Tribe Tale Practice

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Objective

SWBAT prepare a Native American tale from their tribe to be retold during their presentation to the class.

Big Idea

The students have each become tribes in our classroom. Today they get to prepare a tale from their tribe to retell as part of their group presentation to the class.

Lesson Author

Rebecca Strebel

Ogden, UT

Grade Level

Fourth grade

Subjects

English / Language Arts

Social Studies

Indians

Writing

Writing Process

Standards

RL.4.3

Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character's thoughts, words, or actions).

W.4.7

Conduct short research projects that build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic.

SL.4.1

Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led)with diverse partners on grade 4 topics and texts, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.

SL.4.1a

Come to discussions prepared, having read or studied required material; explicitly draw on that preparation and other information known about the topic to explore ideas under discussion.

SL.4.1b

Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions and carry out assigned roles.

SL.4.1c

Pose and respond to specific questions to clarify or follow up on information, and make comments that contribute to the discussion and link to the remarks of others.

SL.4.1d

Review the key ideas expressed and explain their own ideas and understanding in light of the discussion.

Narrative

Introduction to Native American Story Telling

15 minutes

We will start our lesson out today with this fun Cherokee Legend, "Rabbit's short tail."

This will lead us to a nice discussion about how the Native Americans did not have books and paper/pencil back then. Native Americans passed their stories or legend on by telling their stories from generation to generation. They also used rock in the form of petroglyphs and pictographs to depict stories, religion, and history. Similarly, the Northwest tribes used totem poles to depict their stories.

Group Tribe Tale Practice

30 minutes

Independent Learners

I will give each group or "tribe" (we are calling our groups "tribes" for this unit) a copy of a tale from their tribe. Their job will be to read the tale as a group, discuss what the main idea and details were that they need to be sure to include in their retell, and then use the remainder of the time to practice the tale which they will include in their presentations to the class on their Native American tribe. We are focusing on the five major tribes from the Utah area. You could easily adapt this unit to include tribes form your area.

As the tribes are working on their tales, I will walk around and assist groups when needed and try to keep the groups focused on the task at hand.

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