• EDUCATE CAHOKIA MOUNDS

Educate

Cahokia Mounds

The remains of the most sophisticated prehistoric native civilization north of Mexico are preserved at Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site. Within the 2,200-acre tract, located a few miles west of Collinsville, Illinois, lie the archaeological remnants of the central section of the ancient settlement that is today known as Cahokia.

Tips for Teachers

Tips For Teachers

In order to have the best possible experience, plan to allow 1 – 1 1/2 hours for inside the Interpretive Center and 1 – 2 hours for walking the site and climbing Monks Mound. Dress for the weather.

No food or drink may be brought into the Interpretive Center.

Vocabulary:

Children will understand more if they learn these words before the visit.

Archaeology
Artifact
Bastion
Borrow pit
Ceremonies
Charnel house		 Conical
Cultivation
Equinox
Flintknapping
Granary House
Mississippians		 Mound
Pottery
Solstice
Stockade

Adult chaperones:

  • Have one adult for every five to seven children.
  • These adults should be with the children as they visit the exhibit areas and Museum Shop.
  • Ask the chaperons to help the children interpret the exhibits.
  • It is helpful if the groups visit the exhibits on a rotating basis so no one area becomes overcrowded.
  • No writing materials (pens, pencils, markers or crayons) may be used in the Interpretive Center.

We recommend several items to be used as teacher reference material before or after your field trip.

  • A 32-page children’s activity book, Journey to Cahokia, details a young Indian boy’s first visit to ancient Cahokia and includes classroom activities and a glossary.
  • The general audience book, City of the Sun, provides a good source of current information known about the site.
  • Cahokia Mounds – Ancient Metropolis – the multi-award winning hour-long video is an excellent teaching aid. This video is available for purchase or two-week rental from the Museum Shop.Note: Ancient Metropolis is different from the “Orientation Show” (17 min.) shown in the theater.
  • Also available is a guidebook for outside walking tours. Mail order is available on this website. For gift items you may wish to pre-order and pick up the day of your visit.

It is highly recommended that teachers engage in pre- and culminating activities in the classroom such as:

  • Art projects
  • Essay writing (artifacts, uses of animals, tools, etc.)
  • Constructing maps showing trade between the Mississippians and other cultures.
  • Books and pamphlets are available in the Museum Gift Shop with ideas for many projects that can be constructed in the classroom.
Educational Kits

Educational Kits

Educational Kits are an excellent resource to enable the students to touch and experience hands-on activities. Two kits may be checked out for a one-week period.

*Educational Kits Can Be Rented FREE of charge*

  • Astronomy  
    Learn how the Indians watched the stars, sun and moon, and about the legends associated with them.
  • Mississippian Symbolism 
    This kit can be used for show and tell or table display in the classroom. Contained within are replicas of figurines and effigy pottery. Learn what we have discovered by studying these representations made by the ancient inhabitants of Cahokia.
  • Illinois Birds 
    This trunk is filled with field guides, books, track and egg replicas, CD-ROMs, videos, DVDs, CDs with bird songs and calls and even bird replicas that sing! Suggested grades: PreK – 8, but can be modified for other grade levels. All items are correlated to the Illinois Learning Standards and the Illinois Early Learning Standards.
  • Illinois Pollinators
     This kit includes field guides, books laminated cards on insect lifecycles, and other information on pollinators found in Illinois. Also included are magnifying glasses and a butterfly net.
  • Lewis & Clark Journey 
    Five kits: Journal Writing, Identification, Team Building, Leadership & Reading.
  • Mississippian Activity  
    This kit contains items representing a variety of Mississippian activities such as clothing, games, hunting and pottery.
  • Mississippian Home
     This kit has items associated with a typical Mississippian family. Replicas of items associated with cooking, clothing, children’s toys, and other daily life activities are included.
  • People and Animals of Illinois’ Past (Currently Unavailable)
    Books, posters, videos, games, pottery and replicas of ancient animals.
  • Cahokia Table-top Exhibit 
    Image of Cahokia Mounds, which can be used as a display in the Classroom.
  • IDNR Nature Hike Pak (Available for check out)
    Included in the pack are supplies and books for a nature hike. Students can search for frogs, bugs, birds, butterflies and plants. No charge, can be checked out for one week.

Educational kits allow you to bring resources into the classroom.

  • They are available for loan up to one week.
  • They must be picked up and returned by the borrower.
Gift Shop Order Form

Gift Shop Order Form

Download Gift Shop Order Form

Grades 4 - 6

Grades 4 – 6

  • Begin with the orientation show in the theater.
  • Display areas – Look for answers in each area.In order to help protect our exhibits, students may not use writing materials in the Exhibit Gallery. Devise a system for them to search, find and remember the information. Tables in the Cafe may be used for writing and, on occasion, adults accompanying the groups may be responsible for writing down information discovered by the children in the gallery, but writing permits must be issued first.
    1. Entrance MuralThis mural shows what the city would have looked like around AD 1200.
      1. What are the three shapes of mounds that you see?
      2. Where is the leader’s home?
      3. Are most of the houses inside or outside the wooden wall?
      4. Where is Woodhenge?
    2. Birdman Tablet
      1. Why is the figure called “Birdman?”
      2. What are the human features?
      3. What are the bird features?
      4. What markings are found on the back side of the tablet?
    3. Recreated Village
      1. What activities do you see the children doing?
      2. What activities do you see the women doing?
      3. What are the activities of the men?
      4. Can you find the raccoon? What is he doing? Where is he?
      5. What are the uses of the dog?
    4. Hands-On Demonstration Table
      1. Children’s games
        1. How many times can you catch the ring in ten tries?
        2. Can you catch all of the sticks at the same time?
      2. Back at school math
        1. Make a graph showing successful tries
        2. Figure the ratios of successful tries
  • Exhibits
    1. Mound 72
      1. What shape is Mound 72?
      2. What was its use?
      3. What items were buried with the Chief?
    2. Twin Mounds – unexcavated
      1. What was the use of a round top mound?
      2. What shape is Fox Mound?
      3. What was it used for?
      4. What is a Charnel House?
    3. Grand Plaza
      1. What activities were held in the plaza?
      2. What types of games did the Mississippians play?
      3. What might you purchase from a trader in the plaza?
    4. Reconstructed Stockade
      1. Why was there a wall around the center of the city?
      2. What was used to make it?
      3. How many times was it rebuilt?
    5. Monks Mound
      1. How many terraces (levels) does Monks Mound have?
      2. What was the large building on top?
      3. In which direction is Cahokia Creek located?
    6. Woodhenge
      1. What was woodhenge used for?
      2. What important days were marked with a pole?
Junior High and High School

Junior High and High School

  1. Begin with the orientation show in the theater.
  2. Exhibit areas – Information to discoverIn order to help protect our exhibits, students may not use writing materials in the Exhibit Gallery. Devise a system for them to search, find and remember the information. Tables in the Cafe may be used for writing and, on occasion, adults accompanying the groups may be responsible for writing down information discovered by the children in the gallery, but writing permits must be issued first.
    1. Birdman TabletHow does the birdman tablet represent the three worlds?
      1. Sky World:
      2. This World:
      3. Underworld:
        *On the way home, look for the Birdman on the I-255 overpasses
    2. Time Exhibit
      1. What was the physical setting of the Mississippians?
      2. What previous cultures were located here?
      3. Who were Cahokia’s neighbors?
      4. Where did previous mound builders live?
      5. What else was going on in the world?
    3. Culture Exhibit
      1. How did Mississippian communities grow?
      2. How do we know about the Mississippians?
      3. What are the characteristic traits of the culture?
      4. What other sites were inhabited by Mississippians?
      5. What was the social organization of the culture?
    4. City Exhibit
      1. How was Monks Mound constructed?
      2. What was the size and population of the City of Cahokia?
      3. Name one reason for reusing Urban Ground.
      4. Compare Cahokia to St. Louis
    5. Structures Exhibit
      1. What were the purposes of Woodhenge?
      2. Why was a stockade wall built around the city?
      3. What were the Cahokian building styles?
      4. What was the use of the different mounds?
        1. Platform
        2. Conical
        3. Ridgetop
    6. Life Exhibit
      1. What jobs were adapted to seasons?
      2. How did they provide and prepare food?
      3. What was the impact of agriculture?
      4. What were the distinct social classes?
      5. How did they play?
      6. What were the Mississippian beliefs?
    7. Products Exhibit
      1. How were stone tools made?
      2. What are the uses of animals?
      3. How did they make use of wood?
      4. How was pottery made?
      5. How as shell used?
      6. What items were made from natural fibers?
    8. Archaeology Exhibit
      1. How do archaeologists gather evidence?
      2. How are materials from excavation analyzed?
      3. How are the results of analyses interpreted and published?
      4. How is a mound excavated?
Teacher Testimonials

Teacher Testimonials

I have been bringing my fifth graders to Cahokia Mounds each autumn for thirteen years. The students are always awed by the movie, “City of the Sun”, and enjoy exploring the museum, especially when they have the opportunity to experiment with some of the games.

Over the years we have taken part in several of the educational classes offered by the Cahokia Mounds staff, and would highly recommend them to anyone visiting with their students. Our fifth graders have particularly enjoyed throwing spears with an atlatl, and learning to play chunkey. The highlight for the students each year is the climb to the top of Monks Mound. They are exhausted when they reach the top, but find the work is worth it when they see the view from the top!

Angela Leifeld, Rogers Elementary School
Waterloo, IL

I have been taking my 5th graders on field trips to Cahokia Mounds for 25 years. We study a mini unit before going using materials from the center. The kids love the documentary, the museum, the class provided by the instructors, and the walking tour to the twin mounds, burial site, and borrow pit. We also investigate the stockade wall, climb to the top of Monks Mound, and race around Woodhenge. Because we have studied the Mississippian Indians, the kids are so excited when they see and hear what they have learned. We are very fortunate to have such a historic site in our area with qualified, friendly staff.

Jackie Hogue, 5th grade teacher, Marine Elementary School
Marine, IL
Videos

Videos

Our award-winning orientation show, Cahokia: City of the Sun, provides a stimulating introduction to Cahokia and the people who built this great city. When you visit the site, be sure to view it again in our 120 seat theater in its dramatic, wide-screen format.

City of the Sun will explore the Cahokia site, the people who built it, their beliefs, customs and daily lives. We encourage you to view the video at the beginning of your visit, as the presentation will lead you to seek answers to questions and more details about what you have seen in this show when you follow up with a tour of the exhibit gallery. The show has a fascinating surprise ending.

City of the Sun was produced by Donna Lawrence Productions, Inc. of Louisville, Kentucky, won a Gold Medal Award at the 33rd Annual International Film and Television Festival of New York.

Congressional Representative Letter

Congressional Representative Letter

May 21, 2007

Cahokia Mounds has been a fascinating place, to me, for many years.

During my teaching years, I brought some of my classes to Cahokia Mounds. From the reactions of the students, each trip was an outstanding success.

Through the years my friends and I made occasional Sunday afternoon trips to the Mounds. When I became the State Senator, it afforded me the opportunity to secure funds for the Acquisition of additional acreage in which there are smaller Mounds. Many of these have contained additional artifacts.

Helping Cahokia Mounds Museum Society has been very satisfying. I have enjoyed being a part of the Society’s efforts.

Sincerely,

Evelyn M. Bowles
Retired State Senator
Bibliography

Bibliography

The following is a selected, partial bibliography of published Cahokia Archaeology.

This is not a comprehensive bibliography as it does not include hundreds of papers presented at professional meetings or field reports, only published materials. Please also note that some authors’ articles are listed only under some of the edited volumes.

This listing includes popular as well as professional/technical publications.

A Selected Bibliography
Consulting the bibliographies in each of these publications will lead you to other published and unpublished sources.
Download PDF (updated February 2014)

Full Scholarly Bibliography
Authored by Mary Goodwin, Andy Martignoni Jr., Andy Martignoni III, Christy Wells, and
Bill Woods.
Download PDF (updated May 2009)

ISM Educators Page

ISM Educators Page

bit.ly/ismEducators

30 Ramey Street Collinsville, IL 62234 | 618-346-5160 | © Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site