Mound Builders
Lesson #: 20
Grade: 4th
Subject Area: Social Studies
Context
Materials
Introduction/Investment
To introduce this lesson on mound building, put the photo that follows on the projector, overhead, or whatever means to show this. Explain to the students that this mound was created by the Ho-Chunk thousands of years ago.
Ask them what they notice about the effigy mounds. Things to look for would be:
Content
The content for this lesson:
Whole-Class Activity
If possible, take them to a mound and have them look at it. If it is not possible to take them to mounds nearby, a great resource created by Aaron Bird Bear around the Mounds and American Indians at the UW.
Video courtesy of Aaron Bird Bear- (show from beginning until 3:35)
After watching the video, ask the students to think about what they have learned from the part about mounds.
Practice
As practice, have the students write down questions that they still have about the mounds. Have the students turn these in and try to answer the questions in the following few days. This would be a really good way to gauge the understanding of the mounds and see what information you may have missed.
Assessment
Have the students write exit slips at the end of the day talking about what they learned. Use these exits slips in combination with the KWL chart created to see the amount of information that the students have learned.
Grade: 4th
Subject Area: Social Studies
Context
Materials
- Projector
Introduction/Investment
To introduce this lesson on mound building, put the photo that follows on the projector, overhead, or whatever means to show this. Explain to the students that this mound was created by the Ho-Chunk thousands of years ago.
Ask them what they notice about the effigy mounds. Things to look for would be:
- Paths going through the mounds
- Very close to buildings and other university structures
Content
The content for this lesson:
- History of the American Indians in this area began 12,000 years ago.
- The true meaning for these effigy mounds is unknown
- Burials
- Spiritual events
- Astrological events
- Representations of the clans
- Two of the most important buildings on the UW-Madison campus are built on top of effigy mounds
- North Hall and Bascom
- The Four Lakes Area (Monona, Mendota, Wabesa, Kegonsa) a.k.a. Dejope
- Area of large concentration
- Due to the importance of this area to the Ho-Chunk and their ancestors
- Cultivation, buildings and other destruction by non-American Indians have destroyed most of the mounds.
Whole-Class Activity
If possible, take them to a mound and have them look at it. If it is not possible to take them to mounds nearby, a great resource created by Aaron Bird Bear around the Mounds and American Indians at the UW.
Video courtesy of Aaron Bird Bear- (show from beginning until 3:35)
After watching the video, ask the students to think about what they have learned from the part about mounds.
Practice
As practice, have the students write down questions that they still have about the mounds. Have the students turn these in and try to answer the questions in the following few days. This would be a really good way to gauge the understanding of the mounds and see what information you may have missed.
Assessment
Have the students write exit slips at the end of the day talking about what they learned. Use these exits slips in combination with the KWL chart created to see the amount of information that the students have learned.
