Every Part of the Bison: How Plains Nations Met Their Needs
Lesson Plan · Grade 5 · Social Studies
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Grade
5
Method
idm
Phases
Name: Staging the Compelling Question
Minutes: 12
Purpose: Launches the inquiry arc (Day 1) by hooking fifth graders on the compelling question, "How did Plains Nations use the land and the bison to meet all their needs, and why does that knowledge still matter today?" Students make early predictions about how one animal could supply food, shelter, clothing, and tools. Those predictions set up the supporting question that today's sources answer: "What parts of the bison did Plains Nations use, and what need did each part meet?" The phase also frames the Lakota, Cheyenne, and Blackfeet as living Nations from the first minute, so students study their present as well as their past.
Materials
Exit Ticket Suggestion
Q1. Name two parts of the bison and explain how a Plains Nation (such as the Lakota or Cheyenne) used each one to meet a need.
Q2. Why was the bison so important for survival on the Great Plains? Use one piece of evidence from today's sources.
Q3. True or false: Plains Nations only existed in the past. Explain.
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