(This is the abstract for Shane Doyle’s curricular unit, “Traditional Native Games Along the Lewis and Clark Trail.”)
This unit is comprised of four lesson plans varying in duration from one to two 50-minute lessons. They span the history of the Plains Indian people and examine ideas, values, and historical and contemporary perspectives that are directly tied to students’ daily lives and experiences. The units are interdisciplinary and cover topics such as history, art, music, archaeology, ethnography, literature, and oration. Each lesson is designed to reach James Bank’s social action level, the highest level of multicultural integration, so that students can apply their understanding to real-world situations in ways that have a significant and lasting impact. The lessons rely heavily upon classroom discussion and interaction (see information on discussions below) and seek to establish a collaborative environment that gives students voice and agency as well as an opportunity to acquire a sense of dedication to and within a learning community.