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Introduction | Task
| Process | Evaluation
| Conclusion | Credits
| Teacher Page
Introduction
You are on a cyber tour of the Pacific Northwest coast with a company of
explorers from your town . The entire area is new to you – no one from
your town has been there before. While walking through a wooded area, one
of your group members spots a tall wooden pole, which appears to be carved
and painted. Members of the group recognize it as a totem pole built, they
think, by Native Americans of the area, but do not know the meaning behind
the totem pole. The pole is tall and decorated with carvings fish and birds
and woodland animals. As you continue exploring the area your group sees
more and more totems poles of different shapes and sizes.
Why was the pole left here? Who are the Native Americans that created
the poles that your group of explorers is finding? Were the poles made
recently or in the past?
Task
Your group of explorers, which is made up of a historian, a geographer,
a village guide and a spirit guide, is ideally suited to discover the answer
to the mysteries of the totem poles. You must find out who built the pole
and why, as well as how long the poles have been in existence.
Some things to be considered by your group are:
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What are some of the reasons the poles were built?
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Did they tell stories about the animals on the poles?
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What were the animals commonly on the totem poles and why were they chosen?
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Were all totem poles the same?
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Could any one create a totem pole or were there rules about creating them?
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What were the totem poles made out of?
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Are there totem poles being made today?
Once you have become an expert on totem poles, you and your group have
a mission to bring back to your town information about what you have
found. You can’t bring a totem pole home because you are traveling lightly
on your exploration mission. Since you have no camera or video equipment,
you must re-create one of these poles for your town and write up a descriptive
story explaining what your totem pole represents. Your totem will be designed
to show all that you have learned in your research and in discussions with
your group about the Pacific Northwest Indians that created stories in
wood. Each explorer will bring to the group what they have learned about
their specific area of study and will choose an animal or two to represent
that aspect of the lives of the Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest.
Remember! You are writing a descriptive
story about the Pacific Northwest Native American culture. Make sure
your totem pole and story represent real animals and characters from that
culture.
For some preliminary research, check out these sites:
Totem
Poles: An Exploration
Totem
Poles: Art from the Pacific Northwest Coast
Eldrbarry's
Raven Tales
Totem
Poles and Their Stories
Process
Since each group is made up of four different members, each member has
a specific job. In your assigned group of four, you must:
Choose your own roles;
Perform research on your area by visiting the websites listed and answering
the questions provided for your role;
Discuss with your group the information you discovered about the Native
Americans of the Pacific Northwest and totem poles;
Brainstorm
with your group about your descriptive
story;
Sketch your totem pole on plain paper;
Create the first draft of your story;
CHECK IN WITH YOUR TEACHER AT THIS POINT!
Revise and edit your story to create your final draft;
CHECK IN WITH YOUR TEACHER AT THIS POINT!
Create your cereal box totem pole based on your teacher's example;
Proofread and turn in your story to your teacher;
Now get ready to share your descriptive
story and totem pole with the class!
Historian - the historian
will be responsible for discovering and learning about the background of
the Native American people of the Pacific Northwest. The historian
will also research the history and use of totem poles by these people.
You will need to find the answers to the following questions:
1. Where did the Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest come from?
2. Were there many different groups of Native Americans in the area?
Were they all making totems?
3. Did they always use totem poles to tell stories? What were some
of the other uses?
4. What is a potlatch?
How are potlatches and totem poles related?
5. Why would these people create totems to tell stories and not write
books or draw pictures?
Pictures
of Totem Poles - American Memory
Totem
Poles: Heraldic Columns of the Northwest Coast - this is an advanced
reading level, but full of great information.
American
Memory Collection: Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest Coast
The
Potlatch Ceremony
Geographer- the geographer
will be responsible for researching where the Native Americans lived, what
the climate was like during various seasons, and how they used the land
to help them survive. The geographer should also try to locate information
on where tribes may have put up their totem poles.
You will need to find the answers to the following questions:
1. In what geographic areas did the creators of totem poles live?
2. What is the climate
like in the Pacific Northwest?
3. How did the Native Americans use the land in the Pacific Northwest
to survive? Were they farming, fishing or hunting communities?
4. What material was used to build totem poles and why?
Cedar
-- A Great Provider
Gander
Academy's Totem Poles Theme Page
Northwest
Indians
Contemporary
Indian Reservations
Map
of the United States
Native
American Population Map
Village guide - the village guide will research how the Native
Americans lived in tribes and the customs
that led to the creation of totem poles. The village guide will also
be responsible for learning about the current living conditions and habits
of the Native Americans in the Pacific Northwest.
You will need to find the answers to the following questions:
1. What types of communities did the Native Americans live in?
2. Did they live in family groups or clans
or tribes?
3. Are they living in the same type of communities now?
4. What type of houses did the villages could be found in villages?
5. Where were the totems erected – were they inside the community?
Totem
Pole Raising Ceremony
Pacific
Northwest Coastal Indians
Northwest
Culture
Quintana
Gallerys: Native American Art
Totem
Forests
Spirit guide - the spirit guide will research the spiritual beliefs
and values of the Native Americans. Specifically, the spirit guide
will investigate what the animals on totem poles stood for and why certain
clans or tribes used certain animals.
You will need to find the answers to the following questions:
1. What types of animals were used on the totem poles?
2. Why were these animals chosen – what significance do they have for
the Native American peoples that live in the area?
3. Does each community or family group have a special animal spirit?
4. Does a group choose an animal or is there something special about
the animal for the group? Or can there be many animals?
5. Are all the stories the same for each animal or do the stories change
with the circumstances and the storyteller?
Evergreen-Washelli:
Other Uses for Totem Poles
Joe's
Totem Elements
Bear,
Raven, and Humans
AADIZOOKAANAG
- Traditional Stories, Legends and Myths
Haida
Legends '99
Evaluation
Describe to the learners how their performance will be evaluated. Specify
whether there will be a common grade for group work vs. individual grades.
You may want to have separate rubrics for individual and group work.
|
Exemplary
4 |
Accomplished
3 |
Developing
2 |
Beginning
1 |
Self
Score |
Teacher Score |
Writing
Process
|
Group devotes a lot of time and
effort to the writing process (prewriting, drafting, reviewing, and editing).
Works hard to make the story wonderful. |
Group devotes sufficient time and
effort to the writing process (prewriting, drafting, reviewing, and editing).
Works and gets the job done. |
Groups devotes some time and effort
to the writing process but was not very thorough. Does enough to
get by. |
Group devotes little time and effort
to the writing process. Doesn't seem to care. |
|
|
Group Work
|
All members participated fully in
writing the story. All members brought their individual research
to the discussion. |
Most members participated fully
in writing the story. Most members brought their individual research
to the discussion. |
Some members participated fully
in writing the story. Some members brought their individual research
to the discussion. |
One member participated fully
in writing the story. One member brought his/her individual research
to the discussion. |
|
|
Accuracy
of
Historical
Details
|
Elements and characters of the story
reflect Native American culture. |
Most elements and characters of
the story reflect Native American culture. |
Some elements and characters of
the story reflect Native American culture. |
Few elements and characters of the
story reflect Native American culture. |
|
|
Characters
|
The main characters are named and
clearly described in text as well as in the totem pole. Most readers could
describe the characters accurately. |
The main characters are named and
described. Most readers would have some idea of what the characters looked
like. |
The main characters are named. The
reader knows very little about the characters. |
It is hard to tell who the main
characters are. |
|
|
Creativity
|
The story contains many creative
details and/or descriptions that contribute to the reader's enjoyment.
The group has really used their imaginations. |
The story contains a few creative
details and/or descriptions that contribute to the reader's enjoyment.
The group has used their imaginations. |
The story contains a few creative
details and/or descriptions, but they distract from the story. The
group has tried to use their imaginations. |
There is little evidence of creativity
in the story. The group does not seem to have used much imagination. |
|
|
Mechanics
|
All spelling and puncuation is correct.
Proper grammar is used. The work is neat and on time. |
Most spelling and puncuation is
correct. Proper grammar is used. The work is neat and on time. |
Some spelling and puncuation errors.
Some grammatical errors are present. The work is neat and on
time. |
There many spelling and puncuation
errors. Poor grammar is used. The work is not neat and late. |
|
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Conclusion
By the end of this WebQuest you will have written a descriptive story about
the creation of your group totem. It will contain at least four animals,
describing their importance in the group story, and be historically and
culturally accurate.
You group will have also created a miniature totem pole based upon the
story, with vibrant colors and carefully crafted elements. Your group
of four formed a type of family from which to write a creation story.
What would your real family’s totem pole look like? Would you use
Raven, the Trickster in your story? Who would be represented by the
Bear - a kind, giving spirit?
Take some time with your family and devise another totem pole
which tells the story of your family.
Credits & References
Books for Children
Barth, Kelly. Native Americans of the Northwest Plateau. Lucent
Books: San Diego, 2002. 1560068779.
Hoyt-Goldsmith, Diane. Potlatch: A Tsimshian Celebration. Holiday
House: New York, 1997. 0823412903.
--. Totem Pole. Holiday House: New York, 1990.
0823408094.
Jones, Veda Boyd. Native Americans of the Northwest. Lucent Books:
San Diego, 2000. 15690066911.
Levitt, Paul M. How Raven found the Daylight and Other American
Indian. University Press of Colorado: Boulder, 2000. 1870816012.
McConkey, Lois. Sea and Cedar : How the Northwest Coast IndiansLlived.
Firefly Books: Buffalo, 1995. 0888943717.
McDermott, Gerald. Raven: A Trickster Tale from the Pacific Northwest.
Harcourt: San Diego, 1993. 0152656618.
Wallis, Velma. Bird Girl and the Man Who Followed the Sun : an
Athabaskan Indian Legend from Alaska. Epicenter Press: Fairbanks, AK, 1996.
0945397348.
We all benefit by being generous with our work. Permission is hereby
granted for other educators to copy this WebQuest, update or otherwise
modify it, and post it elsewhere provided that the original author's name
is retained along with a link back to the original URL of this WebQuest.
On the line after the original author's name, you may add Modified by
(your name) on (date). If you do modify it, please let me know and
provide the new URL.
Last updated on August 16, 2002. Based on a template from The
WebQuest Page
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