Subscribe

4th grade · Social Studies · Unit 2 of 10

Haudenosaunee & Algonquian Peoples

Living with the land, then and now

What your child practices

The Haudenosaunee (Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca and Tuscarora) and Algonquian-speaking peoples such as the Lenape, Mohican, Shinnecock and Unkechaug: how they used the land, longhouses and wigwams, the Three Sisters, clans and the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, and nations in New York today. Light, in the present tense, and with nothing sacred or ceremonial.

New York State Learning Standards learning standard: 4.2; 4.2a; 4.2b; 4.2c · how the Haudenosaunee and Algonquian-speaking peoples used the land, governed themselves and built their ways of life

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. The Haudenosaunee are six nations: Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca and Tuscarora.
  2. Algonquian-speaking peoples include the Lenape, Mohican, Shinnecock and Unkechaug.
  3. Villages grew near rivers and lakes. Among the Haudenosaunee, Clan Mothers choose the chiefs.

Example: Why did many villages grow near rivers and lakes? People need water and food. Rivers also gave fish, travel routes and good soil. Answer: for water, fish, travel and good soil

Haudenosaunee & Algonquian Peoples in New York

In the New York State Learning Standards, this is unit 2 of 10 in 4th grade Social Studies, after New York's Land & Maps and before Explorers & New Netherland.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: New York State Education Department (NYSED)

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    Which nation is one of the six Haudenosaunee nations?

    • the Seneca
    • the Mohican
    • the Lenape
    • the Shinnecock

  2. Question 2

    Haudenosaunee means…

    • People of the Desert
    • People of the Longhouse
    • People of the Plains
    • People of the Ocean

  3. Question 3

    Native American trails in New York later became…

    • mountains
    • lakes
    • oceans
    • many roads and highways

  4. Question 4

    Corn, beans and squash grown together are called the…

    • Three Hills
    • Three Sisters
    • Three Seasons
    • Three Rivers

  5. Question 5

    Why do corn, beans and squash grow well together?

    • They grow only in winter.
    • Beans climb the corn, and squash leaves shade the soil.
    • They all need no water.
    • They keep each other from making seeds.

  6. Question 6

    Which place name in New York comes from a Native American language?

    • Oneida
    • Rochester
    • Kingston
    • Albany

More 4th grade