Reflection Paper: Exploring Native Americans
Because “Exploring Native Americans” project entailed in-depth research, it definitely expanded my knowledge about Native Americans because it brought me into their “world;” I learned about the tribes’ history, culture, language, geography, as well as the clothes they wore and the food they ate. Honestly, prior to this project, the only Native American tribe I had some prior knowledge about were the Iroquois. Afterwards, I gained an abundance of information about not only the Iroquois, but also about the Muskogee, Dine, and Tlingit. The pictures really attributed to helping me learn about each tribe, which is why I wish that there were pictures for every tribe within the presentation. By having a visual representation, (include something from book here). Furthermore, by having to physically research the Muskogee tribe, I learned a lot of information more so than I would by simply reading a passage from a textbook. By being exposed to an “exploration” of the Muskogee tribe, learning about the Native American tribes was an engaging, rather than a tiresome, task.
Pedagogical content is when learning is meaningful, integrative, value-based, challenging, and active (8). This assignment is meaningful because it builds upon students’ prior knowledge about Native Americans, as well as forces the students to make meaningful connections between Native Americans and their culture. This assignment is integrative because the social studies, reading, and writing are integrated within the assignment. As well, the use of technology and research are included within the assignment. When learning is value-based, it displays “daily decisions about democratic concepts and principles that respect the dignity and rights of individuals and common goods” (8). This assignment is value-based because by learning about the culture of the Native Americans, students are learning how to respect differences in cultures. Furthermore, by learning about the Indian Removal Act, students learn how this act invaded the “dignity and rights” of the Native Americans because it caused them to lose their land, as well as some aspects from their culture. This assignment was challenging because it entailed in-depth research. In order to find information about the tribes’ history, culture, language, food, clothes, as well as famous individuals from the tribe, extensive research was required because all of the answers were not exactly in front of your face. For example, when researching the Muskogee tribe, I discovered that Muskogee was also a location; therefore, when researching I had to be sure I was reading about the tribe rather than the place. This assignment was active because the students worked collaboratively within groups; they made inferences, connections, as well as shared information. 
Because the project was adapted for college students knowledge, some adaptations may be required to meet the skill level of 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade levels. Firstly, I would not recommend use of technology for 2nd, 3rd, and 4th graders because the use of computers can pose a distraction. Therefore, I would bring the students on a trip to the library to check out books about their Native American tribes. As for 5th graders, instead of allowing them to have “free range” of the computers, I would have one student from each group to be the computer user and would keep a close eye on the students to make sure they are staying on task. Also, instead of using powerpoint, I would have the students make posters using pictures they draw or print. The posters will be graded on the information, facts, pictures, and neatness. The students will present their projects in class, and their classmates will provide them with feedback - what they like about the project and what they could improve upon. Feedback cannot just be “good job” or “I liked it” because they need to provide the presenters with specific areas they did well on. The national standards that would be addressed are: Understand how culture and experience influence people's perceptions of places and regions, understand how to apply geography to interpret the past, and understand how to apply geography to interpret the present and plan for the future.The state standard that would be addressed is: Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of the geography of the interdependent world in which we live—local, national, and global—including the distribution of people, places, and environments over the Earth’s surface.
This projects forces students to make generalized concepts regarding geography. By focusing on the five themes, which are (1) Location, Position on the Earth’s Surface, (2) Place, Natural and Cultural Characteristics, (3) Relationships within Places, Humans and Environments, (4) Movement, Humans Interacting with Earth, and (5) Regions, How they Form and Change, students can make the generalization that geography has an impact on culture (373). The geography determines what Native American tribes wear for clothing, what language they speak, what type of housing they live in, as well as what they eat. For example, since the Muscogee largely inhabited in Southeast America (Georgia, Alabama, Florida, and North Carolina), the women were primarily gatherers, harvesting crops like beans, grain, and squash, while the men were hunters.
This project would help students learn geography because it teaches them where each tribe lived. Along with discovering where each tribe lived, it teaches the students about the landscape of the region they lived, such as the major mountains, river, and lakes. For example, the Dine tribes were located in northeast Arizona, northwest New Mexico and southeast Utah, which contained mountain peaks, grasslands, and deserts. As well where the tribes lived determines what types of homes they have because they used the resources of that area, such as the Dine whose homes were made out of sticks, brush, and packed Earth. Along with learning about the geography, it is discovered that the Indian Removal Act forced tribes to relocate; therefore, the students are forced to mentally or physically look at a map to determine the distance they were forced to move.
Resources
Sunal, Cynthia & Haas, Mary. Social Studies for the Elementary and Middle Grades: a
Constructivist Approach. Pearson Education: New York (2011). Print.
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