The Americas - Final Review

Locate the Americas on a world map

Identify North America, South America, and Mesoamerica on a continental map

Explain how people arrived in the Americas

Say something about religious beliefs common to many North American Native Nations

Locate the general area where the following nations/peoples live(d).  Give examples of housing, clothing, foods.

• Inuit
• Tlingit
• Dakota
• Haudenosaunee
• Muskogee
• Zuni
• Hopi
• Dineh
• Olmec
• Zapotec
• Mayans
• Norte Chico
• Chavin

Name foods that are important in the Americas (corn, beans, squash, potatoes, yuca, quinoa)

Which animals are native to the Americas?

The Americas - South America - The South

"The Anteater: Origin of the Dance", "How the Armadillo Got Its Armor," "Where Emperor Penguins Come From", "Why the Whale Lives in the Ocean" from When Jaguars Ate the Moon and Other Stories About Animals and Plants of the Americas by Maria Cristina Brusca and Tona Wilson
South America by Libby Kopenen

Discussion:
South American animals

Activity:
Find how close the southern tip of South America is to Antarctica
Narration: Any favorite story

The Americas - South America - Amazon River Basin

South America by Libby Koponen
How the Birds Changed Their Feathers by Joanna Troughton
"Kinkajou and the Food Tree," "Star Girl Brings Yuca From the Sky" from When Jaguars Ate the Moon and Other Stories About Animals and Plants of the Americas by Maria Cristina Brusca and Tona Wilson

Discussion:
Foods from the Amazon: potatoes, quinoa, beans, corn, peanuts, sweet potatoes, manioc
Geoglyphs
Forest Gardening

Activity:
Locate the Amazon River and its basin on a map
What is a geoglyph?
Eat some South American foods

The Americas - South America - West Coast and Andes

BBC - Wild South America 

"The Lost Llama" from When Jaguars Ate the Moon and Other Stories About Animals and Plants of the Americas by Maria Cristina Brusca and Tona WilsonSouth America by Libby Koponen

Discussion:
Norte Chico - coastal civilization with river irrigation
Chavin - camelid domestication
Tiwanaku - trade, pilgrimage

Activity:
Locate the Andes on a map of South America
Picture Study: Norte Chico proto-writing, Chavin gold, Tiwanaku - Gate of the Sun

The Americas - Mesoamerica - The Mayans

"The Beans" and "Corn and Chocolate" from When Jaguars Ate the Moon and Other Stories About Animals and Plants of the Americas by Maria Cristina Brusca and Tona Wilson

Discussion:
Foods (corn, chocolate, beans, squash, avocado, tomato)

Activity:
Find Mayan lands on a map
Make foods using some Mesoamerican ingredients

The Americas - Mesoamerica - The Mayans

"The Boy and His Peccary Brother," "Why the Quetzal is the Most Beautiful Bird," and "Zompopos in the Garden" from When Jaguars Ate the Moon and Other Stories About Animals and Plants of the Americas by Maria Cristina Brusca and Tona Wilson
"The Boy Who Cried Tears of Jade" from The Eagle and the Rainbow: Timeless Tales from Mexico by Antonio Hernandez Madrigal and Tomie de Paola

Discussion:
Animals that live in jungles
Gods that resemble animals
Names of rulers taken from animals

Activity:
Locate Mayan lands on a map
Picture Study: Mayan art in The Ancient Maya

The Americas - Mesomerica - The Olmec and the Zapotec

The Tree That Rains: The Flood Myth of the Huichol Indians of Mexico by Emery & Durga Bernhard

Discussion:
Compare the world flood stories discussed this year
Climate and geography of Mesoamerica
Food staples (corn, beans, squash) and early farming practices
Animals: jaguar, quetzal, snake, eagle

Activity:
Map Study: where did the Olmec and Zapotec live?

Picture Study: Warrior Head

The Americas - North America - Review

How did people arrive in the Americas?

What are some principal religious beliefs held by most major Native North American nations?

Style recognition: look at pictures of objects, explain who made them and why.

Cut/paste: match nation names to their location, main foods, and shelter types.

The Americas - North America - the Hopi/Zuni and Dine

The Navajo by Kevin Cunningham and Peter Benoit
Pueblo by R. Kent Drasmussen and Kimberly L. Dawson Kurnizki
"Why Moon Has One Eye" and "The Hero Twins" from The Girl Who Helped Thunder and Other Native American Folktales by James and Joseph Bruchat and Stefano Vitale
Coyote Steals the Blanket by Janet Stevens

Discussion:
Climate of the American southwest (food, shelter)
Ceremonies and rituals

Activity:
Field trip to the National Museum of the American Indian

The Americas - North America - The Haudenosaunee and Muskogee

The Iroquois  by Emily J. Dolbear and Peter Benoit
The Creek and Their History by Natalie M. Rosinsky
"Big Duck and the Ducks" and "Why the Oppossum's Tail is Bald" from When Jaguars Ate the Moon and Other Stories About Animals and Plants of the Americas by Maria Cristina Brusca and Tona Wilson
"The Girl Who Helped Thunder" and "The Ball Game Between the Birds & Animals" from The Girl Who Helped Thunder and Other Native American Folktales by James and Joseph Bruchat and Stefano Vitale

Discussion:
Life in the north vs. the south (food, shelter)
The Five Nations, wampum

Activity:
Picture study in The Iroquois and The Creek and Their History
Narration of a favorite story

The Americas - North America - The Dakota

The Sioux by Kevin Cunningham and Peter Benoit
Native American Religions by Paula R. Hertz
Crow Chief by Paul Goble
The Legend of the Blue Bonnet by Tomie de Paola
"How the Buffalo Came to Be" from The Girl Who Helped Thunder and Other Native American Folktales by James and Joseph Bruchat, and Stefano Vitale

Discussion:
The Great Plains - geography, climate
Food (buffalo)
Shelter (tipi)
Art

Activity:
Learn how tipis are constructed; make a model tipi
Story Narration

The Americas - North America - The Arctic and Northwest

Lifeways: The Inuit by Raymond Bial
The Boy Who Lived with the Seals by Rafe Martin and David Shannon
"The Boy and the Loon" from Echoes of the Elders: The Stories and Paintings of Chief Lelooska, edited by Christine Normandin
"Grizzly Bear Gets Left Behind" and "The Raven and the Loon" from When Jaguars Ate the Moon and Other Stories About Animals and Plants of the Americas by Maria Cristina Brusca and Tona Wilson

Native American Religions by Paula R. Hartz

Discussion:
Climate affects way of life
Basic Native North American religious beliefs
Storytelling

Activity:
Locate the Arctic on a map
Locate the Northwest coast on a map
Picture Study from Lifeways: The Inuit and Echoes of the Elders

The Americas - Geography and Settlement

Who Came First? New Clues to Prehistoric Americans by Patricia Lauber

Discussion:
How did people get to the Americas?
When did they arrive?

Activity:
Locate the Americas on a world map
Examine a map of the Americas.  Trace the various possible migratory routes of the first human settlers.
Add in rivers, mountains, oceans