People and Cultures - Native American Site Introduction
Approaching
the Land with Reverence
Lesson Plans created by Ms. Michele Allen for EVE 546 Spring 2009.
Overview: Learn about the Native American Indians from New Haven County that had occupied the Cove River area during the colonial days. Study their culture using various plants for both medicinal and food sustainability
Objectives: Students will have
an understanding of the Native American Indians from the New Haven
County and their way of communicating with each other and to the
settlers. Learn their way of life and how plants were used
everyday.
- Students will understand that plants in the wild can be used for medicinal purposes.
- These same plants were used a food.
- Learn about ethnobotany.
- Upon completion of the lab experiment, students will learn to identify the species of the plants.
- What properties from these plants make them unique.
- Identify the plants through using a key.
Key Concepts: Food Webs,
Predator-Prey Relations, Ecological Niches, etc.
Subjects: Social Studies,
biology, Ecology, Geography, Botany, etc.
Duration: 3 class periods (80
minutes)
Setting: In the field, outdoor
natural landscape
Season: Spring – early,
just at budburst
Interdisciplinary Connections
Frameworks: See Standards Matrix
Individual Lesson Titles:
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| Click here for a PDF version of this unit plan - | |
| Click here for a PDF version of the Standards Matrix - Science | |
| Click here for a PDF version of the Standards Matrix - Social Studies | |
Matrix of Science Lesson Standards 
Matrix of Social Studies Lesson Standards
Other EE lessons that would engage learners in a variety of inquiry activities including the following:
- Cove River Historical Site - Creating a Historical Timeline
- Navigating the Landscape - Geocaching
- People and Cultures - Natie American Site Introduction - Approaching the land with reverence - smudging.
- Soils
- Native Flora - plants of the region and habitats of coastal CT
- Native Fauna - animals of the region - birds
- Invasite and non-Native sepcies - invasive plants
- All about Insects
- Native and Colonial Agriculture
- Water and its uses - water quality
Environmental Science Education @ Cove River
Other Environmental Science activities conducted at the Cove River Site include SCSU Graduate and Undergraduate as well as local West Haven High School Environmental Science students using the GLOBE Program field observation strategies to gather information and data. These field investigations follow an Earth Systems Science approach. For each of 4 earth "spheres" - Geosphere, Hydrosphere, Biosphere and Atmosphere - field data are collected for analysis and sharing with the broader GLOBE Program community, which includes students from over 110 different countries.
SCSU Science Educaton & Environmental Studies - Cove River Historical Site GLOBE Investigations... coming soon!
- Geoshere investigations
- Hydrosphere investigations
- Biosphere investigations
- Atmosphere investigations
- other investigations
Mr. Kevin Dickson's Environmental Science and Ecology Classes - West Haven High School... coming soon!
Student Investigations: Zizi Yu's Hydrology Investigations..... coming soon!
Archaeology Education @ Cove River
The
Archaeological education activities occuring at the Cove River Site
have been directed by local experts in partnership with researchers
from the Yale Peabody Museum. A separate section ofthis website is
devoted to educational material, lessons and activities connected to
the history of human habitation and the story of native american life
ways at the site.
- Cove River Site Archaeology
- Local Native American life ways in coastal Connecticut
No Child Left Inside!
A generation of children are growing up with little opportunities taken to explore nature. What ever happened to un-structured play in our own backyards and neighborhood parks and open spaces. Where's my tree fort?
More than any other generation, today's kids spend a great deal of time indoors. No Child Left Inside℠ is a promise, and a pledge... to help Connecticut's children live active, healthier lives while they enjoy the natural treasures of our state parks and forests - and discover the rewards of becoming environmentally conscious citizens.
- Connecticut State Department of Environmental Quality - No Child Left Inside website!
Nature Deficit Disorder!
The term “nature-deficit disorder” was coined by author Richard Louv in his book “Last Child in the Woods” to describe what happens to young people who become disconnected from their natural world. Louv links this lack of nature to some of the most disturbing childhood trends, such as the rises in obesity, attention disorders, and depression.
Green outdoor settings appear to reduce ADHD symptoms in children across a wide range of individual, residential, and case characteristics. - Kuo and Taylor, NIH article
- A National Coalition for Environmental Education - No Child Left Inside website!
