Lesson: The Desert Southwest

Teacher: Miss Gilbertsen

Grade Level: 5th Grade
GLCE:
U1.1.2 Compare how American Indians in the desert Southwest and the Pacific Northwest
adapted to or modified the environment.
CCSS:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.3
Explain the relationships or interactions between two or more individuals, events, ideas, or
concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text based on specific information in the text.
C3 Framework:
D2.His.2.3-5. Compare life in specific historical time periods to life today.
D2.His.3.3-5. Generate questions about individuals and groups who have shaped significant
historical changes and continuities.
Objectives:

Students will, in writing, be able to describe at least two ways of how the Pueblo peoples
adapted to their environment.
Students will, in writing, be able to identify at least two reasons regarding the importance
of agriculture and storing surplus foods for the people in the Southwest.
Students will be able to display the Hopi way of life versus our life today by creating a
graphic organizer.

Materials:
Textbooks
Notebooks
Graphic Organizer sheets
Writing Utensil
The Desert People by Allan Houser
Exit Tickets
Vocabulary:
Adapt- To adjust ways of living to land and resources.
Staple- Something, such as milk or bread that is always needed and used.
Surplus- An amount that is more than what is needed.
Hogan- A cone-shaped Navajo shelter built by covering a log frame with bark and mud.
Summative Assessment: Students must use the information learned from the lesson to make a
graphic organizer about the way of life of the Hopis. They can organize it any way that they want

and must include at least two vocabulary words in the correct context. After they finish their
graphic organizers, students will write a short story (5-10 sentences) about the Hopis.

Anticipatory Set:
1. Review last class periods lesson on the Ancient Indians and turn in their homework.
2. Prior to this lesson, students have read over the chapter the night before to get an idea of
what the lesson will be about.
3. Have students discuss what they know about desert life with a partner. What factors
might desert people have to consider when farming? What resources might they use in
building houses? Ask if any volunteers would like to share.
Procedure:
4. Discuss the Pueblo peoples with students and the reasons why early peoples lives were
affected so much by their environment. (They had to basically look around them and see
what was available to them resource wise, food wise, building wise, etc. They didnt just
have a store to walk to like we do to get the things that we need.)
5. Now ask the class as a whole to think of ways in which we presently modify our
environment. How do these modifications affect our environment? Discuss as a class
aloud. (Constructing building, removing tree, bridges as means of transportation, etc.)
6. Draw attention to the vocabulary word adapt and its meaning in regard to the people of
the desert Southwest.
7. Now do an activity to make it relevant to the students on the board where you make a list
by asking their table groups to come up with ways in which they behave differently at
home and at school, according to the changed environment. Ex: sitting in rows at school,
raising hands to speak at school. Point out that these are examples of ways in which they
adapt to their environment.
8. Now discuss the food and living situation of the Pueblos by drawing attention to the
vocabulary words staple and surplus.
9. Remind students that the Pueblo peoples adapted to their dry environment by irrigating
land with water from underground springs to grow crops in an arid climate. What are
some other ways in which Pueblo peoples used the environment? (Pueblo peoples used
nearby resources to build homes and chose crops that grew well in the region.)
10. Have the students take a closer look at the Pueblo image on page 71 and talk about the
activities that are being shown in the picture. Without giving them away, see if the
students can just observe the activities and come to an understanding of what they might
be doing. (kiva, pottery making, grinding corn, cooking, weaving, preparing food)
11. Explain that Pueblo homes were functional, with little emphasis on comfort. Ask students
to compare and contrast the design of Pueblo homes with that of modern homes.
12. Now mention how the Navajos were desert newcomers and had to learn from the Hopis
how to adapt to the environment. Draw attention to the vocabulary word Hogan in which
the Navajos built as their shelters.
13. Lastly, discuss the Navajo beliefs. (Worshipped Gods, ceremonies, etc.)

14. Now, tell the students we are going to read a book about an Indian boy of the Southwest
who describes his daily life, the customs, the animals, the desert and its changing seasons.
Introduce the reading strategy we will be using as we read this book (3-2-1 Bridge).
Explain that prior to reading we will write down three thoughts, two questions, and one
analogy and after reading, we will write down three new thoughts, two new questions,
and one new analogy. The bridge is explaining how your new responses connect to your
initial responses.
15. Give the title of the book, The Desert People by Alan Houser and a brief summary of
what it is about. Model the 3-2-1- Bridge strategy. Give the students a few minutes to
right down their 3-2-1s before starting the story.
16. Read the story all the way through.
17. Now have the students complete their new 3-2-1 and bridges. Ask if any volunteers
would like to share their overall 3-2-1 bridges with the rest of the class.
18. Show short online video clip of the desert Southwest today.
Closure:
19. Now have students take out a piece of paper and take the next five minutes or so to
answer the following question: (HOTS) What aspect of your environment is most like the
environment of the desert southwest? What aspect of your environment is least like the
environment of the desert southwest? Explain. (Quick-Write)
20. Summarize key content from the lesson.
Pueblo peoples built houses from available resources, grew staple crops, and
worshipped gods related to their surroundings.
The Hopis helped the Navajos adjust to a desert environment by teaching them to
grow native crops and make cotton clothing.
The Navajos worshipped many gods and praised them in ceremonies led by medicine
people.
21. With the remaining class time, have the students create a graphic organizer of their
choosing to display the Hopi way of life versus our lives today. What they do not finish in
class, they will be able to finish next class period.
22. Save the last five minutes of class for the students to complete an exit ticket answering
the following questions:
a. Describe at least two ways of how the Pueblo peoples adapted to their
environment.
b. Identify at least two reasons regarding the importance of agriculture and storing
surplus foods for the people in the Southwest.
Next class period, we will be covering The Northwest Coast and the Arctic.
Adaptations to Special Needs: I will make the necessary adaptations and modifications to
students specific needs. Some suggestions:
Auditory Learners: Review with students the characteristics of the Southwest. Then
select students (volunteers) to pretend that they are Pueblo visitors to the class. Have

each visitor describe a way in which his or her people adapted their way of life to the
available land and resources.
Below-Level Learners: Have each student write out and number each sentence of the
passage quoted from The Pueblo. Then give them a copy of the illustration on this page
and have them label the location of the activity with the number of each sentence from
the passage. If an activity is not depicted, encourage students to draw it.

Extension:
Organize the class into three groups, and have each group write a descriptive skit
depicting the Pueblo way of life. Encourage students to include encounters between the
Hopis and the Navajos. Take an extra class period or longer to have the students practice
and then perform their skits for each other. Reinforce the lesson material further by
leading a class discussion about the ways in which the skits are similar to and different
from one another.
Bring in materials for the class to make a resemblance of adobe. Then have the students
build their own pueblo homes as models.
Have a mini lesson on examining primary sources and pottery making that follows this
lesson. The students will examine artifacts for clues about everyday lives of ancient
Americans and compare artifacts from early and modern times. Students can bring in an
artifact that reflects them and discuss with the rest of the class. They also can create their
own clay pots! They can paint a design or picture on the pot that reflects their lives.
Online, I found a Native American speaker who is part of the Hopi tribe named Nikishna
Polequaptewa. I would have him come in and have my students openly ask questions and
just have an open discussion.