Format
1. The program begins with the park ranger introducing Whiskeytown National Recreation Area.
2. Some basic facts and background of the Wintu are provided.
3. The first activity involves a discussion of Wintu geography. Students look at a basic map and are provided a list of questions to think about and answer.
4. The second activity involves slides of different Whiskeytown plant species that students match up to the park ranger's description.
5. The third activity involves students watching an 11-minute film on indigenous use of fire and then discussing the film.
6. The program will be summarized and time will be allowed for students to ask questions.
7. After the program, park rangers can send Whiskeytown coloring books to your classroom. The coloring books include pages on the Wintu. Ask the ranger if you would like a pack of coloring books sent to you.
Objectives
In this program students will:
- Analyze Wintu settlement patterns and Wintu geography.
- Identify plant species that were used by the Wintu.
- Compare and contrast indigenous fire practices with those of today.
Standards Alignment
National Standards
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.3.SL.1 -- Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 3 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.4.SL.1 -- Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 4 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.5.SL.1 -- Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 5 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
State Standards
California State Standards - Social Science
3.1 Students describe the physical and human geography and use maps, tables, graphs, photographs, and charts to organize information about people, places, and environments in a spatial context. 1. Identify geographical features in their local region. 2. Trace the ways in which people have used the resources of the local region and modified the physical environment.
3.2 Students describe the American Indian nations in their local region long ago and in the recent past. 2. Discuss the ways in which physical geography, including climate, influenced how the local Indian nations adapted to their natural environment.
4.2 Students describe the social, political, cultural, and economic life and interactions among people of California from the pre-Columbian societies to the Spanish mission and Mexican rancho periods. 1. Discuss the major nations of California Indians, including their geographic distribution, economic activities, legends, and religious beliefs; and describe how they depended on, adapted to, and modified the physical environment by cultivation of land and use of sea resources.
5.1 Students describe the major pre-Columbian settlements, including the cliff dwellers and pueblo people of the desert Southwest, the American Indians of the Pacific Northwest, the nomadic nations of the Great Plains, and the woodland peoples east of the Mississippi River. 1. Describe how geography and climate influenced the way various nations lived and adjusted to the natural environment, including locations of villages, the distinct structures that they built, and how they obtained food, clothing, tools, and utensils. 2. Describe their varied customs and folklore traditions.
5.3 Students describe the cooperation and conflict that existed among the American Indians and between the Indian nations and the new settlers. 4. Discuss the role of broken treaties and massacres and the factors that led to the Indians’ defeat, including the resistance of Indian nations to encroachments and assimilation. 5. Describe the internecine Indian conflicts, including the competing claims for control of lands.