Online Learning Activities

Be an Explorer: A Native American Cultures Activity

With help from Scholastic’s step-by-step guide, students research local Native Americans and document their findings in a research paper.

Scholastic’s “Be an Explorer” activity (grades 4–8), part the “Native American Cultures” project, challenges students to conduct their own research on Native Americans, much like a scientist or archeologist.

Students first click on an interactive map to locate a Native American tribe near them, then follow the “big six” steps for solving “information problems.”

• First, students must identify what they’re looking for.
• Then, students consider the best places to look for answers, whether online using Scholastic’s research starter, or by visiting a local museum, reservation, or library.
• Next, get to it! Archaeologists use special tools like trowels, brushes, dustpans, buckets, and screens because their information is usually buried. But students must dig for their information, too, using books, videos, or even people who can answer questions. Students should be careful to track their information, documenting sources.
• Organizing the information is another important step. Students can use an outline or “graphic organizer” (a drawing).
• Next, students write their research paper, with help from Scholastic, if necessary.
• The final step is the “thinking” step – when students admire their work, and consider if they’re happy with it.

Learning Objectives

While participating in the “Be an Explorer” activity, students will:

• Use a variety of technological and informational resources to conduct research about their state's past and present Native American cultures
• Gather, evaluate and synthesize data from a variety of sources
• Use graphic organizers to order their questions and discoveries
• Communicate their discoveries in the form of a presentation or an informational essay
• Self-evaluate their own research and presentation

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