Fall 2013
rethink.
Rethinking Columbus Lesson 1
Lesson Overview: The intent of this lesson is to hook the students and inspire them to think about Native Americans and Columbus in a way that contrasts the typical “Christopher Columbus Lesson.” Without telling them the purpose of this opening activity, students will predict whether or not the individuals shown are Native American or not. By introducing the lesson with a variety of pictures of typical and atypical Native Americans we force the students to realize how they might stereotype people without even realizing it. Combining this activity with a clip from the classic Pocahontas movie will establish this unit plan as a lesson that is relevant and relatable to the students. Almost every child has seen or heard of the Pocahontas movie, but it is highly unlikely that they have ever noticed the mass amount of stereotypes included in this loveable tale. Having the students rewrite the song “Savages” featured in this movie will make these judgments even more apparent and encourage students’ creative and musical side. Pointing out these stereotypes out and stirring a reaction will teach the students a lesson that is meaningful and eye opening.
Preparation: Students will be provided with a sheet of paper with various images of Native Americans. The pictures will feature a combination of individuals that fulfill the role of the stereotypical Native American as well as individuals one may not initially classify as Native American because of their pre-established description of this group of people. After this short activity, a clip from Pocahontas will be shown. This clip will be of the song, “Savages,” which describes Native Americans as savages that cannot be trusted because they are different. It even goes as far as describing them as a group that is “barely even human.” Students will then be provided with the lyrics to the song and will be instructed to rewrite it by typing it up on the computer. http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/p/pocahontas/savages_part_1.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSu4hOLYrXk&list=PL8F6A9D3325ADC5C1
Instruction: The unit plan will be introduced by handing out a sheet of paper of photographs of 10 Native Americans to the students. The Native Americans featured on this page will be a combination of five “typical” Native American as well as five “atypical” individuals. Without telling the students the intent behind the lesson, have the students simply write down “Native American” or “not Native American” underneath each individual’s picture. Predictably, students will likely fail to guess that every individual on the page is from a Native American background. Once students have made their guesses, the teacher will go through each picture and have the students raise their hand if they thought that person is a Native American. The teacher will wait to tell the students whether or not they are correct until he or she has gone through every image. Then, the teacher will tell the students that every individual pictured is in fact Native American. This will lead into a discussion about what a stereotype is and how people might stereotype without even realizing they are doing so. Following this, the teacher will show the YouTube video of a clip from Pocahontas of the song “Savages,” and hand out a sheet of the lyrics so the students can follow along. After watching, the class will have a discussion about the stereotypes they saw and/or heard within this short clip. The teacher will write these observations down on the board for all students to view. Then the students will be broken up into groups of three and be instructed to rewrite the song in a way that contrasts the description of Native Americans initially portrayed. Students will then present their new song to the class.
Standards: 3rd Grade
8.3.3.D:
Identify and describe how conflict and cooperation among groups and organizations have impacted the history and development of the US.
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Ethnicity and race
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Working conditions
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Immigration
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Military conflict
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Economic stability
