| Grade/Course/Level: Middle & High School Social Studies/Indigenous Studies |
| Lesson: Jigonsaseh’s Role |
| Unit: Great Law of Peace and US Gov’t Foundations |
| What precedes and follows the lesson: Preceded by- Hiawatha and the Peacemaker |
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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.
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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.
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| Portrait of a Graduate Alignment: |
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Instructional Resources/Materials/Technology:
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| Essential Question(s): Who was Jigonsaseh? What was her role in the foundation of the Great Law of Peace? |
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Big Ideas:
Key terms and people associated with the Great Law of Peace
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| Interdisciplinary Learning Connections: Geography, Literacy and Context Clues (ELA) |
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Lesson Sequence & Learning Activities:
- Intro- Image analysis: Display the picture for the whole group and have students write their observations based on the image. Option to have students work in small groups or with partners here.
- Video: The Story of Hiawatha Hiawatha - The Great Law of Peace - Extra History - Part 1
- Debrief responses to the comprehension questions after students watch the video. Option to have students compare and contrast with previous retellings of the story- noting similarities and differences. It’s important to point out that though small details may change, the true meaning of the story remains the same.
- Reading- The Peace Mother Retelling
- Students read the assigned text and answer the accompanying comprehension questions to check understanding of the key ideas. To make the reading more engaging, students may work in partners, small groups, or use a “read-and-discuss” format where they pause to summarize sections together. Teachers may also assign rotating roles (reader, summarizer, questioner) to support collaboration and deeper comprehension.
- Closure- Discussion Questions: Students choose what they feel is the most important aspect of Jigonsaseh’s role and share their response in a brief class discussion. After sharing, students write a quick reflection on a post-it note answering: “Why is hearing Jigonsaseh’s story important to fully understanding the great law?”
- Sample response: “Jigonsaseh helped bring the nations together, showing that women played an important role in making peace and guiding leaders.”
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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
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Assessment:
- Informal- Student responses as they report out on worksheet questions, student responses to the closure prompt
- Formal- collect student worksheet and assess responses
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