Native American Legends Thematic Unit

Native American legends make an excellent spring board for thematic units about Native American History and Culture.

shaw Dance by klocke

TRAVOIS by SHARON SHARPE by sharonsharpe

Native Americans
Level - FIRST GRADE

About Tomie dePaola
Tomie dePaola always wanted to be an artist and began painting at age four. Every night his mother would read him stories, folktales and legends. He drew many pictures during his school years and went to the Pratt Institute, a special art college, to learn how to use all the art mediums.

After graduation he worked as an illustrator, but it took several years of hard work before he was offered a book to illustrate. His first book was called Sound. Since then he has illustrated over 100 books.

Tomie dePaola and his work have been recognized with the Caldecott Honor Award, the Newbery Honor Award and the New Hampshire Governor's Arts Award of Living Treasure.

He lives in New London, New Hampshire with his new Airedale dog, Brontë.

Visit his official website, Tomie.

• Select 5 vocabulary words from the story and write them on cards. Onto a chart, copy the 5 sentences that the words appear in from the story, leaving the word blank. As a group, discuss which word goes in the blank on the chart. All of the words will make sense in the sentences, so the class will need to decide which answer they feel is the best.
• Create a folder activity with the inside of the folder divided into 3 parts with the words, "People, Place, Thing" at the top of each section. Put a selection of Native American vocabulary words onto cards or paper moccasins. Be sure there are some that are people, places and things. Have the children sort the word cards into the 3 groups.

• Read Native American folk tales and legends from different tribes to the children. The ones by Terri Cohlene are very good and they include a chapter which tells all about the where the tribe lived, how they lived, their customs, food, etc. My favorite is "Quillworker A Cheyenne Legend".
• After reading stories from two different tribes, the teacher can use a Venn diagram in a group discussion to compare the two.

• The children can start a few kernels of corn in a plastic cup with wet paper towels. They can observe and record (by drawing or as a teacher led activity), the progress of the seed as it grows.
• Little Gopher made his paints from different plants. The children could experiment with plants or spices like turmeric, onion skins, dandelion root, red cabbage, sunflower petals, etc. A complete list of native plants used in dyeing can be found in Delena Tull's, A Practical Guide to Edible and Useful Plants.

• Counting can be practiced using the rhyme and song, "Ten Little Indians".
• The moccasin card with addition or subtraction facts, Drop the handkerchief game can be played.

Indian Paintbrush At Sierra Buttes, California by BruceRawles

Leather Factory Native American Stamp Set - Symbols

Native Americans
Level - Second Grade

About Paul Goble
Biography courtesy of HarperCollins Children's Books

Paul Goble grew up in England, where he developed a deep interest in the culture of the Plains Indians. In 1977, he came to live and study in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

Greatly influenced by his adoptive father, Chief Edgar Red Cloud, and other Native American people, Paul Goble has created an outstanding body of work that celebrates Plains Indian culture. His distinguished books include the Caldecott Medal-winning The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses, Buffalo Woman, Dream Wolf, Her Seven Brothers, Adopted by the Eagles, and Storm Maker's Tipi.

Paul Goble says, "Throughout my books I have tried to reflect the special Indian feeling of mystical relationship with nature." The New York Times describes Paul Goble's work as "a marriage of authentic design and contemporary artistry," declaring, "it succeeds beautifully." His artwork resides in a number of collections and institutions, including the Library of Congress and the South Dakota Art Museum.

Paul Goble lives in the Black Hills of South Dakota with his wife, Janet. He was recently named an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters by South Dakota State University in Brookings.

• The children can make a Story Pyramid.
  1. Line 1 put 1 word name of a character.
  2. Line 2 put 2 words that describe the setting.
  3. Line 3 put 3 words that describe a character.
  4. Line 4 put 4 words in a sentence that describe one event.
  5. Line 5 put 5 words in a sentence that describe another event.
• Other activities that are listed in the Grade 1 or Grade 3 unit may be adapted for this legend.

• The Gift of the Sacred Dog is a retelling of a Sioux Indian legend. A study of the Sioux people can be undertaken. Terri Cohlene's, Brave Bear and the Ghosts: A Sioux Legend includes a chapter with photos and much information about the Souix tribe.
• Activities from the first or third grade unit can be adapted to this story.

• Horses and mammals can be studied, using some of the research techniques using task cards and trade books listed below.
• Weather patterns such as drought and famine can be studied and daily weather data recorded as with third grade.

• Simple graphing using paper horse cutouts in which each child colors a horse his/her favorite color and then places it on a prepared bar graph on chart paper.
• The moccasin card with math facts Drop the Handkerchief game can be played.

Paint Horse War Pony by TrailsThroughNature

Native Americans
Level - Third Grade

About Tomie dePaola
Tomie dePaola always wanted to be an artist and began painting at age four. Every night his mother would read him stories, folktales and legends. He drew many pictures during his school years and went to the Pratt Institute, a special art college, to learn how to use all the art mediums.

After graduation he worked as an illustrator, but it took several years of hard work before he was offered a book to illustrate. His first book was called Sound. Since then he has illustrated over 100 books.

Tomie dePaola and his work have been recognized with the Caldecott Honor Award, the Newbery Honor Award and the New Hampshire Governor's Arts Award of Living Treasure.

He lives in New London, New Hampshire with his new Airedale dog, Bront

Visit his official website, Tomie.

• Have each child fill out a character map on their favorite character from the story (see picture). Write the name of the character in the square. In the rectangles they will list adjectives or qualities that describe the character. In the ovals, the children write examples that support the adjectives.
• Have the children write a "sequel" to the story telling what they think happened the next day.
• Use a half-sheet postcard form and have the children write the author to tell him what they liked about the story and illustrate the other side of the postcard.

• Use a map of North America showing the location of the various Native American tribes. These can be found in encyclopedias or on-line. Make a task card or set of questions about the Comanche Nation.
  example: In what state did/do the Comanche people live?
  What is the capital of that state?
  Name 2 rivers that are located in that state.
  What part of the state do the Comanche people live (north, south, east, west)?
  Name the state that is north (south, east, west) of the Comanche's state.
• Have the students research their state flower and also the Native American tribes that lived in their area, then create a story about why the flower is so plentiful. Include information about the local Americans.
• Have the students think of one thing that they could do to help or improve that would benefit people at school, at home, in the community or the world in general. Have them write a paragraph about it. These can be compiled into a class "To Make the World a Better Place" book.

• Discuss drought and famine and the weather conditions that cause such catastrophes. Have the children check the weather map either in the newspaper or on-line and record the temperature, rainfall, humidity, fronts, etc. for a week.
• Conduct experiments which demonstrate the water cycle.
• Using a blank chart discuss and record why it is important for us to take care of the animals, water, plants and air. Depending on the time of the year, seeds of the bluebonnet, corn or another state flower could be planted and observed.
• Research the bird with the blue feathers that goes, "jay, jay".

• Students will use their weather data to calculate the total amount of rainfall, the number of days it was wet and dry, the number of days the temperature was above or below freezing, how much above or below the average rainfall, etc.
• The students can graph their weather data.
• Combine P.E. with Math by making small moccasin shaped cards from 4"X6" index cards or tagboard and put math problems on the cards. Play drop the handkerchief using the cards. If the child catches the child who dropped the card behind him and can answer the math problem, then he gets to drop the next card.

Texas Bluebonnet by sunsetworks

AMERICAN CHIEF by DAVIDSONNIE