Get up and get trading:

Students love getting up and interacting with this trade route activity. This activity supports the study of Indigenous People's trade routes, but can easy represent a variety of civilizations. Students loved having a goal and being able to barter with one another to succeed in that goal.

After completing the activity, students reflect on their experience and make connections to what makes a successful trade route. This helps students take prior knowledge and bridge it to historical learning.

My students loved this activity and had a great time bartering for resources.

This lesson covers Indiana Social Studies Standards 5.E.1, 5.E.2.

What's included:

• Instructions.
• Trade Route Map suggestion.
• Explanation worksheet.
• Record/Data Sheet.
• Resource cards.

How is this resource useful:

• Great collaborative activity.
• Easy prep.
• Student engagement is high.
• Makes an abstract concept concrete.
• Students will reach conclusions based on experience.

Hands on activity makes archaeology real:

Students practice observation skills as they practice being archaeologists. In preparation, the teacher has colleagues fill bags with artifacts from their classrooms. Students then work together to use their observational skills as an archaeologist to determine where the artifacts belong.

My students loved this hands on experience while learning how to respect artifacts. My students were so excited to reach conclusions about whose classroom the artifacts came from and loved sharing their ideas with each other. There's great excitement from groups that reach the right conclusions.

What's included:

• Instructions.
• Editable notes to other teachers asking for participation.
• Explanation worksheet.
• Record/Data Sheet.

How is this resource useful:

• Great introduction to archaeology and pre-history.
• Easy prep.
• Great cooperative activity.

Learn and display:

Students will research an assigned Indigenous Tribe to complete an infographic poster. Infographics use pictures to transmit information. Students can draw pictures onto the provided sheet. Alternatively, students can write the information on the provided sheet.

Students will use their creativity to create the project.

This project aligns with Indiana Social Studies Standards 5.H.1 and 5.H.3.

What's included:

• Poster Sheets representing 35 different Indigenous Tribes

How this product is useful:

• Engaging project.
• Students can use their creativity to present their findings.

Project with variety:

Teachers will have three different approaches to choose from to complete this project concerning the regional dwellings of Indigenous People of North America. Students will research an assigned region in order to complete a project concerning family dwellings. Directions are provided for models, posters, or Google Slides.

Students will answer questions concerning their research and reach conclusions based on their information. These questions increases rigor.

Students will have an opportunity to present the information gained with their classmates.

Students will use their creativity to create the project.

This project aligns with Indiana Social Studies Standards 5.H.3 and 5.G.7.

What's included:

• Teacher information.
• Student directions for each project.
• Question sheet.
• Links to digital options.
• Rubrics
• Regions for assigning.

How this product is useful:

• Engaging project.
• Students can use their creativity to present their findings.
• Students will use information and previous knowledge to reach conclusions.