Clash of Cultures

Teacher: Fatemh Reslan

Date: October 23rd, 2014

Setting: Classroom

Grade Level: Third Grade Topic/Unit: Life of Native Americans and Colonists
Core Subject: Social Studies

I.

Content/Rational:

There were people living in North America long before the arrival of colonists from
European countries. Native Americans or often known as Native Americans established their own
life in addition their own way of living including a social, political, and economic system. With the
arrival of colonists, there were obvious differences between the two cultural groups. With this
lesson, students will explore the different perspectives of Native Americans and colonists and the
cultural differences and even clashes that had occurred.
II.

Concepts/Goals:

Compare lifestyle and customs of Native American Indians and Colonists living
during the Colonial time period from readings in Social Studies text, web site, and
classroom resources.
Create a short script explaining the clash of the two cultures.
Describe differences in colonial and native peoples social culture and technology.
Incorporate technology to enhance student performances through exposure to
listening and viewing a presentation on a web site.

III.

Objective:
Students will be able to complete an essay comparing and contrasting the culture of
Native Americans and Colonists.

IV.

GLCEs

3 H3.0.1
3 H3.0.5
3 H3.0.6
V.

Identify questions historians ask in examining the past in Michigan (e.g. what
happened? When did it happen? Who was involved? How and why did it happen?)
Use informational text and visual data to compare how American Indians and
settlers in the early history of Michigan adapted to, used, and modified their
environment.
Use a variety of sources to describe interactions that occurred between American
Indians and the first European explorers and settlers in Michigan.

Development of Lesson
A. Pre-Teaching activities-Classroom modification:
Fatemh Reslan

http://parks.sandi.net/Pages/Williamsburg/Site%202/Movie%27s.html
o Students will watch the videos on this page prior to starting the lesson.
B. Introduction
Something to think about:
Think of the video. We discussed how many people who we called colonists came to this
land. We also discussed how there were people called Natives already living here. Why do
you think that the colonists came? List some reasons. How do you think the Natives felt?
List some feelings.
Students will then do a share pair (share with a partner)
We will then discuss it as a class
Show map of tribes then map of colonies that were formed showing the clashes in those
areas (Page 5 and Page 9 of the book American History Homework)
Read poem Indian by Stephen Vincent Benet
o Poem is in the perspective of a colonist describing an Native (discuss with class)
o Questions in comparing the two groups in what they wore, what they did, what they
ate, etc.
C. Learning Resources and Materials
Costumes materials (Hat, headband, vest, etc.)
Paper and pencil for essays
Website: For video, and examples of Natives and Colonists
http://parks.sandi.net/Pages/Williamsburg/Site%202/Welcome.html
BOOKS: The following are listed
Zeman, Anne, and Kate Kelly. Everything You Need to Know about American
History Homework. New York: Scholastic Reference, 2005. Print.
Grimm, Joe. Michigan Voices: Our State's History in the Words of the People
Who Lived It. Detroit, MI: Detroit Free, 1987. Print.
Freedman, Russell. Who Was First?: Discovering the Americas. New York:
Clarion, 2007. Print.
Hart, Avery, and Michael P. Kline. Who Really Discovered America?:
Unraveling the Mystery & Solving the Puzzle. Charlotte, VT: Williamson Pub.,
2001. Print.
Taylor, Colin F., and William C. Sturtevant. The Native Americans: The
Indigenous People of North America. New York: Smithmark, 1991. Print.

D. Methods/Procedures
Students will be count one to five (All the ones will be group together, all the twos together,
all threes together, etc.) Making the order random so that students can collaborate with
new peers for every project.
In groups students will create a script describing an interaction between the Native
Americans and the colonists.
The guidelines for the script are:
o Must be at least twenty lines of dialogue
o There must be a narrator, at least one Native American and one
colonist.

Fatemh Reslan

o Setting must be described (refer back to the books that are

provided)
o Must have a plot of some sort describing a culture clash
(previously discussed in introduction question and discussion)
o Students will present their scripts to the class and dress up in
the provided costumes.
E. Student Work Period
o During this time students are pre-writing. They will create a spider web
organizer to put together their stance, whether positive or negative, in
regards to the Native Americans and Colonists.
F. Accommodations/Adaptations
For students who are RTI or have any critical disorders, there will be a peer that will
work with them throughout the script. (They will share lines in case one does not
feel comfortable speaking)
For the overactive students. They will be separated.
All students should be able to perform the script; some students will find difficulty
with the essay so there will be groups for students to discuss ideas together on what
the purpose is and what we are writing about.
G. Assessment/Evaluation

VI.

The students will complete an essay comparing the two cultures defending their position
on a positive or negative influence each had on the other using information they discover
from the Social Studies textbook/s, the website, and the video they watched.
H. Closure
After students have completed the writing piece (essay) as a class we will come
together and discuss the two positions (Native Americans and Colonists)
Questions will be asked to students:
o Students who wrote in perspective of Natives raise your hands
Tell the person by you what your position is and what you think
happened?
o Students who wrote in perspective of Colonists raise your hands
Tell the person by you what your position is and what you think
happened?
Lastly, there will be discussion with students in regards to how they could use this lesson
in the future. Conflict resolution will be discussed and students will have an exit ticket
listing some ways they think a conflict can be avoided or resolved.
Students will hand in their exit slips and put away their materials such as books, pencils
and notebooks.
Teacher Reflection

Fatemh Reslan

I believe that the objective connected perfectly with the assessment, which was something
that I was worried about. However, I believe that I could have created a better anticipatory
set and introduction to have students engaged prior to the lesson activity.
I could have created a vocabulary list for students to use in their script.
Appendix*
Website: http://parks.sandi.net/Pages/Williamsburg/Site%202/Welcome.html
Students need paper for their essays and web organizers (or notebooks)
Zeman, Anne, and Kate Kelly. Everything You Need to Know about American History
Homework. New York: Scholastic Reference, 2005. Print.
Freedman, Russell. Who Was First?: Discovering the Americas. New York: Clarion, 2007.
Print.
Hart, Avery, and Michael P. Kline. Who Really Discovered America?: Unraveling the Mystery &
Solving the Puzzle. Charlotte, VT: Williamson Pub., 2001. Print.
Taylor, Colin F., and William C. Sturtevant. The Native Americans: The Indigenous People of
North America. New York: Smithmark, 1991. Print.
Michigan Voices- Primary sources; first person perspectives
o Grimm, Joe. Michigan Voices: Our State's History in the Words of the People Who Lived
It. Detroit, MI: Detroit Free, 1987. Print.

Fatemh Reslan