“Tepees, Headdresses, and Savage People: Righting the Stereotypes of the Wampanoag People”
Image Credit: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3069/3030809583_2ca2f27656_o.jpg
Grade Level: Third
Time Frame: 45 minutes
Broad Goals:
Students will understand that the Pilgrims were not the first inhabitants of the Massachusetts Bay area.
Students will know the type of Native Americans that inhabited the area where the Pilgrims landed.
Students will identify the different types of housing both the Pilgrims and Native Americans typically used while living on Plimoth Plantation.
Students will compare the lifestyles of the Native Americans and the Pilgrims.
Students will appreciate the similarities and differences between the Pilgrims and Wampanoag people.
Social Studies Goals:
State Goal 16: Understand events, trends, individuals and movements shaping the history of Illinois, the United States, and other nations.
Learning Standard A: Apply the skills of historical analysis and interpretation.
Benchmark 16.A.1c: Describe how
people in different times and places viewed the world in different ways.
State Goal 18: Understand social systems, with an emphasis on the United States.
Learning Standard C: Understand how social systems form and develop over time.
Benchmark 18.C.1: Describe how
individuals interacted within groups to make choices regarding food,
clothing, and shelter.
NCSS Standard II: Time, Continuity, and Change.
Early Grades D: Identify and use various sources for reconstructing the past, such as documents, letters, diaries, maps, textbooks, photos, and others.
NCSS Standard: Culture
Early Grades D: Compare ways
in which people from different cultures think about and deal with their
physical environment and social conditions;
Lesson Objective:
During the lesson the students will be able to:
Materials:
ABC Chart
Map of the Wampanoag nation
Pictures of Pilgrim dwellings
Pictures of Weetu dwellings
Pictures of Pilgrim clothes
Pictures of Wampanoag clothes
White board
Dry erase markers
Reward feathers
Venn Diagrams
Colored Pencils
Pencil
Resources:
Pictures:
http://fc04.deviantart.com/
http://i.pbase.com/g6/13/
http://isisfiredancer.
http://pokanoket.us/graphics/
http://sarahyarwood.info/
http://skandranon.deviantart.
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.
http://www.umt.edu/urelations/
http://z.about.com/d/
http://z.about.com/d/
Historical Information:
(All historical information is attached and highlighted)
http://www.native-languages.
http://www.native-languages.
http://www.plimoth.org/
http://www.plimoth.org/kids/
http://www.plimoth.org/kids/
http://www.plimoth.org/kids/
Worksheets:
http://www.andreeinstitute.
http://www.plimoth.org/kids/
http://www.nativetech.org/
Focusing Activity:
“Last week during our lesson, we learned a little bit about the Pilgrims, Plimoth Plantation, and the area in which Plimoth Plantation is located. This week we will be learning about the Wampanoag people. Can anyone think of who the Wampanoag people might be? (The Indians that the Pilgrims were friends with.) That is a start. The Wampanoag people are the Native inhabitants of the Massachusetts Bay. Today, we are going to go back in time and see how the Wampanoag and Pilgrim people lived."
Purpose & Importance of Lesson:
“The Wampanoag are actually very important to the story of the Pilgrims. Without their help, the Pilgrims might not have survived and thrived in their new home. How do you think the Wampanoag people helped the Pilgrim settlers? (The Pilgrims did not know how to farm and the Indians helped them to learn how to plant food.) Very good, that is one way the Wampanoag helped the Pilgrims. We will learn more about how the Wampanoag helped the Pilgrims in a later lesson. Today, it is important that we learn the proper name when referring to “Indians.” The Wampanoag prefer to be called “native people” because the term “Indian,” today refers to people who come from India. This lesson will help us learn more about the Wampanoag and how the Pilgrims and Wampanoag were both alike and different.”
Content Knowledge:
“It is important that we identify the two main people in the Massachusetts Bay area at the time when the Pilgrims landed.
Can anyone share with us those two groups of people? (The Pilgrims and the Wampanoag.”
Correct, the two groups of people were the native people, the Wampanoag people and the new comers, the Pilgrims.
There are many differences between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag. Including the types of places they live, the food they eat, the clothes they wear, and the languages they speak.
First, let’s learn how to pronounce Wampanoag. (Show students the word Wampanoag on the white board and pronounce each syllable).
Wampanoag can be said two ways. (Say wamp-a-NO-ag or WAMP-ah-nog and explain that "wamp" rhymes with "stomp.") The Wampanoag people are also considered “The People of the First Light.”
The name Wampanoag means “easterners.” Why do you think the Wampanoag were called “easterners?”(Show map) (They were from the Eastern part of the country.)
Why do you think the Wampanoag are called “The People of the First Light?” (The Wampanoag were the first Native American tribe?) The sun rises in the East and therefore, the Wampanoag are the first people to see the light, or the sun, when it rises each day.
(Show the map of the Wampanoag Nation.) The Wampanoag Nation was indeed located in the Eastern part of the United States, as we can see here (point out where the Wampanoag ) the Wampanoag Nation was quite large.
How many people do you think lived in the Wampanoag Nation? (100?)
In the 1600s there were over 40,000 people and sixty-seven villages within the Wampanoag Nation.
How many Wampanoag do you think are alive today? (None.) Today, there are four to five thousand Wampanoag living today. Wow, that is 35,000 fewer people than in the 1600s when the Wampanoag Nation was thriving.
Yet, the Wampanoag of today are very different from the Wampanoag of the 1600s we are learning about. Starting with their homes, or dwellings.
The Wampanoag people are seasonal dwellers. What do you think a “seasonal dweller” is? (Someone who lives somewhere during a season.) Very good, season dwellers are people who move from different areas during different seasons.
The Wampanoag people lived in forests/valleys in winter. During the summer, spring and fall the Wampanoag people moved to the rivers, ponds, and ocean where they could fish and harvest cranberries, a favorite treat of the Wampanoag.
Do we still eat cranberries today? (Yes.) What kinds of ways do we use cranberries in food? (Cranberries during Thanksgiving.) Very good, we also use cranberries as snacks.
Today, Ms. Milen and I have provided you with a modern-day cranberry snack to enjoy, craisins.
Now that we have covered where the Wampanoag lived, we need to cover what they lived in. The Pilgrims created villages rather than living in the forest for one season and by water for the rest like the Wampanoag. The Pilgrims’ villages looked something like this. (Show picture of Pilgrim village.)
The Wampanoag, on the other hand, built their homes for temporary use. What kind of houses do you think the Wampanoag people lived in? (Teepees.)
Teepees are not what the Wampanoag people lived in. Instead, the Wampanoag lived in small houses, or huts, called weetu. (Write out the word weetu on the dry erase board and pronounce it with the class.)
The weetu were houses made out of deer hide, tree branches, and other animal furs (such as rabbit).
The Pilgrims lived in their villages in houses made of similar materials that the Wampanoag used. These houses had no specific name, but there were two types of houses built: subterranean, meaning below the earth and the frame house, which is similar to houses built today.
What are some similarities between the Wampanoag and the Pilgrim houses? (Write down on the white board similarities and differences).
Very good, there are more differences between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag, including their clothing. What do you think the Wampanoag made their clothing out of? (Animals.) Very good, the Wampanoag men traditionally wore a piece of clothing called “breechcloth.” Breechcloth was made from deerskin or other animal furs. This is what a breechcloth looks like (show picture of breechcloth). The men also wore leggings, made of the same materials during the winter to keep their legs warm.
Sometimes, the men wore an apron over their breechcloth for special occasions. Women wore breechcloths underneath their skirts or dresses made out of animal hides.
These clothes had colors from nature. What kinds of colors would you find in nature? (Blue, green, red, orange, yellow!) All those colors are found in nature. The Wampanoag often used animal hides therefore, their clothes often resembled animal fur. Also, the Wampanoag used berries to dye their clothing colors. With these berries, the Wampanoag would have red clothes, brown, and black.
Pilgrims, on the other hand, wore extremely conservative clothes. These clothes covered all parts of their body. Their clothes looked like this. (Show clothes). The Pilgrims brought over dyes from England and introduced the Wampanoag to the color blue.
Besides their dwellings, clothes, and habits, the Pilgrims and Wampanoag also spoke different languages. This put a barrier between the two peoples. The Pilgrims spoke a version of English that is very close to our English of today. The Pilgrims did have some different words, such as a Cat would be called “Mouser.” Say it with me, “Mouser.” A skirt would be called, “Petticoat.” Can you say, “Petticoat” with me? (Petticoat.) Today, we say “backward,” but the Pilgrims would say, “arsy varsy.” Say it with me, “arsy varsy.” Now you can use some of those words at the dinner table tonight or while you are playing with your little “mouser.”
Do you remember any of the words from our presentation? (Fare the well, Huzzah, etc.)
The Wampanoag people spoke a language that we will call Wampanoag, just like their name. We are going to look at some of the words they used for animals. (Show students the sheet of animals and their Wampanoag names.)”
Response Activity:
We are going to compare the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag on this Venn Diagram. We will discuss as a group the similarities and the differences between the two groups and then decide what we want to share on our Venn Diagrams. We will write clearly and neatly.
Now, we are going to color our pictures of the Wampanoag clothes and on the back of these pictures we are going to write the name of the clothes and what the clothes are made out of.
Finally, we are going to start an ABC Chart about Plimoth Plantation. We must remember to write small and clearly. (Use a partially completed ABC Chart and ask the students what they might put in their ABC Charts)
Modeling:
The Wampanoag clothes will already be colored and the information will be on the back of them. Also, I will be modeling how to complete a Venn Diagram. Also, the ABC Chart will also have some of the information filled out for the students to look at for an example.
Conclusion:
“Today we have discussed many of the aspects of the Wampanoag and Pilgrim cultures. I hope that you have learned that the Wampanoag and the Pilgrims may have some differences, but they also have much in common. Most importantly, the Wampanoag and Pilgrim people are all human beings with different cultures, but they worked hard to overcome to embrace their differences and work together peacefully.”
