TeachersFirst's Native Americans Resources
Other TeachersFirst Special Topics Collections

This editor's choice collection of reviewed resources from TeachersFirst is selected to help teachers and students learn about the rich heritage and legacy of Native Americans and to plan projects and classroom activities so students can explore the contributions and experiences of the native nations of North and South America. Whether you spend one class exploring these resources or plan an entire unit on Native Americans, the ideas included in the "In the Classroom" portion of reviews will launch discussions and projects your students will not forget.
Click here to see our complete listing of resources tagged Native Americans.
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Native Knowledge 360 Education Initiative - Smithsonian Institute
Grades
K to 12tag(s): native americans (82), thanksgiving (25), westward expansion (36)
In the Classroom
Replace some (or all) of your current written Native America resources with the genuine artifacts and stories available for viewing on this site. Use Padlet, reviewed here, to organize important information and resources found on this site to share with students. As students learn about Native Americans, instead of written or oral presentations, ask student groups to create quizzes for their classmates using a quiz-creation tool like Baamboozle, reviewed here. Baamboozle is a quick and easy resource for creating and sharing quizzes for teams of two. As a final project, transform and extend student technology and learning by using Book Creator, reviewed here, to create class books sharing information about Native Americans. Book Creator is a digital book creation site offering the ability to add images, text, video, and more. Be sure to share student-created books on your class website or blog after publication.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Native American Heritage Month - Described and Captioned Media Program
Grades
K to 12tag(s): commoncore (79), native americans (82)
In the Classroom
Include these videos as part of your studies of American Indians and their heritage. Engage students by making the videos interactive using edpuzzle, reviewed here, to add both teacher and student comments. Use Google My Maps, reviewed here, for extending learning when students create virtual field trips sharing locations and information found during their research of American Indians. Have students create interactive timelines using Timeline Infographic Templates, reviewed here, for younger students, or Timeline JS, reviewed here, for older students who can include music, photos, videos, maps, comments, and more.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Reading Treks: Buffalo Dance The Journey of York - TeachersFirst
Grades
10 to 12tag(s): 1800s (61), commoncore (79), explorers (60), lewis and clark (14), poetry (182), westward expansion (36)
In the Classroom
Take advantage of the many suggested classroom uses for this resource found on the Instructional Guide (PDF). As a class, discuss social justice situations within the school, the community, state, nation, and the world. To enhance learning and the discussions of online information, use Fiskkit, reviewed here, as a collaborative discussion tool. Fiskkit allows you to highlight and add comments to online articles. Have students share their written work, including poems, to Pathbrite, reviewed here. Pathbrite includes free resources for creating and sharing online portfolios that include images, written work, and video making it perfect to use for sharing student work during parent conferences and when submitting college applications.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Reading Treks: The Journey of York The Unsung Hero of the Lewis and Clark Expedition - TeachersFirst
Grades
2 to 6tag(s): 1800s (61), commoncore (79), explorers (60), lewis and clark (14), native americans (82)
In the Classroom
Take advantage of the many suggested classroom uses for this resource found on the Instructional Guide (PDF). Consider using the historical information and primary sources from the book to have students create timelines of the important events throughout the time of Lewis and Clark's explorations. Find a variety of free online timeline creation tools at located here. Using the map and locales, trace and then calculate distances for some of Lewis and Clark's travels.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Ancestral Pueblo People - National Park Service
Grades
6 to 10tag(s): archeology (23), geology (62), native americans (82)
In the Classroom
Assign this activity in pairs when studying native Americans. The student challenges teach about the Ancestral Pueblo people and how they adapted to their harsh environment. The text portions might be challenging. Pair weak readers with a strong reader. Allow your ENL/ESL students to try using a text to speech program such as Text to Speech Reader, reviewed here, that will allow these students to follow the text as the article or passage is read to them.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Edward S. Curtis's The North American Indian - Northwestern University
Grades
9 to 12tag(s): native americans (82)
In the Classroom
We have come a long way from the study of Native Americans as a single generic group. Careful use of the images and narratives from Curtis' work can help illustrate that outdated mindset and provide a contrast to today's understanding of the contributions indigenous Americans have made to US history and culture. Share these images on your interactive whiteboard or projector as part of a guided discussion.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Seminole Tribune - Seminole Tribune of Florida
Grades
4 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): civil rights (165), cross cultural understanding (148), cultures (100), myths and legends (21), native americans (82)
In the Classroom
Use this site to study the Seminoles as part of a unit on Native Americans. Have students enhance their learning by comparing and contrasting to the Native Americans within your own state or region. Use an online tool such as Interactive Two Circle Venn Diagram, reviewed here. Use this as a resource when discussing civil rights. In language arts class, use it to explore legends.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Carlisle Indian Industrial School - Dickinson College
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): colonial america (92), cross cultural understanding (148), diversity (32), history day (22), identity (25), native americans (82), westward expansion (36)
In the Classroom
Too often US history survey classes broadly consider Native Americans and their role in the original colonization of North America, or their role in Westward Expansion, without taking the time to understand the differences among nations, or the impact of European settlement on these pre-existing societies. Even if there isn't time for in depth study, consider asking students to study the individual record of one young man or woman approximately their own age who attended the Carlisle Indian School. How old was he when he left home? What skill was she trained in? What happened to him after he left Carlisle? Enhance student learning by having students use Fakebook, reviewed here, to create a "fake" page similar in style to Facebook about the individual they researched. This personal contact with the real life of another student from another time and another culture will reduce the tendency to stereotype Native Americans as they so often are during the study of US History. Of course, the site is also a wonderful resource for in depth research such as a National History Day project. Were the identities of these people stolen? Use the resources Analyzing Before and After Photographs... and the Telling Lives: The Lost Ones Documentary Film to discuss identity and whether or not that was taken from these students.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum - 2012 Seminole Tribe of Florida
Grades
2 to 10This site includes advertising.
tag(s): native americans (82)
In the Classroom
Explore the Seminole Tribe through the online collections and museums. Use the sources as primary and secondary to supplement other class materials. Use the Seminole Tribe to compare and contrast the native American tribes found in your area. Explore the Seminole Tribe in your unit on Civil Rights. Use this site to discover the leadership that lead to the Seminole Tribe of today. Be sure to begin your study with an anticipation guide. End your unit with a post assessment dispelling the myths in the anticipation guide.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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U. S. History Images - Karen J. Hatzigeorgiou
Grades
7 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): 1800s (61), american revolution (73), civil war (128), colonial america (92), colonization (18), emancipation proclamation (7), images (247), industrial revolution (21), industrialization (10), lincoln (59), native americans (82), pioneers (8), states (118), transportation (35), washington (23)
In the Classroom
Bookmark and save this site to share during classroom lessons on your projector or interactive whiteboard. Share with students as a place to explore and to "get the picture" of early events in American History. As an alternative a traditional report and to enhance learning, create a newspaper using a site such as Printing Press, reviewed here, to report on Civil War events. This site is a wonderful source for students to find raw materials for multimedia projects in general. Be sure to provide a mini lesson on how to cite their image sources!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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America in Class - The National Humanities Center
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): abolition (5), american revolution (73), civil war (128), colonial america (92), colonization (18), democracy (17), native americans (82), primary sources (99), slavery (60), women (104)
In the Classroom
Use your interactive whiteboard or projector to help your class learn the background information and read the material through once. Work through the lesson together; then consider assigning groups of four students to go through the readings again, discovering the answers to the essential questions. Have students post the group's answers on a back channel chat program such as YoTeach!, reviewed here, so all groups can see all answers. Where answers differ, have students go back into the reading and cite evidence to support their answer on Today's Meet for all to see.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Timelines.TV - Timelines.TV
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): diseases (69), gold rush (15), great britain (17), industrial revolution (21), native americans (82), shakespeare (91), timelines (47), westward expansion (36), womens suffrage (35)
In the Classroom
Timeline.TV is tailor made for classrooms with interactive whiteboards (or projectors). The video clips generally run between five and ten minutes, so are a perfect reinforcement for classroom lecture or for outside reading. If you are running a "flipped" classroom, ask students to access the timelines at home, knowing that the presentations will help expand understanding of concepts to be discussed in class. There is also a mobile and tablet version of this resource. Challenge cooperative learning groups to create their own timelines on a topic not highlighted at this site. Use a tool such as Timeline JS, reviewed here. Timeline JS offers the option to upload and add photos, videos, audio, Tweets, and Google Maps making it interactive.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Navajo Code Talkers - Navajo Code Talkers Foundation
Grades
6 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): cryptography (5), native americans (82), world war 2 (136)
In the Classroom
Share this site with your students on your interactive whiteboard (or projector) during your World War II unit or a unit on Native Americans. This would be a great link to share during Native American Heritage Month. Enhance student learning by replacing pencil and paper and use an online tool such as the Interactive Two Circle Venn Diagram, reviewed here, to create a visual comparison of the Code Talkers vs other World War II battle units or cryptographers.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Native Voices: Native Peoples' Concepts of Health and Illness - U. S. National Library of Health and Medicine
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): cross cultural understanding (148), medicine (54), native americans (82)
In the Classroom
Bookmark and save this site as a resource for Native American, American History, health, and other units. View videos on your interactive whiteboard (or projector) together. Have groups of students view videos on individual tribes, then challenge students to create a newspaper article using the Newspaper Clipping Generator or use an online tool such as Interactive Two Circle Venn Diagram, reviewed here, to create a visual comparison of tribal beliefs-- or perhaps comparing with "mainstream" beliefs in their own culture.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Four Directions Teaching - 4D Interactive Inc.
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): canada (23), cross cultural understanding (148), cultures (100), native americans (82)
In the Classroom
The series of animated mini lessons are perfect for use on an interactive whiteboard (or projector) and help anchor the learning activities available for download. They could also be used as stand-alone resources to complement lessons you have designed. You might choose to look at creation myths across the various tribes or how each culture constructed shelters or conducted ceremonies. These themes make the lessons useful even for those not studying specifically Canadian history. Have students make a multimedia presentation on a chosen topic using one of the many TeachersFirst Edge tools reviewed here. Some tool suggestions are (click on the tool name to access the review): PBWorks (wiki), Site123 (blog), Renderforest (newscast video), and Genial.ly (poster/bulletin board).Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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American Indian/Alaskan Native Book List - Talk Story
Grades
K to 12tag(s): alaska (21), cross cultural understanding (148), independent reading (103), native americans (82)
In the Classroom
Encourage students to select books about a culture that interests them. Include this list during a multicultural unit. Have students collect ideas to create a book for their target culture using a digital tool like Story Map, reviewed here, then enhance student learning with a challenge to students to create an online book of images and captions about their target culture using Ourboox, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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American Indian Response to Environmental Changes - National Museum of the American Indian
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): environment (218), native americans (82), natural resources (37)
In the Classroom
Project this site on an interactive whiteboard and watch the videos on each of the tribes. If you have laptops available, have students navigate on their own. Have the class take the included interactive quizzes to see what they've learned. Group students and have each group read about a different tribe. Then using the online story project planner, have students create a presentation about their tribe that can be uploaded to the site. Be sure to visit the teacher area for lesson plans, links and other resources.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Kennedy Center Digital Resources - Formerly ArtsEdge - Kennedy Center
Grades
K to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): african american (93), baseball (31), civil war (128), comics and cartoons (44), dance (23), folktales (34), greece (24), habitats (78), immigration (58), literature (220), mexico (28), musical instruments (42), myths and legends (21), native americans (82), painting (51), surrealism (2)
In the Classroom
Search this site for a topic that you are teaching in your class. Share the lesson on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Better yet, make the video or slideshow a learning station for students to do themselves in small groups. This site is so wonderful and HUGE, that after students are one with the resources you have for them, you may want to allow them to explore on independently or in small groups for a specific interest of theirs.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Virtual Jamestown - Virtual Jamestown
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): colonial america (92), colonization (18), jamestown (7), native americans (82)
In the Classroom
Spend a few minutes at this site, and you will be swept away to life on the James River 400 years ago. The zoomable maps and rotating views of Jamestown artifacts would be effective on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Plan a day to explore together or with partners to find out specifics about the colony. You will need to scroll down to the bottom of the main page and click on "Teaching Materials" to find several wonderful lesson plans on Jamestown. For teachers who want to bring authentic, first-hand accounts and records into the classroom, this site provides a wealth of actual documentation. We strongly suggest you use the Site Index to get the extensive view of this website's offerings.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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A Listening Doll - Joyce Payne
Grades
K to 4tag(s): native americans (82)
In the Classroom
Some arts & crafts materials are needed for these lessons. This would be a great option to accompany the study of Native Americans in an elementary classroom, drawing in your language arts time for story writing and telling.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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