Dear America & Activities for readers:
If you liked the books we suggested on our main page, you might also like to check out some of the activities we have listed on this page.
Visit the Official Site of the Dear America and My Name is America series. You'll also want to check out the Activities page and the Arts & Crafts section for lots of things to do online and at home.
|
||
Activities & Games
Crossword Puzzle
Download our crossword puzzle (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader - check with an adult before downloading anything) and see if you can solve the whole thing. (Don't check the answer key until you've looked in a few books or asked a librarian or another trusted adult for help!)
Games and Toys
http://www.nativetech.org/games/index.php
Play a variety of online games from a virtual Wampum belt to virtual paper dolls. Sponsored by Nativetech.org.
Family History Mapping Project
Interview family members (parents, grandparents, etc.) to learn where your family came from and the migration to where you live today. Try to go back as far as you can and include details if you have moved yourself. Create a poster collage using photocopies from books, cut-outs from magazines, family photos, and your own drawn pictures to illustrate your family's migration. If your heritage goes back to a part of the world that you know little about, try and find more information about that place using books, encyclopedias or other resources. Genealogy for Kids has some printable forms to help you begin to construct your family tree. You and your parents or another trusted adult might also want to visit the companion website for the PBS series "Ancestors" to get more information about tracking your family's history.
History Mystery
http://teacher.scholastic.com/histmyst/start.asp?Game=14
Use clues to answer questions about Native American culture. Try to answer using the fewest number of clues possible.
Native American Clothing
Identity by Design: Tradition, Change, and Celebration in Native Women's Dresses, an exhibition at the NationalMuseumof the American Indian (http://www.nmai.si.edu/exhibitions/identity_by_design/IdentityByDesign.html)
This exhibit is available both online and in the museum in Washington,D.C.If you would like to learn more about the clothes many Native American women wore in the past and wear today, visit this exhibit. Explore clothes similar to what Nannie Little Rose and her friends might have worn and understand why they were so important. Learn about the stories each dress can tell.
N.I.A.C. Kids Corner
http://www.nativetech.org/Nipmuc/kidscorner.html
Play games online to learn about Native Americans. Created by the Nipmuc Indian Association of Connecticut.
The Trail of Tears
http://www.cherokeemuseum.org/html/collections_tot.html
Learn more about the Trail of Tears with an interactive map from the Museum of the Cherokee Indian. Move your mouse over different areas to see information about the trail.
Toys
http://www.civilisations.ca/aborig/stones/toys/tymenu.htm
Check out pictures of toys and games used by Canadian and American tribes. This site was developed by the Canadian Museum of Civilization. Visit their site about First Peoples with an adult to learn more about Canadian tribes.
What Would You Do?
(Adapted from "A Final Word." Cobblestone. 24.7 (October 2003). History Reference Center. EBSCOhost. Messiah College Lib., Grantham, PA. 19 Nov. 2007. <http://search.ebscohost.com>)
Think about the lives of the characters in The Journal of Jesse Smoke: A Cherokee Boy and My Heart is On the Ground: The Diary of Nannie Little Rose, A Sioux Girl. Imagine it is the nineteenth century, and you are a leader of one of their tribes. What would you recommend to your followers, and why?
Cooking
Hopi Boiled Corn Cake Recipe
(Requires adult supervision)
You will need: 30 cornhusks (the outer part of a corn cob), 1 cup of cornmeal flour, half a cup of honey, blue food colouring (optional).
1) Boil the cornhusks until they are soft. Drain them and let cool.
2) Put the cornmeal in a bowl and gradually add a cup of boiling water, stir until the mixture is like thick custard.
3) Stir the honey into the mixture and add blue food colouring.
4) Open the cornhusks and drop 2 spoonfuls of corn mixture into the center of about 20 of them. Fold them neatly into parcels. Shred the remaining husks and use the shreds to tie up the parcels.
5) Ask an adult to help you bring water to the boil in a large saucepan, then carefully put in the corn cake parcels.
6) Boil the parcels for 15 to 20 minutes, remove them from the saucepan with a slotted spoon. Let them cool before you unwrap and eat them.
(from http://kg-online.vsb.bc.ca/student_projects/interests/aboriginals/art2.htm)
Popcorn
Corn is a food native to North America - ask an adult to help you cook up a batch of popcorn while you read your favorite book.
Crafts
Make a Clay Pot
You will need: self-hardening clay, pencil, paint
1) Flatten and pinch out a clay base.
2) Roll the clay into thin sausages, and begin to build up the sides of the pot by coiling the clay around. Make the pot wider as it grows taller, then narrower at the neck.
3) Smooth the outside of the pot, allow it to dry and then draw and paint your design.
(from http://kg-online.vsb.bc.ca/student_projects/interests/aboriginals/art2.htm)
Magazines
Check out Cobblestone magazine in your local school or public library. The magazine is all about American history and includes issues devoted entirely to Native Americans. For a list of subjects, visit their website. Some issues include book reviews from kids just like you!
Go beyond U. S. History with Calliope magazine, also in your local school or public library. Calliope focuses on world history with issues devoted to everything from Egypt to the Greek Olympics. For a list of subjects, visit their website.
Nature
Plant a Garden
Jesse Smoke and his family were farmers before they were forced from their homes. Many other Native American tribes also farmed the land. Corn, pumpkin, and squash are just some of the foods first cultivated by Native Americans. Check out a book about gardening from your local library to learn more about planting your own small garden or visit My First Garden, a website designed especially for kids learning to create their own gardens. If you don't have any space for a garden, try growing herbs or flowers in a small pot.
Tracking the Buffalo
http://www.americanhistory.si.edu/kids/buffalo/index.html
Visit the Smithsonian Museum of American History to learn more about the importance of buffalo to the Northern Plains Indians (including Nannie Little Rose's tribe). Visit the You Be the Historian link to learn about buffalo hide painting. Once there, click on the buffalo hide to learn about the paintings and the symbols Native Americans used. Explore the rest of the site to learn about Plains Indians and the importance of the Buffalo. Click on the What Can You Make with a Buffalo? link to see examples of things made from buffalo and play a matching game. See if you can match all of the buffalo parts to the items made from them!
More Stuff!
Still want more stuff?
Check out the authors' websites: Joseph Bruchac and Ann Rinaldi
Try the Encyclopedia Smithsonian's Recommended Publications for Children on Native American Subjects for a list of all kinds of books you might want to read.
Visit the Smithsonian's Museum of American History website for historical activities and games you can play online.
Check out the Smithsonian's entire kid's page for activities and games about history, science, natural history, and more!
Hang out at The BookHive for book suggestions (from other kids!), activities, and book lists.
Planting a garden not enough? Explore nature on the University of Illinois Extension's Just for Kids site. Want to know how corn came to the United States? Ever wonder what it's like to be a worm? Then this is the site for you.
Like Harry Potter? Then try Scholastic's Harry Potter site with information about the books, games, and activities for Muggles.
Or, ask your librarian! Librarians can suggest books, magazines, movies, and more. Your public library might even have programs and activities planned just for you! You might also want to learn about native cultures in other countries, such as the Maori of New Zealand or the Aboriginals in Australia. Ask your librarian for resources about these groups as well.
Page by Janet & Nick