Tag Archives: united states history

Cultural Literacy: Native Americans

Posted on October 7, 2023 | Leave a comment

This Cultural Literacy worksheet on Native Americans is a full-page worksheet with a reading of four sentences–all but one of which are longish compounds that may need to be broken up and recast for emergent readers and English language learners–and four comprehension questions. It’s a shorter version, I suppose, of last week’s Text.

If you find typos in this document, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.

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Sauk or Sac

Posted on October 7, 2023 | Leave a comment

“Sauk or Sac: Algonquian-speaking North American Indian people closely related to the Fox and Kickapoo who traditionally inhabited the region of what is now Green Bay, Wisconsin. In summer, the Sauk lived in bark-house villages near fields where women raised corn and other crops. In winter the village separated into patrilineal family groups that erected pole-and-thatch houses. In spring the tribe gathered on the Iowa prairie to hunt bison. By c.1800 the Sauk had settled along the Mississippi River in central Illinois, but were forced to cede these lands to the U.S. In 1832 a group of Sauk and Fox led by Black Hawk made a tragically unsuccessful attempt to return to their Illinois lands. Today about 1,000 Sauk live in Oklahoma.”

Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.

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Cultural Literacy: Jim Thorpe

Posted on October 7, 2023 | Leave a comment

As there is a movie about him in the works (and if you look under that link, you will learn, happily I hope, that the production team is made up of Native American people), now seems like a good time to post this Cultural Literacy worksheet on Jim Thorpe. This is a half-page worksheet with a two-question reading and two comprehension questions. In other words, a spare introduction to this famous athlete. Still, it’s a good place to start–especially if our students end up seeing this movie when it arrives.

If you find typos in this document, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.

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Mohegan

Posted on October 7, 2023 | Leave a comment

“Mohegan: Algonquian-speaking North American Indian people who inhabited the area of southeastern Connecticut. They later seized land in Massachusetts and Rhode Island from other tribes. Their economy was based on corn cultivation, hunting, and fishing. In the 17th century, the Mohegan and the Pequot tribes were ruled jointly by a Pequot chief, but a rebellion led to Mohegan independence and the destruction of the Pequot. Having made an alliance with the English, the Mohegan were the only important tribe remaining in New England after King Philip’s War (1675-76). Today there is a remnant (approximately 1,000) near Norwich, Connecticut.”

Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.

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The Weekly Text, 17 November 2023, National Native American Heritage Month Week II: A Reading and Comprehension Worksheet on Imperialism

Posted on October 7, 2023 | Leave a comment

In the second week of observation of Native American Heritage Month 2023, here is a reading on imperialism along with its attendant vocabulary-building and comprehension worksheet. Imperialism may seem indirectly related to Native Americans, except that imperialist projects around the world have been–and in many real ways continue to be–deleterious to indigenous communities.

If you find typos in these documents, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.

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Ojibwa or Chippewa

Posted on October 7, 2023 | Leave a comment

“Ojibwa or Chippewa: Algonquian-speaking Indian people who formerly inhabited a region north of the Great Lakes but who during the 17th-18th centuries moved west to what is now northern Minnesota. Each Ojibwa tribe was divided into migratory bands. In the autumn, bands separated into family units for hunting; in summer, families gathered at fishing sites. They grew corn and collected wild rice. The Midewiwin, or Grand Medicine Society, was the major Ojibwa religious organization. The Ojibwa are one of the largest Native American groups in North America today, numbering about 50,000 in the U.S. and over 100,000 in Canada.”

Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.

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Cultural Literacy: French and Indian Wars

Posted on October 7, 2023 | Leave a comment

Here is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on the French and Indian War in the British Colonies in North America. This is a full-page worksheet with a reading of five sentences and five comprehension questions. The reading explicitly connect sthe French and Indian War to the Seven Years War, which I’ve rarely seen done in social studies classrooms where I have been a co-teacher. In general, historians regard the French and Indian War as the North American theater of the Seven Years War.

If you find typos in this document, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.

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The Weekly Text, 10 November 2023, National Native American Heritage Month Week I: A Reading and Comprehension Worksheet on Native Americans

Posted on October 7, 2023 | Leave a comment

November is Native American Heritage Month in the United States, though given what has imperialism has wrought on indigenous peoples around the world, it ought to be a global observance in by opinion. I am a week behind with posts for this month because I wanted to post the sixteen-lesson Styling Sentences unit seriatim, which caused it to run into the first Friday in November.

So, as there are four Fridays in September, the four posts for this month will run into Friday, 1 December. Problem solved.

Without further ado, then, here is a reading on Native Americans from the Intellectual Devotional series of books, along with its accompanying vocabulary-building and comprehension worksheet.

If you find typos in these documents, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.

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Coherence

Posted on October 7, 2023 | Leave a comment

“Coherence (noun): Order and sense in expression, or ease and interrelationship in arrangement of thoughts or parts of a sentence; logical consistency or clarity of syntax. Adjective: coherent; Adverb: coherently; Verb: cohere.

“Every man in the chapel hoped that when his hour came he, too, would be eulogized, which is to say forgiven, and that all of his lapses, greeds, errors, and strayings from the truth would be invested with coherence and looked upon with charity.’ James Baldwin, Notes of a Native Son.”

Excerpted from: Grambs, David. The Random House Dictionary for Writers and Readers. New York: Random House, 1990.

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Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna

Posted on September 29, 2023 | Leave a comment

“Antonio (Lopez de) Santa Anna: (1794-1876) Soldier and several times president of Mexico (1833-36, 1844-45, 1847, 1853-55). He fought on both sides of nearly every issue of the day. He is famous for his glorious victories, including his thwarting of Spain’s attempt to reconquer Mexico (1829), and for his ignominious failures, including his defeat and capture by Sam Houston and San Jacinto in the Texas revolt (1836). When the Mexican War broke out, he contacted President James Polk to broker a peace, but on arriving in Mexico he led Mexican forces against the U.S. (1846-47) and was driven into exile. When Maximilian was made emperor of Mexico, Santa Anna offered his services both to Maximilian and to his opponents; neither side accepted. He lived abroad 1855-74, finally returning to Mexico to die in poverty. See also Alamo, caudillo, La Reforma.”

Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.

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