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Slavery and Native Americans Lesson Plan: 1600-1865
By Tori Austin
Overview
Native American slavery is a topic that garners very little, if any, attention in history classrooms. Native American tribes, on a small scale, practiced some form of slavery. The circumstances for Native Americans in subjugation varied from tribe to tribe. Using the essay, Slavery and Native Americans in British North America and the United States: 1600 to 1865, students will investigate this lesser known area of history. Students will be actively engaged in reading and processing the historical essay and will develop an electronic presentation related to the topic.
National Curriculum Standards met by this lesson
For a list of standards that this unit addresses, click here.
Time Required
Three 50-minute class periods plus additional homework
Materials
The Lesson
Anticipatory Set
- Have students complete the left-hand column of the Anticipation/Reaction Guide (Handout One).
- Have students pair up and discuss their responses, explaining why they answered the way that they did.
Procedures
- Organize students into groups of four. Have students use the Three-Step Interview (Handout Two) as they read and discuss the essay.
- After they have read the essay and discussed the information, ask students to complete the right-hand column of the Anticipation/Reaction Guide.
- In their assigned groups, have students discuss the "Questions to Ponder" at the end of the essay. This discussion will provide them an opportunity to discuss the essay in its entirety. The group should then select one aspect of the essay to further research for their group project. Topics might include:
- Slavery in the Civilized Tribes
- The Impact of Slavery on Native Americans
- Slavery: An Issue Among Native Americans
Assessment
Have student groups continue to research slavery and Native Americans through the topic they have selected, then create a PowerPoint® presentation depicting the key facts, events, and impact of slavery and Native Americans. The PowerPoint should include imported or scanned photographs, primary source documentation such as quotes, and a summary of the students' analysis of the topic.
Note to Teacher: Before assigning the assessment task, you should review the Scoring Rubric (Handout Three) with students and explain the criteria and expectations for the assessment task. Students may need to complete the research outside of class. Also, you may need to schedule time in a computer lab if there is not an availability of technology resources in the classroom.
Assessment Variation
For the one computer class, you may have students create a class presentation. You would assign each group a different aspect of one topic and the group would develop two-three PowerPoint slides on that topic. The teacher could structure time for the groups with the technology resources once the topic as been researched and the information for the slides is planned. All of the slides would then be organized into one presentation. The same rubric could be used in scoring the group section of the presentation.
Slavery and Native Americans Lesson: 1600-1865
Handout One: Anticipation/Reaction Guide
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Instructions: Respond to each question twice. For statement with which you agree, put an "A" in the column. For statements with which you disagree, put a "D" in the column. |
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Response Before Reading |
Topic: Native Americans and Slavery |
Response After Reading |
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Most Native American tribal groups practiced some form of slavery before the European introduction of African Slavery into North America.
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Among the Cherokee, the white man's view of civilization was embraced-perhaps reluctantly but surely,-including the use of enslaved blacks as a labor force on their farms and, in some cases, their plantations.
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In 1860 ,nearly 4,000 enslaved blacks lived in the Cherokee nation.
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After the 1860 election of Abraham Lincoln and the rapid secession of most of the southern states, the U.S. government actively sought allies from the Five Civilized Tribes.
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After the Civil War, former enslaved blacks were granted an extension of Indian citizenship.
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The Chickasaw never recognized formerly enslaved blacks as full tribal members.
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Slavery and Native Americans Lesson: 1600-1865
Handout Two: Three-Step Interview
- Students should be in groups of four (4).
- Jigsaw the narrative in to four (4) sections.
- Assign students a number from 1-4.
- Students should read the section corresponding to their number, below:
1: Read beginning of essay to "Native American and Slavery in the Southeastern United States."
2: Read from "Native American and Slavery in the Southeastern United States" to "The Trail of Tears and Slavery."
3: Read from "The Trail of Tears and Slavery" to "Indians, Slavery, and the Civil War."
4: Read from "Slavery, Indians, and the Civil War" to the end of the essay.
- Student number 1 debriefs their section with student number 2
Student number 3 debriefs their section with student number 4
Student number 2 then debriefs with student number 1
Student number 4 then debriefs with student number 3
- Students debrief with the entire group the section they learned about:
- Student number 1 shares information from section 2
- Student number 2 shares information from section 1
- Student number 3 shares information from section 4
- Student number 4 shares information from section 3
Slavery and Native Americans Lesson: 1600-1865
Handout Three: PowerPoint Scoring Rubric
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Criteria |
4 Points |
3 Points |
2 Points |
1 Point |
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Organization |
- Information was presented in an interesting and logical sequence
- The transitions to new topics were seamless
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Information was presented in a sequence that was easy to follow |
- Information was somewhat difficult to follow
- Presentation seemed to shift or jump from topic to topic throughout the presentation
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There was not a clear sequence or order to the information presented |
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Knowledge/Content |
Demonstrates a strong understanding of the content and students are able to answer questions raised from their presentation |
Demonstrates an understanding of the content and can answer questions with help of others in the group and with information from their presentation. |
Demonstrates limited understanding of the content and can answer some of the questions raised |
Demonstrates very little understanding of the content and cannot answer questions raised from the presentation |
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Design/Technical Specifications
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Very creative and used relevant graphics and animations throughout the presentation to enhance the presentation |
- Easy to see and follow
- Included some graphics to enhance presentation
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- Easy to see and follow
- Limited use of graphics to enhance presentation
- Did not include any unnecessary graphics
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OR
- Used unnecessary graphics in the presentation
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Overall Presentation |
- Excellent presentation
- The presentation kept the audience's interest and included the class in the learning process
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Good presentation
The presentation did not always keep the audience's interest and include the class in the learning process |
The presenters did not seem comfortable with the presentation
The presentation did not include the class in the learning process |
The presenters displayed limited understanding of the material
The class was not involved in the learning process
The presenters read the information off of the slides
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