History Social Science (Navajo Indians)

History-Social Science Standard 3:
3.2 Students describe the American Indian nations in their local region long ago and in the recent past.

Sample Topic:
1.  Describe national identities, religious beliefs, customs, and various folklore traditions.

Historical and Social Science Analysis Skills:

1. Students place key events and people of the historical era they are studying in a chronological sequence and within a spatial context; they interpret time lines.
2. Students correctly apply terms related to time, including past, present, future, decade, century, and generation.
3. Students differentiate between primary and secondary sources.
4. Students distinguish fact from fiction by comparing documentary sources on historical figures and events with fictionalized characters and events.
5. Students identify and interpret the multiple causes and effects of historical events.
6. Students frame questions that can be answered by historical study and research.
7. Students distinguish fact from opinion in historical narratives and stories.

Suggested Number of Class Periods:
Approximately 15 class periods

Significance of the Topic
Rationale:
The purpose of this unit is to introduce students to the national identities, religious beliefs, customs, and traditional practice of the Navajo Indians.  The students will first read about the Navajo Indians in their Social Studies textbook.  The chapter will emphasize where the Navajo Indians lived, what they were known for, and their customs and beliefs.  The students will learn that the Navajo Indians were known for weaving and the opportunity to weave a section of their own blanket. 

Focus Questions of this unit:
1.)  What are some of the national identities of the Navajo Indians?
2.)  What are the religious beliefs of the Navajo Indians?
3.) What are some of the traditional and customs of the Navajo Indians?

Connections:
Previously, the students studied the geography of the United States.  The students learned about the landscape of the United States.  The students learned about the prairies, mountains, and desert.  The students will have the opportunity to explore the people who lived in the desert. 

Framework:
This unit addresses the historical literacy strand of Historical Literacy, Cultural Literacy, Geographic Literacy, and National Identity.

The unit addresses Historical Literacy because the students will understand the meaning of time and chronology.  Students will learn the meaning and concepts of terms such as decade, generation, century, and so forth.  Students will also learn to analyze cause and effect.  They will learn how to analyze the causes and effects of settlement of the Navajo Indians.

Furthermore, students learn the about the first Americans that lived in the United States.  They will learn about their religious beliefs, customs, traditions, and national identities of the Navajo Indians.  They will also understand the importance of religion, philosophy, and other major belief systems in history.  To understand why individuals or groups acted the way they did, students must understand the values of those certain groups.

History-Social Science Content:
Prior to the development of the United States, Native Americans were the owner of this land.  Native American tribes lived and settled on this land for decades before the first European settlers.  The Navajo Indians lived in southwestern deserts in the United States.  They adapted to the lands and use natural resources in order to survive.  The Navajo Indians did not live near an ocean; therefore they did not have fish.  They also did not live on prairies so they were not in contact with herds of buffalos.  The deserts were hot, dry lands with little resources.  The Navajo Indians, however, discovered many ways to find food, clothing, and shelter in this area.

The Navajo Indians were known for their beautiful weaving and sand paintings.  The Navajo believed that weaving was a gift from a spirit.  They believed in the myths of the Spider Women.  They believed that the Spider Women taught them to weave.  The Navajo made wool clothing by shearing the wool from the sheep they raised.  After gathering the wool, they would spin the wool into yearn.  The Navajo used natural resources of the earth, such as plants and berries for dye. 

The Navajo were also known for their sand paintings.  Sand paintings are pictures made with bits of crushed rock, plants, and other dry materials.  The Navajo believed that the spirit told them to paint pictures on the ground with colors of the earth.  The spirit also told them not to keep the sand paintings or people will fight for them.  After 12 hours, the Navajo would sweep the paintings away.  According to a Navajo myth, the Wind People taught them to sand paint.  The Wind People are the spirits of nature.

Literacy Links:
A variety of activities are included in the unit that support and develop reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills.  Examples of some of these literacy supporting activities which address the California English-Language Arts Content Standards are:

Reading

1.6 Vocabulary and Concept Development
Use sentence and word context to find the meaning of unknown words.

-Use SQ3R (survey, question, read, review, recite) strategy for textbook reading
-Read the textbook for specific information and summarize information on a chart
-Read and discuss the vocabulary words, as well as words the students do not understand

2.4 Comprehension and Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text
Recall major points in the text and make and modify predictions about forthcoming information.

-Read the textbook for specific information and summarize information.

Writing

1.10 Edit and revise selected drafts to improve coherence and progression by adding, deleting, consolidating, and rearranging text.

-Constructively critique the works of their peers and use a rubric

2.1 Write Narratives
Provide a context to enable the reader to imagine the world of the event or experience.

-Write journal entries using the point-of-view a Navajo Indian.  Include details about the way of life and the customs or traditions of the tribe.

Beginning the Topic: Engagement:

Relate to Personal Experience; Introduce Vocabulary

1. Talk to the students about the people who populated the United States prior to us.  Talk about how their ways of life could be different from our way of life.  Introduce vocabulary words such as hogan, livestock, adaptation, chant, and sand painting.
2. Students will talk about the people who populated the United States before us.  Students will think, pair, and share.  Students will discuss the customs, traditions, and religious beliefs of these people.
3. Students will construct a KWL chart (Appendix V).  The students will write down what they know and what they want to know.  After the unit, the students will then fill in the section of what they learned. 

Tap Prior Knowledge:
The unit is about the Native Americans and their ways of life.
 
Ask students to brainstorm some of the things they know about the Native American and their ways of life.  For example, where do they live, what do they eat, what are some of their customs or traditions, and so forth?

Pique Interest and Make Predictions:
Ask, “Why do you think the Navajo Indians lived in southwestern United States?  Why didn’t they live in the prairies or by the ocean where food and natural resources are more abundant?”

Pre-read the Textbook
Invite students to turn to page 78 of the text.  Have the students survey the chapter by reading the lesson headings, captions, and key questions and by looking at the pictures and maps.  Ask the students to look over the Review questions on page101.

Build Schema:
Share a read aloud picture book to the students called Goat to Rug.

Introduce the graphic overview from TE 58.  Have students fill in the overview as they mover through the unit.

Developing the Topic:

Graphic Organizer Retell
Students use the completed graphic organizer to retell the events learned so far about the Navajo Indians.

Vocabulary
Students are given a list of Navajo vocabulary words in alphabetically order (Appendix III).  Students could refer to the list of vocabulary words when they encounter difficult words.

Using Maps
Using the map on page 100, students work with a partner to answer the following question:  What states do the Navajo Indians live in? 

How did the Navajo Indians weave blankets?
In this activity, the students will have the opportunity to weave a mini blanket out of yarn.  The students must first identify the steps it took the Navajo Indians in order to weave the blanket.  The students will then be given a piece of cardboard box and asked to cut tiny slits on each end of the cardboard box.  Next, the students will wrap a piece of yarn in each slit to create a template for weaving. 

Recommended option:
Prior to weaving the blankets, the students could chart the steps to weaving a blanket on chart paper.  The students could also write the steps on their papers to keep as important information.

Using Graphic Organizers
Students will be given a KWL chart (Appendix V) prior to beginning the unit.  Before reading the chapter in the Social Studies textbooks, the students will have the opportunity to write what they already know about the Navajo Indians.  The students could also write what they would like to learn about the Navajo Indians.  After completing the unit, the students would go back and fill in the section on what they’ve learned about the Navajo Indians.

Using Primary Sources
My master teacher has an article of clothing from an Native American tribe.  I would use the article of clothing as a primary source.  I would pass around the article of clothing so that the students could feel the fabric and see the unique designs.  What colors were used in the article of clothing?  What natural resources or berries do you think made up these colors of dye?

Culminating the Topic- Application:

Writing a Journal
The students will have the opportunity to pretend that they were a Navajo Indian.  They would record a journal or a dairy.  The tribe includes about 100 members, a head chief, four medicine man, and ten advisors. 

The students are presented with the following scenario:  The student lives in a hogan with family members.  The student must write about their family members and what position, if any, did they have in the tribe.  The student’s task is to write two journal entries using factual information.  Write legibly; use first person point-of-view; use correct English grammar and convention, including correct spelling, word usage, sentence structure, capitalization, and punctuation.  Include the following information in the journal:
            -an appropriate name for you as the journal’s author
            -an explanation of your role in the tribe
            -two or more daily roles or activities of your role
            -use historically accurate dates
            -use historically accurate location
            -weather conditions and climate
            -at least three hardships experienced by the tribe
            -weapons used during hunting
See Appendix VII for rubric.

Write a Letter to a Friend:
Students will be given the opportunity to write a letter to a friend telling them the following:
            -3 things they learned about Navajo Indians
            -the 6 steps to weaving a blanket
            -how they felt about weaving the blanket
The letter is to be written in letter format with paragraphs separating each of the categories.  Students must also use correct grammatical and syntactical skills.

Navajo Indian Community
In cooperative groups of about 5 students, the students are instructed to build a Navajo Indian Community using a variety of different art supplies.  The students must include hogans, medical facilities, head chief’s home, water supply area, and other essential items needed for everyday survival.  The students will be given a shoebox.  Other supplies such as construction paper, glue, crayons, markers, pencils, and scissors will also be provided to each group. Using the pictures from Appendix I and Appendix II, add the members of the tribe to the community.

Write a Poem
Students are instructed to write about an animal and why that animal is the way it is.  For example, some students could write about why snakes do not have legs.  Students use the knowledge they have about Navajo Indians to justify why an animal is the way it is today.  Students could refer to Appendix IV for examples.

Sand Painting
The students will have the opportunity to create a sand painting.  The students are instructed to do a sand painting about the Navajo Indians.  Topics could include: customs, traditions, religious beliefs, and ect.  Students use the glue bottle to make a drawing.  Next, students select a color of sand and sprinkle a small amount on top of the glue.

Vocabulary Review
Write a sentence for each pair of words: adaptation/hogan, livestock/weave, chants/sand paintings. 

Assessment:
Student Outcomes
Students will be able to answer the question “What are some of the national identities of the Navajo Indians?
Students will write a journal entry as a member of the Navajo tribe.
Working in cooperative groups of 5, students constructed a Navajo Indian Community.
Students will write a poem justifying why an animal is the was it is today using the knowledge they have about the Navajo Indians’ way of thinking.
Students construct a Venn diagram showing the similarities and differences between the Navajo Indians and the Cheyenne Indians.

Assessment Plan

Ongoing Assessment
The assessment of this unit is integrated with the instruction and will occur throughout the unit rather than just at the end.  For example: to monitor the development of key vocabulary, students will be asked to write a sentence using a pair of words (adaptation, hogan; livestock, weave; chants, sand paintings) addressed in the unit.

Students’ reports, map work, social studies art work, semantic maps and graphic organizer, journal entries, and other student developed work will be added to the portfolio throughout the year.  Samples will be collected at the beginning and at the end of the unit for a comparison.

Summative Assessment
Navajo Indian Tribe Member Journal
The Navajo Indian tribe member journal will be assessed according to the rubric.  An excellent journal (score of 10) should include:
            -log entries
            -an appropriate name for you as the journal’s author
            -an explanation of your role in the tribe
            -two or more daily roles or activities of your role
            -use historically accurate dates
            -use historically accurate location
            -weather conditions and climate
            -at least three hardships experienced by the tribe
            -weapons used during hunting
See Appendix VII for rubric

Navajo Indian Community Checklist
The Navajo Indian Community assignment should include the following:
Points  Categories

1. Complete layout of the community of the Navajo Indian tribe; including hogans, head chief’s home, medicine facilities, ect.
2. Cutouts of the members of the Navajo tribe in the community
3. List of members in the family and their position in the tribe, if any.
4. Creativity and neatness of the project.

15        Project organization, legible printing, and completed and turned in on time.
Total: 100
Each area will be given point on a Project Checklist (Appendix VIII) by the teacher. 

Materials Needed to Implement the Lesson

From Sea To Shining Sea; state-adopted textbook
Classroom map of the United States
Graphic Organizer (KWL chart)
Construction paper, scissors, glue to construct the community
Teacher developed Rubrics, Venn diagram, and checklist
Sand for Sand painting
Cardboard and yarn for weaving the blanket

Extended and Correlated Activities:

Research of the Internet
Students will have the opportunity to learn more about Navajo Indians by researching information online.  Students will also learn to distinguish between reliable information and unreliable information.  Students will conduct a search using a search engine.  Students will be grouped in cooperative groups of 5.  Each group will present the information they found to the class.

Venn diagram
Students complete a Venn diagram to determine the similarities and differences between the Navajo Indians and the Cheyenne Indians (Appendix IV). 

Annotated Bibliography:

Aaseng, Nathan. (2002). Navajo Code Talkers. New York: Walker & Company. An informative resource about the Navajo Indians’ way of communication. 

Blood, Charles. (1990). Goat in the Rug. Chicago: Simon & Schuster Children’s. Children’s book about a Navajo girl and her sheep.  Provides steps to weaving a rug.

O’Dell, Scott. (1992). Sing Down the Moon. Chicago: Bathan Doubleday Books for Young Readers. A paperback book that provides colorful and detailed illustrations.  It is about a young Navajo girl recalling the events of 1864 when her tribe was forced to march to Fort Sumner.

Navajo School of Indian Basketry. (1991). Navajo Basket Weaving. New York: Dover Publications, Incorporated. Wonderful illustrations and steps to weaving a Navajo blanket.

Santella, Andrew. (2003). Navajo (True Books).  Pennsyvanlia: Scholastic Library Publishing.  Provides a variety of Navajo stories within this paperback book. 

Stan, Susan. (1989). Navajo. New York: Rourke Publishing Group. Excellent illustrations about Navajo customs and traditions.  Contains colorful and realistic pictures.

Thurlo, Aimee. (2003). Changing Woman. Detroit: Holtzbrinck Publishers. Good source of information about the spirit known to Navajo people as Changing Woman.  Provides information about the myth.

From Sea to Shining Sea. (1991). New York City: Houghton Mifflin School. An excellent classroom textbook on United States History.  The textbook covers the geography, the people that settled the land, and the lifestyle of the people who lived in the United States.  The textbook also consist of numerous colored illustrations, charts, and graphs.