Submitted by: Tom Adair
School: Twin Hickory
Summary
Students researched Virginia’s eight state-recognized tribes. Kevin Krigsvold, a member of the Pamunkey Indian tribe, blogged and Skyped with students about life as a Native American and growing up on the Pamunkey Indian reservation in King William County.
TIPC Ratings
Students are using Web site to discover information about the eight state-recognized Indian tribes.
Students must work together to discover interesting facts and information about their respective tribe. Then, they communicate via blog with a Native American who grew up on an Indian reservation. The lesson concludes with personal interaction where they meet and ask questions. This interaction allows real-life situations the Native American experienced to enter the classroom. Stereotypical views of an Indian reservation are broken down with this face-to-face interaction. Students discover the Native Americans they read about are not like present-day Native Americans.
Students learn what life was like for a Native American. They discover his life is really not that different from theirs, which contrasts the questions that were posed on the teacher blog.
The questions posed by the students were linked to the Indian life they had been studying. By the end of the lesson, they learned from a Native American how life really wasn’t all that different. He enjoyed doing some of the same things they enjoy doing as a kid.
