Lesson 1: In lesson one, students will learn about history, historians, and how historians

discover what happened in the past. They will begin with a think-pair-share about how
someone might find out about what happened hundreds of years ago. Students will then
be introduced to what kinds of questions historians try to answer, as well as some sources
that might be helpful to a historian. They will practice being historians by examining
sources about a town in Michigan. The terms primary source and secondary source
will be introduced, and students will be asked to apply the terms to the sources they used
when learning about the town in Michigan.
Lesson 2: In lesson two, students will learn some of the history of the Native people in
Michigan. Students will be reminded of what they learned in the first lesson about the
town in Michigan. I will ask, before that town was there, who was in Michigan? After
listening to their ideas, affirm that there were people in Michigan before that, and the
very first people that lived in Michigan were called the Native people (because they were
native to this area), also commonly called Indigenous people, Native Americans, and
American Indians. Explain that there have been people living in Michigan for more than
10,000 years. Ask questions to probe student thinking about what kinds of clues would be
left from that long ago. Explain that only a few kinds of artifacts have been found from
that long ago; give examples. Students will identify whether these sources are primary or
secondary. Ask the students why there might not be many primary sources. Students will
discuss how the climate changing might have affected how the humans lived. Students
will read about the Hopewell people and discuss what we know about them.
Lesson 3: In lesson three, students will continue studying the history of the Native
Americans in Michigan. They will be introduced to the People of the Three Fires, also
called the Anishinaabeg. Students will be broken up into three groups and each given a
different group to read about (Ojibwa, Odawa, and Potawatomi). They will discuss what
they learned through the text, and then present what they learned about the Native group
to the rest of the class. The class will then discuss similarities and differences between the
three groups. Students will then discuss why they might have been called People of the
Three Fires, and I will introduce the concept of an alliance. Students will be shown a
map of where these groups used to live, as well as the Huron, Miami, and Menominee
groups. Then I will explain that Native Americans that are descendants of these groups
still live in Michigan today. I will show a map of where reservations in Michigan are
located.
Lesson 4: In lesson four, students will be shown how to use Vocaroo, a voice recording
app, and post a recording to Google Classroom. They will then be given the opportunity
to visit http://nativeamericans.mrdonn.org/northeast/ojibwa/ and read about various
Ojibwa traditions. After reading about a tradition, they will then use Vocaroo to voice
record a response to the following prompt: What tradition did you read about? Describe
the tradition to your classmates. How is this part of the Ojibwa culture similar to or
different from our culture? After recording and posting the recording to Google
Classroom, the students will choose another classmates post (of a different tradition) to
listen to. They will respond to the prompt: Do you agree with what your classmate said
about the similarities and differences between the Ojibwa culture and our culture, or do

you disagree? Why? After responding to that prompt, they may either choose to read
about another tradition and post, or they may listen to classmates recordings and
respond.
Lesson 5: In lesson five, I will explain that I am going to read The Legend of the
Sleeping Bear by Kathy-Jo Wargin, which was an Ojibwa story. I will read the story and
then ask the students why they think the Ojibwa might have told this story. Then I will
explain that storytelling has been a big part of their culture. They have passed these
stories down over time, and the stories often teach lessons, explain things in nature, tell
about things that happened long ago, and are ways to entertain themselves. Review the
term legend. I will read How Beaver Got His Tail, another Ojibwa legend, and my
students will identify the moral and supporting details. Ask, What does this tell us about
the Ojibwas beliefs? Ask, What does this story explain in the end? Ask, How do
reading stories passed down by the Ojibwa help us understand them better? With any
remaining time, we will share stories that have been passed down in our own cultures,
identify the purpose of passing down each story, and compare the purpose of passing
down that particular story with the purposes the Ojibwa have passed down stories.
Lesson 6: In lesson six, students will learn why the French came to Michigan and how
they affected the environment and the cultures of the Native Americans. The students will
be using maps and timelines to help them understand what happened during this time
period. I will explain that the British came to Michigan next and that the French and the
British had been enemies for a long time. Why do you think they were enemies? What
do you think happened next?
Lesson 7: In lesson seven, students explore the tensions between the French and the
British by looking at maps and pictures of French forts and thinking about causes and
effects of events that took place. Students will learn that a war started. Students will then
pretend to be a Native American of any group of their choice and think about the pros and
cons of staying neutral, siding with the French, and siding with the British; this will lead
them to understand some of the reasons why many Native American groups chose to fight
with the French. Next, students will predict who won the war and use historical sources
or background knowledge to give evidence. Then students will hypothesize about why
many of the Native Americans and the British started having conflicts in Michigan.
Lesson 8: In lesson eight, students learn about the slow migration of people to Michigan.
Students will analyze a map that was created 200 years ago to learn what Michigan was
like at that time. Students will compare it to a map of Michigan now and discuss major
differences. Students will think-pair-share about what might have been hard or
unappealing to the first settlers/pioneers in Michigan. Students will listen to The Log
Cabin Quilt by Ellen Howard and compare the challenges the family in the story faced
with their list. Students will discuss whether the story seems accurate. Ask, Why would
the first settlers/pioneers have wanted more settlers to come to Michigan? Students will
think of ideas of how the settlers/pioneers already in Michigan could have helped
convince other settlers to come to Michigan. Ask, Why might the Native people have
wanted or not wanted more settlers to come to Michigan?

Lesson 9: In lesson nine, students will use sources to draw conclusions about the slow
population growth of Michigan. Students will learn that Michigan was just a territory
when it was first being settled; it was not a state yet. I will draw their attention to the fact
that Michigan Territory did not include most of the Upper Peninsula that is part of the
state of Michigan today. Then, students will learn how a territory becomes a state as well
as the specific obstacles Michigan faced in becoming a state: having enough people to
become a state, a solution to the Toledo strip problem, and a constitution. Throughout the
lesson, students will each be creating a timeline to represent the process and time that it
took Michigan to attain statehood, and students will identify the three things that
Michigan needed before the United States government would allow it to become a state.
Discussion question: Why was the Toledo strip dispute such a big deal? After
completing their own timelines, they will check their timelines against a big class
timeline that will span across the classroom. This will be the timeline that the students
add their historical person to in the next lesson.
Lesson 10 (Two days): In lesson ten, students will be shown a timeline of big events in
early Michigan history. This will be the same timeline as the one we created yesterday. In
a discussion, students will recall other big events that had happened earlier in Michigan
history. We will add these events to the timeline. Each student will be assigned a person
from Michigans early history and they will write a description of that person. If they
cannot remember what their person did or how he/she was/might have been important,
they may research using their personal devices. They will then place their person on the
timeline. When students finish, they will get their personal devices and go to
http://michiganhistory.leadr.msu.edu/history-of-okemos/, which is a website about the
history of Okemos. They may research whatever they would like to learn about Okemos.
When everyone is finished, students will present their historical people in chronological
order. Discussion question: Why is chronology important in history?