A guide for using our resources

Children will develop awareness of a Native American tradition.

Vocabulary: lacrosse, traditions

Social Studies Focus: Native American Heritage Month

CCSS (and states that have similar standards): RL.1.1 key details; RF.1.2 vowel sounds; RF.1.3 decode words; W.1.8 writing; SL.1.2 ask and answer questions

Simple, spectacular ideas to boost your lessons.

• Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story by Kevin Noble Maillard. This beautiful book is not only about the traditional food but also about history, memory, and community.
• First Laugh Welcome, Baby! by Rose Ann Tahe and Nancy Bo Flood. In Navajo families, the first person to make a baby laugh gets to host the First Laugh Ceremony. Who will make the baby in this story laugh?
• You Hold Me Up by Monique Gray Smith. Simple text and gorgeous illustrations grace this book about empathy, respect, and love.
• Sometimes I Feel Like a Fox by Danielle Daniel. The Anishinaabe tradition of totem animals comes to life in this delightful book.

• Tell students that sometimes the long a sound can be written using a_e or -ay. Write down some familiar words and underline the different spellings in each word. Examples include: tape, late, may, say. Then ask students to find words with a_e and -ay in their issue. Underline each one!

Skills: writing, self-awareness

Materials: Interview Your Family! skill sheet, scissors, glue, pencils

• Students will discover their own family tradition and present it to their class!
• Precut the questions on the second sheet provided in the skill sheet. Provide each student with the first page of the Interview Your Family! skill sheets. Tell students that families have their own traditions, just like Jheneli’s family does. Review details from the article by asking questions and having volunteers answer: What tradition does Jheneli’s family have? Who is teaching Jheneli about this tradition?
• Tell students that they will get to ask their family about their own traditions. Read aloud the precut questions and give students the strips. Allow students to choose which questions they will ask their family. They can glue their choices onto their sheets in boxes 2 and 3.
• Allow students to take their sheets home and work on this project with their families for about a week. Then have students return the sheets to the class.
• Have volunteers share their interview answers with the class and learn about each other’s traditions!