Grade 3 - 4 Lesson Plans - Day 2
Overview
This 3-day unit for Grades 3-4 on the Northern Cheyenne vs. Hollowbreast Supreme Court ruling (1976 Montana case affirming tribal jurisdiction over reservation allotments) is designed for Montana teachers. The lessons meet Montana IEFA Essential Understandings (EU1: Homelands, EU3: Governments, EU5: Contemporary Issues) and OPI standards. No prior knowledge is needed; each day builds logically for Northern Cheyenne homelands or statewide classrooms.
Day 2: The Court Case Story (40 min)
Objectives:
Students sequence case events and understand why the tribe won jurisdiction.
Standards:
CCSS RI.3.3 / RI.4.3; OPI IEFA EU3; MT SS 4.3.
Differentiation:
Partner reading; simple sentence starters.
Materials:
Sets of 6 picture cards representing key events (dispute, tribal court, Montana appeal, Supreme Court, 1980 ruling, sovereignty win), timeline sheets, sticky notes, court case study and historical perspective handouts.
Introduction (8 min):
– Read a brief case summary aloud: “Members of the Hollowbreast family disagreed about ownership of land within the Northern Cheyenne Reservation. The tribal court heard the case first, then the state of Montana challenged the tribe’s authority. In 1980, the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed that the Northern Cheyenne Tribe had legal authority—jurisdiction—to decide land cases within its reservation.”
– Show the six picture cards and briefly discuss each.
Main Activity (22 min):
– In small groups, students sequence the cards in the correct order.
– They add sticky notes with questions like: “What happened here?” and “Why is this important?”
– Students write 1-2 sentences summarizing each event on their timeline sheet.
Closure (10 min):
– Build a class timeline on the wall, reviewing the sequence together.
– Quick quiz questions for understanding, e.g., “Why was the tribe’s jurisdiction important?”
Metacognition reflection questions:
The Court Case Story – “Think Through the Sequence”
Prompt:
“How did sequencing the case events help you understand what ‘jurisdiction’ means?”
Step 1 – Quick Write (3 minutes):
Provide sentence frames:“I used the pictures or order to figure out that…”“At first I thought the court case was about…, but then I realized…”
“Building the timeline helped me see that jurisdiction means…”
Step 2 – Partner Share (2 minutes):
Partners discuss what strategy (looking at pictures, discussing with group, rereading text) helped them most.
Teacher prompt:
“What helped you make sense of the Hollowbreast case today?”
– Exit Sticky Note: ““One way I used a strategy to understand the case was…”
Essential Understanding:
EU3 (Governments) → “What is jurisdiction, and how do tribal courts differ from state courts?”Assessment:
– Checklist: Are events in correct order? Are “why” questions addressed? Does the vocabulary include words like jurisdiction?
– Target success: 80% of students accurately sequence and explain the case.
