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When it comes to doing any kind of research with kids, finding the right books makes all the difference. The best kids’ books for Native American research are the “If You Lived With…” books from Scholastic. They lend themselves to report writing because of their content, reading level, interest level, and structure. Using these books will reduce frustration and lead to a successful research experience for your child.
There are four books available:
- If You Lived With the Iroquois
- If you Lived With the Sioux Indians
- If You Lived With the Hopi
- If You Lived With the Cherokee
Reasons Why “If You Lived…” Books Are the Best Kids Books for Native American Research
Relatable to Children
The books in this series are relatable to children because they answer questions that children likely have about native American life in the 1800s before the colonists arrived. There are several questions specific to the life of children which keeps young readers engaged.
For example, here are some questions from If You Lived With The Iroquois by Ellen Levine.
- What games would you play?
- Where would you bathe?
- What kinds of food would you eat?
- How would you wear your hair?
- Would you go to a doctor when you got sick?
- Would you go to school?
Perfect Amount of Content
The content of the books is divided into one to two page sections with colorful illustrations that support the text. These bite-sized pages are perfect for younger students. Kids don’t have to grapple with too much information or weed through irrelevant details. The content is just enough to answer the questions, yet descriptive enough to help readers gain a good understanding.
Easy to Navigate
Unlike most table of contents in nonfiction books, these books are organized by questions. The questions make searching for information a breeze. Kids can look in the table of contents to find exactly what they are looking for without having to skim through the whole book.
Promote Independent Learning
Finally, the “If You Lived With” books help your child be able to research independently. The text is written at a reading level that most second graders can handle, but suitable for kids of all ages.
Tips for Using the Scholastic Books for Native American Research
Let your child choose the tribe
If you can get a copy of all four books, then your child can choose the tribe she finds most intriguing. Show her the book covers and help her the pronounce the names of all the tribes. Based on the illustrations ask her select the one she’d like to read.
Read the introduction
Read the introduction so your child understands that they are learning about tribal life during the time before the colonists arrived. Use a map to highlight the area where the tribe lived. Ask your child to think about what kind of information she will learn about in the book.
Talk about the table of contents
Ask your child to explain what a table of contents is and what it’s used for. Instead of reading the book from front to back, you can look at the table of contents to find the specific information you need. Then point out how this book’s table of contents is set up differently. Instead of words or phrases, like “clothing,” it has questions, like, “What would you wear?”
Explore the book
Have your child take time to explore the book. She can read sections that interest her or look at pictures. Let her get familiar with the book’s format and table of contents.
Start research report
Finally, have your child make a graphic organizer to keep track of the information he learns. Fold a piece of paper into eighths and title each section with key words, like “food,” “homes,” and “clothes.” Use index cards or draw a web. Once information has been collected, he can start writing a report using sentences or short paragraphs.
Final Thoughts
Scholastic’s “If You Lived With” books are the best kids’ books for Native American research. They’re easy to read, appealing to children, and promote independent learning. Your child will succeed at research when using such child-friendly books.
For more about report writing, check out this post on animal reports.
