Caralyn Short

EED4270

Thinking Historically Using Children’s Literature (5th Grade)

Preparing to Use Your Book to Help Students Think Historically

Name of Book: Trail of Tears (Step into Reading) by Joseph Bruchac

Grade Level: 5th Grade
Historical Topic of the Book: Major event in history for the Cherokee (Trail of Tears)
Historical Thinking Concept of Focus: Forced Migration/ Cultures Clashing

Resources used to build your content knowledge: Bulleted list of main take-aways from source:

1. The Indian Removal Act Explained in 5 Minutes: US History
Review
Hughes, H. (Director). (2014, December 16). The Indian Removal Act
Explained in Five Minutes: US History Review [Video file].
Retrieved October 5, 2020, from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQfP2Y2t45U
● Brings up important information about the Indian Removal
Act and the events leading up to the Trail of Tears in a child-
appropriate way.
● Gave an unbiased view of this point in history and the
acquiring of land.
● Gave me insight into how to discuss this topic with fifth
grade.
● 1830: Andrew Jackson was elected and put forth the Indian
Removal Act.
● Most Indians by the 1830’s have been exiled. Forced down
South.
● Andrew Jackson sought to gain land in the South for the poor
white population and passed legislation to remove them.
Multiple treaties proposed to move them to federal
reserves.
● Worchester VS. GA: John Marshall sided with the Native
Americans.
1

2. Native Knowledge 360 from the Smithsonian Museum
Native Knowledge 360°: Essential Understandings. (n.d.). Retrieved
from
https://americanindian.si.edu/nk360/about/understandings
3. Alavosus, L. M., Sills, P., & Bower, B. (2010). Social studies
alive!: America’s past: Lesson guide. Palo Alto, CA: Teachers
Curriculum Institute.
● The treaties that pressured the Indians to leave (besides the
Seminoles who stayed put).
● 1/4 of all Native Americans died. $1 a head to pass the Ohio
River on a Ferry when it was only 12 cents for white people.
● This is a teacher guide that helped me focus in on two
important big understandings I want to discuss:
-"Interactions with Europeans and Americans brought
accelerated and often devastating changes to American
Indian cultures" (p. 3)
-"Native people continue to fight to maintain the integrity
and viability of indigenous societies. American Indian history
is one of cultural persistence, creative adaptation, renewal,
and resilience" (p. 3)
● Using this framework, I can form intentional inquiries to
have the students discuss how the events leading up to the
Trail of Tears impacted the Native American culture.
● I will also point out that the Trail of Tears was not just full of
Cherokee Indians.
● This is the curriculum book based on the text that the
teachers are using.
● Our 5th grade team is using Chapter 2 in a couple of weeks
to introduce the” American Indians and their Land’. This
section talks about Native American culture and their early
migrations.
● I thought the Trail of Tears would be a good counter
narrative to tie in so that the students have an
understanding of another reason they migrated later on
after the first English settlers so that they would be able to
critically think about how a clashing of cultures affected their
way of life.
● The first Americans had to adapt to their new environments
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 using natural resources.
● migration: movement of people from one country or area of
the world to a new home in another country or area (p. 19).
●
**Also referenced Takaki readings to get some history behind the treatment of the Native Americans. **

Citizen Paragraph

Using this particular book, I want to try to develop a critical thinking citizen who is dedicating to building their own awareness of a
point in history. In order to do this, I will show the students an honest insight into how the Indians faced true struggle after the Indian
Removal Act. This is intentionally planned to follow an introduction to the first Americans and how the Indians brought their cultures to
North America and adapted to many different environments. They will also see how the Indians contributed to the land when the European
settlers came here in Chapter 3. In my selected book, I want to show the reality that a lot of culture clashing was developing leading up to the
forced migration and gaining knowledge about early Native Americans will help them to better reflect on how much was sacrificed when they
began their journey to the West. I want to challenge the students to connect inquiry to this book and seek to understand why and how this
all happened and possibly even problem solve to propose ideas of how things could have been solved. I want to foster thinking so that the
children consider consequences of choices, especially consequences of our leader’s choices and the impact of voting. In some parts of this
book, I want to discover more than just the struggle, I want to consider the hope the Indians may have held onto as well to make meaning
from this lesson and to look even deeper.

Preparing Historical Thinking Questions Using your Book

Historical Thinking Concept of Focus: Trail of Tears (Indian Removal Act)

Book Title: Trail of Tears (Step into Reading) by Joseph Bruchac
Grade Level: 5th Grade

Questions: (with page numbers) Explanation of How Your Question Encourages Historical Thinking

Question # 1 Before the 1830’s, the Cherokee were already solidified in their
culture and ways of life. The men would hunt and the women

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How do you think the Cherokee prepared for this long
and sudden journey? (page 6).
Anticipated Student Responses (at least 2):
1. By packing food and clothes.
2. Getting good rest.
3. Looked at maps
Follow-up/Probing Questions (at least 2):
1. How do you think it was different for them to go that far then versus now?
2. What do these preparations tell us about their values?
3. How is migration different from forced migration?
Question #2
Why do you think they wanted the land owned by the
Cherokee? (p. 57)
would garden and cook. Their values held the land and spirit in
high regard.To be forced out would make them think critically
about their values and their future before leaving their homes.
They would also have to consider whether or not it would be
worth it to leave. I want the students to connect this sudden
challenge to what they have already learned about the adaptability
the Native Americans had to practice when they first migrated to
America to encourage empathy. I also want them to come up with
ways to discuss how those types of migrations differ based on
choice vs. force.
By the 1830’s, the Indians were already pressured down South.
The other Americans knew of gold and the opportunities that the
farmland had to offer because the Indians had already worked the
land to produce successful crops. I want to use this question to
lead into an inquiry based discussion to see if there were any ways
that the children could think of to solve the conflict over more
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 land. I thought this would be a good way to evaluate how to see
the issue from both sides to lead toward a peaceful solution. I also
want to see what their thoughts are on whether or not it is right
for any group of people to own their own land to practice changing
perspectives in order to form a stronger opinion without bias.

Anticipated Student Responses (at least 2):

1. To make money.

2. They were thinking about themselves and their families.

3. They wanted more space to live.

Follow-up/Probing Questions (at least 2):

1. Do you think there were ways to share the land?

2. Do you think it was fair for the Cherokee to have their own regions?

I want the students to reflect on how the Indians felt pressure to

Question #3 keep the peace during the early settling days while Andrew
Jackson was president (and continuing on from that). During this
Why do you think the Cherokee adapted their “white ways”? time, the Native Americans developed their own alphabet to
(p. 61) communicate through writing and even adopted the constitution. I
want to discuss how the Cherokee coped with the prejudice and
dig deep into why they may have felt it was viable to integrate
some of their customs and norms. This will also open up an
opportunity to explore whether or not this is an effective strategy
used in hopes of avoiding conflict. There are a lot of rich
connections that the student can make here between changing of
a culture and their own identity.

Anticipated Student Responses (at least 2):

1. To fit in.

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 2. So they would be left alone.
3. Because they wanted change.

Follow-up/Probing Questions (at least 2):

1. How do you think adapting to these ways changed their culture?

2. Do you think this would be enough to prevent clashing in the future?

3. If you had to adapt to a new environment where people were different from you, would you change your culture? Why or
why not?

Question #4
Based on what you know about lawmaking, do you
think these laws were being passed for the greater
good? (p. 23)
The students started out learning about why laws are put into
place. This would be a great way to spiral back in order to critically
think about whether or not these laws were made for the reasons
laws were intended for, which is to protect people from harm. I
also want to point out why voting matters because it has
consequences on everyone-this including why including all citizens
in the voting process matters. As we determine the validity of
those laws, we can also observe the governing world we live in
today and make comparisons.

Anticipated Student Responses (at least 2):

1. No, because they were not including everyone in the vote.
2. No, because they were not being fair.
3. At the time, they may have thought they were doing good.

Follow-up/Probing Questions (at least 2):

1. In today’s world, do you think that we are still making “anti-culture” laws?
2. Does this relate to bullying? Why or why not?
3. How could they have made the lawmaking more fair?

After the Trail of Tears, over 4,000 Cherokee Indians were said to
Question #5 have been killed. This moment in history presented the Cherokee

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Despite all of the tragedies the Cherokee faced, is there
anything that would have made you hold onto hope?
with many challenges, but their persistence spoke volumes about
their courage in fighting for a better future. I want the children to
defend their reasons for holding onto hope even though terrible
things happened. I also want them to relate this analysis to their
character building discussion in morning meetings that focus on
perseverance, courage, and grit.

Anticipated Student Responses (at least 2):

1. Beliefs (spiritual).
2. Family, friends, animals (love, connection).
3. The future (Things could get better).

Follow-up/Probing Questions (at least 2):

1. What does it say about you if you are able to remain hopeful after bad things happen?
2. Do you think remaining hopeful is a strength? Why or why not?
3. How does holding onto hope help you through tough situations in life?