UNIT ONE: PREHISTORIC NORTH AMERICA
Essential question: How did North American cultures develop prior to European colonization?
Focus Questions for this unit:
Core Curriculum
Curriculum of Connections
Curriculum of Practice
Curriculum of Identity
Overview:
The course begins with a study of the first people to live in North America. We want students to see how prehistoric societies developed. We will use existing knowledge developed by anthropologists through archeological studies to form a hypothesis about life before man began to record events. Primary sources here will be vague and often lead to conflicting (and sometime even flawed) theories about prehistoric development. In fact, our notion of prehistory has changed over time as new and exciting discoveries help to re-write our "prehistory" book.
An important element of discovering prehistoric life, is the connection between sociological development and geography. To that end, we need to see how this link exists in North America and elsewhere. We will also endorse this understanding through a virtual "stone age" society in our simulation entitled "ADAPT."
In our search for understanding how different cultures developed as a by-product of geography, we will give students a chance to see their own "cultural" viewpoints and how they contrast with the beliefs of others.
Our extension activity presents students with a challenge about how these differences play out in modern American society
Time: approximately 2-3 weeks
Individual lessons for this unit:
What a Bargain!
Digging History
Temperature and Human Settlement
Readings
The Story of Carbon Dating
Scientists Learn from 9000 year old skeleton
Hunting and Gathering
Fossils and the Folsom Cowboy
Paleolithic Hunter-Gatherer Diet
How Farming Changed the World
Neolithic Revolution
Culture: A Geographic Perspective
Simulations
ADAPT (Interact, Lakeside, CA)
Power points
What A Bargain!
Roll Them Bones
Videos
Stone Age Tools
The Stone Age
Unraveling mysteries of Kennewick Man
Original Tasaday Documentary
The Lost Tribe of the Tasaday
Extension Activities and Resources
Reading: The Curious Case of Sidd Finch
Video: 30 for 30 Shorts - Unhittable: Sidd Finch and the Tibetan Fastball
Reading: From the Melting Pot to the Tossed Salad Metaphor: Why Coercive Assimilation Lacks the Flavors Americans Crave
Essential question: How did North American cultures develop prior to European colonization?
Focus Questions for this unit:
Core Curriculum
- How did the first North Americans adapt to their environment?
- In what ways does an environment influence social development?
- How do we know about life in prehistoric times?
- What events changed mans cultural patterns over time?
Curriculum of Connections
- Why do different people have different perspectives on the same issue?
- How might the concept of "perspective" allow me to see viewpoints other than my own?
Curriculum of Practice
- What tools do archeologists use to draw conclusions about prehistoric societies?
- What are some ethical issues an archeologist may face in their role?
Curriculum of Identity
- What might I learn about myself as I study cultures different from my own
Overview:
The course begins with a study of the first people to live in North America. We want students to see how prehistoric societies developed. We will use existing knowledge developed by anthropologists through archeological studies to form a hypothesis about life before man began to record events. Primary sources here will be vague and often lead to conflicting (and sometime even flawed) theories about prehistoric development. In fact, our notion of prehistory has changed over time as new and exciting discoveries help to re-write our "prehistory" book.
An important element of discovering prehistoric life, is the connection between sociological development and geography. To that end, we need to see how this link exists in North America and elsewhere. We will also endorse this understanding through a virtual "stone age" society in our simulation entitled "ADAPT."
In our search for understanding how different cultures developed as a by-product of geography, we will give students a chance to see their own "cultural" viewpoints and how they contrast with the beliefs of others.
Our extension activity presents students with a challenge about how these differences play out in modern American society
Time: approximately 2-3 weeks
Individual lessons for this unit:
What a Bargain!
Digging History
Temperature and Human Settlement
Readings
The Story of Carbon Dating
Scientists Learn from 9000 year old skeleton
Hunting and Gathering
Fossils and the Folsom Cowboy
Paleolithic Hunter-Gatherer Diet
How Farming Changed the World
Neolithic Revolution
Culture: A Geographic Perspective
Simulations
ADAPT (Interact, Lakeside, CA)
Power points
What A Bargain!
Roll Them Bones
Videos
Stone Age Tools
The Stone Age
Unraveling mysteries of Kennewick Man
Original Tasaday Documentary
The Lost Tribe of the Tasaday
Extension Activities and Resources
Reading: The Curious Case of Sidd Finch
Video: 30 for 30 Shorts - Unhittable: Sidd Finch and the Tibetan Fastball
Reading: From the Melting Pot to the Tossed Salad Metaphor: Why Coercive Assimilation Lacks the Flavors Americans Crave