One Nation, Many Cultures (NAT)

       During class my colleagues and I did a jigsaw activity on the different Native American tribes. We were each paired up and was able to research our specific assigned tribe together. After, each group had to share their findings and thoughts with the rest of the class. Before this cooperative learning activity I was not very knowledgeable about any of the tribes at all, I actually realized I had many misconceptions about them. After researching on my own and listening to my classmates presentations I became more knowledgeable about each tribe and really saw how geography affects people’s living style. I also learned many different methods to teach about geography and Native Americans after watching my peers. I believe I would be able to use this activity in my future classroom with a few alterations. 

       I read many different articles to help me get a better understanding of geography and Native Americans.  I could take what I did and read about for this project and use it for my future class. For our assignment each group was assigned a different tribe; therefore, I did not to have to do all the research myself. It also made me remember which tribe was which because I remember the different groups teaching it. My partner and I were also able to share ideas and communicate with each other to come up with our lesson. We were also able to watch the different method our peers used to teach about their tribe. These are some of the reasons why I like doing jigsaw activities. I would use jigsaw activities for many of my lessons in my future class.   I have read many articles for this course about Native Americans as well as articles on different teaching methods I could use to teach geography to elementary school children. In the slide show provided it explains 103 different ways teachers can teach geography to elementary school children. There were a few that really stuck out to me.
     While watching my classmates present about their tribe I learned different methods I could use to teach. I will use these methods in my future classroom for teaching. I would do this project in my future classroom, but I would adapt it based on the grade. This project will help students learn to generalize concepts taught in several ways. They will be able to explain how: Geography affected the cultures of the different Native American tribes, each Native American group had to learn to adapt to their location in relation to weather, plants, animals and water, tribes were very different depending on their geographic location, and much of Native American life was lived by the way of the land; geography directly influenced their life.
    In conclusion, this jigsaw activity is a great way for elementary students to communicate and work as a group as well as learn geography. Students will learn how to research and look through different sources, communication skills, time management skills, and about many different tribes. Students will also learn how geography influences cultures in so many different ways and relate it back to their lives today. They will see how rivers, mountains, trees, sand, etc. all had a huge influence on a tribe and how Native Americans used these resources off their land to survive. I think this is an engaging activity that students can learn from and will remember for the rest of their lives.

To read more about my reflection after this project you can read my essay.