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4th Grade Native American Indian Project

3/29/2016

by Alicia Bodine, Contributing Writer

Image © PublicDomainPictures, Public Domain Pixabay

Introducing the Topic

Discuss which Indians were native to your state. We live in New Jersey so our project was geared toward the Lenape Indians. Cover the Indian tribes way of life. What did they eat? How did they survive? How did they view the land and the animals? Make this project as educational for your students as possible. Give them some computer time to research the Indians they will be doing their report on.

It's Project Time

Create a list of instructions for your students and print them out. This way the student will be clear as to what should be included in the village and the parents will know how to help their children. Most parents will need to purchase some items for the project.

The project should include the following instructions:

This village needs to be 3 dimensional. That means whatever you use to put your pieced on needs to be thick and sturdy. You can use a piece of wood you may have around the house or a thick piece of cardboard.
Include a river. Rivers were essential for the Indian's survival. It doesn't matter if you paint the river, color the river, or use some sort of blue cloth to create the river. That is where each student's individuality comes in. Indians used canoes so there should be one somewhere near the river. My daughter made her canoe out of brown clay. You can also make one out of wood or use a toy canoe.
Include a garden where the women and children grew their vegetables. You can buy little vegetables. The best time to get some little pumpkins, apples, and berries is Halloween and Thanksgiving time. Craft stores have them in abundance. If you don't have the money to buy any you can make them out of pieces of paper and just paint them.
Research the type of home your Native Indians lived in and create some. My daughter made her's out of brown clay. I have seen some made out of toothpicks. Be creative, but remember it must be 3 dimensional and not just a painted picture.
Make sure somewhere in the distance you include animals and a forest. Indians were hunters and they hunted their animals in the forest. They used all kinds of animals for food, clothing, and parts of their shelter.
Include several Indians. There should be male, female, and Indian children in your village. You can buy some Indians or make some yourself.
Add some other items associated with your tribe of Indians. Bows and arrows, Axes, weaved baskets, and campfires should all be considered. We even had a little pot hanging over the campfire.

Decide ahead of time how many points each of the above aspects should account for.

Assessment & Tips

Make sure the total equals 100 points. You can give children an added 5-10 points for creativity if warranted.
Bring in some extra items in case there are some children in the class who can not afford to do this project at home. It will give them a little encouragement and help make them feel more comfortable about doing the project.
Let the parents know that many little figures can be purchased at craft stores. We got all of our Indians and animals from the craft store as well as the campfire, axe, basket, vegetables, and clay.

This article was previous published on the Yahoo Contributor Network.

Using Your Child's Interests to Enhance Learning

3/3/2016

Easy, Fun Ways to Teach Your Child

by Lyn Lomasi, Write W.A.V.E. Media Staff

Your child is special and unique and should be taught accordingly. We all face the struggle of trying to get our children to memorize their facts and do their homework. We spend so much time searching for a better answer. I like the method of using a child's interests to enhance learning. While I can't guarantee you that my answer is the only answer, I can guarantee you that it's at least worth a try. Your child will definitely have fun and probably learn some things along the way.

So, what is this secret method? Well, it may not be a secret, but sometimes we don't think about it. What I suggest doing is keying in on your child's interests to form your lesson plans. This can work for homeschool or just plain studying. First, you should make a list of the top ten things your child enjoys the most. Next, using this list, think of ways you can use these interests to help your child learn. Here's an example of a miniature plan for a hypothetical child named Johnny.

Find your child's key interests and use them to teach him lessons. Johnny enjoys swimming, playing basketball, video games, visiting the park, climbing trees, and many other outdoor activities. Johnny is struggling in multiplication and division. He also hates to read. His mom decides to take him to the park and play a game of basketball with him. During basketball, she asks him "If I can make 3 baskets in 5 minutes, how many baskets can I make in fifteen minutes?" Well, Johnny is confused, so his mom says, "All you have to do is see how many 5s it takes to make fifteen by skip counting first." Johnny's answer is 3, so his mom then says "So, if I make 3 baskets 3 times, what does that give me. You can count by 3s." When Johnny answers "9", his mother is very happy.

Keep up the rhythm to enhance learning skills. In Johnny's case, his mom continues to play games like this with him, being sure to show him visually what she is talking about. For reading, Johnny's mom purchases a few different computer games that enhance reading and comprehension because Johnny likes video games. Since he likes games with action, she makes sure that all the games have plenty of that. The video games are played at least 3 times per week. She also makes sure that Johnny has fun practice for both subjects every day. Sometimes the games she makes up are the same and sometimes they're not.

Keep it fun and consistent. As you can see, Johnny's mom has begun to draw on her son's interests to get him more interested in learning. It's just as simple for you to do the same. Your games can be simple or complex. Gear the complexity around you and your child. Don't make learning seem like a chore. Make it fun and your child will view it as such. During homework time, play little games with the homework problems. Just be creative at all times, always drawing on your child's interests. When your child starts to get excited wondering what you will do each day, instead of groaning about the homework, that's when you know you've made a real difference.

4th Grade Native American Indian Project

Using Your Child's Interests to Enhance Learning

Easy, Fun Ways to Teach Your Child

Heart 'N Mind Homeschool Journal

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Using Your Child's Interests to Enhance Learning

Easy, Fun Ways to Teach Your Child

Heart 'N Mind Homeschool Journal

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4th Grade Native American Indian Project