For this activity, separate Worksheets, Resources, and Sample Student Responses have been provided for grade 3, grades 4–5, middle school, and high school.
Overview
Writing informational text helps students share what they are learning, reflect on their understanding of a nonfiction topic, and meet the “proficient” statement for the Assessment Objective. In this activity, students will do research and draft answers to worksheet prompts.
We encourage you to be flexible and adapt these worksheets to meet your students’ needs and your teaching style. Prompts can easily be modified by providing alternative instructions. For example, you might instruct lower grade level students to draw and describe their answers and higher grade level students to provide more analysis in their responses.
Materials
There are no materials needed for these activities.
Guiding the Inquiry
- Have students read and interpret the prompts on their worksheets. Note that there is one activity for grades 4 and 5 for which you will have to read the prompt to students.
- Next, have students plan and get your approval to do research using the resources you have chosen from the lists provided.
- Then, have students gather information that will help them respond to the prompt. Invite them to ask questions if they find anything that needs to be clarified.
- Provide sufficient time and scaffolding for students to write their responses to the prompt on the worksheet. For example, you may have them use a separate piece of paper to draft or outline their answers. Encourage them to include in their writing discussion of 21st century Abenaki culture.
- Decide how to accommodate students who wish to type their responses or develop storyboards instead of essay-style text.
- Have students meet with partners to share and revise their writing.
Worksheets Listed by Grade
SQ2 Writing Informational Text: Grade 3
Worksheets, Resources, and Sample Student Responses Worksheet: WS 12 – Draw and Describe 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) Food Prompt: What kinds of food did the Abenaki people eat? Draw and describe some examples of foods they might have enjoyed. WS 12 – Draw and Describe Abenaki Food 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…
SQ2 Writing Informational Text: Grades 4 – 5
Worksheet, Resources, and Sample Student Responses Worksheet: WS 14. Nutritious Food Prompt: What types of foods did 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 rely on? Discuss some examples of foods that were essential to their diet and when and how they obtained them. Abenaki Youth continue to learn how to forage for wild edible plants like fiddleheads. Photo…
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SQ2 Writing Informational Text: Middle School
Worksheet, Prompt, Resources, and Sample Student Responses Worksheet: WS 15. 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) Art Prompt: What are three types of art made by Abenaki people and how do they connect the artists to the environmentAll the physical surroundings on Earth, including everything living and nonliving. in their homeland? WS 15 – Abenaki Art 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. [Deck of Cards] (Abenaki Arts &…
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SQ2 Writing Informational Text: High School
Worksheets, Resources, and Sample Student Responses Worksheet: WS 16. Architectural Styles Prompt: Analyze the architectural styles of 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) shelters. How did these structures accommodate their builders’ lifestyles while providing essential protection and comfort? WS 16 – Adapting LifewaysThe customary foods, clothing, shelters, and arts of a people. Resources Abenaki Homes and Structures [Poster] (Abenaki Arts & Education Center, 2025c) Building a Traditional IndigenousThe first people living in any region, distinct from later arrivals. Peoples’…
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Standards Alignment
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Potential Alignment: English Language Arts Standards
The Writing Informational Text activities 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.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.c. Link ideas within and across categories of information using words, phrases, and clauses (e.g., in contrast, especially).
Grade 6–8
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.6.1.a. Introduce claim(s) and organize the reasons and evidence clearly.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.7.1.b. Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant evidence, using accurate, credible sources and demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.1.c. Use words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
Grade 9–12
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.1. Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.1.d. Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing.