Lessons from an Indian Childhood

Lesson Title & Subject(s): Lessons from an Indian Childhood

Topic or Unit of Study: Native Americans

Grade/Level: 9^th grade

Instructional Setting:

This lesson is for a 9^th grade class located in Montana that is learning about Native Americans in Montana. Students should be arranged in a circle fashion, with a view of the whiteboard, to facilitate discussion and interaction with each other. This lesson is incorporated into the unit at the beginning in efforts to build upon this skill.

Your State Core Curriculum/Student Achievement Standard(s):

Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language of a court opinion differs from that of a newspaper, or how American Indian treaty language differs from everyday speech)

Lesson Objective(s):

When students are given 20 phrases from the text, they will be able to determine what the meaning of at least 16 of the phrases are with 80% accuracy. 

Instructional Materials:

Student copies of the story, Smart Board

Resources:

Context Clues Worksheets | Reading Comprehension Activities. (2008-2016). Retrieved August 25, 2017, from http://www.k12reader.com/subject/reading-skills/context-clues/

English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects Grade-Level (pp. 17-20, Publication). (2011). Helena, MT: Montana Office of Public Instruction.

ReadWorks. (2013). Native American Homes. Retrieved August 25, 2017, from https://www.readworks.org/article/Native-American-Homes/c146b249-4819-4563-88f5-67ebd0ea3a7e#!articleTab:content/

Zitkala-Sa (Gertrude Bonnin). "Impressions of an Indian Childhood." The Online Archive of Nineteenth-Century U.S. Women's Writings. Ed. Glynis Carr. Online. Internet. Posted: Winter 1999. http://www.facstaff.bucknell.edu/gcarr/19cUSWW/ZS/IIC.html.

Sequence of Instructional Procedures/Activities/Events (provide description and indicate approximate time for each):

1. Student Prerequisite Skills/Connections to Previous Learning:

Review difficult and Native American terms with students to help while reading the text in the lesson.  Words to focus attention to is: wigwams, awl, buckskin, paleface, defrauded, and ailing.

Wigwams: domed dwellings of Native Americans built with materials that were available.  Materials include animal hides, bark, and even cattails.

Awl: a small pointed tool used for piercing holes, especially in leather.

Buckskin: the skin of a male deer used to make many things in the Native American culture. Clothes, wigwam covering, and blankets are common uses for buckskin.

Paleface: an ethnic slur used by Native Americans to describe white settlers.

Defrauded: illegally obtained.

Ailing: in poor health. 

The teacher should have the vocabulary document up for the class as they review and connect to previous learning.

2. Presentation Procedures for New Information or Modeling:

Students will read the text “Impressions from an Indian Childhood” class, with the teacher directing them, modeling questioning strategies.

When asking questions while reading the text, the teacher needs to model strategies to focus students' attention on what they are to learn, help students to think actively as they read, encourage students to monitor their comprehension, help students to review content and, relate what they have learned to what they already know.

Example Questions include:

1. 1. Why do people stop and eat with the author and her mother?
      1. What does this tell you about their culture?
   2. Why would the authors mother be concerned the river could be taken away from them?
   3. Why is the author so interested in helping her mother, even when she knows herself that she isn’t really helping?
   4. What would it be like to have to carry your water to your “wigwam” every day?
      
      
2. Guided Practice:

Students will work as a class with the teacher to sequence the events from the chapter of “Lessons from an Indian Childhood”. 

There are events in chapter 2 that need to be sequenced out so that students can fully understand how they connect.   With the teacher guiding them, the class will order the sequences while the teacher writes them up on the board.

1. 1. The author and her mother eat breakfast
   2. Often, people would stop and eat with them.
   3. The author invited elders to come to their teepee for the evening.
   4. The author told her mother about inviting the elders.
   5. The elders arrive.
   6. They eat dinner then mother asks the elders to tell their legends.
   7. The author nestled her head in her mother’s lap while listening to the legends.
   8. Wolves howling scared the author.
   9. The author wondered about a man’s tattoo.
   10. The author asked a woman about her tattoos.
   11. The lady told a legend about the magic within the tattoos.
   12. The author fell asleep listening to the legends.
   13. The author is still suspicious of people with tattoos.

4. Independent Student Practice:

Students will then summarize on their own what happened in Chapter 3: Beadwork of “Lessons from an Indian Childhood by writing a paragraph including key moments, and referring back to the text as needed. Students are to include key words from the text properly in their summary.

Key words: wigwam, canvas, buckskin, envious, awl, legends, whooped

Accommodation: Students can read the story Native American Homes with a lower Lexile level. There is also a recording of the text for students to follow along, if needed.

5. Culminating or Closing Procedure/Activity/Event:

Students will complete a worksheet that requires them to find the meaning of words by using the text.  This helps the teacher know if students can use the questioning techniques modeled previously in the Modeling and guided practice. The worksheets are attached.

Accommodation: There is a worksheet with an easier text attached for students who need this accommodation.

Instructional Strategy (or Strategies):

 The instructional strategies are mixed in this lesson. The teacher used direct instruction when reading the text aloud with the class and guiding the students, asking them questions that focus students' attention on what they are to learn, help students to think actively as they read, encourage students to monitor their comprehension, help students to review content and relate what they have learned to what they already know. 

Differentiated Instruction Accommodations:

Accommodations for this lesson include a recording of the text and the option to verbally summarize the text instead of writing out a paragraph summary.  The story “Native American Homes” will also be available to use which is set at a 5^th grade reading level for readers who struggle. There is an audio recording that is paired with it.

For the worksheet, there is an alternative worksheet for a student that is working on the same skill, just with an easier text and vocabulary.

Use of Technology:

Teacher and students will use technology in this lesson. The SmartBoard is used by both the teacher and the student in the initial activity reviewing terms and vocabulary. Also, technology is utilized in the accommodations with a voice recording of the accommodated text. This can be accessed on the classroom IPad.

Student Assessment/Rubrics:

The teacher will assess whether the student has gotten a firm grasp on the meaning of the text, while grading the independent practice. The rubric for the Independent practice is: