history

Plains Indians Free Writing Prompts.

You know my passion for unit studies and some things like writing, I just taught on the spot and took topics from books or things we were learning about. Isn’t that the best way to teach writing anyway? Also, look at my page homeschool middle school and how to homeschool high school page for more fun tips

Then, writing has a meaningful purpose to either a budding writer or an advanced writer.

So I have started working my way through creating writing prompts and topics for you on each of my unit studies here on my site.

You can look over and grab the first set of ideas for my Ancient Civilization unit study here on 20 Ideas For Bringing Writing Alive Through Unit Studies.

Today, I have created writing prompts from my Plains Indians Unit Study and Lapbook page.

Also, I divided them out by grade level, not that I so believe in grade level, but because I know that like my kids, your kids too are at different levels for their writing ability.

This will give you choices for a range of difficulties. Too, I have topics that are both factual and creative depending on what skills you are looking to strengthen in your child’s writing.

Middle to High School Plains Indian Writing Prompts and Topics

(Remember, for some of these topics, you will need to look at my Plains Indians Unit Study and Lapbook Page.)

■When Ten Bears he said he was born on the prairie, do you think he was talking only about his birth?

■How would you feel if you were forbidden to speak in your native language?

■If you were a pioneer traveling West, what Native American tribe would you want to encounter and why?

■Use pictographs and write (draw) a Native American tale.

■Choose one of the tribes from the Plains and write about their life, the food they ate and why buffalo were so important to them. Look here at ledger drawings to understand how they felt about their life on The Plains.

■What are the elements of a myth? Read a myth that the Plain Indians believed in and write about why they believed in it.

■Sign language was invented out of necessity. Was sign language for the Plains Indians for the deaf? Write (and illustrate) about some of the sign language the Indians used.

■Indians used many different kind of wild plants for food. Acorns (shelled and ground into meal) and Sotol and Lechuguilla are plants of the agave family. The bulbs of these plants were cooked and eaten. Write about some of the food that the Plains Indians ate and how they made it. (Include a recipe too.)

■What are two ways that the flat area of the plains affected the Native Americans?

■What are 4 major contributions by the Plains Indians?

■(On my Plains Indian page). After reading the short story about the captivity of Lorinda Bewly with the Whitman group traveling to Oregon, write a brief essay about the meeting of two different cultures? Or were they that different after all? What do you think and why?

■What are two major differences between the Plains Indians and other Native Americans of that time?

■How are Plains Indians making contributions today?

■What was the view of woman during the times of the Plains Indians and compare that to how people feel today?

■Describe the social structure of the Plains Indians.

■In your opinion, did the early American settlers try to help or hinder the progress of Native Americans?

■Describe the art, beading and leather working of the Plains Indians.

■Do you think the Indians should have been paid for their land? Why or why not?

Elementary

■Why was a dog and horse important to the Plains Indians?

■What did the Plains Indians live in? Describe how they decorated their tipis and draw your own design.

■What was winter like on the Plains compared to other Native Americans living at that time?

■What is pemmican and why was it important to the Plains Indians?

■Explain the many uses of the buffalo.

■Do you think the Plains Indians had pets? If so, what kind? How would you take care of a pet when living on the wide open plains?

■What do you think life would have been like in a tipi?

■Describe the life of a hunter and why hunting was important to the Plains Indians

■Why was corn important to the Plains Indians? Look here at my Fall Unit Study page to read about corn.

■Do you think the kids of the Plains Indians did school? How did they learn?

Hope you enjoyed these brainstorming ideas as well as some of the topics we wrote about. I have more free writing prompts coming on my other unit studies soon.

You may also love these other resources:

• 3 Ways to Choose the BEST Writing Curriculum (for a Growing Homeschool Family)
• The Trail of Tears 1820 – 1845 Unit Study & Lapbook
• 3 Unexpected Benefits of Homeschool Narration
• Free Middle and High School Homeschool Language Arts

Hugs and love ya,