Native American Customs: A Thematic Unit Grades 1-3

November is right around the corner... I know crazy right? One more month and we'll be talking about turkeys, pilgrims and Native Americans! Speaking of Native Americans, I've created a thematic unit jammed packed with fun and engaging activities in reading, writing, math, science, poetry and social studies. If you LOVE teaching units cross curricular, then keep reading and enjoy the pics! 

In this packet are 18 days of lesson plans with mentor texts.  Each lesson plan has a step by step sequence of questions, activities, extensions, materials and examples with photos and templates. 

There are vocabulary cards for each Native American tribe: Plains, Northwest, Northeast, Southwest and Southeast regions. Each set of cards include the children, shelter, food and other items. There are also cards for the scientific method, corn life cycle and parts of corn. 

There are craftivities that I've created to accompany The Legend of the Bluebonnet and The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush. Theres also a Squanto Mobile, Thanksgiving Placemat, Corn in the Cornfield, and a Native American Tribe student book. 

After learning about Squanto and the first Thanksgiving,

the students make a mobile to hang in the classroom.

The students create a flip book of past and present homes: a tepee and a modern day house. Under the flaps they write a list of characteristics for each home and then in the middle they write a list of what's the same about both. It's actually like a Venn Diagram but in a flip book style. 

After reading the Legend of the Bluebonnet, we discuss beginning, middle and end and the students complete their template to glue on their craftivity. 

After reading The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush, the students complete their template about text connections, and glue it onto their craftivity. 

For the Native American book, the students will learn about each tribe and color pictures to glue into their book. Then complete a 4 square about the landforms, shelter, food and region. 

I've also created interactive notebook activities for poetry, math, science and social studies.

The best part about this packet???? Is the Thanksgiving Feast! Each year our students dress up like either a Native American or Pilgrim, they make a placemat to eat their trail mix and we gather in the cafeteria and recite Thanksgiving poems and sing songs. The parents come and join us and it's such a great gathering of friends and family!  Here is the placemat that I have my students make. I give them a cornicopia to color and cut out, they decorate the border with fall colored squares and then the fill out their template about what they are thankful for! Then they get to take it home and use it for their own Thanksgiving dinner! 

I hope you got some really good ideas about how to incorporate your Native American unit with cross curricular activities. If you are interested in checking out my unit, click below: 

Native American Culture: A Thematic Unit Grades 1-3

Love, Kara