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Themes in Indigenous Stories

 

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Curriculum Level: K-5

By Brittany Riggs, Carolina Forest International Elementary School, Onslow County Schools, North Carolina

OVERVIEW OF LESSON:
Students will be introduced to North Carolina’s Tribes and hear stories about Indigenous People and their connections to the earth and its resources. Students will look at the central message, setting, character, and themes of these stories to help them make connections. They will see how the areas lived in drive the stories that are listened to by comparing and contrasting elements of folktales.

SUGGESTED GRADE LEVELS: Grades 3-5

SUBJECT: English Language Arts

CORRESPONDING NATIONAL AND/OR STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA STANDARDS:

North Carolina English Language Arts:

RL3.2: Recount stories, including fables, folktales, and myths from diverse cultures; determine the central message, lesson, or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text.

RL3.3: Describe characters in a story and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events.

RL3.9: Compare and contrast the themes, settings, and plots of stories written by the same author about the same or similar characters.

ESSENTIAL QUESTION:

What can we learn from the stories of Indigenous Peoples?

LESSON OBJECTIVES:

  • Students will be able to explain the themes learned from Indigenous Stories.
  • Students will be able to explain how Indigenous Peoples have influenced our communities.
  • Students will be able to explain how Indigenous Peoples use the resources in their communities.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION FOR THE EDUCATOR or RESOURCES TO EXPLORE FURTHER:

Students should have been instructed in and be close to proficiency in understanding “theme” before beginning this unit.

Information on Reading Standards:

Theme

Myths, Folktales, Fables, and Legends

Comparison and Contrast

Information on North Carolina Native Tribes:

NC Tribes

Coharie Tribal Information

Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians Tribal Information

Waccamaw Siouan Information

Lumbee Information

American Indian Heritage Toolkit

Haliwa-Saponi Tribal Information

Meherrin Tribal Information

Sappony Tribal Information

Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation

Books and YouTube Links That Can Be Used:

How the World Was Made by Brad Wagnon

How the Bear People Lost Fire by J.J.Reneaux

We are the Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrome

The Mud Pony by Carol Lee Cohen

How Animals Saved the People by J.J.Reneaux

Bowwow Powwow by Brenda J. Child

It’s Lumbee Homecoming Y’all! Nakoma’s Greatest Tradition by Leslie Locklear and Christina Pacheco

The First Strawberries by Joseph Bruchac

Additional recommendations can be found in the Children’s Literature with American Indians by Dr. Debbie Reese, the NC American Indian Heritage Toolkit, and Reading Middle Grade.

SPECIFIC STUDENT STRATEGIES & ACTIVITIES:

*These lessons can be used with any of the books/links above. Teachers can follow these plans for more or less days based on the time that they have available.  

Day One: 60 minutes
Resources needed: Native American Tribes of North Carolina Slide Deck, Native American Tribes in North Carolina Graphic Organizer, KWL chart

  1. Teacher will ask the following questions to activate students’ current knowledge. (A KWL chart will come later in the lesson after teacher has addressed nd misunderstandings or misbeliefs.)
  • Has anyone ever heard the word indigenous?
    • Word map to define Indigenous: we don’t say Indians, Indigenous, and Native American are interchangeable
  • What do we know about Indigenous peoples?
    • If students try to focus on their appearances, what is seen in movies, etc. listen to their comments and help guide students to reflect on whether they believe this would be the best representation to base their knowledge)
  • Does anyone have Native American family members?
  • Does anyone have Native American friends?
  1. Teacher will share a presentation about the Tribes listed below using the provided slide deck or one created by the teacher using the resources attached to this lesson. During the presentation, students will fill out a graphic organizer to take notes to use for a discussion on the Tribes in North Carolina.
    • Coharie
    • Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians
    • Haliwa-Saponi
    • Lumbee
    • Meherrin
    • Sappony
    • Waccamaw Siouan
    • Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation
  1. Teachers will lead a discussion following the presentation.
  2. Teacher will ask the following questions for each Tribe listed above.
  • Where is the Tribe located?
  • When was the Tribe recognized (state or federally)?
  • What landforms are seen in the area where the Tribe is located?
  • Using what you know now, what natural resources do you think are important in this tribal community?
  • How do you think these natural resources are used today?
  • What do we have today that could have come from this tribal community?
  1. Teacher will lead a class brainstorming session using a KWL anchor chart.
  2. Teacher will ask the following questions:
  • What do we know about Indigenous Peoples Based on our presentation today? (know)
  • What stories have you heard that you think might have a connection to Indigenous Peoples? (know)
  • What do you want to learn more about in Native American cultures and influence? (want to know)

Days Two – Seven: 45 minutes
Resources Needed: stories chosen for the day (see Background Information), Native American Stories and Their Themes Classroom Organizer, Native American Stories Student Organizer

  1. Teacher will tell students that today we will be hearing a story about a tribe of Native American peoples.
  2. Teacher will tell students that while this story is fictional, it is based on the beliefs of one Native American community.
  3. Teacher will share that these stories can be called myths, folktales, or legends depending on who is telling the story.
  4. Teacher will share with students about what myths, folktales, and legends are made of.
  5. Teacher will inform students that they will be taking note of the character, setting, and events in the story using the Native American Stories Student Organizer provided.
  6. Teacher will introduce the story with its title, author, and where this story comes from.
  7. Teacher will begin sharing the story they have chosen.
  8. Teacher will pause as they reach a character, setting, or event that takes place in the story.
  9. Teacher will ask:
  • Did we hear a character, setting, or important event in our story?
  1. Teacher will model writing down the information that has been heard.
  2. Students will write the information in the appropriate space in their Native American Stories Student Organizer.
  3. At the story’s end, the teacher will guide a discussion about the story. Teacher will ask students:
  • What characters did we see in the story?
  • What did we notice about this character?
  • How did this character act in the story?
  • How did this influence what occurred in the story?
  • What is the setting of the story?
  • Thinking about this setting, what might you see in this community?
  1. Teacher will remind students again that we have read what is considered a folktale or a myth.
  2. Teacher will remind students that these types of stories are used to teach us something or explain an event, life question, or behavior.
  3. Teacher will guide students in a discussion about the central message, theme, or lesson that we are learning from this story.
  4. Students will:
  • Talk with their table groups to discuss what they believe the story was telling us.
  • Students will come up with their thoughts on the story’s meaning and be able to back their thoughts with proof.
  1. Teacher will:
  • Walk around to each group to listen to their conversations.
  • Guide students to determine a meaning that makes sense if they are struggling.
  • Ask students to share their ideas with their classmates.
  • Ask students why they think this story was shared.
  • Model for students to write the theme on their organizer.
  1. Teacher will follow with a second story and have students complete their individual organizers when listening to the story.

Day Eight: 45 minutes
Resources Needed: Compare and Contrast Slide Deck, Native American Stories Comparison Organizer, links to books and videos in the Background Information section of the lesson plan.

  1. Teacher will instruct students that today we will compare two stories that we have read. (It is suggested to use Bowwow Powwow and It’s Lumbee Homecoming Yall or How Animals Saved the People and How the Bear People Lost Fire).
  1. Students will pull out their organizers on the two stories chosen. While listening to the stories again, students will write down any extra information that they may have forgotten.
  2. Teacher will review what it means to compare and contrast, what similarities and differences mean, and how to use a graphic organizer using the slide deck provided.
  3. Students will:
    1. Talk with their table groups to discuss the similarities of the stories.
    2. Talk with their table groups to discuss the differences of the stories.
    3. Complete their Native American Stories Comparison organizer.
  4. Teacher will:
    1. Walk around to each group to listen to conversations.
    2. Guide groups that are having difficulty with comparisons.
    3. Ask students to share their thinking.
    4. Fill out a classroom organizer using student help and to correct any misunderstandings.
  5. Students will write a paragraph with five to seven complete sentences explaining how these stories are similar.
  6. Students will write a paragraph with five to seven complete sentences explaining how these stories are different.
  7. Students will use their organizers and the classroom organizer as a guide.

Day Nine: 45 min Assessment Day
Resources Needed: The stories teacher has chosen (see Background Information), Native American Stories Student Organizer

  1. Teacher will review with students all they have learned during these lessons.
  2. Teacher will review the stories read, their themes, the comparison between stories, and all graphic organizers that have been completed.
  3. Teacher will tell students that today they will be doing a Book Tasting. They will be taking time to read and/or listen to Native American stories on their own (this can be one of the stories listed above or a story/passage of your choosing).
  4. After spending time listening or reading to stories that the teacher has chosen for students to read/listen to, teacher will explain that students will be picking a story to determine its theme.
  5. Teacher will review expectations for determining the theme and the Native American Stories Student Organizer that needs to be filled out.

Day Ten – Twelve: 60 minutes
Resources Needed: Native American Project Rubric

  1. Teacher will introduce students to the culminating project and explain that it is a project to share their learning about Native Americans and their stories.
  2. Teacher will read through the rubric with students and answer students’ questions. (Modified rubrics should include the same information)
  3. Students will be given choices as to how they want to complete a culminating project to demonstrate their learning from the options below.
    1. Essay
    2. Brochure
    3. Poster
    4. Powerpoint/slides
    5. Video recording
    6. Book
  4. Students will use the information from their graphic organizers, and stories available both online and in books.
  5. Students must include information about native tribes, the theme, central message, or lesson learned in a story we have heard, and ways in which the Native American group uses their resources.

ASSESSMENTS:

  • Students will determine the overarching theme, central message, or lesson of the story that they have been assigned to share with others. Please see Day 9 for more specific information.
  • Students will create a final project to share their learning on Native Americans and their stories, Days 10-12.

LEARNING EXTENSIONS:

  1. Teacher can have a member of a tribe from the community come into the classroom or do a video call with students to teach them about their own tribe. Students will create questions related to their learning of that tribe.
  2. Students will create a piece of artwork depicting what they have learned.
  3. Students will present their final project to another class.

MATERIALS:

REFERENCES:

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