A WebQuest on The Shasta Indian Tribe

Designed by Nicole Lipton
liptonn89@gmail.com

 

Introduction

Congratulations! You have just been hired as a consultant for the University of California at Berkeley Anthropology Department. There is a new exhibit coming to The Portland Art Museum about the Shasta Indian Tribe based out of the Southern Oregon and Northern California area. The University of California Anthropology Department needs you, their new consultant, to do research about the Shasta Indian Tribe to help create the best exhibit possible. After researching about the tribe, you will type a one paragraph summary of what you found, as well as design either a Powerpoint, 3D Model, Written Paper or Brochure.

The Task

Who are the Shasta Tribe and how are they unique? As a consultant, it is your job to research this question and find out as much as possible about the Shasta Indian Tribe in order to write a summary for the University of California at Berkeley Anthropology Department.

Information you will include:

1. •Where they lived
   

2. •What kind of houses they lived in
   

3. •Rituals, ceremonies, and customs 
   

4. •What food they ate  
   

5. •Language(s) spoken 
   

6. •Any additional information that you feel is important/necessary
   

You and your partner will also have a chance to share your typed summary with other students in your class.

The Process

You will be doing your research about the Shasta Indian Tribe on the Internet. The instructions below will help guide you through the process and explain what to do, step by step.

1. 1.Find a partner in your class. You will be working with a partner throughout this project. Together, you will come up with a way to present your research as well as a typed summary paragraph of the research that you have found.
   

2. 2.On a sheet of paper, outline what you are going to be researching about the Shasta Indian Tribe. Include information about where and how they lived, what kinds of houses they lived in, what they ate, languages(s) they spoke, and any special ceremonies, rituals or customs.
   

3. 3.Next write down the information you are researching. The bullet points below are the guiding questions that you are exploring about the Shasta Indian Tribe are:
   

4. •Where they lived 
   

5. •What kind of houses they lived in
   

6. •Rituals, ceremonies, and customs
   

7. •What food they ate 
   

8. •Language(s) spoken 
   

9. •If you find additional information that you would like to include, that is fine too!
   

4. 4.Explore the links below to gather your research and take detailed notes on what you find.
   

http://www.shastaindiannation.org/index.html

http://factcards.califa.org/cai/shasta.html

https://sites.google.com/site/californiaindiantribes/home/northwest/shasta-indians

http://shastacountyhistory.com/indian_history

5. 5.Once you have gathered the answers to the questions above, write a paragraph summarizing the information you found. You must include a written paragraph in your presentation, individually.
   

6. 6.Students can choose present their information/research that they have found with either a Powerpoint, 3D Model, Written Paper or Brochure.
   

Student Examples of Shasta Indian Tribes Projects

Slideshow Presentation Link

http://www.murrieta.k12.ca.us/cms/lib5/CA01000508/Centricity/Domain/688/Native%20Americans/Shasta-2007-Lyda.swf

Evaluation

Explain to the students how they will be graded throughout the project. Students will be graded on participation, written paragraph of research, and the final product.

Conclusion

Throughout this lesson, you have had a chance to research the Shasta Tribe and explore new information about where and how they lived. Hopefully, through the activities, you now have a better understanding of one of the Northwest Native American Tribes and the important role that they played in our history.

Credits & References

http://www.shastaindiannation.org/

http://factcards.califa.org/cai/shasta.html

http://www.bigorrin.org/shasta_kids.htm