• A quiet summer walk through the Marching Bear Group of effigy mounds

    Effigy Mounds

    National Monument Iowa

Family Effigies

Family Effigies

Strand: Social Studies
Grade Level: 2 - 3
Duration: 30 minutes
Location: classroom
Objective: The students will be able to choose and animal to represent their family and support their decision with factual information.
Materials: 1/2 sheets of green construction paper
black crayon or marker
lined paper
pencil
Vocabulary: represent effigy outline
Procedure:
  1. Discuss with children different characteristics of animals that could also describe a person. For example bears are strong and eagles are graceful.
  2. Tell the students that they will be selecting an animal to represent their family and writing about why they chose that animal to represent their family.
  3. Let the students share reasons why a particular animal would represent their family. For example: A duck because the family enjoys going on the river. A deer because everyone in their family can run fast. Etc.
  4. The students choose their animal and write the reasons that the animal represents their family. Have them come up with at least 3 reasons that the animal should represent their family.
  5. On the 1/2 sheets of green paper, the children draw the outline of the animal they choose to represent their family. It should look like an effigy mound.
  6. This activity could be done for an individual effigy, rather than an effigy to represent a whole family.






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Effigy Mounds National Monument

Did You Know?

Sny Magill Mound Group

The Sny Magill Unit of Effigy Mounds National Monument preserves at least 106 mounds representing the largest group of mounds in one location found in North America. The Unit contains two bird mounds, three bear mounds, 6 linear mounds and 95 conical mounds including a 2500 year old red ochre mound.