Ben Porat Yosef, fifth grade students learned about the nomadic tribes of the Great Plains, who lived in tepees and followed herds of buffalo. The students drew blueprints and built their own model tepees using string and straws. Adding another experiential component, they headed outside to BPY’s trails, located on the school’s property, and formed teams to build their own full size tepees. Some students even included fire pits inside (without the actual fires). This hands-on lesson helped the students understand why tepee shelters were so important for the nomadic Native American tribes—they were lightweight, portable and could be assembled and disassembled quickly (the fifth graders built theirs in only 30 minutes).