Assemble students on a story rug or reading rug with the teacher on a chair at the front.
Ask students if they can tell you something they know about explorers and what they do. Use questioning strategies to help them arrive at an accurate, group-created definition, and write their definition on newsprint. This should be a time of free thinking, during which there are no wrong answers, and all offerings are honored and validated.
Place a pile of picture books on the floor and tell the students they will be trying to find pictures that show explorers, or someone exploring. Allow children to page through the books, and tell them they will be able to share what they have found with the group. Let them know they are exploring their books.
Allow students to share their findings and again, validate every appropriate finding.
Have students generate a list of clothing items explorers might wear. Write their list on another piece of newsprint.
Repeat this process for both settlers and Native Americans on the following two days. This lesson is crucial to building the framework for upcoming lessons.
Review explorer, settler and Native American by asking a few review questions.
Divide students into three groups: explorers, settlers and Native Americans. Direct students to the dress-up clothes and see if they can find and put on clothing to represent their group. This can be difficult, but since no rules are hard and fast, flexibility may play a part. This is a great opportunity to reinforce sharing and should be completely supervised.
When the students have dressed themselves in their group clothing, have the explorers explore the classroom, the settlers find a place in the room they feel they could live, and the Native Americans shoot a stuffed toy bear with make-believe bows and arrows.
Assemble your students on the reading rug and remind them that each of these groups did not have much room for belongings. Ask the children to consider three items they would bring with them if they were going on a long trip and they didn't have much room. Allow time for sharing.
Tell your students that settler children and Native American children made toys out of the materials available to them. Dolls were often made out of rags or corn cobs. When settler parents disciplined their children they often threw their toys away.
Take your students to the craft table and give each one ten tissues, a paper towel and a rubber band.
Have them roll the tissues into a ball, lay the ball in the center of the paper towel, fold the paper towel diagonally over the tissues and wrap a rubber band around the paper towel just under the ball, making it look like a head.
Students may use markers to make smiley faces on their dolls' heads. Explain that a settler child or a Native American child might have made a doll like this out of cloth or hide.
Tell students that each group was only able to eat food and use ingredients available to them. Review kitchen safety and proceed to the cooking area.
Wash hands, assemble ingredients and allow students to help you make Cherokee Indian Sweet Potato Bread. Have a parent boil the bread for you, while students clean up the kitchen and complete coloring pages related to the unit of study.
Eat bread and drink water. Remind students that juice and milk were not available.
Review the lessons as you eat.