Multicultural Curriculum - Second Grade Language Arts Lesson Plan The Muskogees Content/Theme: Native Americans Grade: 2 Literature Connection: The Great Ball Game: A Muskogee Story by Joseph Bruchac Available through: WebCat and Scott Foresman Series (off adoption): Grade 2, Unit 4, The Great Ball Game, pg 18 Primary Benchmark: SS.2.A.2.1 Recognize that Native Americans were the first inhabitants in North America Secondary Benchmark: LA.2.1.7.3 The student will summarize information in text, including but not limited to main idea, supporting details, and connections between texts Time: 1-2 class periods Objectives: Students will understand Native American culture. Students will understand aspects of the culture of the Muskogee. Students will apply learning to main idea and supporting information. Teacher Preparation/Materials: Story, The Great Ball Game Multicultural information (teacher) Student handout and quiz Map Activities: 1. Before reading the story, show the book cover. Ask what they see and what they think the story will be about. Explain that you are going to read a story called The Great Ball Game, about the Muskogees, a Native American tribe. Discuss myth, and do a picture walk of the book. 2. Tell students that before reading the story they are going to learn more about the native people called the Muskogees.
3. Show students the map (transparency included) of Native American Regions and explain to students that in all of these areas, native people lived before explorers came from Europe to explore and live on their land. Point out the southeast region of the map and tell students that the Muskogees are from there. Tell students that we have learned that the Muskogees have ancestors that built mounds in that area long ago. Explain to students that the Muskogees are also called Creek because the explorers that found them noticed they lived by the creeks in the area. Tell students they had large villages and gardens. They invented games and played for fun and for sport. They created stories to teach their children and explain why things happen in the world. 4. Read the story, The Great Ball Game 5. The teacher may want to show the students the website (via projector or media cart) that have music and cultural information on an elementary level The five tribes: http://www.ahsd25.k12.il.us/curriculum%20info/nativeamericans/index.html 6. Use the worksheet [attached] as a transparency for a shared or guided reading activity, or have students pair up and read the worksheet and answer the questions together. A review of main idea and supporting details may be necessary. ESOL Strategies: Read Aloud and Visuals Review of Lesson and Assessment: Participation, reading passage and questions Resources: http://www.ahsd25.k12.il.us/curriculum%20info/nativeamericans/index.html
Multicultural Information: The Muskogees* are a group of Native Americans that are originally from the southeast region of the United States. The explorers called these people "Creeks" because they built their villages near the creeks. They call themselves Muskogee. Their ancestral home is the American southeast but because they were made to leave, today most Creek people live in Oklahoma. The men hunted deer while women knew where to go to gather nuts, wild onions and berries. They tended gardens full of corn, beans and squash and shared food with the village. Corn was important food and women ground it into meal and made "sofkey" a cornmeal dinner. A Usual village had houses with thatched roofs built around the council house and a large field used for sports like stickball played with a ball and stick with a net on the end. The Muskogee has created legends and myths to explain about life and the world around them. One legend they have is to explain why birds fly south for the winter. Traditional Muskogee ceremonies take place at the stomp ground. An important celebration is the Green Corn Festival. At this festival the clans give thanks for the harvest. There are many dances and celebrations. The women wear turtle shells on their ankles and make music as they dance. The Indian Stick Ball Game is played during the last dance of the season or during the stomp ground's winter dance in late September or October when the weather is cool. The game is commonly played on or adjacent to the stomp dance grounds. There are two types of stick ball games. One is the social game played by men and women, and the other is a match game played by two different clans. The match game was played by opposing clans or opposing Stomp Dance groups. Sometimes there were more than 30 men on each side. The field was as large as a football field with goals at the opposite ends. The object of the game was to send the ball between the goals either by throwing it with the sticks or by carrying it in the sticks pocket to score a point, but you could not use your hands. The team with the most points wins. The winner sings a victory song. *also spelled Muscogee
NAME THE MUSKOGEE PEOPLE Native Americas are the original people of the Americas. When explorers came to the Americas, they found many different native people living there. They pushed these native people off of their land because they wanted it for themselves. The Muskogees were one of these native people. They are originally from the Southeast area of the United States. Their ancestors built mounds in that area. The explorers called these people "Creeks" because they built their villages near the creeks. The men hunted deer and the women gathered nuts, onions and berries. They had a great garden with corn, beans and squash. They shared food with everyone in the village. Corn was an important food to the Muskogees. Their village had houses with roofs made of straw and bark. There was a main house for the leader and a large field used for sports and dancing. One of the games they played was a game like stickball. It was played with a ball and stick with a net on the end. They would play games for fun and for competition. The Muskogee people tell stories to teach their people lessons. The stories explain why things in the world happen. The Muskogee people love nature and family. They have a very interesting history. NAME
MUSKOGEE PEOPLE Directions: Read the questions and fill in the circle next to the right answer 1. Why did the explorers call the Muskogee creek people? o Because they did not like the old name o Because they needed a new name o Because they were trying to be friendly o Because the Muskogee lived near creeks 2. What is an important food of the Muskogees? o Onions are important to them. o Corn is important to them. o Beef is important to them. o Bread is important to them. 3. Why do the Muskogee tell stories? o They tell stories to make the children go to sleep. o They tell stories to teach the children lessons about the world. o They tell stories to teach the children how to read. o They tell stories to make the children laugh. 4. What do you think is the main idea of the passage? o The Muskogee invented a stickball game. o Corn is an important food to the Muskogees. o The Muskogee has an interesting history. o The Muskogees are from the Southeast area of the Untied States.
NATIVE AMERICAN REGIONS LEGEND Northeast (green): Iroquois and Algonquin peoples. Within those language groups were many individual tribes or nations. Southeast (blue): Cherokee, Chickasaw, Creek (Muskogee) Natchez, Biloxi and Seminole The Plains (yellow): Lakota and Dakota (Sioux), Pawnee, Arapaho, Kiowa, Apache and Comanche Southwest (mauve): The Pueblo, Hopi and Zuni were descended from the Anasazi culture of 1,700 years ago. Navajo and Comanche tribes moved here later Great Basin (orange): Shoshone, Paiute and Mono The Pacific Northwest (purple): Chinook, Haida, Nootka and Tlingit