"Contact and Conflict" Activities

• Science-Environment: Because the American Indians believed it was wrong to waste or harm anything in nature, they have been called "the first environmentalists." Use this unit to develop materials on the relationship of the Indians to nature. Illustrate how deer was used for food, clothing, thread, needles, tanning solution, and farming tools. Nothing was wasted.

• Art: A parallel class in art could use painting, weaving, and the making of pottery to supplement the study of Eastern Indians.

• English: Students could analyze how spelling and writing have changed since the Jamestown era. When was the fist dictionary compiled? A reading of Indian poetry and mythology may be suggested for extra credit.

• Geography: Students may locate on the Virginia map where Indian reservations are today. Virginia Indians might be compared to Plains Indians.

• Compare the paintings of John White with the description of the Powhatan Indians written by John Smith in 1612. With the assistance of textbooks and other research materials, review Indian culture: their religion, their relationship with the environment, the roles of men and women, their design and use of tools, and their means of economic exchange and survival.

• Lesson plan: Disney's Pocahontas: Fact or Fiction? - High school level

• Critical Thinking: Questions for discussion

• In the classroom: Word search