Native American Activities for Primary Children

In November, we spend a lot of time completing different Native American Activities. The students are fascinated by their lives and how they survived with what they had. It is enlightening and eye-opening for them to learn how life used to be long ago. 

Iroquois 

We spend a little bit of time each day learning about three different tribes. I start on the East coast and we learn about the Iroquois Native Americans.  First, we read the little mini book together. We have a lot of great discussions. This tribe is part of where we live in Ohio so it is easy for them to relate to the surroundings that the Native Americans lived in.

After reading the mini book and discussing, I split my students into groups. Each group works on the review sheet together using the mini book as help.  Once we are finished completing the review sheet, we meet together to go over their food, clothing, shelter, and recreation. I made these posters to help them review. 

After we have review, I split them into four different groups. Each group has to work together to make a visual representation of one of the four topics; food, shelter, recreation or food.  I tell them that their item has to fit into the palm of their hand. Once they have their item, they label it with white paper and we add it to a 12 by 18 sheet of construction paper.  

Here is an example of the Iroquois Native American Activity

When we have finished our graph, we write about the tribe. They just share what they learned from all of the Native American activities we just completed.

Sioux

The second tribe we learn about are the Sioux Native Americans. This tribe is on the move and their food, shelter, clothing, and recreation are all a little different from the Iroquois.  We repeat the same process as before reading, reviewing, and creating the pieces to make the graph. 

Hopi

The final tribe we learn more about are the Hopi Native Americans. This tribe is in the Southwest desert area. Their homes are vastly different from the other two tribes. 

There is nothing better than seeing their art come to life and them learning by doing. This unit is short but fun. It provides them with a great background of the way Native Americans lived long ago. 

As a fun cumulative project, we also each make our own Native American. They all turn out so different as they add their own designs to the deerskin outfits. 

Grab these Native American activities HERE!