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Effigy Mounds National Monument Mounds at Fire Point
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Effigy Mounds National Monument
Animal Outlines

 

 

Animal Outlines

Strand: Art and Science
Grade Level: 1 - 3
Duration: 20 minutes
Location: classroom
Objective: The students will be able to outline an animal shape to represent what a burial mound of that animal would look like.
Materials: paper
pencil or black crayon
green colored paper
Vocabulary: outline    effigy  Woodland Culture    ceremony
Procedure:
  1. Discuss with the students that some of the mounds they will see are in the shape of an animal. These mounds are called effigy mounds. The outline of the animal is raised above the ground.
  2. Draw these shapes on the board
  3. Tell the students that these types of mounds are usually not burial mounds. Scientists believe these are ceremonial mounds. Compare a ceremony to a special event or special day (holiday). They believe this because they have found fire pits and ceremonial objects in the mounds with no evidence of a burial.
  4. Tell the students to think of an animal and picture only the outline of the animal. Then on practice paper, have them draw the outline of the animal. Have them work with the outline until they are happy with it. Then have them try another animal. You can decide on a time limit or certain number of outlines to try.
  5. Have the children choose one animal outline that is their favorite and have them draw it on green paper to represent the grass that has grown on it after several years.
 






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Effigy Mounds National Monument

 

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Bird Mounds: Effigy Mounds National Monument today - is a sacred site to many American Indians.

Did You Know?
Effigy Mounds National Monument is located in territory that was hotly contested by Indians and the American government. In 1832, the U.S. forced the Sauk and Fox tribes to cede land south of the “Neutral Ground” along the Mississippi River, which included the lands of the present National Monument.
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Last Updated: July 07, 2011 at 12:45 MST