Digital Collections

This unit is designed to give an introduction to students about the Haudenoshaunee, or Iroquois people in Canada. It includes a brief background of where they came from and where they have settled over the last few centuries. Students will look at their own genealogical backgrounds and learn a story of their own, before learning about the Iroquois. A variety of written, oral, and artistic activities are contained herein, with reference to the Ontario Curriculum Guidelines in Language, Math and Science/Technology. Although I focused on guidelines at the Grade 2 level, this unit can be adapted from the kindergarten to Grade 6 levels. Focusing on Grade 2, however, the teacher will use the Internet with small groups of students at a time; this can be changed for older grades to have students look up specific sites and do reading/research on their own. As an alternative to Internet access you can copy information onto paper or use some stories from the resource books listed. This unit also looks at oral history by Natives. Assessment is based on reading, journal writing, a portfolio of collected works from throughout the unit, discussion, participation, and creative presentations. It spans 4 weeks but can be modified for any time frame.