This unit on American Indians: By studying the regions of the United States and the cultures that live in each region, students are able to compare/contrast within regions and across regions how tribes used their environments, and their cultural and other contributions to American life.

Note that the emphasis here is on broader groups of tribes for each region with some instruction on specific tribes representing each region. In no way is this case study approach to learning about one tribe meant to be generalized to all tribes of that region. We understand that each tribe was and continues to be unique in its culture, practices, lifeways, and traditions.

The unit is focused on the examination of geography in terms of “place.” Students dive into inquiry to answer the compelling questions, “Where are we?” and “Who are we?” Through these two questions students will understand where they live and where people around the world live. Students will also dive into the term “culture” and define it through many characteristics. Students will examine and reflect upon their own culture and research different cultures of North America.

As part of Washington's Kip Tokuda Memorial Civil Liberties Public Education Program, which strives to educate the public regarding the history and the lessons of the World War II exclusion, removal, and detention of persons of Japanese ancestry, KSPS Public Television and Eastern Washington educators Starla Fey, Leslie Heffernan, and Morgen Larsen have produced Injustice at Home: the Japanese American experience of the World War II Era.

This educational resource--five educational videos and an inquiry-based unit of study--will help students understand Executive Order 9066 and the resulting internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II, the failure of political leadership to protect constitutional rights, the military experience of Japanese-Americans during WWII, and examples of discrimination and racial prejudice the Japanese-American community faced before, during and after WWII.

In addition, students will analyze the short and long term emotional effects on those who are incarcerated, identify the challenges that people living outside of the exclusion zone faced, examine how some Japanese Americans showed their loyalty during the period of incarceration, and learn about brave individuals who stood up for Japanese Americans during this time.

The unit is focused on the examination of geography in terms of “place.” Students dive into inquiry to answer the compelling question, What is unique about living in Washington? Through this question students will understand where and why people live in Washington State. Students will dive into the regions of Washington State and define it through many characteristics. Students will ultimately choose a region to become an expert on and communicate what makes that region unique. Each student’s performance task product will reflect choice and build upon student strengths according to their skill set.

This is a Teacher's Guide for The State We're In Washington: Your guide to state, tribal and local government. These quides are developed by members of the Washington State Social Studies Cadre.Well before Washington was a state, tribes lived and thrived (and continue to thrive) on the land in communities and worked together for their common good. Chapter 1 focuses on how the first people of Washington governed themselves. 

This is a Teacher's Guide for The State We're In Washington: Your guide to state, tribal and local government. These quides are developed by members of the Washington State Social Studies Cadre.

Chapter 2 of the State We're In: Washington explores the design of today's democracy. The resources here may be implemented separately or together to guide students toward a deeper understanding of the content therein and to develop important social studies skills.

This is a Teacher's Guide for The State We're In Washington: Your guide to state, tribal and local government. These quides are developed by members of the Washington State Social Studies Cadre.

Chapter 4 focuses on the significant amount of change the state of Washington experienced from 1900 to 2000. The resources here may be implemented separately or together to guide students toward a deeper understanding of the content therein and to develop important social studies skills.

This is a Teacher's Guide for The State We're In Washington: Your guide to state, tribal and local government. These quides are developed by members of the Washington State Social Studies Cadre.There are key ideals established in state and tribal constitutions that determine the functioning of government. Washington state maintains important relationships among sovereign states (international and tribal) through both political and economic agreements. Tribes, as sovereign nations, have independent economies with different government regulations separate from the United States and Washington state. The economic impacts of tribes has been measured and positively impacts the economy of Washington in many ways.

This is a Teacher's Guide for The State We're In Washington: Your guide to state, tribal and local government. These quides are developed by members of the Washington State Social Studies Cadre.Chapter 9 focuses on the future of the state of Washington including challenges its citizens will face and various ways the state and individuals can have an impact on that future.

What will Washington be like 100 years from now? This is the teacher guide companion to The State We're In: Washington (Grade 3-5 Edition) Chapter 10. The resource is designed to engage students with a launch activity, focused notes, and a focused inquiry..

To be good citizens, we have to think about the whole of our lives—about how we treat the people around us, how well we take care of the natural world, and what impact all our actions will have on the future. This is the teacher guide companion to The State We're In: Washington (Grade 3-5 Edition) Chapter 11. The resource is designed to engage students with a launch activity, focused notes, and a focused inquiry. 

The  environment shaped the first people of Washington’s way of life and as a result the early people had different leaders for different purposes who were elders in their community.This is the teacher guide companion to The State We're In: Washington (Grade 3-5 Edition) Chapter 1. The resource is designed to engage students with a launch activity, focused notes, and a focused inquiry.

Contact between Native and non-native people forever changed the landscape of North America. European exploration drove many changes to the Northwest, including trade, exploration.This is the teacher guide companion to The State We're In: Washington (Grade 3-5 Edition) Chapter 2. The resource is designed to engage students with a launch activity, focused notes, and a focused inquiry.

While the arrival of explorers and the beginning of the fur trade were going on in the American Northwest, a new nation was being born in the east. This is the teacher guide companion to The State We're In: Washington (Grade 3-5 Edition) Chapter 3. The resource is designed to engage students with a launch activity, focused notes, and a focused inquiry.

Washington’s long journey to become a state was a complex story culturally, economically, politically, environmentally, and ecologically.This is the teacher guide companion to The State We're In: Washington (Grade 3-5 Edition) Chapter 4. The resource is designed to engage students with a launch activity, focused notes, and a focused inquiry.

Washington has changed a great deal in many different ways in the 20th Century – culturally, economically, politically, environmentally, and ecologically. This is the teacher guide companion to The State We're In: Washington (Grade 3-5 Edition) Chapter 5. The resource is designed to engage students with a launch activity, focused notes, and a focused inquiry.

Local governments are the smallest and closest governments to us. They are usually the first place we turn when we need help. This is the teacher guide companion to The State We're In: Washington (Grade 3-5 Edition) Chapter 6. The resource is designed to engage students with a launch activity, focused notes, and a focused inquiry.

Since Washington became a state in 1889, the job of governing has become much bigger. Even so, the basic structure—a legislative branch, an executive branch and a judicial branch—is the same as 100 years ago.This is the teacher guide companion to The State We're In: Washington (Grade 3-5 Edition) Chapter 7. The resource is designed to engage students with a launch activity, focused notes, and a focused inquiry.

Tribal governments are quite different from state or local governments, because tribes are “nations within a nation.” This is the teacher guide companion to The State We're In: Washington (Grade 3-5 Edition) Chapter 8. The resource is designed to engage students with a launch activity, focused notes, and a focused inquiry.

Decisions our local, state, tribal, and federal governments make affect every forest, every mountain, and every lake and river. This is the teacher guide companion to The State We're In: Washington (Grade 3-5 Edition) Chapter 9. The resource is designed to engage students with a launch activity, focused notes, and a focused inquiry.

This unit is focused on the examination of a single topic, in this case, the Native Americans of the inland Northwest and conflict that arose when other non-native people started to settle in the northwest, and to specifically address the native populations that lived in the inland northwest. The materials were created to be one coherent arc of instruction focused on one topic. The module was designed to include teaching notes that signal the kind of planning and thinking such instruction requires: close reading with complex text, and specific instructional strategies or protocols are described that support students’ reading and writing with evidence are described in enough detail to make it very clear what is required of students and how to support students in doing this rigorous work. Materials include summative assessment of content and process, central texts, key resources, and protocols that support and facilitate student learning.

The unit has two parts. In each, students dive into inquiry to answer the compelling questions:

1. Who are some of our closest tribal neighbors, and what have they been their lifeways since time immemorial?
2. Why do people explore, and how does this lead to expansion?

Part 1 is focused on the examination of the northwest and some of the original inhabitants. Through these questions students will learn about the culture of some of their closest tribal neighbors, the Spokane Indians. The final project for Part 1 is a cultural investigation display, in which students will show what they know about the culture of the Spokane Tribe.

In Part 2, Students will also learn about forces that brought change to the northwest: fur trade era and exploration. Students will ultimately learn about the Corps of Discovery and the Oregon Trail and know the impact each had on the west. Students will finish Part 2 with a timeline activity that will reflect choice and build upon student strengths according to their skill set.

Finally, a lesson on a Tribe of the Columbia Plateau is offered as an extension, but it is strongly recommended that students get to experience this lesson.

Note that the emphasis here is on the Spokane Tribe as one of our closest tribal neighbors. In no way is this an exhaustive study nor should the tribal cultures be generalized to other tribes of the region. We understand that each tribe in our region and North America was and continues to be unique in its culture, practices, lifeways, and traditions.