Elementary Students Learn the Origins of Lacrosse

America's oldest sport, lacrosse, has origins that date back to 1100 A.D. and was played by Native American nations with matches sometimes including 100 to 1,000 or more men. The matches were often used as a social event or to help settle disputes and utilized wooden sticks with net baskets or pockets attached along with small balls wrapped in deer hide.

 

Fourth-grade students in Mrs. Zulauf and Mrs. Adam's class at Matthew Paterson are learning about the Native American people of New York, specifically the local Carmel area, and the perseverance, ingenuity, and creativity they showed as people in so many things, including the game of lacrosse! Through a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics) cooperative activity, our students tested their own perseverance, ingenuity, and creativity by creating lacrosse sticks using recyclable materials. The goal: to catch and toss a ball.

 

Check out their prototypes in action!