Summary
Students explore how weather affects seasonal activities on the Colville Reservation.

Grade level
First

Time required  
Two to three 60-minute class periods

Materials
Markers, colored pencils or crayons
Drawing paper
Chart paper
My Favorite Season by Dandi
Pictures of traditional seasonal activities of the Colville people
Items related to traditional seasonal activities of the Colville people
Internet access

Goals
By completing this lesson, students will

1. understand that the climate affects people and how they adapt to weather and seasonal changes,
2. gain awareness of elements of the traditional Colville lifestyle and
3. develop science process skills.

Science standards addressed
National Science Standards

• Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
• Science as a human endeavor
• Changes in Earth and sky
• Systems, order and organization
• Organisms and environments

American Indian Science Standards

• An awareness that observations and understandings of nature and ecological relationships traditionally formed an essential base of knowledge among American Indian cultures
• Changes in Earth's surface, weather fluctuations and movements of celestial objects and how they affected historical American Indian community locations, annual migrations, and agricultural and ceremonial cycles

Teacher tips
Gather pictures of traditional seasonal activities of the Colvilles.   Gather artifacts and tools related to those activities such as digging sticks, berry baskets, etc.

Bookmark the web site prior to class for easy access (see Resources section).

Background information
In times past, Okanogan People lived in a yearly rhythm synchronized with the seasons. Their time was devoted mainly to obtaining and preserving food.   In the winter, the people lived in subterranean pit houses near creeks and rivers.   In the spring the people moved to the root digging sites.   In the summer they moved to the fishing sites and in the fall they moved to the berry picking and hunting sites.

Procedure
Engagement
Read My Favorite Season, a rhyming book about work and play in each season.   Read the book again and have students share and discuss their experiences in each season.

Exploration

1. Facilitate a class brainstorm about types of play and work that occur during different seasons.   Have students each draw and cut out a small picture of one type of seasonal play or work activity.
2. Conduct a show-of-hands survey on the class's favorite seasonal activities.    Create a large class bar graph on chart paper displaying the survey data.

Explanation

1. Facilitate a discussion comparing seasonal activities for work and play done by Colville people today versus in times past.   Show pictures or actual items related to seasonal activities from the traditional Colville lifestyle.   Examples include foods and food gathering items, items related to celebrations, etc.   Talk about how weather influenced seasonal activities for Colville people in the past.
2. Ask students to pretend that it is winter.   Have student groups pantomime a winter activity for other students to guess.   Repeat for each season.

Elaboration

1. Select a tribal school in a different climate. Access the Tribes by State Index Map web page and view the U.S. map that shows the location of various tribes.   Have students predict what type of weather the students experience in the selected school.   Click on the state and select tribal information for the school selected.
2. Write letters or e-mails to students at the selected school asking about their weather, what they do for fun and for work, and what they wear in each season.   Ask what traditions they follow and what special events they celebrate in each season.   Give them details of local seasonal traditions and special events and weather data.  

Evaluation
Create a bulletin board divided into four areas for displaying the four different seasons.   Have each student explain the picture they drew as they place it in the correct season on the bulletin board.

Resources
Books
Dandi. (1995). My favorite season . Ashland, OH: Landoll, Inc.

Web sites
Native American Resources - Contains Tribes by state map index
http://www.kstrom.net/isk/maps/usmapindex.html