2nd Grade

Lesson Topic: The Lakota Culture: Folk Art

Brief Overview:
This lesson will take place mid-unit. The students are already familiar with the Powhatan culture,
and the previous lesson focused on the Lakota. This current lesson, expands on the Lakota
culture, and its importance to the Lakota people. The lesson mainly focuses on the Lakotas
environment, and how the Lakota used their available resources to create beautiful art. The
lesson will also re-touch on locating on a map and listing the traits of the Lakotas environment.
This lesson can also expand on a literacy lesson, as the students will be working on their writing
and revising skills.
This lesson will emphasize the importance that ones environment has on their way of life and
culture. For example, the students will understand that the Lakota used their resources (buffalo)
to create a substitute for paper. Additionally, they used berries, bones and flowers as painting
implements. This innovation should be emphasized to the students, and will surely capture their
attention.
Enduring Understandings:
- American Indians lived differently in different regions of North America (Powhatan, Lakota,
Pueblo).
Essential Questions:
-How did the American Indians establish their culture and society?
-How does where you live affect how you live?
Primary Content Objectives:
Students will know:
- The resources and tools that each culture (Powhatan, Lakota and Pueblo) used.
- How to expand their thinking in writing.
Students will be able to do:
-Explain ways in which the Lakota represented aspects of their culture in their art.
-Comparing and contrasting different cultures.
-Locating places on a map with landmarks and direction.
-Write a clear and correct paragraph explaining their work on the Lakota culture.
Related state or national standards:
History: 2.3: The student will compare the lives and contributions of three American Indian
cultures of the past and present, with emphasis on
b) The Lakota of the Plains
Skills: 2.1: c) using and creating graphs, diagrams, and pictures to determine characteristics of
people, places, or events to support an understanding of American history;

Writing: 2.11 The student will maintain legible printing and begin to make the transition to
cursive.
2.12 The student will write stories, letters, and simple explanations.
c) Expand writing to include descriptive detail.
d) Revise writing for clarity.
Assessment:
Pre-assessment: Prior to the start of the lesson, the teacher will split the class into pairs. S/he will
then distribute a paper to each group with the prompt Discuss and write 3 things that you
remember about the Lakota and their environment. Allow the students 5 minutes to discuss and
write down their answers. The teacher will then re-prompt the students, What do we remember
about the Lakota culture? What was their environment like? The students responses should be
documented on the board. This discussion and board list will be helpful for students as they
refresh their memories about the Lakota and synthesize the information they have learned. This
will also be helpful to them when they incorporate aspects of Lakota culture into their folk art
project.
Summative Assessment: The folk art project at the end of this lesson acts as a summative
assessment. The students will cut out brown paper bags in the shape of a buffalo hide. They will
then use oil pastels to create designs and shapes that are similar to the Lakota and represent
aspects of their culture. This demonstrates their knowledge of the Lakota culture and their
resources. The students will also write 3-5 sentences explaining their art, and how it displays
aspects of the Lakota and their environment.
Materials and Resources:
-Chalkboard/Chalk or large notepad
-Papers for pair-sharing (What we remember about the Lakota)
-Clipboards
-Pre-printed pictures of the Lakotas folk art
-Brown paper bags
-Pencils
-Sets of oil pastels
-Lined paper
Key Vocabulary and Definitions:
Lakota- A member of an American Indian people of western South Dakota.
Buffalo Hide- The skin from a buffalo (is typically prepared for use)
The Plains- The grassy, prairie region of North America
Lesson Procedures:
1. Introduction and goal orientation: (3 Minutes)
-The teacher will refresh the students memories on what was learned in the previous
lesson. Yesterday, we learned a lot about the Lakota culture. Who can tell me where the
Lakota were from? The teacher will call on a student for the correct answer (the Great
Plains). The teacher will then say, Come and show us again on the map where the
Lakota were from.

-The teacher will then explain to the students, We are now going to be review what we
discussed about the Lakota of the Great Plains, and do an activity that lets us learn more
about the Lakota culture.
-The teacher will then count off the students into pairs. And ask them to sit with their
partners in the whole group area (i.e. carpet).
2. Connecting to prior knowledge and experiences: (15 minutes)
-Once the students are seated with heir partners, the teacher will give the pre-assessment
by distributing papers with the prompt and clipboards, Discuss and write 3 things that
you remember about the Lakota and their environment. The teacher will give the pairs 5
minutes for this discussion. The teacher will then re-prompt the students, What do we
remember about the Lakota culture? What was their environment like? The students
responses should be documented on the board.
-Response examples might include:
-They hunted buffalo
-They created houses from animal hides.
-They used horses a lot.
-The teacher will collect the students response sheets and transition into the next part of
the lesson.
3. Tasks and activities: (25 minutes)
-Lesson: The teacher will begin by explain to the students, You all mentioned in our
discussion that the Lakota hunted the buffalo, and used the buffalo in their houses, for
tools, for warmth and food. One of the many ways in which the Lakota used the buffalo
was for art. They used the skin (or hide) of the buffalo just as artists use paper or
canvases to paint beautiful pictures. We are now going to look at some of this art on the
projector.
-The teacher will then set up the overhead projector/smartboard and display several
images of Lakota buffalo hides (images attached at bottom of plan).
-On each image, the teacher will ask the students, What are some of the things you
notice in this image? The teacher should prompt/scaffold the students note the
characteristics. What colors do we notice the Lakota using? What types of pictures to
you see on this hide? What do we think might be happening in this picture?
-After looking at the pictures, the teacher will ask, From our lesson yesterday, from our
reading of Moonstick and from the colors we see, what materials do we think the Lakota
might be using to make these beautiful hides?
-The students will know that the Lakota would use berries, flowers and clay to make
paints and even used animal bones as painting implements. The students answers should
be recorded on the board.
-Activity: The teacher will explain, We are now going to use what we have learned
about the Lakotas folk art and culture to make our own interpretations of their buffalo
hides.
-The teacher will then ask the students, Please return to your seats and clear everything
off of your tables.

-The teacher will explain, I am now going to pass out paper bags and scissors. These
bags are going to be our buffalo hides. Now, we are not going to touch our scissors until
I tell you to. First, I am going to show you all how to cut out the bags.
-The teacher will then demonstrate how to cute the bags first along the sides and then cut
out the shape. This should be done slow and very visually so that the students can clearly
see the process.
-The teacher will then distribute the scissors, Once I pass out your scissors, you may
start cutting out your hides.
-The teacher should monitor each student during this process, and offer any help with the
cutting.
-Once the students are finished the teacher will explain, I am now coming around the
collect the scissors. Once they are collected the teacher will explain, To make our
pictures on the hides, we will be using oil pastels. Each table will get two sets, so make
sure to share the colors with everyone at your table. I am also passing out pencils for you
to trace your drawings.
-As the materials are being passed out the teacher will redirect the students attention to
the board. Remember, on the board we have examples of some of the images the Lakota
used in their art. You can also include anything else youve seen from yesterdays lesson
about the Lakota.
-While the students are creating their art, the teacher should go around the room to check
in with each student on his/her progress. S/he can ask, What are you drawing there?
Why did you choose to draw that? Tell me about your picture and other questions
that would stimulate the students representations of the Lakota culture.
-Once the students are finished (about 15 minutes), the teacher will collect the hides and
materials.
4. Closure: (15 minutes)
-The teacher will explain, We are now going to write 3-5 sentences describing our art.
Why did we choose to draw what we did? And, how did this represent the Lakota culture.
Once our writings are finished, we will hang them up on the bulletin board under our
hides so that we can all see each others work.
-The teacher will hand each student a piece of blank, lined paper for his/her writing.
-While the students write, the teacher should check in with each student to see how the
process is going, and to make sure that the prompts are addressed.
-After 10 minutes, the teacher will collect the papers. The teacher will explain, I am
going to go over your paragraphs and mark any spelling mistakes or errors so that you
can fix them tomorrow before they are displayed.
-The teacher can also ask the students, Who wants to share some of the thing they
wrote? This will reinforce some key concepts from the lesson.
*The teacher should have the papers marked for revision the following lesson.
Accommodations for individual differences:
-As there are ELLLs in the classroom, the teacher should review any common vocabulary words
with the class, and have them in writing on the board to build familiarity.
-During the pair-sharing portion, the teacher can intentionally pair students who complement
their differences. For example, perhaps more advanced students could be paired together so that

their conversations are stimulating. Students how struggle or even ELLs could be paired with a
student who the teacher sees at being a good listener, so that one partner does not dominate the
sharing. The teacher can also listen in on certain pairs who s/he thinks might need some extra
guidance.
-During the activity the teacher should keep a close watch on any students who have difficulties
with their fine motor skills. Students might need assistance with cutting out the shapes from the
paper bags.
-The writing portion of this lesson can be easily differentiated. For students who struggle with
writing (dyslexic or ELL), they have the option of writing fewer sentences (3), and those who are
higher achieving are open to writing more (5). The fact that the teacher will be editing their
writing will also allow students who have more writing errors a chance to correct their work
before it is displayed.
Behavioral and organizational strategies:
Behavioral:
-During the discussion and instructional portion, the teacher should seat students who have a
tendency to talk or fidget closer to him/her. If a student becomes distracted, the teacher can tap
the student or give him/her a glance rather than disrupting the entire lesson.
-For pair-sharing, the teacher can discuss the expectations and ask two students to model how to
have a respectful pair-sharing experience.
-The teacher must be mindful that students become overly excited when given art materials. The
teacher can review the expectations for using art materials (sharing, not coloring on the tables,
not playing with scissors) before beginning. The teacher should ask the students what these
expectations are, so that they are held accountable.
-The teacher will model how to cut out the correct shapes from the paper bags.
Organizational:
-Before the lesson, the teacher should make sure that all of the technology needed (i.e. projector)
is functioning. S/he should also make sure that all of the materials are ready for the lesson.
-Prior to the activity, the teacher should check that there are enough materials for the students
(especially the art materials).
Images: