LAI 521

LESSON TITLE: The Food of the Iroquois

GRADE LEVEL: 4

ESTIMATED TIME:
45 minutes

OVERVIEW:
The major focus of this lesson is gain basic knowledge of the food the Iroquois people would
grow and eat. The purpose of this lesson is to understand how the Iroquois grew crops.

PREREQUISITE LEARNING:
Reading skills
Reading comprehension skills
Artistic skills

STANDARDS/BENCHMARKS ADDRESSED:
New York State Common Core Social Studies Standard, Geographic Reasoning 3. - Identify
how environments affect human activities and how human activities affect physical
environments.
New York State Common Core Reading Standard, Key Ideas and Details 2. - Determine the
main idea of a text and explain how it is supported by key details; summarize the text.

CONNECTIONS TO OTHER TOPICS/DISICPLINES:
This lesson incorporates reading comprehension. This lesson incorporates art through an
activity where students draw. Also, this lesson incorporates science through an activity where
students plant seeds.

OBJECTIVES:
Students will be able to accurately depict what a typical Iroquois meal would consist of.
Students will learn how to plant corn, beans, and squash.

MATERIALS:
The Three Sisters chapter from the book The Iroquois and Their History by Genevieve St.
Lawrence.
My Iroquois Dinner worksheet
Pen/Pencil
Crayons/colored pencil/markers
Soil
Bean, squash, and corn seeds
Plastic cups
Water
Table
Strawberries
LAI 521
Maple syrup
Blender
Strawberry juice recipe from The Iroquois: The Six Nations Confederacy by Mary Englar
Corn husk
Beans
Squash


ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITY:
The teacher will hold up corn, beans, and squash in the front of the class.
The teacher will ask the students if they can name each item.
The teacher will ask the students if they have ever eaten these items.

INSTRUCTIONAL PLAN:
The class will read the chapter entitled The Three Sisters together.
Students will be given their My Iroquois Dinner worksheet.
Students will draw their version of a typical Iroquois meal, including at least three items,
based on the previously read chapter.
Students will be divided into three groups: the Corn, the Beans, and the Squash groups.
The teacher will call the Corn group to the back table while the two other groups continue
their worksheet.
The Corn group will fill plastic cups with soil (one for each child in the entire class) and
create a one inch hole in each cups soil to ensure each group participated in both planting a
seed and caring for the plants
The Corn group will put one corn seed in each of the holes.
The teacher will call the Bean group to the back table while the other two groups continue
their worksheet.
The Bean group will plant one bean seed in each cups hole.
The teacher will call the Squash group to the back table while the other two groups continue
their worksheet.
The Squash group will plant one squash seed in each cups hole.
The Squash group will put soil over the planted seeds (fill the hole in the soil of the plastic
cups) to ensure each group participated in both planting a seed and caring for the plants.
The Bean group will return to the back table to water the newly planted seeds to ensure each
group participated in both planting a seed and caring for the plants.
The teacher will follow the recipe for the strawberry juice, while students watch, due to using
kitchen tools.

SUSTAINING, CONCLUDING, OR EXTENDING ACTIVITIES:
The students will enjoy a glass of strawberry juice when they complete and turn in their place
setting worksheet.
This lesson can be expanded to both math and science by having the students continue to care
for the plants and record measurements of growth as time progresses.

LAI 521
EVALUATION AND ASSESSMENT:
The students will be assessed on the content of their place setting worksheet. If they have
completed a meal including only food from the readings, and have at least three different
food items, then they will have accomplished the objective.
Students will be assessed on completion of the planting of the corn, beans, and squash.

REFERENCES

Englar, M. (2003). The Iroquois: The Six Nation Confederacy. Mankato, Minnesota: Bridgestone

Books Capstone Press


St. Lawrence, G. (2006.) The Iroquois and Their History. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Compass

Point Books


New York State Common Core Social Studies Framework Grades K-8. (2014, March 1).

Retrieved May 9, 2014, from

http://www.engageny.org/sites/default/files/resource/attachments/ss-framework-k-8.pdf