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Coast Salish Curriculum

The Renton History Museum currently offers a curriculum targeting 4th grade students. The curriculum is a five-part lesson plan exploring the material and social lives, traditions, and beliefs of the Coast Salish/Duwamish Native Americans before the arrival of European descendants. It includes a cultural education kit with replicas of Coast Salish objects.

The curriculum was created to align with the Washington state and Renton School District requirements in social studies. The Social Studies Classroom Based Assessments (CBA's) for this projects are "Human and the Environment," "Dig Deep," "Cultural Contributions," and "Meeting Needs and Wants," together with the Grade Level Expectations in Visual Arts.

Please contact the museum Education Coordinator by phone at 425.255.2330 or by email to reserve the Coast Salish Curriculum.

How To Get Started

The Coast Salish Curriculum Brochure briefly introduces teachers and other educators to the contents of the Curriculum.

There is no fee for rental of the Coast Salish cultural education kit for Renton School District public schools. Rental guidelines are presented in the Renton School District Coast Salish Rental Agreement.  All other educational institutions should check for fees and other conditions in the Coast Salish Rental and Service Agreement. The kit is available on a first-come, first-served basis; please make your reservation at least one month in advance. 

Foreword to the Coast Salish Curriculum - provides explanations of common misunderstandings and misconceptions about the differences between the northern and southern parts of the Pacific Northwest.

The Curriculum 

The Coast Salish Curriculum consists of a lesson plan that can be implemented with the help of the Renton History Museum docents or directly by teachers. We recommend docents for first time use of the curriculum.

• Introduction: discusses the CBA's covered by the curriculum and provides an introduction to the curriculum's instructional strategies
• Replicas in the Coast Salish Cultural Education Kit
• Unit I: Coast Salish/Duwamish Material Life - Analysis of the cultural artifacts
• Unit II: Finding Culture - Student presentations
• Unit III: Presentation About Coast Salish Culture - Docent presentation
• Unit IV: Design Your Coast Salish Art - Hands-on activities
• Unit V: What's The Story? - Learning from the Coast Salish myths and legends
• Classroom Based Assessments Curriculum Expectations 
• Vocabulary
• Bibliography
• Credits

Teachers who want to understand better the location of the Pacific Northwest Native Americans, Coast Salish tribes, and Duwamish villages are welcome to check the following maps:

• Cultural Groups of the Northwest Coast Map presents a Pacific Northwest Coast Map including Coast Salish Native American territory
• Salish Sea Map with Coast Salish tribes and language groups
• Duwamish Villages Area Map  shows location of the Duwamish villages before arrival of the White people 

If you are one of the educators who has implemented the Curriculum in your classroom, we would like to hear your feedback. Please fill out the Coast Salish Curriculum Survey of Teachers form and send it by email or mail to the Renton History Museum, 235 Mill Ave S, Renton, WA 98057.

Thank you very much for your interest! Please contact us by email or by phone at 425.255.2330 with suggestions for how we can improve our web site.