Materials

• 1 class set of Activity Sheet #1, Surviving the Night (teacher provided)

• 1 transparency of Activity Sheet #1
• 1 large sheet of butcher paper (teacher provided)
• 1 marking pen (teacher provided)
• 1 transparency marking pen (teacher provided)
• 1 overhead projector (teacher provided)
• Student role cards (optional - teacher provided)

 Objective

• Students will work cooperatively to list all items necessary for a group of 3 or 4 people to survive outdoors for three days and nights.
• Students will identify those survival items that were not available 500 years ago.
• Students will "brainstorm" what they already think they know about the Washoe.
• Students will "brainstorm" what they already think they know about the Washoe.

 Background

This first lesson encourages students to begin thinking about what it might be like to survive outdoors for several days without any of today's "modern" conveniences. The ancient Washoe adapted to life here without the help of nylon tents, down jackets, sleeping bags, freeze dried foods, propane stoves, or any other item most people would consider necessary for outdoor survival.

Before Your Begin This Lesson

• You will need a large sheet of butcher paper for today's closure. Divide the butcher paper into three sections similar to that shown below.

What we know.
What we would like to know.
What we have learned.

• Students will work in cooperative groups of 3 or 4 through most of this activity. You may want to group the students before beginning the activity.
• Run off enough copies of Activity Sheet #1 for each cooperative group of 4 students.
• If you choose to use the student role cards, you will need to run off enough copies for each cooperative group.

Activity

1. Begin the unit by asking students to imagine what it might be like camping out on the school yard for three days and nights with no electricity, running water, or heat. Ask: How would you stay warm (or cool, if you are teaching the unit in summer).
   
2. Explain that the task for today is to come up with a list of everything a group of 3 or 4 students would need to survive outdoors for three days and nights. All supplies must be purchased at one time. The total quantity of supplies must be small enough so that all the equipment could be easily packed up and carried by the group a distance of at least 1 mile.
   
3. Show students the transparency of Activity Sheet #1, Surviving the Night . Review the three sections on the Activity Sheet with your class. Explain that each person in a group will be assigned a role to help complete the activity sheet.
   
4. Break the class into groups of 3 or 4 students (if you have not done so already).
   
5. Each group should assign:

• A Recorder - this student will record the group's list onto today's activity sheet.
• A Task Master - this student will keep the group focused and on task.
• A Quieter - this student will help keep group voices at a "reasonable" level.
• Reader - this student will read selected group responses to the rest of the class.

6. Pass out 1 copy of Activity Sheet #1 to each cooperative group of 3 or 4 students.
   
7. As the groups begin working on the activity sheet, circulate about the room offering assistance where required.
   
8. It is suggested that you set some sort of reasonable time line for the groups to complete their task. You will probably get a general sense when most groups have completed the task.
   
9. Once the recorders from all groups have completed the activity sheet, ask the groups to pick their two best items from each of the three categories on the activity sheet and cicrle them.
   
10. Ask the reader from each group to read off the items their group circled. Record these responses directly onto the transparency or the front board.
    
11. Once you have solicited information from all groups, explain that you want to cross off every item on the class list that would not have been available in this area 500 years ago. For example, down jackets, tents, toilet paper, etc. would all have to be crossed off.
    
12. By the time you reach the end of the class list, most (if not all) the items will be crossed off.
    
13. Now ask students to review their group's completed list, crossing off all items that would not have been available 500 years ago. The students should discover that most of the things they needed to survive 3 days and nights outdoors would not have been available 5 centuries ago.

Closure

1. Once groups have finished crossing items on their activity sheet, explain that there were once thousands of people living near the school who learned to survive here without relying on any of the modern "necessities" listed on the activity sheet.
   
2. Ask students to briefly imagine what life must have been like here without roads, houses, cows, sheep, electricity, snow shovels, etc.
   
3. Ask if any student knows the name of the native people who have been living here for 1000's of years. (Hopefully, at least 1 student will know the name Washoe.)
   
4. Using the large sheet of butcher paper, have the class brainstorm what they know about the Washoe and what they would like to know about the Washoe. Explain that the final section of the chart ("what we learned") will be completed at the close of the unit.
   
5. Collect all group activity sheets.

Evaluation:

This lesson can help serve as a preassessment of the classes knowledge of the Washoe. Use this lesson to get a sense of progress students make as they work through the unit. The closure activity can help you assess students prior knowledge of Washoe culture.

Activity Sheet:

Make an activity sheet that includes the information below; leave blank spaces for the students to fill in:

Lesson 1--Surviving the Night Activity Sheet 1

NAME:

DATE:

1. List all of the foods your group must have to survive 3 days and nights.

2. List the clothing everyone in your group must have in order to survive three days andnights.

3. List what your group will use for shelter in case it rains or snows.

.