Plan a game day with your students. When you implement games into your lesson plan, your students will not only learn about various tribes, but will also have fun. You can divide the classroom into two teams and stage a “game show” where each team must answer a question about tribes correctly. When the team answers the question correctly, they get a point. Give the winning team a prize at the end of the game, such as no homework for the night or extra recess.
From making pots and jugs for food and water to making clothing, arts and crafts show students how resourceful tribes were. Have an arts and crafts session with your students or children. Before you have the kids make anything, talk about various arts and crafts that were created by different tribes and why they were created. Discussing the reason behind certain crafts helps children learn different aspects of tribal life. Choose a variety of crafts from different tribes. Have the students pick a craft to make and present it to the class. When the student presents his creation, ask him why he chose that particular craft and what tribe it is from.
Listening to music from various tribes and discussing what the music means can help students understand more about the beliefs and rituals of a tribe. Select songs from different tribes and play them for your students. Have a discussion about what each song means and why it was performed. Take the time to get in-depth about the importance of music and rituals in certain tribes. Print out pictures of musical instruments used in music or rituals and let the students look at them.
At the end of the unit on tribes, break your students off into groups of three or four. Give the groups a list of subjects they can choose from. Each subject pertains to what they learned during the unit. For example, you can have the students choose from subjects such as music or everyday life. Let the students choose a specific tribe, as well. After the students choose their subjects and tribe, have each group thoroughly research and create a poster or write a paper covering what they learned about the tribe and the subject. A group research project gives students the opportunity to learn more about an aspect of the unit they are interested in.