Learning about the first people who lived in New York State is an annual rite of passage for fourth graders in social studies. Every fourth-grader at Smallwood Drive learns about the Eastern Woodland Indians as part of their Native American unit in social studies. The students in Colleen Hall's room and Patricia McCabe's room were given the opportunity to create a model of an Iroquois artifact, village, longhouse or map or poster.

Students created models of Iroquois villages, longhouses, weapons, hunting and fishing tools, maps, language symbols, and legends. Students worked on their creative components independently.

At the end of the unit the students were given a menu of creative options and they could choose an item to create and share with the class. Students presented to their peers demonstrating their knowledge of early Iroquois life and culture.