Students go 'native' at North Augusta Elementary

Fourth grade students at Hammond Hill Elementary School spent some time learning about the original "settlers" of the North American continent. Their efforts culminated in "Native American Day" last Friday.

"Students in South Carolina need to demonstrate an understanding of the settlement of North America by Native Americans and the interactions among these people, explained teacher Theresa Spieker, who said the project was a combination of Social Studies and English Language Arts standards.

Spieker added that students studied the major Native American cultural groupings including Eastern Woodlands, Southeastern, Plains, Southwestern and Pacific Northwest. "Students compared every day life, physical environment and the culture," she said.

Students in two classes, 4B and 4F, did research on each culture and prepared written work and projects to reflect that culture. Students wrote essays which explained what it was like to be a child in a Native American culture. The final activity was a Native American display of projects, essays and items on Friday.

"Students enjoyed a feast of Native American food provided my parents," added Spieker.