PBS The West

A great resource for historians and teachers is PBS. They have a variety of lesson plans that enrich the programs that they show.
The West is a wonderful series on PBS and this website includes lesson plans that accompany clips of the series. You can find many clips on You Tube.

PBS The West

Ledger Art

Ledger Art is an interesting way to tell and share stories among Native Tribes. The attached link includes powerpoints sharing the history of art and also links to some 'ledger paper' for students to create their own.

Ledger Art Resources

Indian Boarding Schools and Jim Thorpe

Tammy Elser created an amazing unit based in the story Jim Thorpe's Bright Path by Joseph Bruchac.

It is geared for 4th grade but I have used it with 8th graders and it worked well.

Jim Thorpe's Bright Path

Crow and Blackfeet Astronomy

I have a couple of packets that include a DVD of stories about the sun, moon, and stars. There are lesson plans associated that include studying the moon phases and seasons. It is a fabulous resource that I am using with the 8th graders. It is appropriate for all grade levels. If you would like to use this resource, please let me know. You may want to check OPI as well, the stories may be included on their website.

Curriculum

It is sometimes difficult to develop a framework for teaching Native American topics. Julie Cajune, from OPI, has developed a curriculum that takes a linear look at various periods of Indian history. Her curriculum includes model lesson plans for every grade level and full of resources as background for teachers. This is the framework I will be using in my Native American unit for the 8th graders.

Tribal Histories- Julie Cajune

A great PBS special on the story of the Fort Shaw basketball story. You can view the video on
the PBS website.

Playing For The World: 1904 Fort Shaw Indian Girls' Basketball Team

Essential Understandings of American Indians

To guide teachers in addressing Indian Education for All, OPI compiled a list of Essential Understandings of American Indians. These are the big ideas that are important for our students to understand. They include ideas about the diversity of our tribes, how the Federal Policy toward Indian people progressed in our government, the role of the reservation system and ultimately the idea of self-determination.

The link below is to the OPI document on the Essential Understandings. This is a PDF you could print and have available when teaching IEFA.

Essential Understandings