage, kinship, education) 4. The need for explanation (religion, philosophy, science). Have students brainstorm their idea of what the basic human needs are and list them on the board. In-Class exercise: Cultural influences on meeting basic human needs. Begin the lesson with asking the following leading questions and make a list on the board: 1. What do humans need to survive? 2. Have humans always needed these items for survival? 3. How do humans meet these needs both currently and historically? Knowing Your Vocabulary worksheet (attached) Have students brainstorm ideas of definitions of the following vocabulary words. These vocabulary words will enhance students understanding of the dynamics of culture. Basic needs needs that must be met by all individuals for survival Stereotypes - a simplified and standardized conception or image invested with special meaning and held in common by members of a group Bias - a particular tendency or inclination, esp. one that prevents unprejudiced consideration of a question; prejudice. Visible Culture aspects of culture that are identifiable and tangible. Culture - the customs, beliefs, laws, ways of living, and all other results of human work and thought that belong to people of the same society Invisible aspects of culture aspects of culture that are often intangible and unseen. Spirituality can be considered and invisible aspect of culture. Museum of the Rockies Teaching Resources Page 2 of 11

3 Comparing Cultures worksheet (attached) Once students have completed the Knowing Your Vocabulary worksheet and the class has a sufficient understanding of the basic needs of all cultures, turn their attention to the Comparing Culture worksheet. In pairs or small groups have students work through this worksheet. Students are to list a class agreed upon list of basic needs from the list on the board for all cultures in the far left column. In the second column, indentify a culture that your class may have studied or Us (this being the culture that they live in currently). The third column will be Plains Indians from approximately 1600s-1800s. Students will then list ways in which each of these cultures met their basic needs. For example, in the Us column and the basic need for food students may write grocery stores. For the Plains Indians column they may write hunting. It is very important to stress throughout this lesson that Native Americans are very much a part of Montana culture as a whole and have a very vibrant culture within individual tribes. Wrap-up Students can be instructed when they visit the Museum they will be focusing on how Plains Indians meet their basic needs and will be asked to find examples of their findings throughout the exhibit. Museum of the Rockies Teaching Resources Page 3 of 11

4 LESSON DETAILS: Materials: Enduring Peoples Historical Investigation Worksheet (attached) Pencil NO PENS ALLOWED IN EXHIBIT SPACE Notebook to use as writing surface Welcome: Welcome the students to the Museum and cover behavior expectations if not already addressed. Guide the students to the Enduring Peoples exhibit. Split your class into four smaller groups and spread them throughout the exhibit space to complete the worksheet. Groups will rotate as they complete each section of the worksheet. Introduction: Revisiting culture and basic human needs Have students recall the four basic needs for human survival that was covered in the previous lesson. 1. Economics - food and water; 2. Protection from elements - clothing and housing; 3. Reproduce culture - marriage, kinship, education; and 4. Explanation religion, science, philosophy. Historical Investigation worksheet (attached) Four areas in this exhibit will help students discover some ways in which Plains Indian Tribes were successful in meeting the four basic human needs. Have students complete the Enduring People Historical Investigation worksheet. This activity can be teacher/chaperone lead or a student lead discovery. However, please have a chaperone with each group of students if you choose to have students complete the Enduring Peoples worksheet with their own investigation. Please do not leave student groups unattended. The staff at Museum of the Rockies thanks you. Wrap-up: Collect your group for a group discussion of the exhibit. Recap the four basic human needs with the class and have them give examples of what they have found. Covering the entirety of the exhibit worksheet may have to be done back at the classroom. Museum of the Rockies Teaching Resources Page 4 of 11

5 EXTENSIONS: Writing Workshops: Students can be asked to write a short interpretation of their visit to MOR. Have students use their worksheets to answer the following question. The Plains Indians from met each of the four different universal basic human needs in culturally different ways than the us culture meets basic human needs. Describe one way which each of those basic human needs were met and how they differ from the us culture. American Indian Speakers Invite an American Indian into your classroom to speak on current cultural styles and how much of the traditional American Indian culture is still thriving today. Contact a tribal college in your area or Montana State University or University of Montana Native American Studies programs for information on possible speakers. Museum of the Rockies Teaching Resources Page 5 of 11

6 RESOURCES: Bryan, William L. Jr. Montana Indians: Yesterday and Today. 2 nd edition. American & World Geographic Publishing: Merrill-Maker, Andrea. Montana: People and Their Stories. The Grace Dangberg Foundation, Inc Montana Indians: Their History and Location. Montana Office of Public Instruction, Division of Indian Education. January Museum of the Rockies Teaching Resources Page 6 of 11

7 NAME: Teacher: Knowing your Vocabulary Directions: You and your class should have six new vocabulary words written on the board in the classroom. Copy those words in the vocabulary word column and brainstorm as a class the best definition for that word might be. Vocabulary Word Definition Basic Needs Museum of the Rockies Teaching Resources Page 7 of 11

8 NAME Teacher: Comparing Cultures Directions: In the basic needs column, write the four basic needs that you have discusses in class. In the middle column, write the name of a group of people or culture that you are studying. For each basic need describe how each culture has met that basic need. Basic Need Plains Indians 1600s-1800s Museum of the Rockies Teaching Resources Page 8 of 11

9 NAME Teacher Enduring Peoples Historical Investigation Worksheet Answer the following questions about each exhibit space. Your goal is to find examples of how Plains Indians from the 1600s-1800s met the universal basic needs of all human beings. Hunter with atlatl: This is a representation of a Paleo-Indian that may have moved through the area 11,000 years ago. However, this Paleo-Indian is a representation of the ancestral family of the Plains Indians of more recent history. List the objects you see on this platform that you think may be evidence of the way that basic needs could have been met for the Plains Indian tribes. With the objects that you have listed above, describe the way those objects have changed and adapted over time. What do these objects tell us, in general, about Plains Indians culture from the 1600s-1800s. Woman working on hide: Please pay special attention to the picture mural behind this platform. It may help you find more evidence for the way that the Plains Indian tribes met basic needs. Describe the work that is taking place on this platform and in the picture mural. What gender has been tasked with these jobs? What are the main basic needs that are being met by these tasks? Museum of the Rockies Teaching Resources Page 9 of 11

10 What can the above evidence tell us about Plains Indian tribal culture? Stories to Teach and Entertain panel & Cooperative Social Groups panel: Carefully read these panels and answer the following questions. Stories to Teach and Entertain panel: Oral tradition is very important to the Plains Indian Tribes. What purpose do oral stories serve the Plains Indian Tribes? What basic human need is met through the oral tradition of stories among Plains Indian Tribes? Cooperative Social Groups panel: Name the two types of cooperative social groups that are common among Plains Indian tribes What do the Plains Indians consider a society? Why it is important to Plains Indians to have these social groups and what basic human need do these social groups fill? Museum of the Rockies Teaching Resources Page 10 of 11

11 Seeking Spiritual Knowledge panel: Read the following panel carefully and answer the following questions. What is a vision and how do westerners view a vision? How do Plains Indians view a vision? Why do Plains Indians feel that it is important to have a vision? What basic human need does seeking spiritual knowledge meet for Plains Indian tribes? Museum of the Rockies Teaching Resources Page 11 of 11