The Three Life-Giving Sisters: Plant Cultivation and Mohican Innovation SEASONS: SUBJECTS: PREP TIME: EXT. SUBJECT: LESSON TIME: PT1 PT2 Plus regular monitoring and transplanting. Description Students explore the ingenuity and resourcefulness of the Mohican Native Americans who lived in the Berkshires many years ago. They think critically about the reasoning behind the Mohican method of planting corn, beans, and squash together while also investigating the life cycle and characteristics of these local plants. Before beginning Part I, review the Three Sisters Rubric and obtain seeds and planting materials so they can be kept in the classroom for 2 to 3 months as they grow. For regular monitoring, you will need copies of the Mohican Life: The Three Sisters handout. Preparation for Part II involves copying the photographs (if necessary) and reviewing the Three Sisters Rubric. MATERIALS Part I For the class: bean, corn, and squash seeds; three glass jars with lids; labels for the jars; paper towels; potting soil; small rocks; large plastic container or planter about 1 square foot in area; 5-gallon bucket; example of a squash, ear of corn, and bean pod; meterstick or yardstick. For each student: copy of Mohican Life: The Three Sisters handout. Part II For the class: pictures of corn, bean, and squash plants or actual corn, bean, and squash plants. The lesson is divided into two parts. In Part I, students make predictions about seed growth, plant the seeds, tend to the seeds, and monitor their growth. In Part II, students observe the plants, identify, describe, and compare parts of the plants, and draw conclusions about why they were grown together. The two parts can be done together as a cohesive unit, or Part II can be done alone for a shorter lesson. Through the visual arts extension, students can create a poster or a diorama that illustrates how these crops were planted together. Objectives Observe and discuss plant life cycles. Understand that living things require food, water, and sunlight to survive. Track the development of plants. Infer why the Three Sisters were grown together. Background Information The Mohicans are a Native American tribe that once lived in Berkshire County. When the colonists first arrived in Mohican territory in the 1600s, the Mohicans developed a relationship with the European traders and settlers. Over time, however, various factors, especially the Indian The Three Life-Giving Sisters - Berkshire Museum: Living Landscapes 69
Removal Act of 1830, forced the Mohicans to move westward, with one large band ultimately settling on a reservation in Wisconsin, where descendants of Mohicans still live today as the Stockbridge- Munsee Band. The Mohicans traditionally grew the Three Sisters together because they supported and nourished each other as they developed, thereby creating a much more efficient way of cultivating these plants than if they were planted separately. Corn is a tall sturdy plant that provides support for the climbing bean vines. The squash grows low to the ground and prevents weeds from growing around the plants while keeping the soil moist. Finally the bean plants have bacteria living on their roots that increase the amount of nutrients in the soil. By growing these plants close together, the Mohicans were able to grow better crops in a smaller area of land. Note: How closely the three plants were planted is debatable. Use the experimentation process in class to form your own theories about how the Three Sisters may have been planted together! 70 The Three Life-Giving Sisters - Berkshire Museum: Living Landscapes
Corn usually takes 2 to 4 months to reach maturity, most beans take 3 to 4 months, and pumpkins take 4 months. To be able to transplant the Three Sisters outside with your students, start the seeds in February or March. The main parts of each plant serve a critical function. Roots hold plants in place, like an anchor. Tiny root hairs at the end of the roots absorb the water from the soil to give the plants needed moisture, and they absorb nutrients to help the plants grow. Within the plant stem, the xylem moves water and minerals up from the roots while the phloem transports sugars down from the leaves. Stems also support the plant and can store water and food. In the leaves, food is produced using a process called photosynthesis, the conversion of sunlight (energy) into food (chemical energy). The shape and position of each leaf allows it to capture as much sunlight as possible for photosynthesis, using most of the sunlight to produce food. Chlorophyll in the leaf cells absorbs sunlight and combines it with water and carbon dioxide to produce sugar. This sugar, a food for plants, is transported from the leaves to all parts of the plant. Leaves also function to rid the plant of excess water, thus both cooling and moisturizing the air and emitting oxygen into the atmosphere through tiny pores in the leaf called stomata. Flowers help create new plants by producing pollen to fertilize other flowers. The fertilized flower parts then develop into seeds, which are contained inside a fruit. Procedure PART I: Plus regular monitoring and transplanting. 1. Show students some squash, corn, and beans. Explain that the Mohicans grew these three plants together, and they were called the Three Sisters. Students will be growing these plants in the classroom to try to figure out why the Mohicans grew them together. Ask your students to point out the seeds on the squash, corn, and bean pods. TIPS AND TRICKS Plan ahead when ordering seeds so you aren t buying seeds out of season. You will also need viable seeds (e.g., you can t always rely on cutting open a pumpkin and having seeds from it grow). Chose a small squash or pumpkin variety. Beans that grow as a vine (rather than bush beans) demonstrate more dramatically how the corn can support the beans. To create a control for this project (and because the plants may be adversely affected by frequent transplanting), it might be helpful to plant one set of the corn and bean seeds in a 5-gallon bucket (as described in step 8). Discuss how frequent transplanting might affect the plants and how the control plants can be compared to those that are transplanted. The squash can be planted in a 5-gallon bucket next to the corn and beans. To make the lesson more historically accurate, try planting historic varieties of the vegetables, such as Iroquois White Corn, Connecticut Field Pumpkin (or the smaller Omaha Indian Pumpkin), and True Red Cranberry Pole Bean. See the Online Connections for possible sources of these heritage seeds. At the end of the lesson, plants can go home with children to be transplanted into their home gardens or donated to a community garden. 2. Students divide into at least three groups and each group has a jar. Students line the jar with wet paper towels and place the seeds inside the jar. Make sure the seeds are between the glass and the paper towels so students can watch the seeds sprout. They can place more than one seed in each jar as long as they are all from the same plant. The Three Life-Giving Sisters - Berkshire Museum: Living Landscapes 71
3. Screw the lids onto the jars tightly, label them, and then place them in a sunny area. 4. Check on your seeds every 1 or 2 days for the first few weeks and discuss how they are changing. 5. Set aside time every 1 or 2 weeks for your students to chart the growth of the plants and discuss how they are changing. You may want to keep a bulletin board with photos or drawings of the plants each week. Students can use the Mohican Life: The Three Sisters handout to draw their predictions and observations each week. 6. Discuss with your students the care the plants will need, and create a plan for making sure they are watered regularly. Discuss with them that plants need air, water, nutrients, and sunlight to survive. (Do not overwater the plants. If the soil is wet or damp, they do not need to be watered.) 7. Once the seedlings are too large for the jars, move them to larger containers. Place a layer of rocks on the bottom of each container for drainage and cover with soil. Plant three corn plants in the center of the 5-gallon bucket, with the bean plants in a circle around them. Plant the squash or pumpkin plants in a separate container (even though the Mohicans would have grown all three together, the root systems of the three plants would be too large for the pots in this lesson). 8. Once the plants are in their containers, use a meterstick or yardstick to track their height every week when you make your observations. To measure them, place the stick on top of the soil and measure to the top of the plant. 9. Three weeks after transplanting, pull out all but the strongest corn plant. 10. After about 7 to 8 weeks, the corn will be about adult knee high, and the plants should be planted outside. If you are able to plant them outside in the schoolyard, the students can continue their observation throughout the entire cycle of the plants lives. 72 The Three Life-Giving Sisters - Berkshire Museum: Living Landscapes
PART II: 1. Show students the corn, bean, and squash plants grown in Part I or pictures of the three (see accompanying photo on page 78). 2. Students draw and label the three plants (stem, leaves, roots, flowers, fruit, etc.) and discuss their functions. 3. If the class completed Part I, the students compare their initial sketches of the seedlings with their final drawings of the three sisters. 4. Ask the students how the three plants are different from one another and why they think the Mohicans grew them together. 5. The students draw a picture of the three plants together as the Mohicans would have planted them. The Three Life-Giving Sisters - Berkshire Museum: Living Landscapes 73
Assessment THREE SISTERS RUBRIC 4 3 2 1 Plant Life Cycle Demonstrates an understanding of how plants develop through birth, growth, development, reproduction, and death. Demonstrates an develop through birth, growth, development, reproduction, and death. Demonstrates a vague develop through birth, growth, development, reproduction and death. Demonstrates a lack of understanding or develop through birth, growth, development, reproduction and death. Plant Life Requirements Demonstrates an understanding that plants need water, air, nutrients, and light to survive and that they obtain these from their environment. Demonstrates need water, air, nutrients and light to survive and that they obtain these from their environment. Demonstrates a vague need water, air, nutrients and light to survive and that they obtain these from their environment. Demonstrates a lack of understanding or need water, air, nutrients and light to survive and that they obtain these from their environment. Plant structures Can draw and label plants accurately with all of their structures (stems, flowers, roots, leaves, etc.). Can draw and label plants somewhat accurately with all of their structures (stems, flowers, roots, leaves, etc.). Can draw and label plants with some of their structures (stems, flowers, roots, leaves, etc.). Cannot draw and label plants with their structure (stems, flowers, roots, leaves, etc.). The Three Sisters Demonstrates an understanding of the benefits to growing these three plants together. Demonstrates an understanding that there are benefits to growing these plants together. Demonstrates awareness that Native Americans did grow these plants together. Does not recognize the benefits or reasons for growing these plants tougher. Visual Arts Extension: Illustration of Three Sisters Create a poster or a diorama that illustrates how these crops were planted together. The poster or diorama should include text that explains the images. For a diorama, turn a paper towel roll into a single corn plant by wrapping with crepe paper, gluing as you wrap. Leave an extra few inches at the top to tear and hang down. Wrap pipe cleaners around your corn and attach hanging paper beans. Finally, cut out large squash leaves-the prickly surface can be created by sprinkling with white glue and sand. Students arrange a display of the corn plants in hills with squash plants surrounding the corn. The class can also create a group diorama. Each person picks one of the three sisters and creates the plant out of pipe cleaners or modeling clay. Skewers cut in half can serve as a support for the corn. Each person can assemble individual plants into a group display of how the three sisters were grown together. 74 The Three Life-Giving Sisters - Berkshire Museum: Living Landscapes
Resources Aliki. Corn Is Maize: The Gift of the Indians. New York: Crowell, 1976. A good story for younger elementary students (grades K-3) about corn and how it changed from a wild plant in the grass family to a staple of American Indian agriculture and was finally shared with the new American colonists. Burkhardt, Ann. Corn. Mankato, MN: Pebble Books, 1997. Easy-to-read book that introduces young students to well-known foods, including apples, corn, potatoes, and pumpkins. Contains simple text and full color photographs, making it perfect for grades K-3. Marken, Bill. Container Gardening for Dummies. Foster City, CA: IDG Books Worldwide, 1998. Everything the beginning gardener needs to know to raise a plant (flowers, trees, vegetables) in a container (planter boxes, pots, etc.). SERVICE LEARNING THE THREE LIFE-GIVING SISTERS: SOUP S ON! Using corn, beans, and squash as the main ingredients, find a recipe for soup or other main dish. Cook together and donate the finished soup to a local food program. Or host a dinner with the proceeds going to a hunger program of your choice. Online Connections Visit the Berkshire Museum s Living Landscapes website at www.berkshiremuseum.org/programs/educators.html for the following online activities or resources: Further information and activities for Three Sisters Gardens Mohican history and further information on Native Americans Gardening resources and seed suppliers The Three Life-Giving Sisters - Berkshire Museum: Living Landscapes 75
MASSACHUSETTS FRAMEWORKS Science: Life Science: Characteristics of Living Things Science: Life Science: Living Things and Their Environment Pre K-2 Pre K-2 1. Recognize that animals and plants are living things that grow, reproduce, and need food, air, and water. 3. Recognize that plants and animals have life cycles, and that life cycles vary for different living things. 7. Recognize changes in appearance that animals and plants go through as the seasons change. 8. Identify way in which an organism s habitat provides for its basic needs (plants require air, water, nutrients, and light; animals require food, water, air, and shelter. Science: Life Science: Heredity Pre K-2 4. Describe ways in which many plants and animals closely resemble their parents in observed appearance. Science: Life Science: Plant Structures and Functions Mathematics: Measurement Arts: Visual Arts: Standard 1: Methods, Materials, and Techniques Arts: Visual Arts: Standard 3: Observation, Abstraction, Invention, and Expression Grades 3-5 Grades 3-4 Grades 5-6 Grades 5-8 * For Extension Pre K-4 * For Extension 2. Identify the structures in plants (leaves, roots, flowers, stem, bark, wood) that are responsible for food production, support, water transport, reproduction, growth, and protection. 3. Recognize that plants and animals go through predictable life cycles that include, birth, growth, development, reproduction, and death. 1. Demonstrate an understanding of such attributes as length, area, weight, and volume, and select the appropriate type of unit for measuring each attribute. 5. Identify and use appropriate metric and English units and tools to estimate, measure, and solve problems involving length, area, volume, weight, time, angle size, and temperature. 3. Solve problems involving proportional relationships and units of measurement, e.g., same system unit conversions, scale models, maps, and speed. 2. Create artwork in a variety of two-dimensional (2D) and threedimensional (3D) media. 5. Expand the repertoire of 2D and 3D art processes, techniques, and materials with a focus on the range of effects possible within each medium. 1. Create 2D and 3D artwork from direct observation. Arts: Visual Arts: Standard 10: Interdisciplinary Connections Pre K-4 * For Extension Grades 5-8 * For Extension 1. Integrate knowledge of dance, music, theatre, and visual arts and apply the arts to learning other disciplines. 2. Continue the above and apply knowledge of other disciplines in learning in and about the arts. The lesson also addresses the Massachusetts Science and Technology Curriculum Framework s Science Skills of Inquiry. 76 The Three Life-Giving Sisters - Berkshire Museum: Living Landscapes
LIVING LANDSCAPES Mohican Life: The Three Sisters Naturalist s name: Week# Draw what you PREDICT Draw what you OBSERVE CORN BEANS SQUASH The Three Life-Giving Sisters - Berkshire Museum: Living Landscapes 77
LIVING LANDSCAPES Pictures of Three Sisters 78 The Three Life-Giving Sisters - Berkshire Museum: Living Landscapes