Middle School Curriculum Unit Addressing Connecticut’s Indigenous People and European Colonization

Author

Sean KinsellaFollow

Date of Award

Spring 2023

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Major

American Studies

First Advisor

Professor Karen Li Miller

Abstract

This project considers Native American studies as a curriculum unit for middle school students and proposes lesson content for students at Rumsey Hall School in Washington Depot, Connecticut. The project examines how teachers might understand Native American studies as a discipline in and of itself and within the context of existing curriculum. Varying disciplinary approaches to Native American studies within higher education are helpful in situating Native American studies as a component of K-12 social studies education. State educational requirements for Native American studies in Connecticut public schools set for implementation in the 2023/24 school year will provide further orientation here, but this project acknowledges that private schools, including Rumsey Hall School, are exempt from these state guidelines. The project considers some of the challenges of delivering effective lesson content in the classroom, reviews approaches to Native American culture and history within textbooks, and anticipates successful approaches moving forward. Finally, the project offers specific lesson content that may be used in addition to Rumsey Hall School’s current curriculum. The lesson content is intended to encourage student awareness of Connecticut's Tribal Nations and a sense of place through archeology and regional history.

Comments

Master's thesis completed at Trinity College, Hartford CT. Full text viewable to campus only.

Recommended Citation

Kinsella, Sean, "Middle School Curriculum Unit Addressing Connecticut’s Indigenous People and European Colonization". Senior Theses, Trinity College, Hartford, CT 2023.
Trinity College Digital Repository, https://digitalrepository.trincoll.edu/theses/1007