To understand the importance of cooperation and teamwork, fourth graders at John G. Dinkelmeyer Elementary School traveled back several centuries to the Iroquois confederacy.
As part of the fourth grade social studies curriculum, students learn the history of New York State including its earliest inhabitants, the Iroquois. In Daniel Savarino and Lori Alduino’s class, students were assigned to one of five tribes. Each was given a scenario where they had a certain amount of food and hunting tools. Every tribe selected a leader – a Sachem – who then met in a Great Council meeting to trade and ensure that each group had enough food and hunting supplies.
Students then reflected on the experience through writing and colorful drawings symbolizing decorative wampum. Mr. Savarino said the activity emphasized problem-solving through communication and compromise.