Length
90 minutes
Common Core Curriculum Standards
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.1
Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.3
Identify key steps in a text's description of a process related to history/social studies (e.g., how a bill becomes law, how interest rates are raised or lowered).
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.4
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary specific to domains related to history/social studies.
Vocabulary
- agriculture
- ancestral land
- artifacts
- ceramics
- civilizations
- culture
- fired
- hunter-gatherer
- indigenous
- kiln
- nomadic
- pottery
- pueblo
- sedentary
- settlement
- slip
- temper
- wedged
Materials
- Copies of quiz
- Copies of the lessons
- Paper
- Pens
- Access to reference materials
- Chart paper
- Markers
- Miniature terra cotta pots
- Acrylic paints
- Paint brushes
Reading & Discussion Questions
- Preview vocabulary with students before reading the lesson.
- Read Native American Pottery: History, Facts & Symbols as a class, and discuss the following questions:
- When did Native American pottery first appear?
- What are some of the locations of the earliest Native American artifacts?
- Where did the pottery making in the southwestern United States originate from?
- Why is pottery different in various parts of the southwest?
- Describe the lifestyle of the tribes who made pottery.
- How was pottery first created?
- Describe the coil technique for pottery-making.
- Describe the slab technique for pottery making.
- What types of materials were used to make pottery?
- What are some techniques for decorating pottery?
- How do firing techniques vary by tribe?
- How do potters determine the decoration for each pot?
- Describe the decorations of various pueblos.
- How is Navajo pottery different from Pueblo pottery?
- Ask if there are any questions, then give the students the lesson's printable worksheet to check for understanding.
- Check the answers as a class.
Activities
Map and Timeline
Materials needed: copies of lesson, chart paper, markers, access to reference materials
- Divide students into small groups. Provide each group with materials.
- Have groups sketch a map of North America on chart paper.
- Have students label the map with dates, locations, and sketches of Native American pottery that was found there. Students may use reference materials as needed.
Decorate Pottery
Materials needed: miniature terra cotta pots, acrylic paints, paint brushes, access to reference materials, paper, pens
- Assign students to one of the following pueblos: Taos, Picuris, Santa Clara, Tsuque, Cochiti, Kewa.
- Have students look up examples and techniques used to decorate pottery in the pueblo.
- Students use acrylic paints and brushes to decorate a terra cotta pot using the designs that were used by that pueblo.
- Students write a report that describes pottery by that pueblo and explains their decoration. Students will use vocabulary words in the report.
