Duct Tape + Native American Studies + Creativity = Snowshoes
Posted by Michelle LambFifth grade Social Studies classes spent a week in the makerspace constructing snowshoes. During their study of Native Americans and fall reading of the novel, The Sign of the Beaver, students learned that many of the eastern woodland tribes made and used snowshoes to aid in transportation during the winter months.
While ours used modern-day materials like duct tape and plastic tubing, we researched and wrote about the designs and processes to make snowshoes, particularly by Native Americans.
As a teacher, the beauty in this project was not in trying to make authentic snowshoes, but in watching my students discover how to use the materials given to design a shoe that would work best for them. Some created theirs using the guidelines provided and made great snowshoes, and others used their own ideas and considered the placement of the shoe strap, the amount of duct tape used to best stay on top of the snow, and how to best bind their feet to the shoe. For some, it wasn’t until they completed their snowshoes and tried them out before they said, “Next time, I will do this instead,” or, “I’m going to go home and make another pair that will be even better.”
There was definitely an appreciation for Native Americans who used burned saplings, sinew, and hide to construct their shoes. As difficult as it was to work on our snowshoes, the fifth graders understood the complexity of the process that the Native Americans used.
The project earned many positive remarks among the students, and it was great to read their reflections and hear their thoughts and feelings about the process.
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