Mapping Trade Routes to the Chinook - Washington County Museum

Mapping Trade Routes to the ChinookLesson PlanChinook Mobile MuseumDescription: Students will identify western States and trace important waterwayson a map. Students will use the map to identify the geographic origin of severaltrade items and show probable trade routes various Native Americans took to reachthe primary trade center for the region.Objectives: Students will be able to• Identify three western states• Understand and discuss the importance of local waterways• Locate a major trade center on a map• List six regional Native American trade items and their origin• Identify a possible trade route for each of the six trade itemsOregon Educational Standard:SS.03.GE.01 View and draw simple maps and pictures to locate, describe, andshow movement among places.Materials:• Maps of Pacific Northwest States (Attachment A)• Colored markers, pens or pencils• Trade Items Background Information Sheet (Attachment B)• Trade Map (Attachment C)Time: 30-45 minutesMethod:1) Hand students a map of Pacific Northwestern States (Attachment A)2) Have students make a compass on the map indicating N, S, E & W in thesquare provided. (Challenge: add NE, NW, SE, SW)17677 NW Springville Rd | Portland, OR 97229 | 503-645-5353 | www.WashingtonCountyMuseum.org

3) Ask students to locate Washington, Oregon and Idaho and label each state.(Challenge: identify and label the surrounding states and country). Outlineborders with colored pencil or marker to reinforce each state’s shape.4) Ask students what body of water lies to the west of Oregon.a. Label and color the Pacific Ocean.5) Ask students what river runs between Washington and Oregon.a. Label and color the Columbia River6) Ask students if they know what a tributary is. Review vocabulary.a. A tributary is a river or stream that flows into a larger stream or otherbody of water.7) Ask students for the name of the tributary that flows north through Portlandto the Columbia. Have students:a. Label and color the Willamette River.b. Use an arrow to illustrate that the water runs north into the Columbia.8) Ask students to emphasize the other tributaries that flow into the Columbia(dark lines on paper) by tracing them in blue.9) Have students locate the dotted circle shown on the map. Explain that thiscircle identifies the center of trade for tribes throughout the Northwest,specifically the Chinook. Have them discuss why this site may have becomethe major trading site for the region. (Remind them that the site could drawtraders from a variety of physical environments with a variety of naturalresources to exchange or barter, and that the waterways made this siteaccessible to many.)10) Trace over the dotted circle in red and label as “major trade center” (locatedwhere the present city of the Dalles is found)11) Have students look at the six labeled dots and the list of trade items. Havethem work in groups, or as a class, to determine which trade items camefrom which locations. (Some trade items are more general than others.Students can use process of elimination to fill in all the lines. Studentgroups may use the “Trade Items Background Information Sheet.”(Attachment B) Review as a class, or have groups make presentations abouttheir trade item to the class.12) Use colored pencils to illustrate probable routes Native Americans took toget from their homes to the trade site.13) Discuss: Did all tribes depend upon waterways? Did all traders go thedistance to the primary trade center, or might some have traded with othersalong the way?14) Show Attachment C to the class and discuss the various ways maps can helpto illustrate movement across the area.17677 NW Springville Rd | Portland, OR 97229 | 503-645-5353 | www.WashingtonCountyMuseum.org