Worksheet

Unit of Study:           Pre- and Post Encounter Art of the Early Americas

Lesson Title:            Who are the Native Americans and how have they influenced me?

Subject Area(s):       Social Studies, Reading/English Language Arts, and Fine Arts

Grade Level:            Second grade

Author:                    Anya Barnes

County:                   Prince George’s County

Length of Time:        One 45-minute session for each book

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Abstract:

The Aztec empire was very powerful in central Mexico during the fourteenth through fifteenth centuries. During the conquest, Spanish conquistadors defeated Indian civilizations while attempting to eradicate their cultural traditions such as songs, dance, languages, myths, etc. Students will gain an understanding of this era and culture through texts and correlation of real-life examples.

Background:

The purpose of this lesson is to give students insight of the indigenous people of North and South America (Aztec, Mayans, Powhatan, Cherokee, Inuit, etc.) and the commonalities of the cultures. Students will listen to and/or read from the selection of stories listed that display the indigenous people and reflect on their cultural history and customs.

Students will gain an understanding of how the indigenous group were has influenced our culture today such as through art, and storytelling.
This lesson is focusing on Musicians of the Sun by Gerald McDermott.

Materials:

Cultural music of the indigenous or music of nature sounds including simple instruments
World map
Books of the indigenous (may use books listed below)
Acrostic poem worksheet
Pencils
Paper
Crayons

Resources:
 
Hoffman, Mary. Earth, Fire, Water, Air.
            New York: Dutton Children’s Books, 1995.

McDermott, Gerald. Musicians of the Sun.
            New York: Simon & Schuster, 1997.

Vidal, Beatriz. The Legend of El Dorado.
            New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1991.

United Streaming (videos: 1. “The Native Americans”; 2. “The Aztecs”):  www.unitedstreaming.com

Dumbarton Oaks & Textiles Museum photos  
 

Standards/Learner Outcomes:

Music:
 
1.0 Perceiving, Performing, and Responding: Aesthetic Education – Students will demonstrate the ability to perceive, perform, and respond to music.
1. Develop awareness of the characteristics of musical sounds and silence, and the diversity of sounds in the environment.
d. Identify and describe environmental sounds.

2.0 Historical, Cultural, and Social Context: Students will demonstrate an understanding of music as an essential aspect of history and human experience.
1. Develop the ability to recognize music as a form of individual and cultural expression through experiencing music as both personal and societal expression.
b. Sing, listen to, and examine music representative of different activities, holidays, and seasons in a variety of world cultures.

Visual Arts:

1.0 Perceiving and Responding: Aesthetic Education – Students will demonstrate the ability to perceive, interpret, and respond to ideas, experiences, and the environment through visual art.

1. Identify, describe, and interpret observed form.
a. Describe colors, lines, shapes, textures, forms, and space found in observed objects and the environment.
b. Represent observed physical qualities of people, animals, and objects in the environment using color, line, shape, texture, form, and space.

2. Identify and compare ways in which selected artworks represent what people see, know, feel, and imagine.
a. Describe how artists use color, line, shape, texture, form, and space to represent what people, see, know, feel, and imagine.
b. Use color, line, shape, texture, form, and space to represent ideas visually from observation, memory, and imagination.

3. Apply the elements of art and principles of design to develop personally meaningful compositions.
a. Identify how the elements of art and principles of design are used to communicate personal meaning in visual compositions.

Social Studies:
 
2.0 Peoples of the Nation and World
Students will understand how people in Maryland, the United States and around the world are alike and different.

A. Elements of Culture

1. Analyze elements of two different cultures and how each meets their human needs and contributes to the community.

Use fiction and nonfiction to compare the elements of two different cultures, how they meet their human needs for food, shelter, and other commonalities such as recreation, music and stories.

1. Explain ways people of different ages and/or cultural backgrounds can respect and help to pass on traditions and customs.

B. Cultural Diffusion

1. Explain that individuals and groups share and borrow from other cultures to form a community.

Give examples of how families in the community share and borrow customs and traditions from other cultures.

C. Conflict, Cooperation, and Compromise
           
1. Analyze ways in which people interact.
Identify and demonstrate appropriate social skills necessary for working in a cooperative group, such as sharing concern care, and respect among group members.
Analyze how different points of view in school situations may result in compromise or conflict.

Fine Arts and Content Objectives/Skills:

Students will:

1. Develop awareness of the characteristics of musical sounds, and the diversity of sounds in the environment in order to identify and describe environmental sounds.

2. Develop the ability to recognize music as a form of individual and cultural expression through experiencing music as both personal and societal expression in order to listen to, and examine music representative of different activities, holidays, and seasons in a variety of world cultures.  

3. Identify, describe, and interpret observed form in order to describe colors, lines, shapes, textures, forms, and space found in observed objects and the environment.

4. Identify and compare ways in which selected artworks represent what people see, know, feel, and imagine in order to describe artists use color, line, shape, texture, form, and space to represent what people, see, know, feel, and imagine.

5. Students will understand how people in Maryland, the United States and around the world are alike and different in order to compare the elements of two different cultures, how they meet their human needs for food, shelter, and other commonalities such as recreation, music and stories.

Keywords/Vocabulary:

Indigenous
Cloak
Culture
Horizon
Native Americans
Conquistadors
Mayans
Bellowed
Aztecs
Missionaries
Tradition

Motivation:

To engage students and help make personal connections to the lesson, they will be asked to share about a time when they lost something that was important to them and reflect on how they felt. Furthermore, students will be asked to imagine if their home was invaded by strangers, and they were forced live life as their intruders.

Teacher will explain that just as they have lost objects that were important to them, the indigenous people of the Americas also lost things of importance such as their traditional customs, songs/dances, language etc. during the conquest.

Teacher will introduce and give history of the Aztec empire and how they were affected by Spanish conquistadors in order to build background knowledge (united streaming videos can be used to support explanation of the Native Americans; Aztecs). Teacher will introduce Musicians of the Sun by Gerald McDermott, explaining that it is a lost story of the mythological traditions of the Aztecs.

Students listen/observe, and interpret stories, drawings and symbols of the indigenous peoples. 

Teacher Directed Activity:  Teacher will read/discuss selected story and view artifacts of the indigenous people.

Guided Practice:  Teacher will assist students in brainstorming ideas for acrostic poems

Independent Practice:  Students will create acrostic poems (using characters from selected stories), and extended writing activities i.e. write your own ending to a selected story.

Assessment:

Informal- Teacher observation (student details provided in acrostic poems, student responses to activities)

Closure/Reflection:
The indigenous people of North and South America played an important part in the history of the world today.  Languages and lives were lost, however their art such as mythological traditions (stories), pottery, symbols, and patterns (weaving etc.) plays an important role in our everyday lives.