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Hiawatha and the Peacemaker

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Grade/Course/Level: Middle & High School Social Studies/Indigenous Studies
Lesson: Hiawatha & the Peacemaker
Unit: Great Law of Peace and US Gov’t Foundations
What precedes and follows the lesson: Preceded by- Great Law Intro & Vocab

Measurable Learning Objectives/Targets (skills/content):
(I can…)
I can define key people and terms related to the foundation of the Great Law of Peace within the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.

New York State Standard Alignment with Lesson Objective Correspondence:
4.2b- Native American groups developed specific patterns of organization and governance to manage their societies.
Portrait of a Graduate Alignment:

Instructional Resources/Materials/Technology:

Essential Question(s): Who was Hiawatha? Who was the Peacemaker? What was their role in the foundation of the Great Law of Peace?

Big Ideas:
Key terms and people associated with the Great Law of Peace
Interdisciplinary Learning Connections: Geography, Literacy and Context Clues (ELA)

Lesson Sequence & Learning Activities:

  • Intro- Warm up question. Option to have students work in pairs to brainstorm their responses and then report out for whole group instruction.
  • Video: Haudenosaunee’s Legendary Foundation Haudenosaunee’s Legendary Founding | Native America | Sacred Stories | PBS
    • Debrief responses to the comprehension questions after students watch the video.
  • Reading- Key Roles in The Great Law of Peace: Jigsaw Activity
    • Students are divided into two groups, with one group reading Who Was the Peacemaker and the other reading Who Was Hiawatha. Each group becomes an “expert” on their reading and then teaches the key ideas to the other group. Students take notes on both readings and reflect on how the Peacemaker and Hiawatha contributed to the founding of the Great Law of Peace.
  • Closure- Hand out each student an index card and have them answer the following prompt:
    • Hiawatha and the Peacemaker are both described as people who helped to create peace within their communities. What are some things that you can do to be a “peace maker” within your own life?
    • If enough time allows, have students share their responses to the whole group.

Instructional Differentiation:

  • Simplified text/excerpts for students who need additional support (ex. a version of “And Grandma Said” excerpt with shorter sentences or highlighted key ideas).
  • Define challenging terms for students as you go throughout the lesson (ex. catalyst, discord)
  • Partnered reading: Students who struggle with reading aloud or comprehension can work with a partner to read and discuss the text.
  • Subtitles turned on for the video portion of the lesson

Assessment:

  • Informal- Student responses as they report out on worksheet questions, student responses to the closure prompt
  • Formal- collect student worksheet and assess responses