For a recently completed Native American village project, Mount Madonna School fourth grade students were tasked with creating a model of a Native American village from a California tribe, a research report and slideshow presentation. The students studied native tribes from throughout the state, and analyzed the array of building techniques, materials used and dwelling 
structures of the different tribes. Fourth graders also learned about their tribe’s unique cultural traditions, including music, food, dance, clothing and lifestyles.
The final projects were shared with their classmates and teacher Nick Cabassa.
“Each student presented their project via Zoom during a group class meeting,” said Cabassa. “Their village models came out really good. Students designed presentations that were entertaining and informational, and in sharing with the class had the opportunity to practice their public speaking skills.
“I am really impressed with the students’ ability to do this project in a relatively short amount of time,” he continued. “Students had three weeks to complete all three sections of the project, and they all finished with a high quality of work and with time to spare. I incorporated a few lessons about the Spanish missionaries and their impact on native life, but for the most part, this was primarily a Native American history project. It was nice to shift away from studying the Spanish explorers that I have emphasized in the past, and instead focus on the Native Americans. Overall, this project came out great, and I plan to include it in the fourth grade curriculum each year.”
