Worksheet, Resources, and Sample Student Responses
Worksheet Prompt:
Sustainable practices assume that natural resourcesParts of the environment that people use, such as sunlight, air, water, soil, rocks, fossil fuels, and living organisms. are limited and that people should act to ensure that resources will be available for people in the future. Discuss how knowledge of geographyThe study of places on Earth, their features, and the people who live there. guided 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) natural resourceA source of information for student learning, such as a website, video, library book, poster, or map. utilization and conservation. How did their geographical awareness contribute to their sustainable practices?
Resources
- Abenaki Fish-Ins—Interview with Joe Bruchac [Video—3:30 min.] (Abenaki Arts & Education, 2024)
- [Resource coming soon]
- Natural Resources, Vermont Agency of Natural Resources website [Online article and photographs] (Department of Environmental Conservation, 2025)
- Re-emergence: Regardless of Degrees [Blog post 11-9-2024] (Bruchac, 2024c)
- Vermont Topography [Road atlas of USA and Canada] (Vermont Topography Terrain Map Topographic State Large Scale Free Detailed Landscape, 2025)
Sample Student Responses
- The Abenaki knew that resources around them were limited, so they took only what they needed and left the rest. By doing so they were able to live on the land until the present day.
- Abenaki people cultivated plants that were useful so that more would grow for the following year.
- Abenaki people lived in the same region for hundreds of years and were familiar with the life cycles of the plants and animals that they depended on. Adults shared with the children important information about when and where to find plants and animals and how to make sure some would be there the following year.
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.