Wapasha's Prairie

Title of Lesson: Wapasha’s Prairie

Lesson Description: The students will be shown pictures of Native Americans. One of the pictures will have Whites and Native Americans. The students will then learn information about Wapasha’s Prairie. The students will read a selection from the book A History of Wapasha’s Prairie. The students will make a list of what Wapasha’s Prairie was like. The students will then write a paragraph to Chief Wapasha III explaining what present day Winona looks like.

Grade: 6

Materials Needed:
- Overhead of Native American pictures
- Handouts of pictures of Native Americans for the students
- Handouts of Wapasha’s Prairie map
- A History of Wapasha’s Prairie
- Photocopies of the selection picked to read for the students
- Papers
- Pencils

Minnesota Standard:
- Government and Citizenship: The student will know symbols, songs, traditions, and landmarks/monuments that represent the beliefs and principles of the United States.

Goal:
- The students will obtain knowledge of Wapasha’s Prairie.

Objectives:
- The students will recognize pictures of Native Americans.
- The students will read a selection out of A History of Wapasha’s Prairie.
- The students will recognize locations on a map of Wapasha’s Prairie.
- The students will create a list of characteristics of Wapasha’s Prairie.
- The students will write a paragraph describing present day Winona, MN.

Procedures:
Introduction (5 minutes):
- Review with the students who Chief Wapasha is. (1 minute)
- Put pictures of other Native Americans on the overhead. Hand out individual copies to the students. (1 minute)
- Discuss the different pictures. (3 minutes)

Developmental Experiences (35 minutes):
- Point of the particular picture that has both Native Americans and Whites. Ask the students what they see in the picture. (2 minutes)
- Discuss that there are both Native Americans and Whites in the picture. Ask the students if they know why this might be. (3 minutes)
o Students may say because the Whites were taking the land away and so in the process some may have become friends.
- Ask the students if they have ever heard of Wapasha’s Prairie. (1 minute)
- Explain to the students that Wapasha’s Prairie was a half breed reservation. The Whites would get off the river at Wapasha’s Prairie. (2 minutes)
- Hand out map of Wapasha’s Prairie. Ask students if the map looks familiar to them. (2 minutes)
- If students do not figure it out, explain to them that Wapasha’s Prairie is present day Winona. Point of locations, so the students can see the relationship. (2 minutes)
- Tell the students they are going to read a selection of the book A History of Wapasha’s Prairie. Hand out selection. Tell the students to partner up for the reading. They can read paragraph by paragraph or page by page, whatever they want. (3 minutes)
- Give the students time to read. (10 minutes) Walk around and observe the students to make sure they are reading. Answer any questions they may have.
- Tell the students to stay partnered up. When they are done reading, they are to make a list of what Wapasha’s Prairie was like. Tell the students they will be handing the list in. (5 minutes)
- The pairs are to then write a letter (2-4 paragraphs) to Chief Wapasha about how present day Winona looks like compared to Wapasha’s Prairie. (5 minutes)

Culmination Experiences (5 minutes):
- Let students continue to write their paragraphs. Remind students they will be handing in the letter as well as the list. (4 minutes)
- Have one person from each pair share one thing they learned today. (1 minute)

Assessments
- The teacher will walk around the classroom and observe the students while they are reading.
- The teacher will collect the list created by the students.
- The teacher will collect the letter/paragraphs written by the students.