Worksheet, Resources, and Sample Student Responses
Worksheet Prompt:
Analyze how 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 familiarity with the region’s geographyThe study of places on Earth, their features, and the people who live there. gave them advantages or challenges when dealing with neighboring tribes and colonial settlersPeople who come to a new place to live.
Resources
- [ResourceA source of information for student learning, such as a website, video, library book, poster, or map. coming soon]
- Famous Abenaki [Online reading] (Elnu Abenaki Tribe(Related word: Tribal): A group of families or villages that share the same language, traditions, and ancestors. , 2023)
- Native Land Digital [Digital interactive] (Banaszak, 2022)
- People of the Dawn Land [Blog post 12-26-2023] (Bruchac, 2023)
- Re-Emergence: Regardless of Degrees [Blog post 11-9-2024] (Bruchac, 2024c)
- The Connections That Bind Us: The Colonial World of the Northeast [Article with writing prompts, PDF—29 pages] (Brook, 2015)
Sample Student Responses
- Abenaki people, who knew the land and were deeply familiar with their territory, knew where to go to hide in times of danger. This gave them an advantage over colonial settlers or neighboring tribes who may not know the area as well.
- In warfare, Abenaki people knew where in the landscape to place sentries and to set up ambushes along travel routes.
- Abenaki people knew locations to establish signal fires to relay information about attackers—or where to look for signal fires.
- After years in the region, settlers came to know the land as well as the Native people.
- Abenaki people knew how the resources available to feed themselves and members of their family or communityA group of people living or working together in a particular area, or people belonging to a cultural group. would vary in different seasons and locations.
- Trading relationships were possible when people from one area had resources that were useful to people from other areas.
See Historical Context essay and Resources for possible additional responses.
Standards Alignment
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Potential Alignment: English Language Arts Standards
The Writing Informational TextWritten nonfiction materials that are intended to inform the reader about a specific topic. Informational text includes biographies, speeches, opinion or argument essays, and history or science explanations. 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.W.3.2.b. Develop the topic with facts, definitions, and details.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.2.d. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.2.b. Develop the topic with facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples related to the topic.
Grades 6–8
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.6.1.a. Introduce claim(s) and organize the reasons and evidence clearly.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.7.2.d. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.2.b. Develop the topic with relevant, well-chosen facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples.
Grades 9–12
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.2.e. Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.2.b. Develop the topic thoroughly by selecting the most significant and relevant facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic.