Who are the Menominee?
Lesson #: 11
Grade: 4th
Subject Area: Social Studies
Context
This is the first lesson of the section of the unit around the Menominee Nation of Wisconsin. This lesson is meant to begin to talk about the Menominee: who they are, where they originated, and other important factors. The following lessons will discuss the aspects that you will want the students to represent in their presentations and research.
Materials
Introduction/Investment
On the board represent the following information:
This part will also be important to the introduction of the project the students will be doing and also the way in which they are expected to take notes.
See the “Guided Note Sheet.” This will be the manner of taking notes and also what information they will collect on all the presentations as well.
For introducing the presentation, use the “Presentation Requirements and Rubric.” This outlines the expectations and also the specific areas that the students need to concentrate on.
Content
The major content that is necessary can be found in Ourada’s book but the content most important to this lesson is:
The purpose of the content is to make sure that the students have a general idea of who the Menominee were and think about who they are today.
Make sure to highlight how much the Menominee had to fight to keep their land and not be forced to give up a major part of their identity.
Whole-Class Activity
As you are giving the students the information in one of the few times of lecturing, play “lecture bingo” Pick out some of the key ideas from the information that you will discuss with the class such as Menominee, Oshkosh, trees, reservation and allowing the students to place the words wherever they want. The object is to give them an active means of listening.
As for an activity, there won’t be one as a large group but rather the activity will be done during the practice time.
Practice
For this lesson, I really want the students to create maps and see the huge swatches of land that the Menominee lost as a part of the treaties and cessation of land.
To give all students access, have a map with the lines already created showing the different areas but it would be up to the students to write what it meant.
Assessment
For the students, have an exit slip and have them write down what they learned today in class. Easy and simple way to see if the topics need to be touched on again.
Add exit slips to KWL chart.
Grade: 4th
Subject Area: Social Studies
Context
This is the first lesson of the section of the unit around the Menominee Nation of Wisconsin. This lesson is meant to begin to talk about the Menominee: who they are, where they originated, and other important factors. The following lessons will discuss the aspects that you will want the students to represent in their presentations and research.
Materials
- Guided Notes sheet
- Presentation Requirements and Rubric
- Whiteboard, chalkboard, etc.
- Lecture Bingo sheets
- Map of Wisconsin
- Projector to show the different periods of land allotment.
- Exit slips
Introduction/Investment
On the board represent the following information:
- Tribe: Menominee
- Geography: Shores of Green Bay and the Menominee River, moved inland by American policies to their current location along the Wolf River
- Language Family: Algonquian
- Pop: 7,000
- Status: Federally Recognized with a reservation. (Taken from The Menominee by Ourada)
This part will also be important to the introduction of the project the students will be doing and also the way in which they are expected to take notes.
See the “Guided Note Sheet.” This will be the manner of taking notes and also what information they will collect on all the presentations as well.
For introducing the presentation, use the “Presentation Requirements and Rubric.” This outlines the expectations and also the specific areas that the students need to concentrate on.
Content
The major content that is necessary can be found in Ourada’s book but the content most important to this lesson is:
- The Menominee were hunter-gatherers that did farming of wild rice
- Known for their tree management
- Prior to being placed on their current reservation, the leaders, such as Chief Oshkosh were able to persuade the US and Wisconsin to not send them away.
- One of two American Indian nations in Wisconsin to have their own community college.
- The Menominee were terminated in 1959 no longer allowing them to have the reservation but were reinstated in 1969.
- Very complex tribe structure
- Different clans represented different areas of expertise and duties
- Took the path of non-assimilation and many of the children were forcibly ‘assimilated’ due to the private schools.
The purpose of the content is to make sure that the students have a general idea of who the Menominee were and think about who they are today.
Make sure to highlight how much the Menominee had to fight to keep their land and not be forced to give up a major part of their identity.
Whole-Class Activity
As you are giving the students the information in one of the few times of lecturing, play “lecture bingo” Pick out some of the key ideas from the information that you will discuss with the class such as Menominee, Oshkosh, trees, reservation and allowing the students to place the words wherever they want. The object is to give them an active means of listening.
As for an activity, there won’t be one as a large group but rather the activity will be done during the practice time.
Practice
For this lesson, I really want the students to create maps and see the huge swatches of land that the Menominee lost as a part of the treaties and cessation of land.
To give all students access, have a map with the lines already created showing the different areas but it would be up to the students to write what it meant.
Assessment
For the students, have an exit slip and have them write down what they learned today in class. Easy and simple way to see if the topics need to be touched on again.
Add exit slips to KWL chart.
