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Maine’s Fiber Beginnings Background
Activity: Braiding Grasses
Braiding Instructions
Rubrics for Assessment
Ideas for Alignment
Brief Description: Native Americans in Maine used many types of fibers throughout their history. In this lesson students will discuss the effect of climate and geography on their fiber choices and experience gathering and using tall grasses to braid into useful objects.
Level: Grades 3-5
Subjects: English Language Arts, Social Studies
Skills: cooperating, communicating, listening, following directions, creating
Fiber Maine-ia: Exploring Maine’s Fiber History is an eight lesson program exploring the use and evolution of fiber from early man to the present, with a focus on Maine. The lessons could easily be used, without alignment activities, as an after school enrichment program or in learning centers during a Maine History Day.
The alignment ideas provide suggestions for including the lessons in a study of Maine history, with opportunities for alignment to the Maine Learning Results: Parameters for Essential Instruction and the Common Core Standards. Teachers may use the ideas as written, or as a springboard to develop their own alignment activities. The alignment for Fiber Maine-ia has been done for the 3-5 grade-span., although grade 6-8 teachers may find ways to increase the level of cognitive demand in some of the activities to meet the standards at that level.
Helpful Links:
How to Make a Drop Spindle
How to Make a PVC Niddy Noddy
Resources
Correlations to State of Maine Learning Results: Parameters for Essential Instruction
ELA = English Language Arts, HE/PE = Health Education and Physical Education, MA = Mathematics, SCI = Science, SS = Social Studies, VPA = Visual and Performing Arts
** Alignment possible only if lesson extension is done
Criteria for Fiber Main-ia Alignment
|
Grade |
Maine Learning Results |
Common Core Standards for English and Mathematics |
|
3-5 |
ELA E1b, c. Listening and Speaking SS D2. b Individual, Cultural, International and Global Connections in Geography
|
ELA Speaking and Listening: Grade 3: 3. |