Research+Steps

Native American Research Steps
I. DEFINE THE PURPOSE: WHAT DO I WANT TO LEARN? What do you want to learn about your tribe? I am curious about what the Comanche people eat. I want to know how many children were in a family? In other words, are most Comanche families large or small? I want to know how they made their clothes. I am interested in the government. Do they have one chief? If they do, how is that chief selected? Do the men and the women have different jobs? What are they? Do the children go to school? I am curious about the Comanche religion. What do the Comanche people believe happens when a person dies? I wonder what happens when a person is sick. Do they have medicine? Do they celebrate birthdays? Are their rich people and poor people among the tribe? Do they have laws? If they do, what happens when someone breaks the law? Do they have a jail? Do they brush their teeth? Do they have a written language? Do they have contact with other tribes? I want to know if they are friendly with the other tribes. Do they ever marry someone from a different tribe? I wonder where the Comanche people are today. How do the Comanche people feel about the Europeans?

II. HOW AM I GOING TO PROCEED? List what you already know about your tribe and Native American people in general. I know that the Comanche tribe lived in the plains which is the flat area in the center of North America. I think they used the buffalo quite a bit. I know that Native Americans first came to North America by walking across the Bering Land Bridge thousands of years ago. I know that different groups formed and that each group used whatever was available to live. I learned that men and women usually had different jobs. I know that some Native American homes were very light and easy to pack up and move. This was wonderful because some tribes moved around a lot (nomadic). I know that North America can be divided into several different regions depending on the location and type of land. For example, there are the Plains Indians located in the flat area in the center of the continent. Some Native American grew food and some hunted. I learned that some Native American heat rocks and then put them in a pot of water. The heat from the rocks causes the water to boil...very clever! III. WHAT AND WHERE ARE MY BEST SOURCES OF INFORMATION? Brainstorm possible sources that you want to use. books, websites, videos, itunes, You Tube, interview an expert

IV. HOW WILL I COLLECT MY INFORMATION? Use Nonfiction Skills (main idea and details, browse, skim, scan, listen for important details) Take Notes Cite sources

V. HOW WILL I ORGANIZE THE INFORMATION I HAVE COLLECTED? Keynote or Voice Thread - rough draft Essay - graphic organizer

VI. CREATING MY FINAL PRODUCT Produce the final product Prepare a bibliography

VII. EVALUATING MY PRODUCT