Session 1:

Pre requisite knowledge: Students should have a basic knowledge of action words.

Objective: Students should be able to define & identify verbs.

Aim: Students should be able to form proper sentences

Resources: Text book, Reference books, Internet.

1. Introduction

Informal introduction with an activity.

Teacher calls out 4-5 students & whispers some action words like jump, dance, pray, etc. into students ears & asks them to mime. The rest of the class watch them mime & guess the action word. The teacher writes them on the black board.
 
Ask students to now form sentences with those action words & write them on the board. Get more students to give sentences & write them on the blackboard

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.

Students will learn the definition of economics and briefly study how current and historic societies have had economic systems. Students will also determine necessary classroom jobs and attach daily or weekly salaries to those positions. Credits and debits will be introduced.

OBJECTIVE
Students will:

1. Participate in a classroom economy designed to mimic real world economic activity
2. Compare economic systems over time and history
3. Evaluate the importance of classroom jobs and daily responsibilities
4. Perform classroom jobs to earn daily salaries

MATERIALS

Students will think about themselves in a positive light, boosting self-concepts, as they follow an author's model to improve their writing skills. My friend and fellow teacher, Karla Hebert, originally created this lesson. The final display is so powerful, that I would not think of starting my year without it.

I start this lesson with poems from The Best Part of Me by Wendy Ewald. This book combines black-and-white illustrations with real children's words describing what they love most about their bodies. It makes for a fun, insightful read and never fails to get kids talking and writing about the best part of themselves.

OBJECTIVE

Students will:

1. Students will identify a positive physical feature of themselves.
2. Students will work in pairs to take part in an online writer's workshop.
3. Students will create a descriptive poem about their favorite feature.

MATERIALS