The “Calm Before the Storm” is a common English expression. This episode of Ramping Up your English endeavors to reflect the state of Native Americans before the arrival of Europeans, looking especially to the Pacific Northwest and other regions. In terms of language, this episodes features the Past Perfect Progressive verb tense, and how it can be used to communicate certain conditions in the past.
Watching Episode 90
While awaiting the archive posting of Episode 90, you can follow this link to the episode on my You Tube channel – Ramp Up your English. Just click here to see the entire episode.
Episode 90 is posted on Archive.org like all our episodes, but it was posted wrong. It got mixed up with Episode 91, and it includes a false start. If you want to avoid You Tube for any reason, I’ve includes a link to Episode 90, but be aware that it’s misnamed and it has a false start that only lasts about 30 seconds. It you want to watch on Archive.org anyway, click here.
Viewing Episode 90 by Segment
Ramping Up your English is produced in episodes of about 28 minutes in length. If you prefer to watch for shorter periods of time, the episode is broken into three shorter segments. Select the segment you wish to watch below.
To watch Segment 1 of Episode 90, click here
Episode 90 Summary
While earlier episodes focused on Native Americans in the Southwest, Episode 90 features some glimpses of Precolumbian Native American life in the Pacific Northwest with Part 5 of the Native American video series named The Calm. This episode features a look at Native American life before the arrival of Europeans, as will the next parts of the video series. We’re taking a look at a time when all parts of the Americans were settled or used by indigenous people. A kind of balance was achieved between numerous nations, tribes and bands – hundreds of them that inhabited the continents that were no longer covered by ice sheets and glaciers.
This episode also includes a demonstration of how to used the Past Perfect Progressive verb tense to communicate certain past events in context with other past events.
Language Objectives
Relate on-going actions, events or situations in the past that ceased in the past using the Past Perfect Progressive Verb tense.
Listening Comprehension: Identify the theme of a video presentation. Briefly summarize a video presentation on a familiar subject.
Academic Content Objectives
Geography: Locate a region (ie – Pacific Northwest) on a map. Describe an area by listing its features (Coastal region). List common resources found in a geographic area.
History/Culture: Explain how the people of the Pacific Northwest used natural resources for physical and cultural purposes. Explain the role of the potlatch in the societal and cultural structures of coastal people in the Pacific Northwest. Compare and contrast how people of the coast and those of the Columbia River Plateau used natural resources. Give examples of lifestyles practiced by some native groups, and how those lifestyles sustained them.
Videos used in Episode 90
Our main video in this episode was part 5 of Native Americans, produced for Ramping Up your English. Click here to view this video from the Ramp Up your English You Tube Channel. For ad-free viewing, follow the link to archive.org. Click here to see the video.
Links to Related Videos
Click here to enjoy a video about the Old Copper Culture in the Great Lakes Region.
Books Reviewed in Episode 90
Three books were reviewed during this episode. Here are those books and the ISBNs. All three were from Troll Associates.
Indians of the Plains ISBN 0-8167-0189-x
Written by Rae Bains and illustrated by Robert Baxter. Copyright 1985
Indian Crafts ISBN 0-8167-0133-4
Written by Keith Brandt illustrated by George Guzzi
Indians of the Eastern Woodlands ISBN 0-8167-0119-9
Written by Rae Bains illustrated by Mark Hannon
These children’s books were purchased through the school market, but they are available online and you may find them at your local library or used book store. Prices cn vary greatly. I found an online price of a whopping 64 dollars for a new copy to $1.49 for a used copy in good condition
Materials Used in Episode 90
Our direct instruction in this episode is about using the Past Perfect Progressive verb tense to relate on-going past actions, events, and situations that ceased at some point in the past. Here are the learning materials we used.
Next Episode
Episode 91 has been produced, and is available by clicking here.