What motivated Europeans to explore the New World, and what effects did their exploration have on Native American populations? The second installment of a 16-part American Passages series prompts pupils to watch a video and read several...

Young scholars research Native American culture. In this Native Americans activity, students read the folk tale, The Strongest One and identify the natural resources in the poem. Young scholars participate in a discussion of how Native...

First graders explore the lifestyles of several North American tribes. They investigate about the homes, food, transportation, and daily living habits of each tribe. Pupils use a map to locate several Native American tribes in North...

Students are introduced in the Humanities class, as they explore the origins of Totems in Native American folklore. In the computer lab, students read Totem stories and explore the meaning and symbolism behind the myths using various Web...

Students work together in groups to create a collection of folklore for a newly created unusual culture. For this folklore project lesson, groups choose from six different cultures and present a description of their culture's...

Give your class a deeper understanding of the context and meaning behind early American song lyrics. By reading the lyrics to "Yankee Doodle" and  "Revolutionary Tea," high schoolers will practice analysis by examining the...

Students work in small groups to illustrate a story board of a folktale. They develop the meaning of a trickster as a humor device in folktales by listening to several about Leprechauns and the Coyote of Native American tales. They then...

Students compare and contrast the stories from different cultures by studying the folktales of Japan and their use of animals and antagonist characters. Any activity in this instructional activity can be used as a separate instructional...

Students compare and contrast the Eight Immortals with American super- heroes, such as Superman, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman while examining the literary genre of folktales and its connection to art.

Students record transformations and their effects within and across cultures. Students study the life of specific people in a former time period and then in the present time period. This teacher focused on the Winnebago tribe, using her...

Students look at how animals are shown in literature and art as representing emotions, telling a story, or sending a message in this elementary school Language Arts and Visual Arts lesson.