Living With the Land
D2.Geo.8.3-5
Read each information text, then answer the questions.
The Cherokee and the Southern Mountains
An information text written for this worksheet. The Cherokee homelands were in the mountains and river valleys of the Southeast, in parts of what are now Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee and nearby states. The land had rich soil, warm summers and plenty of rain. Cherokee families lived in towns beside rivers and farmed corn, beans and squash in the fertile river valleys. They hunted deer in the forests and gathered nuts and berries. In the early 1820s, a Cherokee man named Sequoyah created a writing system for the Cherokee language, and soon many Cherokee could read and write it. In 1838 and 1839, the United States government forced most Cherokee people from their homelands to land in what is now Oklahoma. Thousands died on the journey, now called the Trail of Tears. Today the Cherokee Nation, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and the United Keetoowah Band each have their own government.
- 1. Name two things Cherokee people gathered.
- 2. What does the last sentence tell you about the Cherokee today?
- 3. Why did Cherokee towns stand beside rivers?
The Tlingit and the Northwest Coast
An information text written for this worksheet. The Tlingit live along the coast and islands of southeastern Alaska, where thick forests of cedar and spruce grow beside the sea. Rain falls often, and the ocean and rivers are full of fish. Every summer, salmon swim up the rivers to lay their eggs. Tlingit families have long caught and dried salmon to eat through the winter. Because the forests had huge, straight trees, the Tlingit built large plank houses of wood, where several related families lived. They carved canoes from single logs to travel the coast. Totem poles carved from cedar tell the histories of families and clans. Today many Tlingit communities have their own tribal governments.
- 1. Why did Tlingit families dry salmon in summer?
- 2. What did the Tlingit carve canoes from?
- 3. When do salmon swim up the rivers?
LessonPrint · D2.Geo.8.3-5 · Set 15 · free to copy for classroom use