Time Required:
Lesson one can be done in three sessions of approximately 60 minutes each, and some independent work time.

Many more sessions can be added to go more in depth in any subject.

Advance Preparation and Prerequisite Knowledge/skills:
Have the materials ready and available. Preview the materials and select a motivating reading for session two, and a couple of good web sites for session three.
The students should have prior practice summarizing.

Materials/Resources Needed:
Computer with Internet access, Digital Camera (or other cameras), Microsoft Word (or any other word processing software) and a web authoring program.

Click Here For Web Sites
 

Vocabulary:
Summary, notes.
Native American words: Chumash, wikiup (round hut made of willow and tules), tules (a tall grassy marsh plant), tomol (canoe or pine).

Procedures:
Introduction: Tell the students that they will be learning about the history of their local area from the first known inhabitants to the present day.  Delineate geographically what area you will be encompassing. Ask the students to write their feelings, thoughts and ideas about the area in which they live on a worksheet and have them draw a picture of what they like about their area on the back of the worksheet.

Next session: Give the students access to as much information on the topic (The Chumash) as possible by providing materials such as pamphlets, books, articles and web sites to research. Read to the class what you believe to be the most motivating or informative book or selection from what you have collected for the students to research and discuss. In this case I chose The Legend of The Rainbow Bridge of which I own three different versions (see resources). Let the students draw about what you are reading as you read. Bring prior knowledge and personal experiences into the discussion. Give the students time to browse freely through the material you have provided. Begin the extension activity (see extensions).

Another session: As a class visit a website or two and discuss. Bring prior knowledge and personal experiences into the discussion. Show the students how to take notes. Continue working on the extension activity.

Activities:
Write feelings about local area.
Draw what they like about the area.
Research The Chumash.
Take notes.
Write a summary.
Work on a classroom mural. Put together a model of a Chumash village.

Extensions:
Ongoing Classroom Mural Project- This mural stays up in the classroom the entire school year and is built upon throughout the year as we move along in the history of The Santa Maria Valley. The mural covers the length of the classroom.

How to:  Begin by creating the background for the scene based on the local geography. i.e. For our area and purposes we had land for an island, ocean, then land that began flat and grew into hills then mountains. The top was left blue for the sky. As time went by we added clouds, sun, moon, stars, fish and mammals in the ocean, local birds and animals, and our local rivers and lakes (the students can add to the mural when they finish other work early).
After lesson one the Legend of The Rainbow Bridge can be illustrated on the mural by adding a rainbow from the island to the mainland and showing the Chumash walking over the rainbow, with some of them falling and turning into dolphins. Three dimensional paper Chumash wikiups and tomols are added to the scene.

Visit local museums, missions and other sites that have Chumash artifacts/history.

Photograph anything you see that might have something to do with The Chumash and bring to school, i.e. a sign for Nipomo (Nipumu) or Pismo Beach (Pismu = tar), the midden at Guadalupe dunes, etc..

Homework:
I assign each student a subtopic to research such as: Chumash Technology, Chumash Daily Life, Chumash Beliefs, etc. The students have two weeks to do this assignment. They are to turn in a summary of what they researched (if possible on some kind of portable media.floppy or CD). I provide a sheet or two of background information for the students to use in case that they do not have the means to do research at home.
These summaries will be used later in the creation of a web page.

Bring to school for show and tell any Chumash artifacts you might have, or any other related item.
 

Evaluation:

Student Participation
Points assigned based on teacher's criteria for each item.

Introduction Worksheet	10 points
Worksheet illustration	10 points
Contributed to  the discussion	10 points
Contributed to  the mural	10 points
Homework Summary	10 points

50 points = 100% = A

Illustrative Materials:
Worksheet       Homework worksheet

Student Work Samples:
Summary   Illustration    Feelings    Illustration    Mural Photos
 

Resources:

The Rainbow Bridge Gaviota Conservancy http://gaviotacoastconservancy.org/rainbow.html

From Camp Internet http://rain.org/camp96/chumash_myth3.html

A Mission for the People: The Story of La Purisima
          Mary Ann Fraser / Hardcover / Date Published: April 1998

Chumash: A Picture of Their World
          Bruce W. Miller / Paperback / Date Published: October 1987

Chumash Through a Child's Eyes
          John Wilcox,Kate Yarbrough (Illustrator) / Paperback / Date Published:
          January 1997

The Chumash Indians
          Martin Schwabacher / Paperback / Date Published: October 1994

The Chumash
          Robert O. Gibson, Frank W. Porter / Hardcover / Date Published:
          December 1991

The Chumash
          Robert O. Gibson, Frank W. Porter, General Editors / Paperback / Date Published: May 1993

Chumash Indians of Southern California
          Eugene N. Anderson / Paperback / Date Published: January 1973

The Rainbow Bridge: A Chumash Legend
          Kerry Nechodom / Paperback / Date Published: November 1992

The Rainbow Bridge: Inspired by a Chumash Tale
          Robert Florczak (Illustrator),Retold by Audrey Wood / Hardcover / Date
          Published: September 1995

December's Child: A Book of Chumash Oral Narratives
          Thomas C. Blackburn (Editor) / Paperback / Date Published: January 1976

Rock Paintings of the Chumash
          Campbell Grant / Hardcover / Date Published: January 1993

California's Chumash Indians Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Staff, Pam Hoeft
          (Illustrator),Ann Powell (Illustrator),Patricia Campbell (Illustrator),Jan Timbrook (Illustrator),
          Blaricum Claire Van (Illustrator) / Paperback / Date Published: July 1988

Chumash People
Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Education Dept. Staff, Philip R. Brown (Illustrator) /
          Other Format / Date Published: June 1991

The Chumash
          Jill D. Duvall / Hardcover / Date Published: March 1994

The Chumash Indians
          Bill Lund / Other Format / Date Published: September 1997

The Chumash Indians
          Martin Schwabacher / Hardcover / Date Published: February 1995

Guide to Painted Cave
          Travis Hudson / Hardcover / Date Published: June 1988

Missions of the Los Angeles Area
          Lerner, Dianne MacMillan / Hardcover / Date Published: September 1997

Missions of the Central Coast
          Lerner, June Behrens / Hardcover / Date Published: September 1997

Missions of the Inland Valleys
          Lerner, Pauline Brower / Hardcover / Date Published: September 1997

The Native Peoples Chumash Indians
          Bill Lund / Hardcover / Date Published: January 1998

Purisimeno Chumash Prehistory
          Michael A. Glassow / Paperback / Date Published: November 1995

Wind Warrior
          Vella Munn / Mass Market Paperback / Date Published: March 1999

Archaeological Evidence of Cultural Continuity from Chumash to Salinan Indians in California
          Mary A. Baldwin / Paperback / Date Published: January 1971

Chumash and Their Predecessors: An Annotated Bibliography
          Marie S. Holmes, John R. Johnson / Paperback / Date Published: January 1998
Chumash Healing
          Phillip L. Walker, Travis Hudson / Hardcover / Date Published: January 1993

Chumash Healing
          Phillip L. Walker, Travis Hudson / Paperback / Date Published: June 1995

Chumash Indian Games
          Travis Hudson, Jan Timbrook / Paperback / Date Published: January 1997

Coastal Band of the Chumash Nation, Southern Council of the Chumash Nation, Connie Diaz,
          Kenny Lemos, & Jamie Karl VS. Ventura County, a Political Subdivision of the State of
          California,
          Press Coyote (Editor) / Paperback / Date Published: January 1986

Salvage Excavations at the Fowler Site: Some Aspects of the Social Organization of the
          Northern Chumash & Skeletal Analysis of 4-Slo-406
          J. Tainter / Paperback / Date Published: April 1971

When the Animals Were People: Stories Told by the Chumash Indians of California
          Kay Sanger, Tom Sanger (Illustrator) / Hardcover / Date Published: January 1983

The Chumash (Indians of North America)
          Robert O. Gibson / Library Binding / Published 1990
          Bill Lund / Library Binding / Published 1998

California's Native American Tribes No 4: Chumash Tribe
          Mary N. Boule, Daniel Liddell (Illustrator) / Paperback / Published 1992

Chumash: A Guide to the Native California Tribe
          Bruce W. Miller / Paperback / Published 1988

Craft Specialization in the Prehistoric Channel Islands, California (University of California
          Publications in Anthropology, Vol 18)
          Jeanne E. Arnold / Paperback / Published 1987

Crystals in the Sky: An Intellectual Odyssey Involving Chumash Astronomy, Cosmology and
          Rock Art (Anthropological Papers : No. 10)
          Travis; Underhay, Ernest Hudson / Paperback / Published 1978

A Day With a Chumash
          Georgia Lee, Giorgio Bacchin (Illustrator) / Library Binding / Published
          1999

Evolution of Chumash Society: A Comparative Study of Artifacts Used for Social System
          Maintenance in the Santa Barbara Channel Region Before A.D. 18
          Chester D. King / Hardcover / Published 1991

Inland Chumash Archaelogy an Annotated Bibliography
          Wells, Chewlow / Paperback / Published 1979

LA Purisima (How It Looked)
          Robert Young / Library Binding / Published 1999 (Not Yet Published)

The Material Culture of the Chumash Interaction Sphere (Bp-Ap, No. 25, 27-28, 30-31) Vol 1
          Travis Hudson / Hardcover / Published 1982

The Material Culture of the Chumash Interaction Sphere: Ceremonial Paraphernalia, Games,
          and Amusements Vol 4
          Travis Hudson, Thomas C. Blackburn / Hardcover / Published 1986

The Material Culture of the Chumash Interaction Sphere: Clothing, Ornamentation, and
          Grooming (Ballena Press Anthropological Papers, No 28) Vol 3
          Travis Hudson / Paperback / Published 1985

Material Culture of the Chumash Interaction Sphere: Food Preparation and Shelter Vol 2
          Travis Hudson / Hardcover / Published 1983

The Material Culture of the Chumash Interaction Sphere: Food Procurement and
          Transportation Vol 1
          Travis Hudson, Thomas C. Blackburn / Paperback / Published 1982

Material Culture of the Chumash Interaction Sphere: Manufacturing Processes, Metrology
          and Trade (Ballena Press Anthropological Papers, No 31) Vol 5
          Travis Hudson / Paperback / Published 1987

The Noontide Sun: The Journals of the Reverend Stephen Bowers (Ballena Press
          Anthropological Papers, No 44)
          Arlene Benson, Stephen Bowers / Hardcover / Published 1997

Breath of the Sun: Life in Early California As Told by a Chumash
          Fernando Librado / Published 1980

Chumash
          Gary Thompson / Published 1986

The Eye of the Flute: Chumash Traditional History and Ritual
          Fernando Librado

The Portable Cosmos: Effigies, Ornaments, and Incised Stone from the Chumash Area
          (Ballena Press Anthropological Papers ; No. 21)
          Georgia Lee / Published 1981

Power and Glory: A Novel (Saga of California)
          Robert Olney Easton / Published 1989

A Revised, Annotated Bibliography of the Chumash and Their Predecessors
          Eugene N. Anderson

Rock Paintings of the Chumash: A Study of California
          C. Grant / Published 1965

Tomol: Chumash Watercraft as Described in the Ethnographic Notes of John P. Harrington
          John Peabody Harrington