For Educators: Teaching Units & Lesson Plans:

Trade & Property

Lesson Plan 2: The Objects of a Culture

OBJECTIVES

Students will:

• analyze and draw conclusions from objects
• understand that a culture's objects can tell about the culture

MATERIALS

OPENING

Discuss the following questions:

• What do the objects of a culture tell about that culture?
• If historians from the future found your bedroom exactly as it is today, what could they learn about you and your culture from studying the stuff in your room?

PROCEDURE

1. Divide students into pairs
2. Instruct each pair to complete an analysis of at least five objects from those listed in the materials list. They should use the Object Analysis Worksheet and should not have access to the descriptions about the objects. After they have completed the guide, they should consider the following questions:
   • What could your collection of objects tell you about the cultures they represent?
   • Would you say that the objects reflect "wealthy" cultures?
   Make some general assumptions about the wealth of the cultures based on the objects. Be sure to support your assumptions with evidence.
3. After they have finished answering the above questions, provide students access to the information about the objects. It is important to note that the objects included in this activity represent various American Indian tribes west of the Rocky Mountains.

CLOSING

How do these objects change your previous mental picture of the Indian cultures that Lewis and Clark encountered?

SUGGESTED FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

Write an essay describing what you learned about American Indian tribes west of the Rocky Mountains as a result of analyzing these artifacts.

How do these artifacts cause you to rethink what you thought you knew about American Indians? Based on this information, write four questions you would like to have answered.