1.1.1Getting Started in Social Studies & The First Americans

​The First Americans

​Learners can:
-summarize a theory of how the first people arrived in America -differentiate between the ways Native Americans lived in the United States based on the environment of their settlement
Vocabulary: theory-an idea that is used to explain
facts and events

​Imagine that you and your family are moving to a new place.

Think about a reason you and your family might move.

Then, think about what you might bring and how you might get there.
Now, think about people from the past, long before there were cars, boxes, or technology.

How might moving in the past be different than moving today?

Think about a reason people long ago might want to move from place to place.

Then, think about what they might bring with them and how they might get there.
Many people today move because of a new job or to be closer to family. They move by packing boxes, loading them into a car or truck, and driving to a new place.

In the past, groups of people moved often. But they moved because of harsh weather or to find food. Their journey was much more difficult. They traveled by foot or boat.

In today's lesson, you will learn about the first people who traveled to North and South America.

Move on to the next page to learn important words that you will need to know for this lesson.

​Migrate to America

Did you ever wonder when the first people migrated to North and South America?

To migrate means to move from one place to another.

There are many theories that explain how and when people migrated to the Americas.

A theory is an idea that is used to explain facts or events.
EDIO VIDEO PAGE 4

Multiple Choice

About how long ago did people migrate to North and South America?

• about 10 years ago

• about 500 years ago

• about 15,000 years ago

• about 100,000 years ago

​The Land Bridge Theory of the First Americans

One theory that you learned about was that people migrated by walking across land that connected two continents.

Migration by Land

People may have migrated by land from Asia to North and South America about 15,000 years ago during the last Ice Age.

The Ice Age was a time in history when most of Earth's surface was covered in ice.

Much of the ice was in the form of glaciers, which are large masses of snow, ice, and rock.

Bering Land Bridge

The glaciers held most of the ocean's water, which lowered the sea level and exposed land between Asia and North America.

On the map, the light green textured area is the land that was exposed during the last Ice Age.

Scientists believe that people traveled across the land that was called the Bering Land Bridge and arrived in North America.

Another theory scientists believe is that people may have used boats to migrate to the Americas.

​Boat Migration Theory

Another theory that some scientists believe is that people may have migrated from Asia to the coastline of North America in boats.

You learned about two different theories of how people migrated from Asia to the Americas.

• Some scientists believe that traveling by boat was more likely because people did not have to navigate around or through the difficult terrain of the large, icy glaciers.

• Some scientists believe that traveling by land was more likely because there is no real evidence of a boat that was used to travel such long distances by people that long ago.

Multiple Select

Which theory of migration do you think is more likely?

• the boat theory

• the land bridge theory

• both theories are possible

​On the Hunt for Food

Many scientists think that the first people migrated to the Americas in search of food.

They were hunter-gatherers who traveled from place to place in search of animals to hunt, fish to catch, and fruit and nuts to collect.
A hunter-gatherer is a person who hunts and gathers food from their environment.

Some of the animals they may have hunted were the:

• woolly mammoth;

• mastodon;

• giant bison; and

• sloth.

Eventually, people began to settle, or stay and live, on the land in what is now the United States of America.

These people are known as the Paleo-Indians.
Paleo-Indians, also known as Native American Indians, were the first people to settle in the Americas.

Once settled, they still hunted for food such as deer, moose, turkey, and fish, but many Native American Indians relied more on the crops that they planted.
Over time, Paleo-Indians, or Native American Indians, continued to travel and settle all over the land that we now call the United States of America.

They traded, exchanged, and gifted food and goods with one another.

​Native American Settlements

The Native Americans arrived in North America thousands of years ago.

Over time, they moved and settled in different areas of the United States of America.

The environment and weather determined how each Native American settlement lived.
Scientists and researchers today use DNA and artifacts, like pottery, to piece together information about the first American settlers.

For example, scientists have learned that Native Americans from the Great Basin Region of the United States were best known for the pottery that they made from clay.
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Match

Match the following

• bison

• acorns

• cactus fruits

Plains Tribe

California Tribes

Southwest Tribe

• Plains Tribe

• California Tribes

• Southwest Tribe

Open Ended

Summarize one theory that explains how the first people migrated to North and South America.

Make sure to use at least 3 of the following words in your summary:

• Asia

• coastal passageway

• glacier

• land bridge passageway

• migration

• North America

​Today, you learned that there are different theories that explain how the first people arrived in North and South America.

You also learned about how the different Native American tribes settled across the United States of America.

Great work today!