Dream Catcher Craft

• Make the dream catcher eye-catching with lots of beads and feathers.Jupiterimages/liquidlibrary/Getty Images
  
  Native Americans hang dream catchers near the sleeping area, to trap nightmares and encourage good dreams. Find a bendy stick and bend it into a circle, securing the ends together with a piece of craft wire. Attach a piece of string to the hoop and thread brightly-colored beads onto it, then tie it to the other side of the hoop. Keep threading beads and tying the string back and forth until you have a spider web effect. Tie three pieces of string to the bottom of the hoop, thread a few more beads, and attach a feather onto the bottom of each piece. Make a small string loop to hang the dream catcher.
  
  

Totem Pole Craft

• Make your totem poles bright and colorful.Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
  
  Totem poles are tall monuments carved from trees, made by the tribes of the Pacific Northwest coast of America. The totem pole tells the story of a family's history, notable events and clan lineages. Measure a piece of construction paper so it is the correct size to wrap around a paper towel tube, then divide the it into four or five horizontal sections. Decorate each section with an animal head, then wrap the paper around the cardboard tube and glue in place. Draw wings for each animal head on a separate piece of paper, cut them out, and glue them to the sides of the totem pole.
  
  

Cultural Studies

• Students discover that not all tribes lived in teepees.Photos.com/Photos.com/Getty Images
  
  Separate students into small groups or pairs and assign each group a different Native American tribe. Each group is responsible for researching its tribe. The students should investigate areas such as where the tribe lived; what the tribe's daily life was like; the political and social aspects of the tribe; religious beliefs; areas of expertise such as horsemanship, hunting or farming, and what the tribe traded and who they traded with. Each group should also draw a map, showing the area where the tribe lived. When each group completes the research, the students can make a presentation to the class, then discuss the differences between the tribes.
  
  

Cultural Comparisons

• Investigate whether modern tribes still perform the same rituals as their ancestors.Photos.com/Photos.com/Getty Images
  
  For this project, students should study and compare the differences between the modern Native American tribes and their ancestors. Students should investigate aspects such as whether the modern day tribes still perform the same rituals as their ancestors; whether they still share the same religious beliefs; how the daily life of modern tribes has changed in comparison to their ancestors; whether they still make the same craft objects; whether the social standing of the tribe is the same as it was for their ancestors and how the daily life in general has changed over the years. Many modern day tribes even have museums to visit.