native american research project 4th grade

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Beginning Research Projects: Native Americans Poster Project

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Let’s talk about research projects for younger students. Guiding students through the research process can be stressful, but with lots of guidance, practice, and some gumption, it can be a fun learning experience that builds a life-long skill! So, today, I’m sharing a great beginning research project that can be done with students in 2nd and 3rd grade. This research project focuses on gaining a better understanding of Native American tribes while building those ever-important research skills! I love doing this research project in the month of November to celebrate Native American Heritage Month, but it really can work at any time.

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Start with a Native American Book

For me, any great lesson starts with a book! A research project can start that same way, too! A book helps to fuel interest, or build background information.

Here are a few books that you could use to start a discussion on Native Americans. The suggestions here are a mix of fiction and nonfictional books. Just remember that the book serves as a way to begin the thought process and should be used as an introduction. Click the links below to check them out!

One of my favorite indigenous authors is Joseph Bruchac . He’s a Native American author who works to share his people’s stories, ideas, and legends with us! Honestly, you can’t go wrong with pulling one of his books as a place to start the discussion.

Introducing Native American Tribe Research Project

After sharing a book with your class, discuss Native Americans with your students. Ask them what they already know about Native Americans. Then, work to discuss the fact that Native Americans are not just one group of people, but are actually many different groups of people who lived in groups called tribes. Each tribe had its own culture, beliefs, and way of life, based on the resources available to them.

Discuss how some tribes are still around today, like the Navajo Nation, but others are significantly smaller or no longer with us due to changes brought on by European settlers. Then, show students a map with some of the Native American tribes located throughout the United States.

I like using this map (You can grab it here !)

Use the map/assignment sheet as a launching point for the Native American research project. Explain to students that you will choose a tribe, and then do some research to learn how that tribe used natural resources to live. Then, they’ll get to share their research with their classmates by displaying what they’ve learned on the poster.

From there, have students choose a tribe they would like to study. It can be one from the map or one from another resource (like the books suggested above).

Teacher Tip- Make a note of the tribes students choose to research. I also suggest allowing 2-4 students to research a tribe. Limiting the available spots allows for more exposure to different tribes, but also keeps the focus on learning more about the First Americans and less on what their friends are doing.

Research Note Taking for Beginners

One of the trickiest parts of conducting research in a younger classroom is the ability for students to zero in on important information. I love using a scaffolded research sheet to help guide younger researchers in finding the facts that need to be included in a project.

To keep the project younger student-friendly, this research project includes a scaffolded note-taking sheet that guides students through the different information they are looking for about their tribe.

This one is part of this unit here on TpT.

Before allowing students to use the internet, I review internet safety rules. We also talk about “valid sites.” This one is tricky for younger students to grasp, but I always like to review how we know if a website is good or not. I also provide a list of approved websites to use to find information.

Teacher Tip- Use Kiddle.com as your search engine! It’s a kid-friendly search engine powered by Google!

Native American Tribe Research Poster

Once students have gathered information on their tribe, it’s time to start working on displaying that information. Make sure you have a sample made (or borrow one). It’s much easier for students to complete a task when they know what it should look like at the end.

Before students begin creating their posters, pass out the rubric. Read the different poster requirements, and discuss how that might look on their posters. This rubric is the exact one used to grade the assignment, so you can use it as a guide when creating the poster.

Discuss how the information should be presented neatly so that everyone can read and learn more about the tribe. I also suggest students add illustrations to their posters to add visual interest.

Research Poster Presentation

At the end of the week, have individual or groups of students present their posters to the class. Have students share the important details they learned about their tribe. At the end of the presentation, allow classmates to ask questions about the tribe. Any unknown answers can always be researched later!

Implementing the Native American Tribe Research Poster Project

Want to easily implement this project in your 2nd or 3rd-grade classroom? Be sure to check out this research project in my TpT store. It includes everything you need to complete this project with your students, including information cards on 12 different Native American tribes; three from each US region.

More Resources and Ideas

Need more ideas? Check out these related posts and resources.

• African American Inventors Research Project for 2nd Grade
• African American Inventors and Graphs, Oh My!
• 5 November Activities that are Perfect for 2nd Grade
• Popplet in the Classroom
• Arctic Thematic Unit: Part Two

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• Categories: 2nd Grade , 3rd Grade , reading

Hi, I'm Leigh.

The Applicious Teacher is all about creating hands-on and engaging lessons that align with the standards while still having time for your life. This is your place for ideas, tips, and resources for the REAL teacher!

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Native American Projects

Native American Projects  are always an activity my students enjoy! Check out these social studies activities for kids to make learning fun and exciting. For kids, Native Americans can be an exciting topic! Native Americans are very interesting people with very unique cultures. My sweet students recently completed our Native Americans for Kids unit.  Students learned concepts including Native American history and Native American culture. My students found many Native Americans facts engaging and they were excited to learn more each day!

So, whether you are looking for ideas for Native American Craft Preschool  or Native American for 5th Grade projects, you are in the right place!

Native Americans Art Project Ideas

Native Americans of the Great Plains are resourceful people. These tribes found a use for every part of the buffalo. Native Americans would use buffalo to create tools, shelter, clothing, food, and much more. Honestly, I was so impressed with the many ways in which buffalo was used.

Native American School Projects

Native American School Projects will be so much fun for students! Trust me, they will make great memories while learning interesting facts while participating in Native American School Projects.  Students enjoyed working with different Native Americans tribes for their Native American projects.  The Native American tribes my students worked with are the ones outlined in the Georgia Social Studies Standards. These tribes were Inuit Native Americans, Kwakiutl Native Americans, Pawnee Native Americans, Seminole Native Americans, Hopi Native Americans, and Nez Perce Native Americans. Each tribe gave my students the opportunity to learn interesting facts and new stories my. I really enjoy teaching this social studies unit.

Native American Craft Supplies

When planning for Native American School Project, first decide what tribe the project will represent.  Then, do research on that specific tribe.  After, look around the house for items you can use and make a list of what native american craft supplies that need to be purchased.  Check out Amazon.com and Hobby Lobby.  Hobby Lobby has a excellent selection of sheet of sod for grass, Native American figures, buffalo figures, and many other options.  I wanted to share a few native american craft supplies that I found.  

This assignment of Native American projects excited my students.  Native American project letters and the project rubric were sent home and students were given 2 weeks to complete the assignment. At school I went into great detail with my students about the rubric so they would know what to expect. I was blown away with the amount of Native Americans facts and the many details students included in this social studies projects.

Native American Project Rubric

Here are several photos of Native American projects. Way to go everyone! If you have assigned a similar project for your students, please share. Native Americans projects are fun, and my students really enjoyed this social studies project. Does assigning Native Americans Projects to make you nervous? Don't be nervous! Write down a list of what you want to accomplish overall for the project. Whatever you choose, write it down and start creating your rubric. Then, talk to your students about the Native American project and your expectations. Be clear of your expectations give examples of what to do and not to do. It is very important students have a clear understanding of your expectations so they can meet those expectations.

Looking for Native American activities ?  Check out these engaging, standards-aligned flipbooks. My students love working with flip books and always find them useful when preparing for an assessment.  The following tribes are included in this Native American Activities Flip book BUNDLE...

Click below to learn more!

Teaching and learning about the lives of Native Americans is always fun and interesting!  I hope you enjoy these activities and get excited about Native American Projects as I do!  Good luck!  If you have any questions or need help, please email me at [email protected]

Share with us! If you have great pictures of cool, creative Native American projects, please snap a picture and email them to [email protected]. I would love to include them on this blog post and help others out. Thanks for sharing!

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Native American Research

Students investigate an Native American tribal group. They conduct research using a variety of resources. The subject areas to focus on are religious life, history, social structures, economics, geography, and environment. Students create a chart to present the information found.

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iRubric: Native American Research Project 4th grade rubric

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Bringing Social Studies to Life With PBL

A teacher transforms her third-grade unit on Native Americans into a semester-long project-based learning unit.

This generation of students presents a unique challenge to educators: How can schools continue to engage and teach children who have access to so much knowledge at their fingertips? How can we join school programs and curriculum with student interests and passions when much of their learning is occurring outside the walls of the classroom?

The answer is complicated, but for me it lies in the relationship among student agency, project-based learning (PBL), and the power of student voice and choice in their learning.

Bringing PBL to Social Studies in the Early Grades

In the third-grade social studies curriculum at Friends School of Baltimore , where I teach, what used to be a mundane, teacher-led unit on Native Americans is now a semester-long PBL unit. We start by addressing stereotypes of Native Americans and the debate over Native American team mascots because, in the end, we want our students to be motivated to educate their community about breaking these stereotypes.

First we unpack the concept of stereotypes through deep discussion, and the students reflect on that learning by creating posters with phrases like: “Just because I am a boy doesn’t mean I can’t have long hair” and “Just because I am a girl doesn’t mean I can’t play football.” Suddenly their eyes are opened, and everything around them is a stereotype.

We then show our students current images of Native American mascots of sports teams. They watch interviews with Native Americans about the mascots and hear the Washington Redskins’ owner defend the team’s name . We ask the third graders to address this question: Should sports teams be allowed to use Native American names and mascots?

After researching both sides of the issue, the third graders form strong opinions of their own. We use this opportunity to teach persuasive paragraph writing, and when they finish their paragraphs, they want to have a debate, which leads to lessons on the fundamentals of formal debate.

This front-loading is essential in engaging students, and now, after about a month of preparation, they’re ready to hear the driving question that we will use to build a mini-museum: How can we as museum curators teach our community about Native American culture in the past and in the present?

In order to create our museum, we do extensive research over the course of about three weeks. Each child focuses on a different tribe. They read books, use graphic organizers to practice note-taking skills, and settle on one idea they want to teach to the community. Students are engaged and excited about beading Sioux clothing, building a Cherokee winter house, and making Wampanoag weapons.

In addition to our research with books, we’re lucky enough to be able to visit the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC. Our third graders are there not just to visit and look around but also to note how Native American history is exhibited. They return home with designs and plans in their heads.

The students create a plan for their project with accurate blueprints, and list all materials needed and explain their process in writing. Then they begin to gather materials to build their exhibits. They plan to address questions such as: “How would I build a Hopi bow and arrow?” “How can I show the beliefs of the Huron about death?” “I want to weave blankets for my Wetu because that is how they built the houses.”

Not every student achieves success at every point. I watch as many a clay structure crumbles because a student doesn’t heed the advice of an art teacher. I see frustration in the eyes of partners who don’t share the responsibilities of building a project.

The students suffer natural consequences throughout the process, and assessment is based on collaboration, creativity, communication, and flexibility. Learning and assessment for each child are about the process, not the product.

Exhibits begin to take shape: a Nez Perce fishing trap, a woven Hopi blanket, and more.

After working to design and build their exhibits for about two weeks, the students write an artist’s statement about the process and materials they used to create their exhibit, as well as a paragraph about the tribe as it exists today. These paragraphs, along with their persuasive paragraphs about using Native American names and mascots for sports teams from the beginning of the project, allow for cross-curricular teaching of important writing skills.

Finally we have the museum opening, and each student stands near his or her exhibit to explain to the visitors what the exhibit represents and how it was created. The museum is open for a week, during which time parents, faculty, and administrators learn about Native American life in the past and in the present. The lower grades come to view the museum at prearranged times. In this way, our students experience an authentic audience for their learning, and they can thank themselves for their success.

Media Release   Oct 20, 2022

Researchers with Harvard Project Examine Federal and State Landback Options for Tribal Nations

Researchers from the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development (Harvard Project) released a policy brief outlining how to identify lands historically belonging to Indian nations that could be returned by the U.S. federal and state government—a process commonly referred to as landback.

Project on Indigenous Governance and Development

Indigenous Governance

Cambridge, MA – Today, researchers from the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development (Harvard Project) released a policy brief  outlining how to identify lands historically belonging to Indian nations that could be returned by the U.S. federal and state government—a process commonly referred to as landback.

Laws written in the late nineteenth century that were intended to create opportunities for private ownership and settlement by non-Indigenous people drastically diminished the geography of American Indian reservations. Much of this land was originally declared “surplus” and therefore “not needed” by tribes. Nevertheless, today, six federal agencies still manage approximately one-third of the purportedly surplus land that had been within former reservation boundaries.

Today, and across the U.S., there is growing support and demands for landback, for lands taken from tribes to be returned to the stewardship of Indigenous peoples, including certain national and state parklands. Indeed, these areas may provide a cohesive set of initial opportunities towards the aim of landback. In particular, tribal management or tribal-federal/state co-management agreements can present win-win solutions for both public agencies and American Indian nations in expanding tribes’ land stewardship.

In the policy brief, authors Miriam Jorgensen , Harvard Project research director, and Laura Taylor , Harvard Project research fellow, detail how techniques utilizing geographic information systems (GIS) can identify public and/or protected land in relation to current and historic reservation boundaries. This technology can showcase the scope of landback opportunities, including lands that are: (i) owned by the federal or state governments; (ii) federal- or state-managed within current external reservation boundaries; (iii) existing within former reservation boundaries; (iv) near or abutting current reservation land; or (v) protected areas designated for conservation management.

Jorgensen and Taylor conclude that identification of where these parcels are, especially in relation to current or former reservation land, is a powerful first step for tribes and federal and state government agencies as they mutually begin to develop strategies for the return of land to tribal nations.

For further information, contact the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development at 617-496-4229 or [email protected] .

About the Harvard Project 

The Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development is based in the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. The Harvard Project aims to understand and foster the conditions under which sustained social and economic development is achieved among Indigenous nations in the U.S. and beyond.

About the Ash Center 

The Roy and Lila Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation advances excellence and innovation in governance and public policy through research, education, and public discussion. By training the very best leaders, developing powerful new ideas, and disseminating innovative solutions and institutional reforms, the Center’s goal is to meet the profound challenges facing the world’s citizens.

More from this Program

Tribal Sovereignty in Focus Back-to-School Reading List

Back-to-school recommended reads from the Harvard Project on Indigenous Governance and Development include books, articles, and podcasts that highlight Indigenous governance narratives.

Aug 16, 2023

Media Release

2023 All-Stars Awards in American Indian Tribal Governance Honors Nine Programs

Nine tribal governance programs have been selected by the Harvard Kennedy School Project on Indigenous Governance and Development’s Honoring Nations program as 2023 All-Stars from the family of 142 Honoring Nations awardees.

May 18, 2023

Harvard Kennedy School to Expand Work with Native Nations

Recent gifts will significantly expand the impact of the Harvard Kennedy School Project on Indigenous Governance and Development.

Apr 19, 2023

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