Paleoindian Period: Know-Want to Know-Learned

Overview!

Students will develop their questions about how the earliest humans entered North America. From these questions students develop their own purpose for reading and research.

(Time: 30-50 minutes)

Content Objectives!

Students will know how the Paleoindians entered North America.

Process Objectives!

1) Students will identify what they know about how the first Native Americans migrated to America.

2) Students will record what they want to know about this process of migration.

3) Students will read the assigned text and then identify what they have learned.

Assessment Strategies!

1) Collaborative brainstorming

2) Question generation

3) Reading comprehension

4) Summarizing

Materials!

- Computer with an Internet connection
- Printed copies of worksheet: Know - Want to Know - Learned
- Printed copies of PDF text: Paleoindian Period
- Video: “Entrance into the New World” (1 min and 29 sec)

Procedures!

1) Divide the class into small groups (preferably) of 3 students each and give each group a Know-Want to Know-Learned worksheet.

2) Ask the class to think about how Paleoindian people first entered North America in terms of the following: dates, travel routes, geographical situation, animals, archaeological sites and sources of foods. Display the list on the black/white board.

3) Play the video "Entrance into the New World."

4) Ask each group to enter what it already know about this process in the ‘K’ (Know) column. Allot an appropriate amount of time. Each student in the group will serve as a scribe for one of the columns in the worksheet. Each of the groups may tell the class something they know.

5) Next, ask each group to list the things it would like to know in the form of questions, in the ‘W’ (Want to Know) column. Students may also add to their 'K' (Know) column or use what they already know to develop additional questions. Alternately, they may not be curious about some factors on the 'K' list. Indicate that after the next activity they will be answering questions they ask in the current one. Allot an appropriate amount of time.

6) Students will read their copies of the PDF text and then reread parts I, II, and III in their own groups. Ask them to take notes/summarize as they read in order to answer the questions they have asked. Allot an appropriate amount of time.

7) Students will next fill in the ‘L’ (Learned) column of the worksheet.

8) If there are any unanswered questions, ask the students to research the questions online. Supervise the process. Alternately, students may complete this activity as homework. Encourage students to access sites developed by professional sources. An example is www.paarchaeology.state.pa.us.

9) Teacher and students together will recap what they learned about the migration of Native Americans to the New World.

Closure: Teacher and students together will recap what they learned about the migration of Native Americans to the new world.