A Kid's Guide to Native American History: More than 50 Activities (A Kid's Guide series) [Paperback]

Yvonne Wakim Dennis (Author), Arlene Hirschfelder (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2009 | Age Level: 7 and up | Grade Level: 2 and up | Series: A Kid's Guide series

Hands-on activities, games, and crafts introduce children to the diversity of Native American cultures and teach them about the people, experiences, and events that have helped shape America, past and present. Nine geographical areas cover a variety of communities like the Mohawk in the Northeast, Ojibway in the Midwest, Shoshone in the Great Basin, Apache in the Southwest, Yupik in Alaska, and Native Hawaiians, among others. Lives of historical and contemporary notable individuals like Chief Joseph and Maria Tallchief are featured, and the book is packed with a variety of topics like first encounters with Europeans, Indian removal, Mohawk sky walkers, and Navajo code talkers. Readers travel Native America through activities that highlight the arts, games, food, clothing, and unique celebrations, language, and life ways of various nations. Kids can make Haudensaunee corn husk dolls, play Washoe stone jacks, design Inupiat sun goggles, or create a Hawaiian Ma’o-hauhele bag. A time line, glossary, and recommendations for Web sites, books, movies, and museums round out this multicultural guide.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Complementing the authors’ excellent Native Americans Today: Resources and Activities for Educators, Grades 4–8 (2000), this child-centered gathering of history, crafts, and activities opens with a chapter of stereotype-dispelling information, then goes on in regionally arranged chapters to present brief accounts of the past and (especially) present lives and customs of several dozen cultures, from Mi’kmaq to Native Hawaiian. Carefully steering clear of items with ceremonial or religious import, Dennis and Hirschfelder add simple directions for creating versions of distinctive everyday objects—such as Seminole-style decorations for a baseball cap or Winnebago appliqué ribbonwork for a notebook cover—plus games, recipes (with notes suggesting adult supervision where cooking or cutting is involved), and art projects. Rattray supplies simple line patterns or diagrams throughout. With plenty of ideas for curriculum enrichment, this resource also includes enough historical background to be a good supplementary source of information for early reports. Back matter includes extensive lists of books, Web sites, and Native American museums and cultural centers. Grades 4-6. --John Peters

Review

"A wealth of information and activities for classroom teachers or parents creating a home learning program."  —Kirkus Reviews

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Chicago Review Press; Original edition (November 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556528027
• ISBN-13: 978-1556528026
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 10.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #206,198 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars I checked it out from the library., September 13, 2010

By 

J. Loudin-Rich - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Kid's Guide to Native American History: More than 50 Activities (A Kid's Guide series) (Paperback)

I got this book from the library to see if it would help with a homeschool unit on Native American history. The crafts look enjoyabe. Even though this is a "native american" history book, I would not use this exclusively for the lessons. It does break down the tribes by region, but there is not much in the way of illustrations to go with the stories. It is also interesting to note that in the map, WV is completely left out of the country. It does not show up in the Norteast, Southeast, or Midwest region. It is as if there is a hole in the country where WV was.

I will use this for some crafts and maybe a few stories to supplement other resources, but it isn't something to be used on its own to teach. I am glad that I got it from the library and that I didn't buy this one.