1. science
2. social science
3. history
4. archaeology

Teacher Instructions
for
Discovery Guide to
Hall of the People of Oklahoma
for grades 3 through 5
Before Your Visit:
• This activity was developed by the Education Department to help your
students focus on learning while at the museum.
• Please make copies of this activity and bring it with you to the museum. The museum does not provide copies for your students.
• Please remind your students to use pencil, not pen, when completing
this Discovery Guide. Encourage your students to fold this guide in
half so it will be easier to write on. Students should not place their
papers on exhibit walls, cases, or labels, as this can damage them.
• Save paper! Print pages 2-3, and copy them one to two-sided, so that
you have a one piece of paper with questions on both sides.
While at the Museum:
• These questions will encourage students to look closely at museum
exhibits, think critically about what they are seeing, and discuss their
findings with their classmates and chaperones.
• Most of the questions can be answered by reading the labels, but there
are several thought and open-ended questions, and students are encouraged to give an original answer.
• Students may not always come up with the “right” answer, so if this activity is to be used for a graded assignment, we suggest that you grade
more on participation and thoughtfulness than accuracy.
• Volunteers are frequently available in the galleries to answer questions.
Other Information:
• This is one of three Discovery Guides for this grade range. Discovery
Guides are available for three galleries, including the Halls of Ancient
Life, People of Oklahoma, and Natural Wonders.
• Have questions or suggestions? Send us your feedback at education@
snomnh.ou.edu, or Education Department, Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, 2401 Chautauqua Ave., Norman, OK, 73072.
Answers
1. 2 of the following: paleontologist, botanist, physicist, palynologist, geomorphologist, anthropologist
2. Pencil and spear point
3. B. Clovis
4. bison
5. A. hunting in a group with spears
6. everything but mammoth
7. everything but corn
8. A. chopping down trees
9. B. bone fish hook
10. corn
11. corn, beans, squash, pumpkins
12. the arrow point os small, the spear point is much bigger
13. B. The Ocean
14. answers will vary: large stone pipes, sea shells, copper plate or pin,
stone ear spool, stone mace
15. answers will vary
16. drawing of object from question 14
17. D. Wood
18. A. Soft materials decompose
19. Osage - Arkansas, Pawnee - Nebraska, Otoe - Missouri
20. one of the following: Osage: dance stick, wedding bell, bear claw necklace; Pawnee: drum, dance bells, feather bonnet; Otoe: necklace
21. three of the following: doll, toy cradleboard, doll clothes, cup and pin
game, dice game, toy bow and arrow, spear target, top
Discovery Guide
Hall of the People of Oklahoma
for grades 3 through 5
Directions: Questions begin at the entry of The People of Oklahoma gallery
by the Handprint Wall and go in sequence to the back of the gallery. Finding
the answers will be easier if you answer the questions in order. To answer the
questions labeled Think, you have to use information on the label, common
sense, and talk to your friends and to the volunteers to think of the answer.
The First Oklahomans
How Do We Know About Early Oklahomans?
1. Name two types of scientists that help archaeologists understand the past.
_______________________ and _________________________
2. One way scientists learn about people and cultures from the past is
by studying artifacts, or objects that were made by people. Circle the
artifacts.
pencil
acorn
spear point
People of the Dalton Culture
A Story from Dalton Times
Your chaperone may need to read the story to you.
The late afternoon sun was lighting up the yellow and red fall leaves
as Alyena stopped to put down her heavy baskets and skin bags. She
had been gathering hickory nuts and acorns all day with her aunt and
the other children, and all bags and baskets were full. As she paused, she
heard her aunt give the signal to return to camp.
Alyena was glad to start back. She began to think about dinner and
wonder what kind of meat her father and brothers might bring in from
their day’s hunt. She was glad that the men in her band could almost
always find game in the rich woodlands where her people lived.
Alyena’s group started up the trail for camp. Soon the smaller children
began to run as they caught the welcoming sent of hickory smoke from
the campfire. Alyena held tightly to her bags and baskets and hurried
after her young cousins as she thought of the good food and the warm
deer skin robe that waited for her in camp.
Think about the way of life described in the story above. Look at the
exhibits and read the labels to answer the following questions.
6. The Dalton people lived in eastern Oklahoma 10,500 years ago. What
animals did they hunt? Circle your answers.
snow flake
Early Hunters
3. About 11,500 years ago people in Oklahoma were hunting mammoths
with spears. What is the name of this culture?
A. Dalton B. Clovis C. Fourche Maline
4. The Folsom people used this type of spear point 10,800 years ago.
What large animal did they hunt?
_____________________
5. What types of hunting techniques did the Folsom people use?
(Watch the “movie” or read the labels to answer.)
A. hunting in a group with spears B. hunting alone C. hunting with guns
deer
mammoth
squirrel
bear
turtle
turkey
raccoon
beaver
7. What plants did they eat? Circle your answers.
acorns
corn
berries
hickory nuts
wild fruits
Later Cultures (large display cases)
8. The Fourche Maline people lived in eastern Oklahoma 2000-1300
years ago. They used stone axes. What were the axes used for?
A. chopping down trees B. grinding corn C. tending crops
9. These people gathered fruits and nuts and hunted wild animals in
their woodland habitat. What artifact could have helped them harvest
animals from the water?
A. buzz button B. bone fish hook C. stone hoe
The largest Mississippian site in Oklahoma is at Spiro. Look at the cases
against the wall beyond the canoe. Many of the artifacts in these cases
are trade items, or items that were not available in Oklahoma.
14. List a trade item found at the Spiro site. _______________
15. Where did this trade item come from? _____________________
16. Draw your trade item in the space below.
Bonus: Ask a volunteer to show you how a
Fourche Maline “buzz button” was used!
10. The Washita River people lived in
central Oklahoma 900-600 years ago.
What did they grind on this artifact? _______
11. The Washita River people were the first farmers in Oklahoma.
What crops did they grow?
_______________ and ______________ and ______________
12. The Washita River people also hunted using a bow and arrows.
How is this arrow point different from a spear point?
_____________________________________________________
Washita River arrow point
Fourche Maline spear point
Mississippian Cultural Universe
Red River Basin and Arkansas River Basin
People of the Mississippian Period cultures used dugout canoes to carry
trade goods up and down eastern Oklahoma rivers 1100-600 years ago.
You may sit down in the big canoe on the floor.
13. Look at the case near the canoe with the decorated sea shell cup.
Think! Where would you have to paddle your canoe to get a conch shell?
A. Rocky Mountains B. The Ocean C. New York
17. Think! You have seen many artifacts from different time periods
and different areas of Oklahoma. What are most of these artifacts made
from? Circle all that are right.
A. Stone B. Shell C. Bone D. Wood E. Fired Clay
18. Artifacts were also made from soft things like animal skin, grass,
feathers, or wood. Why do you think artifacts made from these natural
materials are not in this part of the museum/gallery?
A. Soft materials decompose B. No one likes them C. Rocks are neat
Removal to Oklahoma
19. Where did these three tribes come from originally? (Look at the
map in the entry of the “Removal to Oklahoma” exhibit)
Tribe Osage
Pawnee
Otoe
Original State
____________
____________
____________
20. Look at the artifacts in the cases. List one artifact from the Osage,
Pawnee, or Otoe tribes. __________________________________
21. Native American kids had toys, too! List three games or toys you
can see on exhibit.
________________
_________________
______________
Created by Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History Education Department, 2011