Lesson Plan: Learning about Native American Treaties through Evaluation and Analysis
Author: Erich Bassett, Barb Adams, Dan Traxler, Vickie Sue Dutt, Ellie Abadie
Subject: History
Grade(s): 8
Benchmarks and Indicators
- History 6-8, Benchmark G: Analyze the causes and consequences of the American Civil War.
- Indicator: Grade 8, GLI 8. Describe and analyze the territorial expansion of the United States including: a. Northwest Ordinance; c. Westward movement including Manifest Destiny.
- People in Societies 6-8, Benchmark B: Analyze examples of interactions between cultural groups and explain the factors that contribute to cooperation and conflict.
- Indicator: Grade 8, GLI 3. Analyze how contact between white settlers and American Indians resulted in treaties, land acquisition and Indian removal.
Lesson Summary
This lesson will help students become familiar with the language and issues of what a treaty between the U.S. and a Native American group looked like. Students will be led as a whole class through the steps for analyzing a treaty using the Treaty of Greenville, then working in groups, will have another treaty to analyze using the same steps used in the whole class activity. Following this activity and a whole class discussion of what students learned from evaluating and analyzing their treaty, two groups will join together to share what they learned about each of their two treaties, and complete a post assessment activity of comparing and contrasting the two treaties.
Pre-Assessment/Diagnostic
Question students about the purpose of treaties and in what situations treaties are made.
Read over the Treaty of Greenville and, as a whole class, complete the treaty analysis worksheet. (Either give each student an analysis worksheet to complete as the teacher completes, or do the worksheet on an overhead for students to refer to later.)
Instructional Procedures
- Put a picture of the Treaty of Greenville up on the screen for the class to see.
- Discuss the readability of the document.
- Have students imagine they are Native Americans of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century who may not speak or read English. Discuss their thoughts and views.
- Discuss the problems they can foresee with making treaties in this manner.
- Give background information about the Treaty of Greenville. Work as a whole class to read and analyze the Treaty of Greenville. (Either give all students a treaty analysis worksheet. and complete it together or do one on the overhead.)
- Put students into four groups.
- Pass out a different treaty to each group with a map and analysis worksheet. You can link to treaty transcripts in the Resources section at the right side of the page.
- Have students read through the treaties and complete part one of the analysis worksheet.
- After the four small groups have completed part one of the analysis worksheet, have two groups work together to complete part two of the analysis worksheet. (Its best to pair up groups working with the Treaty of the Wyandot 1814 and the Treaty of Wapakoneta 1831 and the groups working with the Treaty of St. Mary's 1817 and the Treaty of McCutcheonville 1832.)
Post-Assessment
- Have students give small group presentations, first, of their original group treaty part one of the analysis worksheet, and then a larger group presentation of the comparison of the two treaties part two of the analysis worksheet.
- Discuss the students responses to part one and part two of the analysis worksheet.
- Have the students complete the rubric for the activity.
Extensions
- Have students research other Ohio treaties with Native Americans.
- Have students research the history of a tribe that signed a treaty in Ohio. (What happened to them then up until now.)
- Have students research other treaties of the U.S. involving Native Americans.
- Have students develop a grade card critiquing the U.S. governments dealings with Native Americans.
