I teach 11th grade AP US History in an ethnically diverse magnet school in Philadelphia. Most of my students come into the class with grade level reading skills, meaning they need only minimal instructional support, such as vocabulary, to access the college level readings required in an AP course. More often they need support in writing evidence based arguments that the College Board will accept as a thesis. Consider also that 12% of my students are just below their grade reading level which makes AP readings frustrational and hence need additional reading strategies such as chunking or graphic organizers. Graphic organizers have been needed more this year, as we come back from online learning, to keep students engaged and focused during the lessons. They also provide tangible notes to reference for their thesis based in evidence. One objective here is to expose students to college level secondary sources with the intent to use it to support an argument.

Part of the AP US History curriculum is required to cover the idea that “Europeans and Native Americans asserted divergent world views regarding issues such as religion, gender roles, family, land use, and power. Mutual misunderstandings often defined interactions as each group sought to make sense of the other.” To begin we will ask, What constitutes a worldview? What does it look like to you? to get the discussion started and have a commonality with which to ground the concept of worldview moving forward. Next we will create a commonality around the idea of holism. When discussing holism, a consideration is the diversity of my student body and the varying degrees of cultural literacy present. Over 20% of my students are first generation in immigrant families spanning 3 continents. In addition, though we receive 100% free lunch, 15% of my students come from households where an adult holds an advanced degree, even higher if we consider siblings pursuing one. All this is to say that I cannot assume that any cultural or abstract idea has been presented from home but I also cannot assume that the entire student body will meet these ideas at the same point of exposure, some will have background knowledge into the idea of holism, scientific method, content history, etc.

Another concern of mine, given my experience in discussions from prior years, was that some might speak of indigenous people as if they are gone as we see the extent of damage done to them or the ways in which their worldviews are marginalized by mainstream society. Therefore an initial key objective will be to clarify and cement that the culture and people we are speaking to lives and adapts as we all do. Students are asked to list three things they’ve learned about present day indigenous nations from resources linked in the slides and share out so that students have current status anchors to apply their understanding of developments to and keep the idea of a thriving present people. This idea was threaded throughout our course and the fact that there are 574 indigneous nations thriving in the U.S. borders today.

The next content objective is to introduce the concept of holism. I will lecture with a slide on holism and ask the students to reflect and answer: What is holism in your own words? within their notetaking doc in order to assess that they understand the concept.This response will be checked before the beginning of the next class and feedback will be given on the response to insure we are operating from a common place. One understanding we want to expose students to is that indigenous culture specifically is holistic in worldview. When the idea of holism is introduced we then apply it through a case study of the Pueblo and Navajo. The objective is for students to fill in notes on Pueblo and Navajo peoples ideals of religion, gender roles, family, land use, and power ideals as holistic by examining primary sources expressing these ideas or examining artwork created to express their idealizations. We will discuss what their ideal is and how that is reflected in the art. We will use many works of art that illustrate not only gender specific roles for them but also the connectedness of the relationships with all things. I’ve learned through this course that the way they see all things, things that Westerners don’t even consider “living” as not only alive, but family. They will then apply how holism affects these views. The visual nature of this lesson is instrumental in driving home the more abstract concepts/ways of thinking, such as holism, for high school students. Not only is art visual, but is a reflection of more abstract values and priorities that can drive home a tough to grasp concept. Students will be filling in guided notes as we go through an introduction to holism and examples from Navajo and Pueblo culture via Google Classroom, so I can assess whether they have enough context to proceed with comparing holistic indigenous worldview to analytic Western views. Before moving on, students will answer: How are the examples of Native American worldviews above evidence of a holistic perspective on the world? To end this particular lesson, the last objective is for students to self assess the extent of their knowledge on the topic. They will be asked to rate themselves through 6 gradients on: How confident would you feel in giving a 5th grader an explanation about what holism is? Could you provide at least 2 examples?

The unit will then progress to exercise a comparison of holistic goals of spiritual harmony and survival vs. scientific/material progress in Western civ. Specifically, they will compare what they’ve learned so far to what they have been taught about the scientific method, the effects of materialism, and the current state of environmental and equity movements in our Western dominated society. Specific objectives are for them to note in each category: What effects has this had on society? Good and bad. Find specific evidence to support. And then: How has valuing an analytical thought process contributed to the development of this? Especially given the nature of this concept of comparing holism to Western civilization’s tendency to be analytical, my students coming from cultures who also value, reflect on, or practice holism will be an asset to the discussions and I have to ask questions that will open the space for them to enrich the room in ways I shouldn’t assume I need to lead. Should this hope for discussion fall short of course, I need to be ready to fill in gaps. To close the activity, students will be asked to note and discuss: Would having a holistic thought process have changed any of these developments in your opinion? Why or how if so? Closing the activity would again have students self assess their progress toward content goals by asking: How confident would you feel in giving a 5th grader an explanation about what is different and the same about Native worldviews and Western ones? Could you provide at least 2 examples for each point you would make? In order to support understanding and give an anchor organizer, a Venn diagram is provided comparing traditional indigenous knowledge systems to Western science that also identifies common ground.

With the background knowledge gained in the first lesson, students will have enough context to read an academic essay,”American Pragmatism” that focuses on Native American views from The Republic of Many Mansions evaluating the use of analytics and questioning its superiority to holistic views. Students will use Socratic questioning and seminar to construct meaning. My goal is to completely step aside and assume the role of an observer. My students who would find this reading to be at their frustrational reading level can use my notes to help them. Depending on their level, I would either give them my full notes or I would create a fill in the blank version.

An evaluation of how indigenous holistic views to analytical views of Western civilization affected Euro/U.S. and indigenous contact from 1492 through present will be conducted in the third and final phase of this unit. Students will find examples to support events they believe were either affected because of lack of understanding over divergent views made by both indigenous and Westerners at different points in American history or not. Students will search the web and note the event and date, What did indigenous want? Did their worldview effect this want?, What did Westerners want? Did their worldview effect this want?, Did worldview effect the outcome? If so, how?. I have found the first source for students to save time, insure that the source is concise enough to take less than 10 min to read, easy enough to be read without frustration, and reliable. Many of the events in this timeline are covered because of my exposure to the events in this course such as the Pueblo revolt, Long Walk, and Treaty of Bosque Redondo. Accountability and assessment will be made through the checking of their notetaking document that is structured as a comparative chart that includes room for notes on these scaffolded questions. Students will then research current events to find evidence of whether U.S. and indigenous relations are improving recently or not, again through a structured webquest. Specifically they will research: AIM, Repatriation efforts, Land Acknowledgement, and Issues within Indigenous Community. I will give a starting website for all areas asked to research since we do not have a lot of time to cover the content and because I want to make sure they are beginning with a reliable and relevant source. With these historical examples, students will write a thesis evaluating the extent divergent views led to the current state of indigenous/U.S. relations. By giving my students this prompt, I am trying to get them to gather evidence across multiple time periods and apply the ideas of continuity and change as well as causation to evidence gathered in order to make an argument for divergent view as an effect on relationships between the two groups.

Lecture on the Idea of Holism with Guided Notes: Students will need direct instruction on some concepts due to the time constraints of the course as a test on all U.S. history is coming for them on May 6th 2022. Lectures will be limited to 7 min intervals with breaks in delivery for questions and notetaking.

Case Study: Students will anchor Pueblo or Navajo worldviews on religion, gender roles, family, land use, and power by analyzing various works of art made by these cultures. Then, they will synthesize these views with the idea of holism via reflection and think pair. The extent of holism’s effect on relationships will be illustrated.

Think Pair Share – In order to quickly hear evidence of thinking, foster community, and allow students the opportunity to process thoughts into memory, the strategy of turning and talking, also known as Think Pair Share will be employed after every prompt on the notetaking doc.

Jigsaw is used during the lecture slides as we have a lot of material to cover in a short amount of time. Students teaching each other the material is efficient, fosters accountability, and teaching is one of the best ways to learn material. It is also another way for me to quickly hear evidence of thinking.

Graphic Organizers: Used to compare holistic and analytical views side by side as well as to help students scaffold the content knowledge needed. These give students a concrete guide and help those that have trouble focusing on what ideas to capture. It is also a way for me to assess learning and hold students accountable.

Guided Notes: Used to help students keep themselves accountable for covered content through the lectures and webquests. Points of the guided notes also ask students to reflect on concepts by having them write things in their own words or apply content to specific questions. Reflections and feedback given from students have been asking more recently to have concrete questions to answer, these notes are a way to allow for open/creative responses while still giving students a framework to feel they are on the right track.

Art and Primary Source Analysis: Used in the lecture to introduce holism’s effect on indigenous worldview to show that the author and artist made a conscious choice in their art or their words to communicate what is important to their culture. This is important in showing that I am not making assumptions or trying to put my bias into the ideas communicated about Native American concepts of holism or their worldviews.

Socratic Seminar: This is a structured dialogue between students about important ideas or moral and ethical issues found in a text and/or connected to the background knowledge or content already covered in the unit. It should enable the students to construct meaning around this idea of holistic views being valid and able to coexist with analytics while also thinking about how these different points of view affect decisions. This exercise does this and ignites critical thinking. As a result the students can construct new knowledge with the asking and answering of questions, the need for evidence to substantiate claims, and the ability to look at an issue from multiple perspectives. Students are also required by College Board to read secondary text that is college level, and this essay is short but rigorous and aligned with the reading levels they will be exposed to on their APUSH assessment and beyond in their higher learning environments.

Self Assessment: Used to shift ownership of learning to students while getting a snapshot of their emotional comfortability with absorbing this material. They need to reflect on learning to absorb it and the exercise of checking in with oneself and communicating that to a teacher can be a powerful exercise. After each lesson, students are identifying their comfortability using a scale. Asking “What is standing out to you so far?” “What have you learned?” “What are you most proud of yourself for doing in this unit?” in the middle of the unit and the end help keep them motivated and will give me key insight into how this experience is going for them.

WebQuest Research: A Webquest allows students to work at their own pace and learn more detailed information about a specific topic being studied and creates a greater sense of importance for that topic. I ask students to create a timeline by giving the events I want covered, they will identify where divergent views led to conflict with each event. They will also identify what each side wanted out of the conflict and apply their worldview to the situation in order to theorize how the worldview affects the outcome. This exercise will provide the researched evidence to support a thesis statement. This strategy will also be applied to whether U.S. and indigenous relations are improving recently or not. In both exercises, students will be given one reputable website in order to begin their search as well as specific questions to answer in their notetaking doc.

Thesis Writing: Students need to learn how to write a thesis for college and also for the APUSH test administered through College Board. Students get a point on 2 of the 3 free responses sections of the test for making an argument relevant to the prompt that has at least two categories of analysis.

Adair, J, The Navajo and Pueblo Silversmiths. University of Oklahoma. 1944

This resource shows how so many aspects of Navajo worldview is holistic. It is a description of the teaching process for making silver jewelry in which the teacher makes the apprentice finish the work even though he has made a mistake because in his opinion that is the only way to learn. It illustrates difference between that educational process and a lot of the Western culture’s educational practice of building on skills and not moving forward until mastery is achieved.

“Bosque Redondo: The Navajo Treaties.” Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, https://americanindian.si.edu/nk360/navajo/bosque-redondo/bosque-redondo.cshtml.

This resource is used as a reference suggestion for students to complete their timeline notes on what each side wanted and how a difference in worldview may have effected the outcome.

Canada – Indian Affairs. https://www.bia.gov/sites/bia.gov/files/assets/bia/ots/webteam/pdf/idc1-028635.pdf.

This resource is to show the current land acknowledgements of indigenous nations so that students understand that nations are a part of the U.S. and have independent communities that are thriving and adapting and struggling like all communities.

Carmody and Carmody 1990 The Republic of Many Mansions

This is an academic secondary source that students will use to practice the analysis of secondary sources as well as synthesis of it’s ideas with the lecture that first introduces holism. This text is the basis of the Socratic seminar.

Dudgeon, Roy  “Common Ground”

This source was used to summarize the idea of holism on the 6th slide of the lecture.

Doxtator, Deborah, and Janet E. Clark. Basket, Bead and Quill. Thunder Bay Art Gallery, 1996.

This source was used to quote Doxtator as she critiques the Western worldview of knowledge. It is used to illustrate the differences in perspective on education and its purpose.

History.com Editors. “Trail of Tears.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 9 Nov. 2009, https://www.history.com/topics/native-american-history/trail-of-tears.

This resource is used as a reference suggestion for students to complete their timeline notes on what each side wanted and how a difference in worldview may have effected the outcome.

Hood Museum of Art. Southwest Gender Roles . https://www.naaer.hoodmuseum.dartmouth.edu/southwest/gender-family/work-4.

This source is used to gain insight into traditional gender roles practiced by both Pueblo and Navajo peoples. It was a corroborative source for the things covered in the course lectures regarding gender roles.

Kirchner, Mary, and Reza Sarhangi. Using Technology to Explore the … – Ohio State University. https://kb.osu.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/1811/78053/OJSM_69_Spring2014_24.pdf?sequence=1.

This source was used to understand the connection between Navajo rugs and advanced mathematical concepts.

Mirsky, Laura. “Restorative Justice Practices of Native American, First Nation and Other Indigenous People of North America: Part One.” IIRP, https://www.iirp.edu/news/restorative-justice-practices-of-native-american-first-naton-and-other-indigenous-people-of-north-america-part-one.

This source was to illustrate both how the Navajo perspective on justice is not punitive but how they consider the spiritual and not just physical or material harm done with a crime. It also shows that the kin who are hurt by knowing one of their people were harmed is also considered and given space in their justice models. It is also important to note that traditional Pueblo and Navajo cultures did not have jails or insane asylums in part because they did not feel it their right to confine a person.

Ouchley, Kelby. “Natchez Revolt of 1729.” 64 Parishes, 8 Apr. 2019, https://64parishes.org/entry/natchez-revolt-of-1729.

This resource is used as a reference suggestion for students to complete their timeline notes on what each side wanted and how a difference in worldview may have effected the outcome.

Pember, Mary Annette. “Death by Civilization.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 8 Mar. 2019, https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2019/03/traumatic-legacy-indian-boarding-schools/584293/.

This resource is used as a reference suggestion for students to complete their timeline notes on what each side wanted and how a difference in worldview may have effected the outcome.

Pueblo art, Penn Museum – https://www.penn.museum/collections/list.php?id=11067

Various pottery and cloth is pulled from the works introduced in the course to show how art is seen as alive and absorbs part of the spirit of the person making it as well as the spirit of the materials used to create it. This illustrates the extent of  holism’s effect on indigenous worldview to show that authors and artists made a conscious choice in their art or their words to communicate what is important to their culture. The objects made from cotton are used to show gender roles as cotton weaving is typically male and associated with Father Son. Clay is typically female made and associated with Mother Earth. These objects also illustrate the kinship networks as associated with all things, not just human relations.

“Pueblo Uprising of 1680 (Article).” Khan Academy, Khan Academy, https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-history/precontact-and-early-colonial-era/spanish-colonization/a/pueblo-uprising-of-1680.

This resource is used as a reference suggestion for students to complete their timeline notes on what each side wanted and how a difference in worldview may have effected the outcome.

Quotskuyva Dextra on making Hopi Sikyatki jars

This source is used because the artist speaks about how she has to consider her feelings that day when making a piece in order to illustrate the extent holism plays in the creation of artwork.

“Red Cloud’s War.” WyoHistory.org, https://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/red-clouds-war.

This resource is used as a reference suggestion for students to complete their timeline notes on what each side wanted and how a difference in worldview may have effected the outcome.

Salazar, Martha. “Federal and State Recognized Tribes.” List of Federal and State Recognized Tribes, https://www.ncsl.org/legislators-staff/legislators/quad-caucus/list-of-federal-and-state-recognized-tribes.aspx.

This resource is used to corroborate the one from Canada, which is to show the current land acknowledgements of indigenous nations so that students understand that nations are a part of the U.S. and have independent communities that are thriving and adapting and struggling like all communities.

Smith, Linda Tuhiwai. Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples, 2nd ed. Zed Books, 2012.

This resource is a quote by an indigenous academic critiquing the supremacy of Western perspective on research practices and is a talking point for the examination that a divergent worldview such as holism is as valid as any other, even in areas of science.

Stephens, Sidney. Handbook for Culturally Responsive Science Curriculum. Alaska

This source is a Venn diagram that gives a concise comparison of indigenous approaches to understanding areas traditionally viewed as science. It is used as a reference for students and particularly useful in that it addresses commonalities as well as differences.

“Summer 1795: The Treaty of Greenville Creates an Uneasy Peace (U.S. National Park Service).” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, https://www.nps.gov/articles/a-long-legacy.htm.

This resource is used as a reference suggestion for students to complete their timeline notes on what each side wanted and how a difference in worldview may have effected the outcome.

Swentzell, R Pueblo Architecture and American Design 1997.pdf

This resource is used as a quote to illustrate the extent that indigenous people believe the earth is alive and that spirit is everywhere. It is used to show how different this view is from Western when they come to bargain for land treaties and take land.

“Weaving and Geometry.” CSDT, https://csdt.org/culture/navajorugweaver/geometry.html.

This resource is used to combat any prejudiced ideas that indigenous culture is lacking in areas that many consider to be logical or analytical realms. These show that there are many paths to the right answer mathematically.

Witherspoon, G Navajo, Beautifying the World Through Art 1977.pdf

This resource is a quote to show that advancements in science and ideals in health are tied into all other things, such as finding things beautiful. It is to show the extent that holism plays in indigenous mindset.

Williams, Walter. “The ‘Two-Spirit’ People of Indigenous North Americans.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 11 Oct. 2010, https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/oct/11/two-spirit-people-north-america.

This resource is to show that ideas of equity with gender and the recognition that there are more than one was something understood by Navajo well before Western civilization recognized and began to accept it. They arrive at this much earlier than mainstream society in part because they have always adopted a holistic approach to understanding life. The source also helps students question the supremacy of Western views alone.

Zinn Education Project. “May 26, 1637: Pequot Massacre.”, 26 Feb. 2021, https://www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/pequot-massacre/.

This resource is used as a reference suggestion for students to complete their timeline notes on what each side wanted and how a difference in worldview may have effected the outcome.

Appendix A – Standards Addressed

PA Standard:

The SD of Philadelphia, while adhering to PA Standards for Reading and Writing in History, also cites “social studies is meant to enhance students’ understanding of their society and their world, with that enhanced understanding comes the seeking out of solutions to our society’s issues.”

• PA Standard – CC.8.5.11-12.C – Evaluate various explanations for actions or events and determine which explanation best accords with textual evidence, acknowledging where the text leaves matters uncertain.
• PA Standard – CC.8.5.11-12.D – Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including analyzing how an author uses and refines the meaning of a key term over the course of a text (e.g., how Madison defines faction in Federalist No. 10).
• PA Standard – CC.8.5.11-12.G – Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, as well as in words) in order to address a question or solve a problem.
• PA Standard – CC.8.5.11-12.I – Integrate information from diverse sources, both primary and secondary, into a coherent understanding of an idea or event, noting discrepancies among sources.
• PA Standard – CC.8.5.11-12.J – By the end of grade 12, read and comprehend history/social studies texts in the grades 11–CCR text complexity band independently and proficiently.
• PA Standard – CC.8.6.11-12.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.

National Standard:

Content: College Board (the national organization AP students will take their test with) requires history content to cover: “Europeans and Native Americans asserted divergent world views regarding issues such as religion, gender roles, family, land use, and power. Mutual misunderstandings often defined interactions as each group sought to make sense of the other.”

Skill: Analyzing secondary sources. Students will be able to examine a secondary source and describe the author’s argument, how well the author supports the argument with evidence, and how it relates to other historical interpretations.

Appendix B – Lesson Resources

See PDF for graphics