Collage of an image of a rainbow, painting of a sagauro cactus, a basket and a native american picking mesquite beans.

O’odham Plants and Animals – Part 1 History

This O’odham plants and animals lesson focuses on the O’odham’s homeland, the Sonoran Desert. The O’odham have thrived, despite the harsh desert climate, since time immemorial by farming, gathering and hunting. Students will study the O’odham’s original crops, including tepary beans, squash, melon, and sugar cane. Next, wild plants gathered such as, saguaro fruit, agave, cholla buds, and mesquite bean pods. Finally, how the O’odham hunted deer, rabbit, and javelina.

Course Information

Topics:

Categories:

State Standards: , , , , , ,

Course Instructor

Brenda Kilmurray Author

Brenda Kilmurray is a National Board Certified Teacher, currently certified in Arizona with 17 years’ experience in the classroom working with 3rd – 5th grade students.  Brenda was awarded Cochise County’s Arizona Rural Teacher of the Year (2017), The Air Force Association’s Cochise County STEM Teacher of the Year (2017), Sierra Vista Unified School District’s Elementary Teacher of the Year (2017), and The Arizona Educational Foundation’s Arizona Teacher of the Year Semi-Finalist (2018). Brenda brings her passion for the classroom and understanding of the Arizona Department of Education State Standards together to create engaging and developmentally appropriate lessons. These lessons incorporate differentiated reading, writing, and STEAM activities. The lessons featured here were reviewed and critiqued by content experts, including historians, archaeologists, other educators, many of whom are members of Indigenous communities. For a full list the advisors visit Our Contributor’s Page.

Special Thanks to Our Contributors

Amerind would like to thank Angelica Salcido, Angelina Saraficio, and Amy Spotted Wolf for reviewing this lesson. Their comments, advice, and guidance improved these educational materials significantly. We are truly grateful for Angelica Salcido, Angelina Saraficio, and Amy Spotted Wolf’s help. Any errors or oversights in these materials are solely the responsibility of Amerind.

Course Structure

This course is delivered in 4 parts.

  1. History – Includes all links and activities in the Orange column below.
  2. ELA Reading and Writing – Includes all links and activities in the Yellow and Green columns with the title ELA.
  3. STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) – Includes all links and activities in the blue column with the title S.T.E.A.M.
  4. Resources – This is a simple page with links for extended learning and study. These are found in the purple column labeled Resources.

The image below gives a quick view of the lessons and links that are found in each of the lessons. You can access this document here.

O’odham Plants and Animals – Curriculum Chart

History /Social Science Standard

Learning Objectives:
H1.1 We will utilize a variety of sources to construct a historical narrative exploring Arizona’s cultures, civilizations, and innovations.
RI.1 We will ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text.
RI.10 We will use social studies content to read grade-level informational texts.
W.2 We will write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.

History ActivitiesELA 
Crosswalk
ELA
Activities
S.T.E.A.M.Digital
Resources
Lessons
1)  O’odham plants and animals Digital Notebook
2) O’odham plants and animals presentation
3) O’odham plants and animals CLOZE Notes
Reading Passages
1) The Mighty Mesquite Tree, an O’odham Natural 
Resource
2) Mesquite Beans
3) The Mighty Saguaro
4) Food – The O’odham Connection Between Generations
5) Tohono O’odham Foodways

Writing Assignment Desert Plants and Animals Research Project and Card Activity
Activities
1) Learn more about Sonoran Desert Animals
2) The Giant Saguaro
3) Desert Plants and Animals Research Project and Card Activity
S.T.E.A.M.
1) Saguaro Jelly and STEM Activity
2) Seasons of the Saguaro Activity
3) Nature Walk Art Activity
Resources
1) Mesquite Tree Facts
2) Saguaro Cactus
3) Sabino Canyon Saguaro Cactus
4) Making Mesquite Tree Flour
5) Tohono O’odham Food System
6) Arizona Sustainable Food
7) Food, Medicine, and Spirituality in the Sonoran Desert
8) Sharing the Knowledge of Traditional Native American Foods
9) Sonoran Desert plants and animals
10) Cholla Buds

Accessing the Course Content

This course is designed and presented with the goal that the material can be easily used by anyone. As a result, each lesson will present content in multiple ways to accommodate many different teaching styles and technology needs. For each lesson you will have the following options:

  • Website Content – The lessons/worksheets/videos will be available to view inside of the website. You can read and use the lesson from this site.
  • External Link – You will also have a link that directly links you to the resource (ie. Google Doc, Google Slide, YouTube Video)

* IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR GOOGLE DOCS AND SLIDES

If you go directly to a link to save a google document or slide, you must make a copy of the document and save it to your own account.