Buffalo Hide Stories Lesson

Name: Alexis Price and Isabelle Tearse Grade level for this lesson: First Grade

I. Academic Content Standards.

Social Science
5.1 Students describe the major pre-Columbian settlements, including the cliff dwellers and
pueblo people of the desert Southwest, the American Indians of the Pacific Northwest, the
nomadic nations of the Great Plains, and the woodland peoples east of the Mississippi River.
2. Describe their varied customs and folklore traditions.
Music
3.1 Recognize and talk about music and celebrations of the cultures represented in the school
population.
II. Prior Learning. Students will have learned about the plains indians and what their way of
life was like back then such as how they got their food, where they lived, and how they traveled.

III. Unit of Study. Plains Indians and their traditions.

IV. Academic Learning Outcomes. Students will be able to use the traditional Plains Indian
Images to draw their own Buffalo Hide Story.

V. Implementation.
A. Introduction to the lesson. Yesterday we learned about the Plains Indians and what
their life was like back then We are going to read a story about buffalo hides which was
something the Plains Indians made and then we will be making hides of our own.
B. Sequence of Activities
1. TTW read paragraph about the Buffalo hide stories and how this traditions
evolved. [The Plains Indians celebrated important events and they would paint on
buffalo hide to keep track of these events. The leader of the tribe would choose
the one most important event of the year, and add a picture to represent it (For
example, what special day does Santa Claus represent?). The buffalo hide
paintings also allowed the members of the tribe to find out the year that they were
born. The tribe would also keep track of a mans successes in war by painting on
his house and clothing. As time went on the tribes moved on from hide paintings
but kept their tradition by moving their paintings to rock and then eventually
paper.]
2. TTW show some examples of hides made by the Indians and ask the class to
share out some things that they think the Indians put on these hides (a family
member's death, a successful years crop, the discovery of a new food source, a
memorable war that occurred, Ect.)
3. TSW share out some their most memorable moments from this year
4. TTW explain the project and explain how we will be making our own buffalo
hide stories using brown paper bags and coloring materials
5. TTW pass out the materials to all students
 C. Closure. Volunteers will share out what they drew on their hide and what the story is
behind it.
VI. Assessment. The teacher will know that the students have understood the concept of what a
buffalo hide is if they drew a picture that represented a memorable moment that happened to
them that year.

VII. Materials.
- Brown paper bags (Cut into hide shape)
- Coloring materials
- Powerpoint (including: examples buffalo hides and explanations of what Buffalo Hides
are)