Teacher Resources

First Music, First Nations

Songcatcher
with what song will you travel to peace and light
	with what song will you say farewell
		to all that was good and all that was pain	with what song will you greet
				what had left what was love what was blood
					what will be the song you use	Songcatcher to return breath thought and memories to wind...
	Arlie Neskahi © Copyright 1995 All Rights Reserved

Scenario	Exciting news! The Smithsonian Institute is designing a new museum exhibit on Native American Music and your school has been asked to help. The Smithsonian wants to demonstrate the uniqueness of traditional Native American music and its importance to Native American culture.
Task and Product	You are a member of a group that has been asked to research information for a display about one specific aspect of Native American music. You will need to create a display with text and visuals in order to present some details about this aspect of the music and and its role in Native American life. You will then present your display to the Smithsonian Board of Directors so that they can decide which displays to include in the permanent exhibit.
Assessment	You will be graded on your understanding and presentation of the topic in a display which includes text and visuals. Scoring tool for Native American Music Museum Exhibit
Question	Essential Question: How does music relate to the values, beliefs, and daily lives of the Native American people?
Gather	Choose one of the following research topics. Click on your topic selection for a note-taking organizer. Instruments Pow-wows Dances  Songs  Ceremonies Use this planning sheet (My Search Plan) to keep a working list of the resources that you use or use your own source notecards. As you use your various sources, be sure to take effective, detailed notes. Paraphrase the main ideas to avoid plagiarism. Remember to cite your references. Refer to the MLA guidelines and examples for citing resources. Your school may use a different format, so check with your teacher or library media specialist. Gather information from a variety of sources.  Print and Nonprint Resources  Internet Books Encyclopedias Great Websites Fee Based Databases Click here for directions on Finding and Downloading Images from the Internet.
Organize	Remember the questions guiding your research:  How does music relate to the values, beliefs, and daily lives of the Native American people? Is your note-taking organizer complete? Have you downloaded or created a visual to enhance your display?
Conclude	Are you ready to prepare your presentation? Create a mock-up of your display with information and visuals. Share your mock-up with a classmate for Peer Response. Create your final display for presentation to the Smithsonian Board of Directors (your class). Create your Works Cited page. Refer to the MLA guidelines and examples for citing resources. Your school may use a different format, so check with your teacher or library media specialist. Class discussion As you listen to the class presentations of topics, use the Listening for Details sheet to jot down key ideas and important details about how music relates to the values, beliefs, and daily lives of the Native American people.