Give your students a lecture on how the Choctaw Indians utilized their cultural skills and personal talents to develop the economy near the Mississippi River. After the lecture, divide students into groups. Have them create an award to give to an individual for his developments in this area. You could call this award the Mississippi Economic Development Award. The students should create visual aids, such as posters, to demonstrate the contributions of that particular individual to the area.
Teach your students the language of the Choctaw. Pronounce words and have students repeat them. Another option is to allow students to visit the Chahta Anumpa Aiikvna School of Choctaw Language at Choctawschool.com. The students can click on the vocabulary section of the website and find a variety of words in a media file. Or, have them follow the word of the day to enhance their vocabulary constantly.
Basket weaving was an important part of the Choctaw culture. Have students create their own baskets that weave together the past and present. Have them cut out strips of paper. They should write facts about the cultural information of the Choctaw Indians on some of the paper and facts about their own culture on others. Have them put these strips of paper together to create a basket. Explain the similarities and differences of the cultures to the class.
Have students write down a list of what they think the Choctaw culture was like. Write a list of their thoughts on the board. Provide students with lectures, photographs and speeches that represent what the Choctaw culture was really like. Divide the class into groups and have them make a list of what they learned. Ask them what the differences are between their assumptions and the facts.