For this activity, separate discussion Prompts, Resources, and Sample Student Responses have been provided for grade 3, grades 4–5, middle school, and high school.
Overview
Students participate in a Turn-and-Talk discussion in which they explain the relationship between geography, natural resources, and the culture of the Abenaki. This peer-to-peer strategy helps students improve their communication skills by alternating between active listening and making meaningful contributions to conversations about Abenaki culture. Afterwards, the class reconvenes for a teacher-facilitated follow up discussion.
Materials
There are no materials needed for this activity.
Worksheets
There are no worksheets needed for this activity
Guiding the Inquiry
- Choose from among the recommended resources those that are most appropriate for your students.
- Divide the class into pairs.
- Share the Turn-and-Talk prompt with your students.
- Provide the pairs with the resources you have chosen, allowing enough time to examine and discuss them.
- In their discussion, have students develop an argument with one to three pieces of evidence to support their claim.
- Encourage students to be active listeners, offering respectful feedback as peers share ideas and insights.
- After pairs discussion, bring the class together to share their findings with one student presenting for each pair.
- Bring the discussion to a meaningful close, encouraging students to summarize and make connections between their varied perspectives for a broader understanding of Abenaki culture.
(Abenaki Arts & Education Center, 2025a)
Discussion Prompts by Grade
SQ1 Turn-and-Talk and Discussions: Grade 3
GRADE 3 Prompt, Resources, and Sample Student Responses Prompt How can you use maps to think about where AbenakiHistorically, this name was used by the French to refer to many different Indigenous communities in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. During the colonial wars, some New England Indians moved to southern Canada as war refugees. They were joined by refugees from other tribes and together became known as Abenaki. (Calloway, 1994) people choose to live? Resources Abenaki CulturalRelating to the beliefs, language, traditions, and other ways of living that a group shares. Practices, LifewaysThe customary foods, clothing, shelters, and arts of a people. , and Natural ResourcesParts of the environment that people use, such as sunlight, air, water, soil, rocks, fossil fuels, and living organisms. Card Game [Deck of Cards] (Abenaki Arts & Education Center, 2025b). [Teachers: Email Abenaki Arts & Education Center for purchase details at: abenaki.edu@gmail.com] [Resource…
SQ1 Turn-and-Talk and Discussions: Grades 4 – 5
Prompt, Resources, and Sample Student Responses Prompt How could geographyThe study of places on Earth, their features, and the people who live there. have influenced the AbenakiHistorically, this name was used by the French to refer to many different Indigenous communities in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. During the colonial wars, some New England Indians moved to southern Canada as war refugees. They were joined by refugees from other tribes and together became known as Abenaki. (Calloway, 1994) people’s relationships with other tribes? Think about alliances, trade, and conflicts. Resources Abenaki CulturalRelating to the beliefs, language, traditions, and other ways of living that a group shares. Practices, LifewaysThe customary foods, clothing, shelters, and arts of a people. , and Natural ResourcesParts of the environment that people use, such as sunlight, air, water, soil, rocks, fossil fuels, and living organisms. Card Game [Deck of Cards] (Abenaki Arts & Education Center, 2025b). [Teachers:Email Abenaki Arts & Education Center for purchase details at: abenaki.edu@gmail.com]…
Continue Reading SQ1 Turn-and-Talk and Discussions: Grades 4 – 5
SQ1 Turn-and-Talk and Discussions: Middle School
Prompt, Resources, and Sample Student Responses Prompt How might geographyThe study of places on Earth, their features, and the people who live there. and the environmentAll the physical surroundings on Earth, including everything living and nonliving. have shaped the interactions between the AbenakiHistorically, this name was used by the French to refer to many different Indigenous communities in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. During the colonial wars, some New England Indians moved to southern Canada as war refugees. They were joined by refugees from other tribes and together became known as Abenaki. (Calloway, 1994) people and colonial settlersPeople who come to a new place to live. ? Resources Abenaki CulturalRelating to the beliefs, language, traditions, and other ways of living that a group shares. Practices, LifewaysThe customary foods, clothing, shelters, and arts of a people. , and Natural ResourcesParts of the environment that people use, such as sunlight, air, water, soil, rocks, fossil fuels, and living organisms. Card Game [Deck of Cards] (Abenaki Arts & Education Center, 2025b). [Teachers: Email Abenaki Arts & Education Center for purchase details at: abenaki.edu@gmail.com]…
Continue Reading SQ1 Turn-and-Talk and Discussions: Middle School
SQ1 Turn-and-Talk and Discussions: High School
Prompt, Resources, and Sample Student Responses Prompt Analyze and discuss how geographyThe study of places on Earth, their features, and the people who live there. could have influenced the AbenakiHistorically, this name was used by the French to refer to many different Indigenous communities in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. During the colonial wars, some New England Indians moved to southern Canada as war refugees. They were joined by refugees from other tribes and together became known as Abenaki. (Calloway, 1994) people’s cultural beliefsIdeas and values shared by a group. Traditions that are passed from one generation to the next. about the land. Resources Abenaki CulturalRelating to the beliefs, language, traditions, and other ways of living that a group shares. Practices, LifewaysThe customary foods, clothing, shelters, and arts of a people. , and Natural ResourcesParts of the environment that people use, such as sunlight, air, water, soil, rocks, fossil fuels, and living organisms. Card Game [Deck of Cards] (Abenaki Arts & Education Center, 2025b). [Teachers: Email Abenaki Arts & Education Center for purchase details at: abenaki.edu@gmail.com] Abenaki…
Continue Reading SQ1 Turn-and-Talk and Discussions: High School
Standards Alignment
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Potential Alignment: English Language Arts Standards
The Turn-and-Talk Discussions activity can support the following sampling of standards and serve as a starting point for integrating the American Abenaki Curriculum with language arts instruction and assessment.
Grades 3–5
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.3.1.b. Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., gaining the floor in respectful ways, listening to others with care, speaking one at a time about the topics and texts under discussion).
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.4.1.d. Review the key ideas expressed and explain their own ideas and understanding in light of the discussion.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.5.2. Summarize a written text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.
Grades 6–8
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.6.2. Interpret information presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and explain how it contributes to a topic, text, or issue under study.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.7.1.d. Acknowledge new information expressed by others and, when warranted, modify their own views.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.8.1.b. Follow rules for collegial discussions and decision-making, track progress toward specific goals and deadlines, and define individual roles as needed.
Grades 9–12
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.9-10.2. Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.1.a. Come to discussions prepared, having read and researched material under study; explicitly draw on that preparation by referring to evidence from texts and other research on the topic or issue to stimulate a thoughtful, well-reasoned exchange of ideas.