Understanding Statement: Even though they are all Native Americans, they develop various types of living arrangements to accommodate and adapt to their environment.

Introduction: When you think of Native Americans, what kind of houses do you think of? A brick house or apartment like where you live or do you think of a tee-pee? The truth is, there are many different styles of housing that they use. Although they are one group at large, each region has their own way of doing things. Complete this  Treasure Hunt to find out various facts about the seven major regions of Native Americans. After you find all the answers, complete the Putting It All Together activity.

Treasure Hunt:

1. What were the pueblos made out of?
2. The Plains Native Americans region hunted for food. Using the text and the picture, what was the most important reason for using Tee-pees?
3. The Great Basin and West Coast spanned the entire United States, vertically speaking. Name three types of houses used in this region.
4. Longhouses and wigwams are both made out of wood. What is the major difference between the two types?
5. The wigwam was used by many different tribes throughout this region. Why is the wigwam named one of the best shelters made?
6. The sod dwelling was used in what is present-day Alaska. How could sod houses be protection from the environment?
7. The igloo was built using layers of snow and ice. How many people did it take to build an igloo?
8. Tee-pee's are said to hold up in the cool weather of fall and winter months but why do you think they would not hold up in the artic?
9. Look at the picture of the tee-pee. What size family do you think would live there? What evidence did you find?
10. Look at the picture of the long house. What size family do think would live there? What evidence did you find?
11. Some groups have different homes during different times of the year. Why were some villages semi-permanent and others were not?
12. Why do you think each region used a different type of housing even though they are all Native Americans?
13. Using one or more of the links on this page, develop two questions about Native American homes.

Putting It All Together:

Using the information that you have gathered and the resources from the internet to compare and contrast two different type of housing ( from different regions) using a graphic organizer. Be sure to include a colored drawing of the housing.

Resources:
http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/settlements/index.shtml
http://www.sd4history.com/Unit1/mandans.htm