Virginia SOL 2.5.b
The Standard
Indigenous nations and tribes of the Plains
Virginia Standards of Learning for History and Social Science
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students locate the Great Plains on a map and name peoples such as the Lakota, Cheyenne, and Pawnee. They connect local resources to daily life and identify living cultures and contributions today.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can label the Plains, name one nation, and explain a resource use, such as bison hide for clothing or shelter. The student can describe a current example, such as bison restoration, language teaching, or beadwork by working artists.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think all Indigenous peoples lived in tipis, hunted bison, or belonged to one culture. They may speak only in the past tense, overlook farming nations such as the Pawnee, or confuse the Plains with western mountains.
How to Assess It
- Give students a blank U.S. map and this prompt: Circle the Plains, name one Plains nation, explain one resource use, and give one present-day contribution.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Pairs build a Plains region collage on a U.S. map using cards for bison, corn, tipis, earth lodges, and beadwork.
Ask, “Why did some Plains peoples farm while others followed bison herds, and what does that show about cultural differences?”
Play a matching game with nation names, map locations, resources, and uses; students explain each match before keeping the cards.
Open the Northern Cheyenne Tribe website and list two current language, education, government, or cultural programs shown there.
Free download
Printable 2.5.b Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to 2.5.b, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.
PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.
Download the worksheetKeep exploring
Related Standards
Turn this exact standard into a lesson
Grade, subject, topic, and the complete standard are prefilled. Create one free, no account needed.
Also for this standard:Make a WorksheetMake a QuizMake a Sub Lesson