Worksheets and No Prep Teaching Resources
Worksheets and No Prep Teaching Resources
Reading Comprehension Worksheets
Native Americans
Native American Pottery

Native Americans
Native Americans


Native American Pottery
Print Native American Pottery Reading Comprehension with Fourth Grade Work

Print Native American Pottery Reading Comprehension with Fifth Grade Work

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Print Native American Pottery Reading Comprehension

Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 4 to 6
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   7.04

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    clay-lined, heated, nomadic, orange-brown, pinon, play-dough, present-day, essence, geometric, coils, archaeologists, southwestern, serving, indented, pounded, culture
     content words:    Native American, Native Americans, North America, Pueblo Indians, New Mexico, Maria Martinez, Navajo Indians


Native American Pottery
By Colleen Messina
  

1     Before Tupperware, where did leftovers go? Every culture had its own way of solving this problem. Native American tribes created stunning clay pots for many purposes. They may not have had lids that sealed tight, but Native American pottery looked much more elegant than plastic containers. They used them to save seeds, carry water, and serve food.
 
2     Indians made pots in all shapes and sizes. They used deep bowls as pots for cooking over open fires. They made shallower bowls for serving food. They even designed special pots with indented bases so they could be used to carry water on a person's head. You might not think that carrying water on your head sounds like fun, but Native Americans had no choice because they did not have running water in their tepees. Having a pot that fit on your head prevented headaches. It was like having a good backpack for carrying your books!
 
3     Even though all tribes used pots, the Indian tribes that did a lot of farming developed pottery more than the Indians who hunted and gathered their food. Tribes in the Southwest made the most famous pottery, partly because they did not move around a lot. Some tribes, like the Sioux and the Cheyenne, stopped farming and became more nomadic after the Europeans brought horses to North America. They seemed to enjoy hunting buffalo more than creating pots.
 
4     People called archaeologists enjoy studying ancient pots from all parts of North America. They have some interesting ideas about how people began making pottery. Perhaps an Indian lady put some clay in the bottom of her basket. Then, the clay-lined basket might have fallen into a fire. When it was pulled out, a hard clay bowl remained because the basket burned to a crisp. Many old pots look as though they have textures like baskets.

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Native Americans
             Native Americans


More Lessons
             Art Theme Unit: Reading Comprehensions


United States
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    Black History and Blacks in U.S. History  
 
    Children in History  
 
    Government Careers  
 
    Hispanic Heritage  
 
    How Can I Help?  
 
 
    Immigration  
 
    National Parks and Monuments  
 
    Native Americans  
 
    Presidents of the United States  
 
    Women's History  
 


United States History
    A Nation Divided
(1840-1861)
 
 
    A New Nation
(1776-1830)
 
 
    After the Civil War
(1865-1870)
 
 
    American Revolution  
 
    Cold War
(1947-1991)
 
 
    Colonial America (1492-1776)  
 
    Lewis and Clark
(1804-1806)
 
 
    Pearl Harbor  
 
    Spanish American War (1898)  
 
    The 1890's  
 
    The 1900's  
 
    The 1910's  
 
    The 1920's  
 
    The 1930's  
 
 
    The 1940's  
 
    The 1950's  
 
    The 1960's  
 
    The 1970's  
 
    The 1980's  
 
    The 1990's  
 
    The 2000's  
 
    The Civil War
(1861-1865)
 
 
    The Great Depression
(1929-1945)
 
 
    The United States Grows
(1865-1900)
 
 
    The War of 1812  
 
    Wild, Wild West  
 
    World War I
(1914-1918)
 
 
    World War II  
 


50 States

             Fifty States Theme Unit


Document Based Activities
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