Native American Unit

I don't like to judge other teachers, but this is the time of year I just cringe when I see some of the activities teachers use with their students. There is so much more to Native American History than creating our NA names and a headdress. I make a conscious effort to show my students not only the traditions of the past but that Native American people are among us today-they do not dress up in feathers and moccasins.

Some books I really like:

Fry Bread does have a part where they talk about the Trail of Tears which may be too much for the very young ones to understand.

Beautiful story, beautiful illustrations. I would have my students paint their own illustration to go with the story if we extended it.

A little girl is sad she doesn't feel well enough to participate in her family's traditional celebration. Again, I really stress that this is something the Native Americans do when they celebrate, not how they dress every day.

Maybe more for upper primary students but a great way to tell the story of a famous Native American.

We compare and contrast the different kinds of homes the Native Americans lived in -again their history is much more rich than just tipis. You can have them make graphic organizers and compare different characteristics of different tribes. You could even have them invent their own kind of home.

New Uses for a Feather-what else could we use a feather for other than decoration.

Making Pottery-there's a great segment from Reading Rainbow where he reads the Legend of the Indian Paintbrush and then shows the traditional dances and the way they make pottery. The women in the clip literally stomp on the clay with their feet to soften it because they want that connection to the earth.

Then we made our own pottery using playdoh. They didn't come out pretty but they did copy the rolling they saw in the video.

Just remember that we need to set the example for our students when it comes to cultural sensitivity.