Lesson Plan Table of Contents

At Home on the Prairie Lesson Plan

Content Introduction

Bison, also known as buffalo, were and still remain a crucial component of the prairie ecosystem. Bison also held a position of high importance within the cultures of native Great Plains tribes as a resource for the sustenance of their people. Students will explore the complex relationship between living organisms, particularly bison, and the prairie ecosystem through Catlin's eyes as well as in relation to their own lives. Students will also learn about the delicate situation of species protected under the Endangered Species Act.

Part I: Through Catlin's Eyes—Bison on the Prairie

Guided Practice

Before you begin, you may wish to familiarize yourself with species native to the prairie, including bison, and also to learn more about the Endangered Species Act. Visit the following links to get started:

• The Bell Museum of Natural History, University of Minnesota
  http://www.bellmuseum.org/distancelearning/prairie/fieldguide/bison.html
  
  
• Intertribal Bison Cooperative
  http://www.intertribalbison.org/main.asp?id=1
  
  
• Endangered Species Program, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
  http://www.fws.gov/endangered/wildlife.html

Use Catlin's Letter 31: Mouth of Teton River, particularly the first eighteen paragraphs, to discuss his description of the bison of the western prairies. Also examine Catlin's paintings of bison listed below (available on the page Buffalo—For Students. Compare Catlin's depictions to the contemporary information on bison linked above.

Independent Practice

Ask students to write a journal entry in which they discuss the following question: If you were an explorer in the 1800s (select a specific year) or a reporter in 2002 writing home about bison, what would you say? What do they look like? Where do they live? What do they eat? Why are they important to the prairie and to Native American culture? Refer back to the contemporary bison information listed above to get started.

Part II: Poster Project—Prairie Life

Guided Practice

Design a poster that displays information on bison (described in Part I). Place an image of a bison at the center of the poster (which you have drawn or obtained from print or Internet sources). Surrounding the image, write the following information (from the University of Minnesota site listed in Part I) in brightly colored marker or crayon:

• Habitat: throughout parks and reserves in the United States and Canada; they prefer the open country of the Great Plains.
• Food sources: grasses and forbs.
• Physical Description: a large cow-like animal with horns in males and females, a dark brown coat, and a short tail.
• Endangered species status: yes.
• Dakota name: bison (buffalo bull) - tatanka, buffalo cow - ptewiye, buffalo calf - ptezincada.

Independent Practice

Modeling after the above example, instruct students to create their own posters of species of organisms that live on the prairie (other than the bison). Ask them to choose an organism from the links provided in Part I. Students should draw a picture of their chosen subject and include information on habitat, food sources, physical description, endangered species status, and Dakota name (if available). When finished, display posters in the classroom for all students to see.

Part III: A Place on the Prairie—The Importance of Habitat

Guided Practice

Habitats are crucial to the existence of species on the prairie as well to our own everyday lives. Begin by explaining the meaning and importance of habitats in an ecological sense (that is, the importance of a specific environment to the life of an organism). Continue by relating the concept of habitats to students' own lives by mapping out the "community habitat."

Draw a map or chart for the class to see that illustrates the physical features of the community in which the students live. Ask students to suggest the physical features that they feel are most important to their daily activities.

Independent Practice

Ask students to write a brief essay on a physical place that has been important in their lives. Students should describe the physical features of the place and why it has been uniquely important to them.

Research endangered species in your area. Make lists of their habitat, food sources, physical description, Dakota name (if available) and write a brief report on what is being done to protect them.

Vocabulary

ecosystem, endangered, habitat, organism, prairie, species.

Standards

Geography Education Standards Project:

• Standard 6 (5–8): By the end of the eighth grade the student knows and understands:
  1. How personal characteristics affect our perception of places and regions
  2. How culture and technology affect perception of places and regions
  3. How places and regions serve as cultural symbols
  
  
• Standard 4 (9–12): By the end of the twelfth grade the student knows and understands:
  1. The meaning and significance of place
  2. The changing physical and human characteristics of places
  3. How relationships between humans and the physical environment lead to the formation of places and to a sense of personal and community identity

National Science Education Standards:

• Life Science, Content Standard 3 (5–8): Students should develop an understanding of structure and function in living systems, populations and ecosystems, and diversity and adaptations of organisms.
  
  
• Life Science, Content Standard 3 (9–12): Students should develop and understanding of the interdependence of organisms.

Lesson Plan Table of Contents

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