DAY 1 LESSON
PLANS
Implementation of Language Arts/Art/Social Studies:
I: Pre-Assessment/Introduction: Discussion
may be generated by inquiry. This will enable the teacher to discover
what prior knowledge the student has
- Introduce Alaska and its Native peoples to students. Review the five
Alaska Native groups and pronounce their names. Now direct their attention
to southeast Alaska, homeland of the Tlingits, Haidas, Tsimshians, and
Eyaks. Explain that this lesson is about the Tlingits and the first
time they encountered European visitors to their shores.
- Talk about culture contact. Have students ever visited a place where
they spoke, acted, ate, or looked different from the local people? Ask
them to describe the experiences. Ask students how they would feel if
they discovered that they are dressed differently from everyone else.
If they report discomfort, ask why they feel that way. What is it about
looking like someone that is comforting?
- Conduct an experiment. Divide the students into two groups. Give those
in one group a piece of paper that says, "One of you will ask the
other group the following questions:
a. Did you bring your lunch today?
b. Are you going away for spring [or summer] vacation?
c. Do you have any brothers or sisters?"
Give the other group a piece of paper that says, "If the answer
to a question is "yes," stand up and turn around, then sit
down. If the answer is "no," make an "OK" sign with
your hand."
- Instruct a student from the first group to ask the questions, and
those from the second group to answer them, all at once, in the manner
directed. After all three questions have been asked, discuss with students:
a. Did the first group understand what the answers meant?
b. How did the first group feel when the second group gave its answers?
c. How did the second group feel when its answers were not understood?
d. How might this relate to a situation of first contact between Alaska
Natives and Europeans?
- Provide background on the Tlingits by directing students to the general
information on Alaska on the website. Then direct them to the map of
Alaska. If they click on the southeast section, they will learn something
about the trade the Tlingits engaged in during the days before the coming
of Europeans. This will give them background on Tlingit culture. Distribute
the Southeast Cultural Worksheet-PDF
and have students fill it in.
DAY 2 LESSON PLANS
I:Set the scene for the story of the first
meeting between Tlingits and Europeans. Tell students to imagine that
they are Tlingit Indians of the L'uk.nax.ádi clan living in Lituya
Bay. Locate the area on a map of Alaska. The story would be told in the
wintertime, inside a large wood-plank clan house. The listeners would
be warmly wrapped in bear or deer skins as they listened to the elder
recount the story. It's a story they have heard many times before, but
they love to hear it again. They think that parts of it are very funny.
II:Provide students with two copies of the
Culture Contact Worksheet
- PDF and instruct them to fill in one sheet for Tlingits, one for
LePérouse as they read the selections. Instruct the students on
navigating the New Trade Winds site to reach the Cultural
Meetings/Alaska - PDF section. Students will find the following six
selections, which should be read in this order:
- Cultural Exchanges
- "First Russians"
told by Charlie White
- "Raven Boat"
told by Jennie White
- "The Coming of the
First White Man" told by George R. Betts
- Native Account of the Meeting between LaPérouse and the Tlingit"
from written sources. Click
here for story.
- LaPérouse's Account of First Meeting with the Tlingits in Lituya
Bay. Click here for journal.
III:In class, discuss the readings and students'
completed worksheets. What were the perspectives of the different witnesses?
Why were they different? How would students have changed history if they
could?
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