The Indians of Texas

7^th Grade Texas History Webquest

Introduction

Have you ever eaten Comanche fast food? Have you ever built a wickiup or worn shoes made from the Lechuguilla plant or spent the night in a grass house? Texas Indians did all of this and much more.

Texas Indians can be split into 4 culture groups:

Southwestern Culture (Caddoes, Wichitas, Cherokee, Alabamas, Coushattas)

Puebloan Culture (Jumanos, Tiguas)

Gulf Culture (Coahuiltecans, Karankawas)

Plains Culture (Tonkawas, Apaches, Comanches, Kiowas)

Task

You will be one member of a three person team. Your team will be the teacher for the day. Your job is to become an expert on a Texas Indian culture group. You will then teach the class all about your Indians. To be a good teacher, you will need to investigate the everyday life of your culture group. Discover the language, food, religion, clothing, housing, myths, and legends, and location of your tribes. You will create visuals to help teach the class and a worksheet for your classmates to complete as you present your culture.

Process

Each member of the team will become one of the following persons.

Historian/Storyteller---Your job is to research the everyday life of your tribe. Were they a warring people or peace-loving, nomadic or sedentary, farmers or hunters? Find out everything you can about their way of life. You will present this information in an oral report to the class. You will also need to find one myth, legend, belief, or story about your culture that you will read to the class. You will need to create an illustration for your myth, legend, belief, or story. You need to create a worksheet with a minimum of 10 questions that the class will answer as you present your information to the class.

Map Maker/Carpenter---Your job is to draw a map of Texas (large, poster board size) and highlight and label the areas in which your tribes lived. List all tribes within your culture area on the map. You will also need to research and find 3 place names today that are of Indian origin. Label these places on your map and give a brief description of how the place acquired its name. You also will need to research the housing of your tribes (if it is different for your different tribes, you may pick one). You will need to create a model or poster board size drawing of your Indian housing. You will need to be able to describe the housing and how it is constructed to the class.

Professional Chef/Seamstress---Your job will be to investigate the food and recipes of your culture group. You will need to find at least 3 recipes of Indian food from your tribes. You need to write out the recipes and either cook one dish for the class or create a poster with the recipes and illustrations of the foods. Your second job is to investigate the clothing worn by your tribes. You may either sew (or make, be creative) a costume (life size or doll size) or create a poster with an illustration of your Indian attire. If you make a costume, you will only have to make one costume. If you do the illustration, you will need to draw both the male and female attire for one of your tribes.

Resources

Your Texas History textbook

http://marcopolo.worldcom.com Marcopolo Website. Click on Marco Polo Search and type in Native Americans of Texas

http://refdesk.com/ type in “Texas Indians” in search area for list of many web sites. Also type in “Texas Indian recipes” for recipes

http://members.tripod.com/~Philkon/names.html Defines the names of Indian Tribes

http://www.texasindians.com/ Excellent site for history of the tribe and myth and legend

http://www.lsjunction.com/places/indians.htm map and brief description of some tribes

http://www.thc.state.tx.us/Main_THC/names.html brief list of places in Texas with Indian names

http://www.ilt.columbia.edu/k12/naha/natribes.html list of tribes and various websites about the tribes

http://www.clever.net/cam/cyberindians.html links to info. on several tribes

Evaluation

Ballinger Junior High

The Indians of Texas

Name: ________________________

Teacher: Mrs. Harral

Date of Presentation: ____________

Title of Work: ___________________

Presentation Criteria					Points
	1	2	3	4
Content Knowledge	Student does not have grasp of information; student cannot answer questions about subject.	Student is uncomfortable with information and is able to answer only rudimentary questions.	Student is at ease with content, but fails to elaborate.	Student demonstrates full knowledge (more than required) with explanations and elaboration.
Delivery	Student mumbles, incorrectly pronounces terms, and speaks too quietly for students in the back of class to hear.	Student incorrectly pronounces terms. Audience members have difficulty hearing presentation.	Student's voice is clear. Student pronounces most words correctly.	Student used a clear voice and correct, precise pronunciation of terms.

Project Criteria

Process	Below Avg.	Satisfactory	Excellent
1. Has clear vision of final product	1, 2, 3	4, 5, 6	7, 8, 9
2. Properly organized to complete project	1, 2, 3	4, 5, 6	7, 8, 9
3. Managed time wisely	1, 2, 3	4, 5, 6	7, 8, 9
4. Acquired needed knowledge base	1, 2, 3	4, 5, 6	7, 8, 9
5. Communicated efforts with teacher	1, 2, 3	4, 5, 6	7, 8, 9

Product (Project)	Below Avg.	Satisfactory	Excellent
1. Format	1, 2, 3	4, 5, 6	7, 8, 9
2. Mechanics of speaking/writing	1, 2, 3	4, 5, 6	7, 8, 9
3. Organization and structure	1, 2, 3	4, 5, 6	7, 8, 9
4. Creativity	1, 2, 3	4, 5, 6	7, 8, 9
5. Demonstrates knowledge	1, 2, 3	4, 5, 6	7, 8, 9, 10
6. Other:	1, 2, 3	4, 5, 6	7, 8, 9

Total Score:____________________________

Conclusion

Upon completion of your presentation, your class should have a good understanding of the four Indian culture groups in Texas.