Celebrate Native American Heritage Month in the Classroom

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This tip content comes from PBS LearningMedia. 
 
In the United States, November is Native American Heritage Month which honors and celebrates the customs and legacy of indigenous people living in the United States before the arrival of the Europeans.

No matter the age of your young people, PBS LearningMedia offers extensive collections of resources, information, videos, and more to help you learn and celebrate Native American Heritage Month together. 

Grades 3-12
Explore Native Stories From the Revolutionary Era
Center Native history in your classroom and showcase how Indigenous perspectives — especially from the Revolutionary era — are foundational to our understandings of American history. Use resources from the Ken Burns film The American Revolution to help your students analyze the complexities of the war and explore how some Native nations made strategic choices about alliances, defended their homelands, and fought to maintain their sovereignty as the new nation took shape.

Grades 3-8
Discover the Scientific and Cultural Impact of Indigenous Knowledge
Kick off Native American Heritage Month with this exciting collection that will help your students dive into the scientific and cultural impact of Indigenous creations on the past and present! From erecting water management systems to building sustainable communities using Adobe brick, your students can analyze the “Indigi-Genius” solutions applied by Indigenous communities to architecture, food, farming, design, engineering, and so much more.

Grades 6-12
Meet Native Americans Who Are Changing the World
Being Native American isn’t something that you can turn on and off — cultural ways, traditional values, and how you interact with the world around you are all factors that impact how Native Americans live their lives. In these four video clips from Native America, you’ll meet Native people from around the country, such as the members of the Dancing Boy Express, who are inspirations to their communities and working to make the world a better place.

Stay Inspired

PBS LearningMedia offers FREE educational resources for PreK–12 educators and students. 

For decades, PBS has engaged learners of all ages through visual storytelling that informs, inspires, and engages. PBS LearningMedia brings that same commitment into classrooms nationwide, offering teachers and students trusted, high-quality resources that harness the power of media to capture attention, spark curiosity, and support critical thinking and deeper learning.

Their free classroom resources are created in close collaboration with educators, vetted by experts, and focus on commonly taught curricular subjects including science, social studies, English language arts (ELA), math K-5, the arts, preschool, and student well-being. Resources are organized and searchable by subject area, topic, and grade band to help you quickly find high-quality teaching materials to meet your students’ needs.