Native American Mathematics Integrative Lesson Pre Contact Native American Shelters Author: Roberto Wheaton NSF Funded Project Award # DUE

2 Session Goals Develop and understanding of geometric shapes used in Pre- contact Native American shelters. Appreciate how non traditional math was used different cultures Suggest ways Native Americans used non traditional math in shelter construction Actively engage students to collaborate and apply math content. Plan, design and construct a Native American shelter Calculate the volume and surface area of a shelter.

Narrative Pre-contact Native American time dates back more than 500 years ago when Native Americans lived undisturbed from the outside world. Like other aboriginal cultures Native Americans developed shelters utilizing geometric shapes and forms without traditional mathematics.

4 Warm Up Activity Take a few minutes to think about the type of shelter Pre-contact Native American’s would live in different cultural regions. Discuss with your team Draw the shelter shapes for each region. Present the shelter shape-designs choose for the class.

Pre Contact Cultural Regions Draw the shelter shape for each cultural region Plains (Montana, Wyoming, North-South Dakota) Arctic (Alaska, Canada) Plateau (Oregon, Washington, Idaho) Northwest Coast ( British Columbia, Wash. Coast)

6 Answers to Warm up Activity Plains and Plateau Tipi Earth lodge Arctic Northwest Plank House

7 Pre Contact Housing Types

8 Tipi Background The tipi is the most common temporary housing used by the Plains, Plateau and Great Basin people. A tipi is conical shaped with 8-16 poles tied together at one end and stood up to form a frame. Traditional coverings consisted of 8-20 buffalo or deer hides sewn together then wrapped around the poles and laced together in front. An opening on the top was left to allow smoke to escape.

9 Tipi Construction Activity You will work in table teams to: Plan Design Build Calculate volume and surface area Reflect on mathematics Native American’s would have used in tipi construction.

10Materials Design using the following materials 8-10 bamboo skewers (poles) Tan Construction paper (bison or deer hides) 12 inches yarn (leather) Scissors, ruler, hole punch Clay (ground to hold poles (skewers) in place.

11 Tipi Construction Frame North South East 1. Decide on the diameter for your tipi base. 2. The poles should be placed in the coordinate positions North, South, West and East. The door should face East. 3. Lay your four poles flat and wrap some yarn around the end leaving some extra pole length.

12 Tipi Covering Bison and deer hides were sewn together for traditional tipi coverings. Your task is to come up with a template to cover this conical shape using tan construction paper. What information is needed to determine the shape needed to cover the tipi?

13 Tipi Math Construction Worksheet Math CalculationsOperational Definitions Volume Surface Area Record your calculations and definitions in the boxes below:

14 Do Now Questions 1.What type of math is required to construct a tipi? 2. Is there a relationship between the diameter and tipi pole height? Explain 4.How do you think the Native Americans identified coordinates for direction.

15 Additional Research Research and compare and contrast North American Pre contact shelter with another continent (Africa, S. America, Asia)