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November is Native American Heritage Month, and a great time to teach your students about the rich culture and history of the indigenous peoples of North America. There are many fun and meaningful ways to commemorate this important month but in this blog post, I’m going to share four of my favorite Native American heritage month bulletin board ideas and activities that you can try in your classroom.
1- Research Native American Groups Close to Your Location
Before starting any project related to Native Americans, it’s a good idea to first do some research on the specific groups that are native to your area. This will help you create and find more accurate and culturally sensitive materials for your students. You can start by looking up local tribes on the internet or contacting a nearby reservation for more information. Once you have gathered some information, you can start your project!
Create a big list of the different groups, and have each student choose one to learn about. They can research the tribe using books, the internet, and interviews (if possible). As they learn about the customs and traditions of their chosen group, they can create a display for a bulletin board. Be sure to have them include pictures, maps, and any other relevant information they discover. This is just one of the Native American Heritage Month bulletin board ideas and a great way for students to learn about native peoples in a personal and meaningful way.
If you don’t have any native groups near your location, you can choose a specific tribe to focus on. The Cherokee, Sioux, and Apache are just a few of the many native groups your students can research and learn about.
2- Invite a Native American Person to Speak to Your Class
Another great way to commemorate Native American Heritage Month is to invite a native person to come and speak to your class. This could be a family member, friend, or someone from the community. Hearing first-hand accounts of native culture and history is a powerful way for students to connect with this important part of their heritage.
If you don’t have any native people in your community, you can try to find someone willing to speak to your class via Skype, Zoom, or another video chat service. This is a great way to connect with native people from all over the country and learn about the many different cultures and traditions of native peoples.
This is a great activity to do alongside a research project on native peoples. After learning about native culture and history, your students will be able to ask questions and get clarification from someone who is actually native. This is a great way to ensure that your students are getting accurate and up-to-date information.
3- Collect and Display Children’s Books About Native American Heritage
In addition to research projects and guest speakers, another great way to commemorate Native American Heritage Month is to collect books by and about Native people and create a display in your classroom. There are so many great books out there that can help your students learn about native culture and history.
Here are a few suggestions of picture books you can look for:
- We are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom and Michaela Goade
- A Day with Yayah by Nicola I. Campbell and Julie Flett
- Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story by Kevin Noble Maillard and Juana Martinez-Neal
- Bowwow Powwoww by Brenda J. Child and Jonathon Thunder
- My Heart Fills with Happiness by Monique Gray Smith and Julie Flett
- We are Grateful: Otsaliheliga by Traci Sorrell and Frane Lessac (My son LOVES this book!)
You can find these titles in my Amazon Store by clicking the link. These are just a few of the many great books that are available to help teach students about native culture and history.
This leads me to another one of my Native American Heritage Month bulletin board ideas. You could have each student read a different book and write a book review to be displayed. Another option would be to have each student write a brief summary of a book and display it next to a printed cover image of the book. This bulletin board idea may encourage other students in the building to read and learn more about Native American culture.
4- Have Each Student Research a Different Native American
Okay- this is one of my favorite Native American Heritage Month bulletin board ideas. You can have each student choose a different influential native individual to research. They can then write a report and you can use the reports to create an informational bulletin board. This activity is highly engaging for kids as it allows them to choose who they want to research and then the chance to teach their classmates about them. It is a great way for them to learn about native culture and history, as well as practice their research skills.
I love using my Native American Heritage Month Research Report Pennants with students. There are 37 different people for students to choose from and each pennant report features awesome clipart. The pennant shape conveys the celebratory spirit of the activity!
Once students have each selected a person to research, they can use books, websites, and other resources to learn about them.
Once they have gathered their information, they can use it to fill out their pennant template. They can include information about where their individual was born, when they were born, what they are known for, and any other interesting information they’d like to share.
Students can share their pennants with the class and you can display them in your classroom or school library for other students to enjoy. This is a great way to create a visually appealing and informative Native American Heritage Month display for your students.
Click the link to grab a free sample of my Native American Heritage Month Research Report Pennant Resource so you can try this engaging activity with your students.
Try one or more of these Native American Heritage Month bulletin board ideas or activities with your students.
Celebrating Native American Heritage Month is a great way for students to learn about the rich culture and history of native peoples. There are many fun and meaningful ways to commemorate this important month, like researching different Native American groups and creating a bulletin board to share the information, inviting Native people into your classroom to share their expertise, collecting and displaying children’s books about Native people, having students research different Native individuals, and displaying student reports on influential individuals as on an informational bulletin board. Whatever activities you choose, your students are sure to benefit from the experience.
I hope that these ideas will help you get started planning your celebrations this November!
