Creating Sacred Places for Children in Grades 4-6. INSTITUTION National Indian School Board Association, Polson, MT

DOCUMENT RESUME ED 467 993 RC 023 682 AUTHOR Fox, Sandra J. TITLE Creating Sacred Places for Children in Grades 4-6. INSTITUTION National Indian School Board Association, Polson, MT. SPONS AGENCY Office of Educational Research and Improvement (ED), Washington, DC. PUB DATE 2001-00-00 NOTE 248p.; For other grade levels, see RC 023 681 and RC 023 683- 684 CONTRACT R215C000058 AVAILABLE FROM NISBA, P.O. Box 790, Poison, MT 59860. credit card orders: 800-542-4922 (Toll Free)($25.00 plus $3.95 shipping). PUB TYPE Guides Classroom Teacher (052) EDRS PRICE EDRS Price MF01/PC10 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Academic Standards; *American Indian Education; American Indian Literature; Class Activities; *Culturally Relevant Education; Curriculum Development; Elementary School Curriculum; History Instruction; Integrated Curriculum; Intermediate Grades; Language Arts; Mathematics Instruction; Science Instruction; *Units of Study ABSTRACT This guide attempts to help teachers of American Indian children in grades 4-6 provide a culturally relevant education that takes place in the regular classroom, includes content related to Indian students' lives, makes students proud, expands to other experiences, and enhances learning. Creating sacred places means responding appropriately to students' academic, social, emotional, physical, and spiritual needs. Research has shown that to empower Indian students to learn, their school programs must incorporate their language and culture, involve parents and community as partners, provide appropriate instruction, and use appropriate testing methods. The approach' presented here combines the teaching of various subject areas and reinforces classroom instruction with language and cultural activities by using American Indian literature as a basis for instruction. Materials and activities are aligned with challenging content standards. This guide outlines 24 thematic units, which include background information, relevant Indian literature, objectives, activities, and content standards. Eight science-based units cover Indian houses; sun, moon, and stars; Indian foods; cycle of life; caring for land and animals; Indian art; earth, air, water, and fire; and Indians' use of trees. Eight social studies and history- based units cover tribal histories, before 1492, 1492 and the 1500s, 1600s and 1700s, 1800-68, 1869-99, 1900-52, and 1953-2000. Eight language arts-based units cover Indian contributions to communication, Indian-developed forms of writing, Indian authors, student writing, oral tradition and oratory, Indian stories, Indian biographies, and contemporary Indian children. A final section lists additional resources and sources for books. (SV) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. Creating Sacred Places for Children in Grades 4-6 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) trr'his document has been reproducedas received from the person or organization originating it. Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. by Sa dra J. Fx © N a. do r al Indian Scho 1 Bo 'aid Association9 2001 ST COPY AVAIILAULIE 2 Creating Sacred Places for Children in Grades 4-6 11=v v=1iii=v V=1111=v v=1111=v v=1111=v v=11 0 0 11==A A=1111=A A=I111=.A A=11I1=A A=111I=A A=11 by Sandra J. Fox D.Ed. 8 Science-Based Units 8 History/Social Studies-Based Units 8 Language Arts-Based Units 111=A I I =.7 A'*-11 © National Indian School Board Association, 2001 Carmen Cornelius Taylor, Executive Director PO Box 790 Poison, MT 59860 406/883-3603 fax 406/675-4801 e-mail [email protected] a This publication is based on work sponsored wholly,or in part, by the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, Department of Education, under Contract Number R215C000058. The content of this publication does not necessarily reflect the views of OERI, the Department or any other agency of the U.S. Government. 4 Contents Introduction Creating Sacred Places 1 Background, Materials, Activities and Standards for Science-Based Units 5 Indian Houses 6 Sun, Moon and Stars 25 Indian Foods 44 Cycle of Life 67 Caring for Land and Animals 87 Indian Art 107 Earth, Air, Water and Fire 134 Indians' Use of Trees 166 Background, Materials, Activities and Standards for Social Studies/History- Based Units 189 History/Lives of Tribal Groups 191 Before 1492 193 1492 and the 1500's 195 1600's and 1700's 197 1800 to1868 200 1869 to 1899 203 1900 to 1952 206 1953 to 2000 208 History Standards 210 Background, Materials and Activities for Language Arts-Based Units 213 Some Indian Contributions to Communication 214 Indians Developed Forms of Writing 216 Indian Authors 219 Student Writing 221 The Oral Tradition and Oratory 223 Indian Stories 225 Indian Biographies 229 Reading About Contemporary Indian Children 232 Language Arts Standards Addressed in Creating Sacred Places for Children in Grades 4-6 235 Mathematics Standards Addressed in Creating Sacred Places for Children in Grades 4-6 237 Where to Get Books and Other Resources 239 INTRODUCTION This book is an attempt to help teachers provide the culturally relevant curriculum that has long been the dream of Indian educators. The relevant curriculum that we have envisioned takes place in the regular classroom, includes content related to the lives of Indian children, makes them proud, expands to other experiences and enhances learning. It used to be that there were some funds available to develop culturally relevant curricula, and some materials were developed. Few of those are still being used. There is a renewed interest in this dream, however, and Indian literature is a resource that can provide the basis for a more comprehensive culturally relevant curriculum. There are many more Indian authors writing books for children and more good Indian literature is being published. This document provides teachers with background, materials (Indian literature), and activities for 24 units: eight are science-based thematic units, eight are social studies/history-based, and eight are language arts thematic units, all for students in grades 4-6. They are aligned with new, required science, social studies/history, language arts and mathematics content standards so that teachers are teaching what is expected of them and, at the same time, are making instruction more meaningful to the students. The units are to be integrated or multidisciplinary. The approach promotes the close coordination and cooperation of regular and cultural instruction teachers and their work. This is not a canned curriculum; it contains the ingredients necessary for a school to develop its own culturally-based curriculum for the intermediate grades. This document also pays tribute to many: Indian and other authors who write books for and about Indians, Indian and other organizations that distribute books by and about Indians, Indian and other organizations that have made the improvement of teaching Indian children their aim, and teachers who have developed and implemented culturally- based curricula in their classrooms. Some of the materials and activities included here have been taken from the work of others. For example, some of the teacher's background information included comes from math and science materials developed by ORBIS Associates of Washington, DC. The math and science activities included were developed by teachers of Indian children at summer workshops at Haskell Indian Nations University or at the University of Kansas MASTERS project - Math and Science Teachers for Reservation Schools, both taking place from 1992-1994. I have drawn on the work of educators such as Richard Nichols, Gwen Shunatona and Anne Litchfield of ORBIS Associates; Dan Wildcat, Lucretia Herrin, Dr. Michael Ward and Anita Chisholm who led the math and science workshops at Haskell; and Walter Smith of the MASTERS program at the University of Kansas. I have not read every book listed in this document, and if I did, I would not be able to guarantee their being free of cultural bias or inaccuracies. I did utilize the publication Through Indian Eyes: The Native Experience in Books for Children by Beverly Slapin and Doris Seale to avoid books that may be offensive. I tried to promote books written by Indian authors. I recommend that books be reviewed by local Indian people to be sure. If it is found that a book is not acceptable to Indian people or to a tribe, especially, the book should definitely not be used. There is guidance for reviewing books and curriculum materials in Through Indian Eyes and in a document developed by the Indian Community School of Milwaukee listed in the last section of this book. I would like to know if there is a book that should definitely be eliminated from this document. If the use of the approach outlined in this document works, it should promote a resurgence of local storytelling and/or the writing of more children's books by Indian people. The development of this document is part of an effort of the National Indian School Board Association to provide an Indian model of school reform that includes the Effective Schools framework with several enhancements: tribal values and organizational culture; wellness, healing and prevention strategies; leadership based on vision, wisdom and courage; the Learning Record performance-based assessment system; and the integration of Indian curriculum. It is hoped that this document will be useful to parents, tutors, teachers, aides, administrators and school board members at schools where there are Indian students. I hope that Title IX and Johnson O'Malley programs can utilize it.I hope that parents who are homeschooling their children will find it helpful. I hope that teachers of nonIndian students will use it, especially for that week at Thanksgiving and, hopefully, beyond. Most of all, I hope this document will help children somewhere.

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