Lesson Plan for The Medicine Lodge Treaty

Lesson Plan for "The Medicine Lodge Treaty"
by Dr. Terry Lovelace

Introduction to Lesson

P.A.S.S. objectives
Language Arts: The learner will

I.B.1.	Read and comprehend both the fiction and nonfiction that is appropriately designed for the second half of grade four.
I.B.2.	Use reading strategies independently (e.g., preview, activate prior knowledge, predict content of text, formulate questions that might be answered by the text, establish purpose for reading)

Social Studies: The learner will

I.B.1

Locate, describe, and compare the human characteristics and early settlement patterns of regions in the United States and Oklahoma (locations of ethnic group concentrations, the impact of the westward movement, languages, economic activities, and cultural patterns).

Teacher's purposes for the lesson: The learner will complete a K-W-L chart in order to preview the story "The Medicine Lodge Treaty", predict the content of the story, formulate purpose questions for reading the story, and answer the questions after reading the story.

II.

Objectives

A.	Given a copy of the story "The Medicine Lodge Treaty," the learner will complete a K-W-L chart, formulate at least three purpose questions for reading the story, and answer the three questions correctly after reading the story.

III.

Procedures

Materials

1.	A copy of the story "The Medicine Lodge Treaty" for each student
2.	A copy of the "Vocabulary Development" page for this story and a pair of scissors for each pair of students
3.	A copy of the K-W-L chart for "The Medicine Lodge Treaty"

Anticipatory set

Key vocabulary: Medicine Lodge, Kansas; treaty; General Philip H. Sheridan; warpath; President Andrew Johnson; Peace Commission; Kiowa, Comanche, Kiowa-Apache, Cheyenne, and Arapaho; 7th Cavalry; Satanta; nonsense; reservation; Indian Nations; nomadic way of life

Key concepts: General Philip H. Sheridan promised to bring peace to the plains by destroying the buffalo. Native Americans went on the warpath to protect their lands and their way of life. People back East wanted to stop the war with the Plains Indians because it interfered with westward expansion and the building of the railroad to the gold fields in California.

President Andrew Johnson formed a Peace Commission to make peace with the Indians, thinking to remove Indians so whites could settle their lands. Whites and Native Americans met at Medicine Lodge, Kansas, because the natives felt safe from surprise attacks from white men (Medicine Lodge was holy ground to the natives). Over 5,000 Indians from five different tribes came to the meeting (Kiowa, Comanche, Kiowa-Apache, Cheyenne, and Arapaho). The 7th Cavalry came to protect the white men. Satanta, the chief of the Kiowas, made an impassioned speech defending his people's way of life and protesting the damage done by soldiers.

The commissioners had already decided the Indians were going to live on reservations and learn the white man's way of life. All of the Indians would be moved to separate reservations in the Indian Nations in the western part of present-day Oklahoma. The Indians were forced to agree to give up all of their rights to their native lands.

The Medicine Lodge Treaty did not end all the fighting, but it is known as the most important treaty signed on the Southern Plains. The Indians gave up their hunting grounds and their nomadic, carefree way of life. Some lived though the fighting and accepted life on the reservation. Others died for what they believed in. Many Indians did not stay on the reservations, but went on the warpath instead. This led to terrible warfare with the whites.

Student purpose statement: Say, "Today we are going to study the most imnportant treaty ever made between the Native Americans and the government on the Southern Plains. We are going to find out why the treaty negotiations were held at Medicine Lodge Kansas, who showed up, and what was decided. We are going to learn some new vocabulary words that will help you understand the story by playing a game, then I will teach you how to bring what you already know to this story, develop purpose questions, and answer the questions."

Methods: Play Native American music. Enlarge and make a transparency of the pictures of Satanta and the Medicine Lodge Treaty and show the transparency on the overhead projector. If possible, display Native American artifacts (send a note home to parents at least 30 days prior to beginning the Lawton Centennial unit and ask to borrow artifacts). Show a transparency of the vocabulary words for the story. Pronounce the words together as a class. Then play the Vocabulary Matching Game so that students can familiarize themselves with the words and definitions. Walk around the room and supervise students as they play the game, providing more information as necessary about definitions or pronunciations of the words.

Lesson activities

1.	Input: After playing the Vocabulary Matching Game, provide students with a copy of the story and the K-W-L Chart.
2.	Modeling and Guided Practice: Help the students fill in the "What I Know" and "What I Want to Learn" columns by using the Think Aloud strategy.
3.	Checking for understanding: Ask students to put their thumbs up if they understand what to do to complete the K-W-L Chart, or to put their thumbs down if they do not understand what to do. Provide additional instructions for those students who need them.
4.	Culminating activity (independent practice): Have students read the story and complete the K-W-L Chart.
5.	Sponge activity: Allow students to illustrate their completed K-W-L Chart with sketches showing what they learned.

IV.

Closure

A.	Summary of what has been learned: Say, "Today we learned about the most imnportant treaty ever made between the Native Americans and the government on the Southern Plains. We lelarned why the treaty negotiations were held at Medicine Lodge Kansas, who showed up, and what was decided. We learned some new vocabulary words by playing a game, and we learned how to use a K-W-L Chart to help us remember more about the story we read today."
B.	Transfer: Say, "When you read science and social studies materials, you can use the K-W-L Chart to help you take notes about important information so that you remember what you read."
C.	Student evaluation and assessment: Did the learner corectly complete a K-W-L chart, formulating at least three purpose questions for reading the story and answering the three questions correctly after reading the story?
D.	Teacher evaluation: Reflect on students' mastery of objectives (including re-teaching), teacher's personal response to the lesson, and changes that should be made before the lesson is taught again.