Poverty Point Louisiana Teaching Ideas

Scholastic Runway June 25, 2020 no Comments

Are you searching for teaching ideas and resources for Poverty Point, Louisiana? I have everything you need!

Poverty Point Map

Begin your lesson with maps of Poverty Point. As students analyze the maps, hold a class discussion. Then, challenge students to locate the site on a blank map or draw the mounds.

Poverty Point, Louisiana Map with Questions includes a map of Louisiana with Poverty Point labeled. Ask students questions about cardinal and intermediate directions and the region of Poverty Point. — **Poverty Point Map with Questions**

Poverty Point is one of the most unique Native American sites in North America. It was constructed 3,400 years ago. The mounds and ridges were built by Native Americans who traded and held ceremonies. — **Poverty Point Site Map**

Video of Poverty Point

In order to give students a visual of Poverty Point, show this video (low quality filming but high quality information).

Poverty Point Video: Gumbo Island- The First Louisianans — Poverty Point Video

Poverty Point Activities

At the beginning of your lesson, pose this question:

The people of the Poverty Point culture were hunters and gathers. They also constructed large, permanent mounds or earthworks. What do these details tell us about Poverty Point?

After posing the question, use one of the following activities to explore this question.

Poverty Point Jigsaw

Students are divided into two groups.
- Expert Groups
  - Divide students into 6 heterogeneous groups.
  - Then, assign a topic for each group: Trade, Resources, Structures, Mississippi River, Crafts, and Food.
- Teaching Groups
  - “Teaching groups” should consist of one “expert” from each topic.
  - Now it is time for students to take turns presenting the information they learned in their “expert group.”

Poverty Point Walking Tour

First, display stations around the classroom with sources for each topic.
Then, students visit each station and record information.

Students LOVE walking tours!

Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Walking Tours | Gallery Walks in the Classroom — **Use with ANY lesson!**

Louisiana Culture Walking Tour | Gallery Walk for 3rd Grade Social Studies — This is the BEST way to learn about Louisiana’s unique culture!

Build Poverty Point Structures

How to Build Wattle and Daub Houses

First, discuss modern houses and the materials used to build the houses.
Next, explain how those materials are made in factories. Since Native Americans lived off of the land, they had to build their houses from natural resources.
After that, discuss natural resources and how natives used them to build houses. Watch the video below:
- How Native Americans Built Their Homes
Lastly, construct wattle and daub houses.
- Materials needed: pine needles, modeling clay, and wax paper

Poverty Point, Louisiana Wattle and Daub Houses: This is an image of student-made houses. — **Wattle and Daub House Project**

Poverty Point Topics

EVERYTHING YOU NEED! This PowerPoint includes colorful slides with sources that reveal Poverty Point’s true native culture through many sources. It also includes teaching instructions and graphic organizers. All Priority Content and Concepts are covered in this fun lesson.

Structures
Trade
Food
Resources
Mississippi River
Crafts

Everything you need to teach about Louisiana Poverty Point Indians is included in this lesson. Explore artifacts that reveal true native culture through many sources. This NO-PREP, engaging learning experience will create excellent class discussions. — **Covers all important topics- structures, trade, food, resources, Mississippi River, crafts**

Structures

Students learn about the unique Poverty Point mounds, types of houses, and size of the area. They love the illustrations and kid-friendly text.

Trading in Poverty Point

Explore Poverty Point in this map task. Poverty Point was a major trade location. Most importantly, the rivers made it possible for Native Americans to travel, trade, and share news long distances.

Food

How did Poverty Point Native Americans get food? They hunted and gathered. Students learn about all of the food resources available in this area.

Poverty Point Native Americans hunted and gathered. — Hunt and Gather

Resources

This area had an abundant amount of resources. However, there were not a lot of rocks.

**Poverty Point Native Americans traded other tribes to get rocks for tools.**

Crafts

The natives crafted jewelry, tools, and decorative objects.

In addition to the Poverty Point interactive PowerPoint lesson, this assessment and activity also align directly to the Louisiana Scope and Sequence.

Assessment

This LEAP formatted assessment on Poverty Point will test your students’ knowledge while helping them prepare for the LEAP test. High-quality, rigorous tests and high-quality instruction help prepare for the end-of-the-year tests. Assess your students’ knowledge of Poverty Point Native Americans while preparing them for LEAP.

Activity

Explore Louisiana Poverty Point Indians with this fun activity. The passage includes historical information about the mounds, food, resources, trade, location, importance of Mississippi River, structures, and crafts. The guiding questions are aligned with the passage and the brochure. A rubric is included to make grading easier.

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