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 Cultural Practices, Lifeways, and Natural Resources Card Game [Deck of Cards] (Abenaki Arts & Education Center, 2025b). [Teachers: Email Abenaki Arts & Education Center for purchase details at: abenaki.edu@gmail.com]
- [ResourceA source of information for student learning, such as a website, video, library book, poster, or map. coming soon]
- Abenaki Uses of Natural Resources [Table—PDF] (Abenaki Arts & Education Center, 2025d)
- New England Landforms [Poster] (Abenaki Arts & Education Center, 2024)
- Natural ResourcesParts of the environment that people use, such as sunlight, air, water, soil, rocks, fossil fuels, and living organisms. , Vermont Agency of Natural Resources website [Online article and photographs] (Environmental Conservation, 2025)
- Vermont Topography [Road atlas of USA and Canada] (Vermont Topography Terrain Map Topographic State Large Scale Free Detailed Landscape, 2025)
Sample Student Responses
- Rivers make travel easier for trading.
- Mountains, forests, and wetlands are good places to hide from attackers.
- Abenaki people know where to find edible plants and plants for medicine and could share their knowledge with settlers.
- Waterways, Abenaki trails, and clearings with crops make it easy for new people to come in.
- Areas with lots of resources like fish, wild plants to gather, and animals to hunt would be valuable to Abenaki people and would also attract newcomers.
See Historical Context essay and Resources for additional potential responses.
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 AbenakiAbenaki tribes, families, and people who live in the United States. Vermont has four recognized Abenaki tribes; for more information visit Abenaki Alliance. Curriculum with language arts instruction and assessmentA tool to measure what a student knows and can do..
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.