Human Objectives

What are we talking about?
Objectives that just stay on paper?

No, we are talking about feelings...human-
ness. If you, the teacher, let out your feelings when
the children send out their feelings, our objectives
might be achieved.

What objectives are we talking about?

We are talking about security:

* Children being secure about their writing style
and liking to read what they write

+ You being secure in showing the children how
to think, not what to think

We are talking about understanding:

+ Children expressing their thoughts and listen-
ing to you, the teacher

+ You listening to the children and sharing your
thoughts

* Children sharing their feelings

+ You understanding, because you have been
there, too

We are talking about self-confidence:

+ An “I can do it!” attitude which comes from
success

We are talking about imagination:
+ Talking daydreams

+ Knowing how to think

We are talking about interest:

* Children talking, reading and writing in their
own world of words

17


Turtle Clan Buffalo Clan
green red brown red
‘) if bod S) 1)
1 ay 5 2 U rg* 6
xh Uy
1 77 6 2 v 5
A a
1 ( * 7 2 YU 7

Turtles can stay under water for a
long time.
Turtles can read for a long time.

Buffalos eat a lot of grass.

(es

Eagles have great eyes.
Eagles know what they read.

 \
Chief

Buffalos know a lot of words.

Old Person

Neal

Mountain lions can run fast.
Mountain lions can read fast,

3 5 4
. ia
‘ ° Int
Qe) |
3 6 4 ay? 8
LF ighe ‘o A0"
yf cag
(2
3 J 8 4 7
44 blue ted yellow red
Eagle Clan Mountain Lion Clan



40

xX

NY
—

You may be wondering where learning

specific language arts skills fits into this sys-
tem. The clan structure, however, is an ideal
method for helping children enjoy learning such
skills.

For example:
Turtle Clan
Turtles can stay under water for a
long time.
Turtles can read for a long time.
Buffalo Clan

Buffalos eat a lot of grass.
Buffalos know a lot of words.

Eagle Clan

Eagles have good eyes.
Eagles know what they read.

Mountain Lion Clan

Mountain lions can run fast.
Mountain lions can read fast.

Because each clan has a characteristic with

which the children can identify, they will try to live up
to the good qualities of their clan. More good traits or
language arts skills may be added as you feel they
are needed.

We are all longing to fit.
Don't you see?


106

Jack said:
/ eat Life.

Tammy said:
! eat Captain Crunch.

Words in My World

This activity is particularly effective with Level |
students. Say to the children:

What kind of cereal do you eat?
Bring me the name label tomorrow.

The next day, write on a chart what the children
say.

Newspaper advertisements can also be used
to find words the children recognize.

What kind of car do you have?
What gas station do you go to?
Where do you eat?

You can think of more!

|5 oa E |


Head Off

Take off the top of your head and pour in some
water. Feel the water go all over and begin to
freeze in the cold.

Your toes, ankles, knees, legs, back, arms and
elbows, wrist and fingers are solid ice. You
can’t move very well, maybe something like a
robot.

Now, back in the sun, you take off your shoes,
and the water from the melted ice pours out of

/ your toes.
You can move again! You start playing in the
water — swimming like a dog, moving like a
frog under water or whatever else you do in the
water.
>

a

Feathers

Have one child be a feather and another child
be a vacuum cleaner, broom, wind or whatever else
you or the children can think of.

How would wet feathers be?

¢O)

Next, the children can be baby chicks hatching
out of their shells.

First, you're curled up, then you slowly move
your head and peck at the shell. You move
your wings, wriggle around and roll all over the
floor. Then you finally sit down, look around, go
to a weak stand and wobble walk.

2000
Be a tree -on a windy day, on a rainy day...

Movement...feeling space... Ooce

different movements in a Be a spider —spin a web and get caught init...
minute...touching floor with .

different parts of the body... Be jello...

Nr Be a flower seed — in the ground, root, sprout,
Sr “Y” grow, bloom...

S__Ee—S Ee”

vty

52


OBJECTIVES

Program Objectives
Rationale
Human Objectives


Comics

In the Comics activity the children will make
their own funny books.

Have them put words into the characters’
mouths and retell the story. This can be done with
any book.

The pages can then be stapled together, and

the children have their comic book!

Ifyou get
the skunk mad,
he might kill

us with his smell.

Why is he mad
now?

@
S

Run faster
to that hill.

Q
YAS

__

Let's get this rock really hot,
and put it on the skunk.

85



TALKING ABOUT: Main Ideas and Details

63


Pantomime

Pantomime involves physical action through
acting out the events in a story. The children should
go through the motions as if in a silent movie.

y Read the story aloud; then reread, leaving out
parts for the class to complete orally (spontane-
ously, if they wish).

Study the different movements related to a
story. After the movements of each character have
been explored, let the children try doing the move-
ment of the character. The children then can try
pantomiming a different character's movement.

For example, the children might try out the
following movements with the book Coyote and the
Stars.

Coyote rubbing his chin, then rubbing his
hands...walking back and forth and around,
holding his hands behind his back...running
around, asking how he can get to the
Stars...then maybe dancing with the pretty girl
Stars...

The more movement, the more room the chil-
dren need.

Sometimes, it helps children to make pictures
of the character they are going to pantomime, be-
forehand, which can then be pinned to their chests.

The children might take turns talking about,
guessing and acting out parts of the story.

Hints 3——-D Discussion 32D Trying out movements

Discuss the movement and have three or
four voluntary coyotes practice the movement.

What do you feel like, Coyote?


Wire or stick, or whatever
you come up with. \

String or yarn. ———»

Mobiles

A mobile is a construction with parts that can be
set in motion by air currents.

Ceiling (or wherever you can hang it)

Ww

After the characters
are drawn, the story
can be told.

70

Jackrabbit used tn
Coyote sure didn't

fo ave a putty like Jackrabbit's

ti kl th tail. He was always

ther a im ! trying to eat the

other animals puffy tail.

The Mobiles activity can be used
with any book. If the mobile is
hung in a prominent place, the
students can read the story any
time they want.

j

You might also paste a large sheet of paper on
a stick and then hang the characters from each
caption.

Ceiling

Caption

aver Characters



74

Murals

The children can make murals which tell a
story. The children who have heard the story will
know the meaning, and the ones who haven't heard
can guess what has happened in the story.

aD
0

©
A)
A)


Role Playing

Role playing involves the children empathizing
with and acting out the characters of a book.

First, read the story aloud and discuss it. Then

/ ° discuss the characters as individuals —i.e., their
likes, dislikes, opinions, actions, needs, physical
j make-up or behavior.
2 Have the children become the characters and

act out how they think the characters feel. Then, as
one child reads the story, have another group of
children act out the physical part of the story.

A painted background can be placed be-

hind the performing children, which might help
them feel the part and get into character.

hopping and acting like a jackrabbit 5G

Raven pulling the string and aiming his arrow

L 4 Co
| || Bluejay spreading his wings like Skatefish spread himself

it ron

i=)

You might combine this activity with New Roles
and Story Endings (which is particularly effective
after the children have acted out the story in its
original form).


22

For example, around the fire under a black sky of
stars, a grandmother in Warm Springs might have
told some children the story of Coyote and the
Stars. |n the story, Coyote heard the stars were
dancing girls, so he went up to the sky to join them in
their dance. But Coyote grew tired and fell back to
earth. When he hit the ground, his blood made the
dirt red.

The grandmother might have told this story
when the children wondered what the stars are or
why the dirt is red. But she also told the children that
Coyote tried to go where he didn't belong and wasn't
wanted, which is why he fell back to earth. In this
way, the children were taught that everyone and
everything has its place, and they learned the im-
portance of being with people who cared about
them — family, clan members, friends — and the
importance of those close, caring relationships.

In fantasy to look at reality, then in reality look-
ing at fantasy, Indians taught their children through
stories what they needed in their lives to become
real people

The real world — the physical world — was
expressed through dances, songs and talk. Hand
movements created the setting and action of the
stories. Birds and animals were imitated in dances
and songs. Always, there was active physical imita-
tion and full participation by both young and old
alike, playing the many roles of life.

Although some of this style of learning has now
been lost, many of its basic principles are found in
the language experience approach to reading and
language development. Our rationale for a heavy
emphasis on language experience activities is
based upon assumptions about the importance of
physical activity and experience in the development
of understanding and meaning.


Clan Songs

Here are some clan songs the children might

like to sing when they form their clans.

| am of the People Tribe,

My clan is of the Turtle,

Turtles read for a long, long time,
Just like they stay under water.

! am of the People Tribe,

My clan is of the Buffalo,
Buffalos know a lot of words,
dust like they eat a lot of grass.

| am of the People Tribe,

My clan is of the Eagle,

Eagles know all of what they read,
Just like they see all from above.

1 am of the People Tribe,

My clan is of the Mountain Lion,
Mountain Lions can sure read fast,
Mountain Lions can sure run fast.

45


WRITING DOWN

1 -Comics

2 -—Comprehension: Inference and Validation
3-Add On

4 —Imagine Yourself

5 —New Roles and Story Endings

6 -Writing Notes

7 -Making Songs

8 — Writing Talk

9 — Making Tests

83


THE TEACHING ACTIVITIES ............... 47

DRAMATIZATION
1 —Warmup to Movement . .
2-Acting Out........
3-Dance ....
4—Role Playing
5-Five Senses
6-Pantomime

TALKING ABOUT. Main Ideas and Details .... 63
RETELLING THE STORY

1T-DiOrAMAS .. 2.6 eee 69
2-Mobiles ..
3-Scroll Story ...
4—Making Filmstrips
5—Flannel Board...
6-Murals .......
7-Puppet Dialogue ..
8—Picture and Caption
9-“Here's My Line”...

10—Radio Announcer.... 79
11-Mock TV Shows .......... 0200220 e eee 81
WRITING DOWN... 2. eee 83
T—COMICS «0.6 85
2-Comprehension: Inference and
Validation

3-AddOn ......
4-Imagine Yourself a

5-New Roles and Story Endings .
6-Writing Notes ............ .. 90
7 —Making Songs

8—Writing Talk ... + 98
9-Making Tests .............020.02 20020 94
IN OTHER WORDS (Making Books) ........ 95
WORD STUDY.....0 2.6. c cece es 101

1—What Do You Say? ............-
2-Oral Reading
3-Building Vocabulary...
4-—-Words in My World
5—Action Words

- 103

©. 107



Add On

This activity is something like a soap opera that
goes on and on, or like “add-ons” in the water that
never stop.

Far Out rolled in the dirt, ground the dirt into his
back, got up and shook it off. He and Bean
Belly scratched each other's neck a little.

The rodeo is over, and they load up to go to
Poplar, Montana, for another rodeo.

Wonder what they do in the winter?

Let the children start at the end of the story and
add on whenever they feel like it, going wherever
they want to go in their environment.

This is a good activity to use after New Roles
and Story Endings.

87


86

The bear danced.

The bear...
+ danced to fast music
* danced to slow music
* danced to no music

* doesn't mention music

=

Comprehension: Inference and Validation
The Comprehension: Inference and Validation
activity involves reading between the lines in a story
for what isn't said, but which might be true.

From what was said in the story, what | say
might be true?

Read and reread the story. Write on the board
or on newsprint things that aren't said in the story.
For example, you might ask:

What type of music did the bear dance to?

The children then might say:

Danced to fast music

Danced to slow music
Danced to no music

You also might say:

How do we know what really happened?
Come on, you can act like a smart aleck.

The children then might reply:
Ask the person who wrote the story.

All of this may be written at first, but later may
be used in open verbal discussion.

Who? What? Where? When? How? Why?


1st Method

2nd Method

New Roles and Story Endings
For the best results, use one of the books the
students have never seen, so that they have never
seen the pictures or heard the story.

Read and reread the story. Tell the children to
retell the story incorrectly. For example:

Such and such acted this way instead of that
way.

This isn't going to be the end, so make up a

new ending.
; Read part of the story, close the book and let
t

lhe children create whatever they want. Let them

4 make up the roles and endings. For example:

Read the first page of the story.
What do you think happened from here on?
OR

Chipmunk fell from the tree.

He dusted his tail and started
chasing the witch.

You might ask, “Which witch?”

The children can go on from there.

Read a page anywhere in the middle of the
story.

What do you think happened before and after
this page?

OR

Read the last page.

What do you think happened before this ena-
ing happened?

After the children are finished, they can then
look at the original version of the story.

Nothing is right and nothing is wrong.

The teacher isn't the boss now.

The boss is the little mind that
doesn't like the story the way it is.

Will the ending be the beginning?

89


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18

We are talking about comprehension:

+ Children acting, guessing, making, creating

We are talking about talking:

+ Children seeing their own words and finding
words that sound the same

* Children learning new words and meanings

We are talking about showing the children how
to think. When you extend your fellowship to the
children, when you share with them your love, good
words and affection, they will be secure and under-
standing. They will be secure and understanding
because you are. You are the one who controls their
environment.

What objectives are we talking about?

We just want to show the children how to be
real people.


“HERE’S HOW”
— PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION

Pep Talk to Teachers

Classroom Environment

What About the Books and Activities?
Mock Clan System

25


We can all be good.
We just have to be shown how to be better.

Through language and experience we learn
how to become better; we become educated and
learn about the world around us.

In the past, Indians were educated in the art of
survival. The classroom was the physical world
around them. What they were shown, they could
use.

How to get food...

How to prepare food...

How to make clothing...a home...
How to talk to people...

How to live.

Indians had deep interpersonal relationships
from which to draw and learn. Families and clan
members showed one another how to be good.
They gave each other love, security, fellowship and
understanding. Through talk — language — Indians
told each other of things to make life better. They
told stories to help each other become real people.

21


Explain to the children that those with the same
picture and color are brothers and sisters in the
same clan, and that this is how brothers and sisters
act with one another.

Respecting
* not cutting in front of other people
* listening when others are talking
* not using other people's things
without permission

Believing
* believing that everyone is trying
to do the right thing

Caring
* having whatever happens to others, matter
to you
* trying to feel what the other
person feels

Sharing
* letting others use something
you really like
+ if someone loses a pencil and you have
another, letting that person use it

Helping
assisting others having difficulty
getting things done

Talking
* saying good things to one another

39


The Indian Reading Series is designed to
help you open the door to the homes and talk of
the children, to the thoughts that they have.
When you, the teacher, support the student,
the student will support you and you'll more
quickly reach peace of mind in communication.

Cries For Ribs and | left the giveaway, rode upa
draw in the breaks to the top of a butte, and saw
an elevator way down the Little Big Horn.

...give away?
...a draw in the breaks?
...an elevator way down the Little Big Horn?

Talk. Hearing it and understanding itis the basis
of how we begin to learn and to communicate with
one another. Communication happens when we're
talking about the same thing. And when two pieces
of mind are the same, then there's peace of mind.

Often, talk or language in school is not the
same as talk or language at home. The school tends
to close the door to talk or language from the home
because the student's piece of mind and the
teacher's piece of mind are not the same. So, there
is no peace of mind; there is no communication.

Cries for ribs?
Oh, you Say that’s aname?
Oh, your friend?

The giveaway?

Should be gave away because it’s in the past.

Oh, a giveaway is held when something good
happens to a person, so the family gives
away things they really like? Okay.

Good things?

Adraw in the breaks?
Oh, it’s about like a coulee?
Okay.

What's a coulee?

Oh, a land formation about like a valley,
except it doesn’t have a river or stream
except after rain or snow runs off?

Top of a butte?
Oh, the tip of a large hill?


Oral Reading

In this activity, you and the students read to-
gether. It is particularly effective with shy students.

A book or story made by the children can be
recorded on tape, turned on, and then the whole
group can read aloud. This is an excellent method
for improving phrasing and helping to alleviate
“word by word” style of reading.

\V

You probably do this anyway!

|3 oe E|

104


Imagine Yourself
“Stan the Straw” Hold a piece of chalk in the air and say:

“Dusty the Chalk” Where have you been?
Do you have anything to tell?
How is the story going to begin?

Write the children’s responses on the board
and later write them on paper, to keep

Student:
1am born from a box.

Teacher:
What do you do, or how do you look?

Student:
! look like a stick. | am tall and long. | am
white.

Teacher:
What else?

Student:
When you touch me, your fingers turn white.

“Ted the Tape” ! am lonesome when the teachers and the
kids leave at night.

“Ralph the Ruler”
! wonder why the teacher gets mad when

“Paula the Paper” children write with me.
The teacher presses me too hard.
The kids make me screech and | hate it.
Let the students use their minds. They make up
stories all the time, so let them dream and have a
good time.
This activity can be used with a pencil, chalk,
eraser, plants, animals, stars, straws, scissors,

telephone, tire, flashlight, fire, wood, or whatever
else you want. Use your imagination!

88


72

Making Filmstrips

Bleach out some filmstrips with Clorox, and
have the children make their own filmstrips.

The children can use felt tips and pencils to
write and draw on the film.

Start from the beginning and go to the end, with
picture and words.

Raven steals
from Gray
Eagle the
moon, sun,
stars, fire
and water.

ageSeeeoutengpaguas

Apicture with a written caption


Children have been asking these questions for
as long as there have been people. The Indians
answer these questions in stories to show children
how to live and to teach them of the world.

The Blackfeet say that Old Man Napi made the
world. A spark jumped out of the fire and made the
stars for the Paiute. The Skokomish say Raven
gave the sun, moon, stars, fire and water to the
people.

What do you know for sure?

Some people say man used to be a monkey.
Another group of people say the monkey is the
offspring of a marriage between a man and a cat.
Other people say man was made from mud,
breathed upon and given life.

Some people say woman was created from a
man’s rib. But could it have been the other way
around?

Some say this is right and that is wrong.
Some say nothing is right and nothing is wrong.
What do you know sure?

Scientists, too, propose conflicting theories on
how man and the world were formed. Did man
evolve from apes? Or from fish, as others have
suggested?

Most scientists propose that modern man has
been on the North American continent for 10,000
years. Yet the oldest Indian site in the Northwest is
thought to be 13,000 years old. Are the estimates off
by 3,000 years, or 15,000 years? One hundred and
fifty generations of people, or 750 generations of
people? The difference is important; we are not like
our parents, or our grandparents.

What do you know for sure?

Did Noah’s Flood really happen? Or is it myth?
Some might dismiss it as myth, or legend, yet the
Skokomish Indians have a similar legend about a
great flood.

Because of the wickedness of some
people, the Changer sent a great flood to cover
the land. But the good people were told how to
prepare for the flood.


Mock Clan System

As in the past, Indian tribes have strong kin-
ship, social and political systems which are both
formal and informal. Several tribes still have clan
systems which flourish today. In fact, clan kinship
and relationships are as important as blood ties. In
addition to blood relatives, an individual has numer-
ous clan relatives to whom he can turn in times of
need or in times of joy.

Each individual is a member of two clans; a
child member of one clan and a parent member of
another. There is a complex structure of correct
modes of behavior between the various clan mem-
bers. For example, a child member of a clan may
tease and joke with a fellow child member of that
same clan, even if the relationship is between a
5-year old child and an 80-year old adult. But when
dealing with a parent member of a clan, the relation-
ship is more serious and respectful; there is little
teasing and joking, regardless of age.

The clan system nurtures each individual; the
importance of loving, caring, helping and sharing is
stressed. Because this feeling of kinship and fellow-
ship is so important in many tribal societies, and
because a basic premise of this program is that
children learn best in a warm, caring and familiar
environment, a classroom structure based on a
simplified clan system F's been developed.

This mock clan system will enable you, the
teacher, to become more aware of and able to utilize
the forces and processes of the Indian community
within the classroom setting. It may seem compli-
cated at first, but is really a very simple method of
organizing the class into groups committed to help-
ing each other learn basic language arts skills. This
is not a way of grouping students by ability. The clan
groupings are designed to develop unity, depend-
ence, independence, helping, caring, sharing,
trust and identity. Rather than the children being
solely dependent on you, the teacher, we are asking
you to give them a chance to help and teach each
other.

We are all longing to fit.
Don’t you see?

35


Radio Station
Red add

Radio Announcer
Radio Station KIDD

The Radio Announcer activity is a book report
given on the tape recorder. The children tell about
what they read and how they feel about it.

The radio station can be made out of a large
cardboard box with a sign Radio Station KIDD on it.
A student can then stand behind the box and say:

Hello, out there.

This is Little Wind on Radio Station KIDD.

Today's date is

| have read a book called

The book is about

This is what happened...

This is how | feel about it...

That is how itis.

See you later!

The children might also stand completely be-
hind the box so they can’t see anybody, since on
radio they wouldn't be seen anyway. The book re-
port can be recorded, written and then posted so the
children can look at it. The children might also relate
their own stories in their reports.

If the children are too shy, you might try out the
activity first.

|5 oe E |

79


1x1
®©-©-©
1xlx]

©-©-©

Mock TV Shows

The children have seen the following shows on
TV and are familiar with how they work, so you just
have to make sure the questions for the games
come from the stories.

Before each game, a preparation period where
the students can write the questions and get ready
for the game might be helpful.

Talk Show

Let the children have their own TV talk show
where one person interviews the others about one
of the books.

It would help if the children could view an actual
interview of an author on television.

Tite
Author

What happened?
How do you feel?

Has anything like this ever happened

to you?
oQeo

Hollywood Squares

This game is played just like the “Hollywood
Squares” television show, except the questions to
be asked are about the stories. As you know,
the game is played like “Tic-Tac-Toe.”

You will need nine volunteers to be the group of
celebrities, and two contestants (O and X). Ask
questions about one of the stories. (For example:
Where is the Indian Festival?) The contestant will
choose a celebrity and then agree or disagree with
his or her answer. The first one with tic-tac-toe wins.

The contestants can be two groups as well
as two individuals.

——soOo

81


82

Game of Choice

You will need a group of children to be the
panel, and two contestants.

First you will ask a question about one of the
stories. One of the contestants will pick two mem-
bers of the panel to answer.

One panel member will tell the correct answer,
but the other panel member will lie. The contestant
must choose the panel member who gave the cor-
rect answer.

The first contestant with five points wins the
game.

—- oO 0°


What About the Books and Activities?
Here’s how you might do it!

The student books are in a suggested se-
quence, and each book has a suggested list of
activities. We recommend that you follow the
planned implementation, but if you feel that one of
the books is out of sequence for your particular
class, you can change the order of the books to
meet the needs of your students.

You may also find that one of the suggested
activities may not be appropriate because of the
students in your class. So, find an activity that will
correspond with the book and where your students
are in their language development.

The planned sequence of use for the materials
can be found in the inside back cover of each stu-
dent book. In addition, the suggested sequence of
student books and accompanying activities can be
found in your Activity Cards packet.

The Activity Cards provide some background
information pertinent to each story and, where ap-
propriate, identify the positive values stressed. The
cards are designed to be stapled or glued to the
inside covers of the appropriate books, for easy
reference.

31


Writing Talk

The Writing Talk activity involves students writ-
ing down their own talk.

First, the student will choose an illustrated page
or part of the story. The student will then describe
what is happening in the picture as you record it on
tape. Next, the student will try to write down his or
her own talk.

As the student records, the whole class will try
to write down the student's talk. The children should
realize they are simply writing down talk.

|j —— E|

On the second reading of the tape, words could
be left out. The students could then fill in whatever
word is missing.

Bluejay hops because Raven shot him in the
hip.

—_____________hops because
Raven_________him in the hip.

TaN

93


Rather, the materials were developed to appeal
to interests and values held by many Indian children
—horses, wildlife, natural phenomena, fishing, hunt-
ing, celebrations. It is the strong belief of the Indian
developers that when these high interest materials
are used along with the regular reading program,
the children will improve in comprehension as well
as in the production of both written and oral lan-
guage. It is assumed that if language production
increases and comprehension improves, reading
skills and interest in school also will improve and
much school failure will be prevented.

Because teachers aiready have a working
knowledge of the basic reading theories, these
theories are not presented again in this manual.
Rather, the manual addresses itself to some solu-
tions to the problems encountered by Indian chil-
dren, and teachers of Indian children, in the present
educational system. There is a subtle blending of
community learning styles with the more formal
teaching strategies, which has proven to provide a
more comfortable classroom learning atmosphere
for the Indian child.

Teachers, too, are provided with an opportunity
to learn more of the Indian child's world, and can
utilize this knowledge to become more effective
teachers of Indian children. The techniques pro-
vided within the manual are not restrictive; rather,
they are designed to aid teachers in exercising their
creativity to the fullest.

Itis appropriate here to express appreciation to
the above-mentioned people and agencies who
spent many long, arduous hours to bring a dream to
reality.

Joseph Coburn
Program Director


PREFACE

THE INDIAN READING SERIES: Stories and
Legends of the Northwest is a unique supplemen-
tary reading and language development program
for Indian and non-Indian children. It was designed
and tested over a five-year period by community
people from twelve Indian reservations in Oregon,
Washington, Idaho and Montana.

The program is the result of a cooperative effort
between the participating tribes, the National Insti-
tute of Education and the Pacific Northwest Indian
Program of the Northwest Regional Educational
Laboratory.

A Policy Board representing the Northwest In-
dian community directed program activities and as-
sured meaningful community input and control of
content authenticity. More than 250 reservation-
based planners, writers and artists participated in
needs identification and materials development.

The materials were authenticated by the partic-
ipating tribes and field-tested with over 1,200 Indian
and non-Indian children in 93 classrooms through-
out the Northwest. Evaluation of the use of the
materials in these classrooms indicates that the
student materials and teaching aides do provide the
learning experiences sought by the Indian people
who were involved in the developmental process.

The Teacher's Manual reflects the thinking of
the more than eighty teachers who were involved in
the trial stages of the materials and who provided us
with invaluable ideas which were incorporated into
this manual. The manual was written to provide
suggestions for teachers using The Indian Reading
Series, to enable students to receive maximum
benefits from the student materials.

The materials were not designed to be a read-
ing program; they are supplemental to reading pro-
grams now being used in the schools. Nor are the
materials intended to be used to teach Indian “cul-
ture,” even though they come from and are based in
that culture.


What are the stars?

Why is it daylight?

Why does it hail and rain?

Where does the grass come from?

How did the horse get here?

16

An elevator?

In the hills, out in the country?

Oh, an elevator is where they store grain?

Okay. Thought that’s what they rode up the
coulee.

Way down the Little Big Horn?
Oh, the Little Big Horn is a river and down

is the direction it’s flowing in the valley?
Okay.

The developers of the stories believe that
Indian children should encounter familiar con-
cepts in their initial contact with formal educa-
tion; that they will benefit from being introduced
to language development through materials
and activities directly related to their past and
present experiences.

The materials are designed to feature il-
lustrations, language and ideas that tend to
reflect the immediate environment of Indian
children.

materials that coincide with thought
materials that have meaning
materials that make sense

talking about
what the children

have heard

have seen

have felt

have tasted

have smelled
materials in the children’s own world

in their world of words and thoughts
materials they enjoy.

As the children become more proficient and
feel more competent in language and communica-
tion skills, it is expected that their attitude toward
school and school activities will change; that they
will feel more comfortable in the school environment
and will increase their participation and achieve-
ment.

Yes, learning will happen when you and the
children are talking in one language about the same
“think”; when together you are answering questions
that have no answers and are showing each other
how to become real people.


What do you know for sure?

How did the world get here?

How did the stars & and moon get there?

How did fire get here?

How did the
sun
get here?

What about the ground?
How did man and animals get here?

Why did the world get here?

How did the brs J oe here?
What do you know for sure?

Yes, asking questions is how we learn and begin to
understand.


Building Vocabulary

Using stories the children have read or made,
choose some words to put in the children’s “My
Book,” which simply is sheets of tablet paper with
construction paper for the cover.

Some of the students will choose rather difficult
words, other students will choose easy words, and
you will choose words that you feel are important for
the children to learn.

The children at Level | should choose about five
words. If 20 stories are covered, the children would
then have a total of about 100 words for the year.
The Level Il children should choose between five
and 10 words per story, and the Level Ill children
should choose 10 words per story, totaling about
200 words for the year.

The children can then study the words like this:

Say the word

ed
x

!
T

Close your eyes and see
the word

Look at the word again
Say the word

Write the word

g&y8 «

Remove the word

Compare

Have the children repeat these steps until the
word is easy for them. In the beginning, this se-
quence may be put on the chalkboard.

|3 o——= £ |

105


IN OTHER WORDS (Making Books)

95


Here are some more ways of putting /n Other
Words together.

Style1
Long strip Words trans- ,
Front of contact Page after ferred to Pictures Back
Paper pag contact paper Covel
Fold on the lines, dividing the pages. Glue, paste,
or staple front and back covers.
Front
cover 68 FP 29P909000000000000
°
° fo}
fo} Style 2
°o
of
090000000000 000° 7
‘ Sheet A
6

t on top of

1 each other JES Sheet B
fold naa ‘ Sheet C
and staple 1 10

Style 3

stack
and You might mimeograph each page, then put a
staple book of In Other Words together for everyone inthe 99

class, since it’s by everyone in the class.


We assume that verbal learning of vocabulary,
concepts, etc., is more generalizable and more effi-
ciently retrievable when it is based on behavior in a
wide variety of circumstances; when the responses
are physical representations, substitutions, exten-
sions, etc., of physical events. We assume lan-
guage development and expansion will take place
when it is based on life.

We must, therefore, tap the children’s imagina-
tions and let them express their thoughts physically
as well as verbally. We must touch upon as many of
their senses as we possibly can. We must give them
the opportunity to experiment with words and ideas,
for playing with words and ideas develops language
flexibility and comprehension.

The language experience approach builds
upon the interrelationship between and among
reading and the related language arts of listening,
speaking and writing. It is important that a student
learning to read realizes the relationship between
spoken and written language.

This realization will come as the children read
and talk about their own experiences. For example,
in one classroom where the students were making
their own books using their own words, a little girl
described a horse, saying, “He slobbers when he
eats.” The teacher wrote the word “slobbers” on the
board. Then, this same child in discovery said, “Is
that how you spell slobbers? | didn’t know it, but it
kind of looks like ladder.”

Because the stories in the The Indian Reading
Series were written to appeal to the interests and
values held by many Indian children, language and
experience coincide. The materials are written in
the children’s own language about their own world.

23


1

aa THE INDIAN READING SERIES:

%9 Stories and Legends of the Northwest

Reflection
of star, moon and fire
on water
on ground
inthe sun
in the air
and good thoughts
these are forever

Henry Real Bird


WORD STUDY

1 —What Do You Say?
2 -Oral Reading

3 - Building Vocabulary
4 —Words in My World
5 —Action Words

101


Freeze

Have the children move in a large area (e.9.,
gym) without touching or bumping into each other.
Ask them to freeze at the sound of a tambourine, a
whistle, a yell, a hoot, a bell or whatever else you
want for a signal.

Pod P| =

gym Ya gym Ya Ye he V2

Each time the children freeze, cut down the
area by half and change the movement. The chil-
dren can move again when they hear the sound of
the tambourine. The next time they hear the sound,
they'll freeze again.

Keep cutting the area by half and vary the
movement — skip, glide, gallop, slow run, back-
wards walk — until the sound of the tambourine.

Don'tlet the children run into each other. As the
area is decreased, the speed must be decreased
until the children can cope with the smaller space.

wk

Mirror Game

Two people face each other. One is the mirror
and mimics the other person’s actions.

AK


Through legends, or stories, Indians have at-
tempted to explain the world around them and to
teach one another how to live. The stories teach
children how to become real people; that they have
to feel love, respect and trust, know the joy of caring
and sharing, and be willing to help one another.
When these feelings become an integral part of a
person, he or she can then understand his or her
purpose for being here and become a real person.

One of the stories in our curriculum, A Little
Boy's Big Moment, is a story of giving. Because a
family is happy that their child will be dancing in
public for the first time, they have a giveaway. Chil-
dren thus learn that when you are happy, or do
something outstanding, you give to others.

The stories tell about the world and why certain
animals are the way they are; how the skunk got its
stripes, why the codfish has a red face and how
daylight came to be.

Although the stories are often amusing and fun
for children, they also usually teach a preferred
behavior. For example, Chipmunk Meets Old Witch
tells why a chipmunk has stripes down its back, yet
also clearly shows that it is wrong to wander away
from home and disobey one’s elders. How Cotton-
tail Lost His Fingers not only explains why rabbits
have paws instead of hands, but also teaches it is
wrong to cheat.

Most of the stories have a purpose and a mes-
sage. This character acted this way, and this is what
happened. How do you want to be?

In different stories, the same character often
assumes different roles. For example, although
Coyote is seen as the Creator’s helper by many
tribes, he also is often represented as a coniving
trickster, whose attempts to gain something for noth-
ing usually backfire. The Thunderbird also plays
dual roles. In The Time a Whale Came to Jackson's
Bay (a Skokomish legend), the Thunderbird saves
the people from disaster; yet in Thunder and the
Mosquito (a Muckleshoot Legend), he is responsi-
ble for sending the mosquito to get man’s blood.

Nothing is right and nothing is wrong.


They tied their canoes to a mountain near
the Seattle area. As the waters rose and the land
disappeared, they remained safe.

During the flood, the ropes broke and some
of the canoes drifted away. When the ground
appeared again, the canoes that remained tied
to the mountain were many miles apart from the
canoes that had drifted away.

Many winters after the flood, some
Skokomish Indians traveled east across the
mountains and plateaus. There they met some
people who spoke the same language. These
were the Salish Indians.

The Skokomish are still near the Seattle area
and the Salish are in Montana. There are many
miles and mountains between these two people, yet
even today, they speak the same language.

Is the Skokomish legend myth? Is the Bible
legend? Was there really a great flood? How long
were people here before the great flood?

Nothing is right and nothing is wrong.
What do you know for sure?

“The ones that are on time and became people
is the word for “Indian” in one tribe’s language.

But how did Indian people come about?
Where did Indian people come from?
When did Indian people get on the ground?

There are as many unanswered questions as
there are stars in the black sky. Each tribe has its
own language and its own social system or tribal
operation. Each tribe has its own explanation of how
the world came to be.

The different tribes do not argue about their
answers. They simply say:

The way I have heard it is this way.
They say that this is how itis.

There are as many answers and explanations
to these questions as there are stars in the black
sky.

Nothing is right and nothing is wrong.
What do you know for sure?


Scroll Story

a @®

7

contact
13” 1st 2nd paper
picture picture _ taped

| together

-— width of roll ————}

The children can make a scroll which tells the
story from beginning to end. Have each child make
a picture of the part of the story he or she is going to
talk about. All the pictures can then be pasted in
order on a contact paper strip.

Begin 1 2 3 4 5 6 The End

= Each child can tell his or her part of the story
SS when the class comes to his or her picture in the

t d sequence. The children also can be recorded so the

ape recorder audio and visual effects are together.

———— You might fit the scroll in a box for a TV effect.
Begin \ Roll up the contact paper with the pictures pasted on
it. Slide the roll of contact paper through the box and

turn the tape recorder on, just like a slide presenta-
tion with sound.

—— You might use the sound of a tambourine or a
Begin picture [ clap as a signal to change pictures.
beeen |

Cut slit

71


DRAMATIZATION
1 ~Warmup to Movement
2-Acting Out
3 -—Dance
4 —Role Playing
5 —Five Senses
6 — Pantomime

49


Coyote

Stars

Dancing

Coyote wants to be a star
His arms fall off

Red holes in the ground

\ dt
3 he

IN OTHER WORDS (Making Books)
Read the story, then reread.

Discuss the main idea of the story, what hap-
pened, etc., and go on from there. Let the children
say what comes to their minds about the story, and
write it all down on the chalkboard. (Brainstorming)

Try to get the children to talk about the sounds,
odors, and sights in the story, and about the charac-
ters’ feelings. The idea is to learn how to talk about
the story in such a way that the listener or reader
feels he is there.

If, for example, a child says:

Coyote was flipped through the air by a large
tree.

You then say:
How do you think Coyote felt?
The child might answer:

Coyote’s stomach tickled like it does on a roller
coaster ride.

The object is to get the children to use as many
of the five senses as possible when talking about
the story.

ee

97


When implementing The Indian Reading Series
and accompanying activities, the class might be
conducted using the mock clan system described in
the following section. It should be instituted early in
the school year and continue throughout the entire
year. Again, itis justa suggested way of running your
classroom; but it really works, because the clan
system has been with one particular tribe since the
beginning of that tribe.

Before you begin using the student books, you
may want to go through some of the Warmup to
Movement activities to help the children become
acquainted with dramatization, pantomime, and the
clan system operation. From then on, you and the
children can go through the books in the suggested
sequence, using the activities suggested for each
book.

At first you may wish to try one or two of the
activities with a particular book. Later, you may wish
to go back to that same book, this time using another
ofthe suggested activities, or one of your own choos-

ing.

When using The indian Reading Series you
might wish to play the cassette tape, “Little Songs
and Indian Dances.” Side 1 of the tape has songs and
chants that the children can sing and dance to, and it
is a good starting point for the children to make up
their own songs and poems. Side 2 of the tape has
some Indian war dance songs which the children can
dance or listen to. It may be played quietly in the
background andis particularly valuable in setting the
mood when using the materials.

33


Many Faces

Ask the children, “How would your face look
if...”

A bear is coming behind you!

OG
AN

You have a birthday present!

@ @
Gd

In the beginning, use a bucket of water and let
the children watch their reflections on the water.

PP

bucket of water

| am me, and you are the reflection,
Do what I do, my body and all.

|j ——— E |

55


The activities, which are described in “THE
TEACHING ACTIVITIES” section of this manual
and are to be used with the student books, include
the following:

DRAMATIZATION
1—Warmup to Movement
2-Acting Out
3-Dance
4—Role Playing
5-Five Senses
6—-Pantomime

TALKING ABOUT: Main Ideas and Details
RETELLING THE STORY

1-Dioramas

2-Mobiles

3—-Scroll Story

4-Making Filmstrips

5-Flannel Board

6-Murals

7 -Puppet Dialogue

8-Picture and Caption

9-“Here’s My Line”
10—Radio Announcer
11—Mock TV Shows

WRITING DOWN

1-Comics

2-Comprehension: Inference and Validation
3-Add On

4-Imagine Yourself

5—New Roles and Story Endings

6-Writing Notes

7 -Making Songs

8-Writing Talk

9~-Making Tests

IN OTHER WORDS (Making Books)
WORD STUDY

1 —What Do You Say?
2-Oral Reading
3-Building Vocabulary
4—Words in My World
5 Action Words


“Here’s My Line”

Read and discuss the story. Orally retell the
story as a group, perhaps taping the retelling to see
what is left out.

Have the children form small groups in a circle
or line. Together the students will retell the story in
sequence. One student will start the story, and the
student sitting next to him or her will add on to the
previous statement until the story is retold.

This method might also be used to develop a
new ending for the story.

i)
This story tells how Cottontail
lost his fingers.
fe)
One day, lightning struck
and wiped out his fingers
and that's why Cottontail
has paws now. Cottontail played
stick game.
0
Cottontail never listened
to his grandma's words and
kept on cheating. Cottontail cheats and he
never thinks anything
about it.

Ss
VTS
Cottontail’s grandma told him not

to cheat because something bad
might happen to him.

78


BACKGROUND INFORMATION


LANGUAGE AND EXPERIENCE

19


After brainstorming (writing on the board all of
the happenings in the story), the class can retell the
story /n Other Words — in their own words.

Write the story on the board as they are telling it.

(Beginning Page!

(P92 ) (P93
) (P94

(P95

(P96 ) (P97
) (P98

(P99 ) (Pg 10

) The end

After the story is finished, it can be sliced into
pages. Each page of words can then be distributed
among the class and the pictures for each page of
words can be made.

After the children have completed the pictures

and words, staple the pages together, and the class
has its own book — /n Other Words.

o()o



Dioramas

Dioramas are scenic representations in which
figures blend into a realistic background and which
can be made to represent scenes from the stories.
Children can make them out of cardboard boxes
and fill them with clay figures, paper figures, weeds,
cotton or whatever else is handy.

For example, using the book Birds and People,
a dry weed might be pulled for a tree. Small pictures
of an owl, eagle or hawk can be made on paper and
colored.

Blue Sky

69



94

Making Tests
Let the children make up a test for you!

! wonder if the teacher ever gets things
wrong?

Show them how to make a test using the follow-
ing three types of questions, and then when they're
finished, you can take it. Go ahead — act confused
and make mistakes!

A) TRUE OR FALSE
TF
The bear is Daisy the Dancing Bear 00
B) MULTIPLE CHOICE

Where did Bluejay get shot?
shoulder
—_____head
heart
—___hip
C) QUESTION/ANSWER
Where did Pop go?

He was in a refrigerator, along the road,
under the snow, beside a can.

|5 ——_E|


What Do You Say?

You never know what the children are going to
say when you ask:

What is love?

What is hate?

What is discrimination?

What is twilight... conservation...perfect...
phoney...manure...understanding...
recognize...theory...nature

enormous...eclipse...

|j ——— E |

Have the children cut out words they recognize
from old magazines, newspapers, etc. They can
then make up posters of “silly sentences.”

[Silly~ | [sentences] lis\
cutting) [LOTS] {of| (magazine (or [News Paper}
(worps) [ScRaMbLiNg\ (them [UP | pulling

\DOROS agetinet (TO) [imane| sentences

IS _— lis Flying

103


Puppet Ideas

A B.
Dic °
D Cc
Fold corners Fold corners toward
toward center line Turn paper over center lines again

Cc A
B
A
D
D
The paper hand puppet can be any character the child wants it to be.

“ . Any character
a “fe ao

Popcicle stick

. A peanut can be anybody,
or pencil any character.
On Knock out one end of the
shell and stick a pencil
/ J into it. Eyes, nose and
mouth can be paper or tape.

he

Any character

3

back

76


42

Same

Front
Side

Back
Side

Optional Activity

After about three weeks, pass out the same
pictures, but this time color all of them red. Make
sure that each child gets a different picture than the
first one he received. Paste the red picture on the
backside of the child’s original identification card.

The red picture tells the student that he is a
child member of that clan, and that the students with
the same picture (not colored red) are his parents
(moms /dads).

For example:

Yellow Red

Mountain Lion Clan — Mountain Lion Clan
Parent member Child member

The clan parents help the clan children. For
example, if a Mountain Lion child (red picture) is
having trouble learning new words, he might go to
one of his Mountain Lion parents (yellow picture) for
help. In return, the child might sharpen his parent's
pencil for a week (giving).

To aid the children in developing trust, you
might have a clan child choose his favorite parent
and have him rub his temple or massage his neck.
After about three minutes of this, they can switch.
The child, then, will be helping his parent. This
should be a quiet time for establishing comfort and
trust.

This can happen, if you want it to.
We are all longing to fit.
Don’t you see?


Writing Notes

Children write notes to each other all the time.
The Writing Notes activity incorporates this pastime
into the classroom learning situation.

Have the children read or listen to a story. Make
some paper figures in the shapes of some of the
characters in the story and say:

Imagine you are one of the characters and you
want to talk to another character.

Neither of you can hear, but you both can read
and write.

Let him know how you feel.

if Way

Why am | in this cooler?

— va

Pop Bottle

People like you when you are )
cold, so | keep you that way.

nam

Coyote said...

Bluejay said... The children can then use their imaginations

and have the characters talk to each other.

Nothing is right and nothing is wrong.


The children can also go to their clan brothers
and sisters for help. In addition to the original clan
brothers and sisters, the children with the same red
pictures are also brothers and sisters (fellow child
members). These brothers and sisters can tease
each other, talk nonsense to each other and joke,
but always without anger. Often, gentle teasing and
joking are used to correct fellow clan members’
behaviors.

In the tribal group, you, the teacher, are to be
regarded as a wise Old Person, or Chief. If you
respect the structure of the clan, the children will
learn to respect you.

We are all longing to fit.
Don’t you see?

The following page shows the overall class-
room clan system. (The shaded figures represent
child membership of a clan.) As can be seen, every
child is a parent member of one clan and a child
member of another.

43


Also, it’s good to let the children pan-
tomime being hills...a tree swaying in the
wind...wind howling and whistling...waves
moving in a river...

———o 2 °—

You might establish a signal of control,
perhaps the sound of a tambourine, in order to
regain the children’s attention when it is time to
go on.

The children should freeze in whatever ac-
tion they are, listen and get ready to go on toa
different character or part.

It might be a good idea to have a quiet
moment before and after the pantomime.

Before — Think about how you will act and
what you will feel.

After — Think about what you and the
others did and how you liked it.

Om

61


Pep Talk to Teachers

On the following pages you will find an overall
plan for implementation of The indian Reading
Series. You can do it this way if you wish, but the
ideas are only suggestions that you may adapt to fit
your class.

Depend on your ideas, for if you don't depend
on yourself, no one will depend on you. Depend on
your ideas and the ideas of the children.

Be comfortable in your environment and with
your style. For we are just going in a direction, and
that’s language expansion — self expression of
thought through listening, talking, reading, writing
and looking in the environment.

We don’t have many rules because we don't
have full control of the thoughts of the children.
We're just letting the children know that they can
think.

Try and use the suggested methods. If one
doesn’t work, another one might!

27


RETELLING THE STORY

1 - Dioramas

2 -Mobiles

3 - Scroll Story

4 — Making Filmstrips

5 —Flannel Board

6 - Murals

7 - Puppet Dialogue

8 —Picture and Caption

9 —“Here’s My Line”
10 - Radio Announcer
11 ~Mock TV Shows

67


Picture and Caption

The Picture and Caption activity is simply retell-
ing the story.

Have the children draw a picture of a part of the
story. Then have them tell that part of the story.

2 -

Bluejay is trying to act like Skatefish.
Raven knows he can shoot Bluejay.

As the children describe the picture, write it

down. The pictures can then be displayed in the
classroom.

Picture Picture

Picture

Picture

—_—_ | OO
=a

Record the children, and then play the tapes so
the children can listen to themselves.

You might also have different groups of children
choose a part of the story and retell it. You can then
mix up the pictures, words and sound, and let the
children put them in the proper sequence.

77



TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface ..............0. 2.0.00 cece eee eee i
BACKGROUND INFORMATION ........... 1
OBJECTIVES .................0.0-00000- 9

Program Objectives

Rationale ...........
Human Objectives

LANGUAGE AND EXPERIENCE .......... 19

“HERE’S HOW”

—PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION ......... 25
Pep Talk to Teachers .............00.00000 eee 27
Classroom Environment .. .. : . 29
What About the Books and Activities? . 31

Mock Clan System .............-.-.5 vlna, 35


a

Magic Carpet

This is like “Musical Chairs,” except the
children walk on sheets of newspaper. A sheet
of colored paper is the magic carpet. When a
person lands there, the others ask him or her a
question, or tell one good thing they know
about the person on the magic carpet.

Q. Why is Pink Panther pink?

A. Because he drinks pink lemonade.

OR

Tammy is good because she gives us candy.

VLA

Giggle Belly

Have the children lay their heads on each
others stomachs (like a chain). One laughs, then the next...

ee

It Could Be Anything

Here’s a cat.
Pick it up and rub it, pet it and pass it around.

Come on, use your imagination.
It could be anything.

Here, mold nothing into anything and pass it on.

“I made a fire engine...”
“| made a doll...”

|3 ———_E|


Warmup to Movement

These “icebreaker” activities can be used at
random to warm up the students.

The Sack

This sack has a lot of things in it.
You can pull anything out!

Put a pair of glasses in the sack. Reach in, put
‘on the glasses and say:

! see a kite fly high.
A hawk flies by.

The wind quits and the kite is caught in the
cottonwood tree.

Put the glasses back in the sack, pass it around
and let the students wear the glasses and tell what
they see.

Next, fill the sack with chalk, a paper clip, a tea
bag, etc., and pass it around. (Use your imagina-
tion!)

You can’t see what is in the bag.
Reach in and feel what is inside.
Try to guess what it is.

[3 ——— E|

51


80

q

Nee)

Time Out

The children can change the sign on the box to
Time Out and then use the box to think things over
when they're angry, upset, or when they want to be
alone. This should enable the children to better
cope with their feelings.

Perhaps a child will tell you that his father is
dying and that is why he has not been performing in
top form.

Your talking, holding, loving and caring might
blow away the clouds of confusion.

Character Interview

At the end of a story the children have read or
listened to, write on the chalkboard who the charac-
ters are and what happened in the story.

The children can decide on what character they
want to be and then think of what that character did
in the story.

The Radio Announcer and group can prepare
questions to ask while the characters are getting
into the story.

This is a good opportunity for lots of interaction
between the students.

\ This is KIDD TV newsman Ron Holt

ij Zp
YA ° interviewing the Rainbug in the story

Insects Off to War.

Rainbug, what could you have done
to keep from being bored?

Well, we could have made valentines. KY\

a,

(student pretending to be Rainbug,


Program Objectives

The Indian Reading Series is a supplementary
reading and language arts development program
for primary-grade Indian and non-Indian children.
The objectives of the program are to:

+ Expand student interest in language arts expe-
riences

+ Increase student skills in language arts ac-
tivities

+ Improve student feelings of competence and
success in communication skills

+ Reinforce for Indian students a positive self-
image and pride in being Indian

+ Provide all students and teachers with a
greater understanding of Indian culture

"1


wW
ducks chickadee
magpies Skokomish
Crow eating seeds
fly high Blackfeet
wobbling sage hen

TALKING ABOUT: Main Ideas and Details

This activity is the practice of listening... talk-
ing...expressing a point of view...summing up
what happened in the story.

It involves children saying what they have lis-
tened to or read, in one or two words, or a phrase, or
in more detail.

Who?

Did what?
When?
Where?
How?
Why?

Read and reread the story, and then take the
books away. Ask:

What is the story about?
Who was in the story?
Describe them.

What happened?

What does it tell us?

Prompt if the answer is not inclusive enough.
(What else happened?) There are many pos-
sibilities. For example: Birds and People is about
the differences among birds; how they are alike, yet
different in looks, sound and habitats. The book
talks about differences among tribes and compares
people and Indian tribes with birds — how they are
different, yet alike. All of the children’s ideas may be
put on the chalkboard or on chart paper.

Afterwards, the story may be retold from begin-
ning to end.

John said: The story is about birds.

Cary said: Some birds swim and some
birds don’t swim.

Jason said: Some birds eat seeds and
some birds eat meat.

Lodi said: This story is also about
Indian tribes.

And so on...

SOS

65


Flannel Board

The Flannel Board activity is a good small-
group project.

Characters can be cut out and then the children
can retell the story.

This story tells how wild horses
were captured.

The people build corrals with
wings.

Then the people yell and spook
the horses into the corral of
i cedar.

The flannel board story might also be an im-
promptu talking daydream story about whatever
subject the children want, using some of the charac-
ters they have already made. Let the children get
into their imaginations and go for a ride!

73


14

Upon examination of these problem areas, one
can readily determine the special needs of Indian
children:

+ Indian children need to develop an increased
interest in school, especially interest and in-
volvement in language arts activities and
communication processes. They need the op-
portunity to use the language they bring to
school. Only after they are aware of the poten-
tial of their own language and feel free to use
it, can they develop new and more effective
patterns of communication.

+ Indian children, like all children, need rele-
vance and high interest potential in the con-
tent to which they react when speaking, read-
ing, writing or listening. They need instruc-
tional strategies and activities which more
closely match their past experiences and in-
teractions with adults.

+ Indian children need support from parents
and other community members involved in the
school program. They need experiences with
school materials which emphasize the dignity
and importance of people and places within
the Indian community.

+ All children need to know and understand im-
portant similarities and differences among the
varied cultural backgrounds of their class-
mates.


Developed by the Pacific Northwest Indian Reading and Language Development Program
Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, 710 Southwest Second Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97204

Copyright 1977 by the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory
All rights reserved.

The work upon which this publication is based was performed pursuant to Contract
No. 40-76-0048, with the Educational Equity Group/Multicultural/Bilingual Division
of the National Institute of Education. It does not, however, necessarily reflect the
views of that agency.

This publication is not printed at the expense of the Federal Government.
Published by Educational Systems, Inc., 2360 Southwest 170th Street, Beaverton, Oregon 97005

Printed and bound in the United States of America


After the children have been divided into clans,
you can begin implementing the activities. Some-
times the clans will work separately on an activity;
other times they can work together as a tribe.

For example, when first learning an activity, the
class may be grouped together as a tribe. The chil-
dren can then go to their respective clans, practice
the activity and then, perhaps, return to the tribe to
show off what was accomplished.

As an optional addition, one person from each
clan could be chosen the Village Caller, and would
have the responsibility of speaking to the whole
tribe. When in the clan group, all of the children may
talk, but when all of the clans gather to form one
tribe, only the Village Callers may speak. The Vil-
lage Callers can be changed about every three
weeks.

Class Grouped by Clan

Class Grouped by Tribe

A


pmoo > m A

Making Songs
Making Songs is simply the fun of finding
words that rhyme or sound alike. It is the fun of
capturing the children’s words and writing them
down in their own natural, often lyrical way.

Set the mood by playing Side 1 of the
cassette tape “Little Songs and Indian Dances”.

After the children have read or listened to a
story, write the story as a poem in the children’s own
words. (You don’t have to tell them it is going to be a
poem.)

What is the story about?
What happened?

Here’s an example of how it might be done,
using the story How Cottontail Lost His Fingers.

What is the story about?
What happened?

Cottontail lost his fingers. —

Give me some words that rhyme with finger, “er” or
some other word that ends with the same sound.

Butter... sucker... mother... =_—

What else happened in the story?
Try to have the last word end with “er.”

He went to his grandmother. —_—
What else happened in the story?
He played a game. —_—
Give me some words that rhyme with game.
Tame...frame...game... —_—
What else happened in the story?
And he wasn't the same. —
And here is the poem!
Cottontail lost his finger,
He went to his grandmother,

He played a game,
And he wasn't the same.

zmwoo0r

1


24

“Hey, Teacher, I've been where this picture is.
That's the Garryowen Store.” Those are the words
of one child when she saw the picture in My Name Is
Pop.tn other classrooms where the teacher and
students have discussed the book Indian Festival
(which is about the Shoshone-Bannock powwow at
Fort Hall, Idaho), the children have said:

“We have the Browning Indian Days.”
“We have the Oil Celebration.”

“We have Pi-Ume-Sha Days.”

“We have the Tinowit Days.”

“We have the Crow Fair.”

Yes, the children are just being where they are,
not talking about some place they have never been.
They know the sounds, sights, smells, tastes and
feel of the celebrations they have been to.

What about the way | talk?

What about what I have seen and heard?

What about my experiences and my talk?

! didn’t know someone could read what I
say when it’s written.

I didn’t know | could read what I say when
it's written

Language and experience is not just in parts,
but in the whole, and requires full participation in
language production while engaged in listening,
speaking and writing activities.

Be in the children’s language. Be in their experi-
ence. Listen to them speaking and for awhile write it
down for them. Help them back into themselves.
Help them depend on themselves.

There is much theoretical and research evi-
dence that the language experience approach to
reading really works.

It is difficult, however, to make people aware
that they, too, have imaginations and that their lan-
guage and experience are important and relative to
the world around them. Often, people feel that in
order to possess wisdom and knowledge, one
shouldn't use simple language.

Yet, a wise old man, who knew how people are,
once said:

You see me.
My talk is one.
Real things, | say.


TEACHER’S MANUAL

ll

I )) THE INDIAN READING SERIES:
SK Stories and Legends of the Northwest

Henry Real Bird

Karen Stone Joseph Coburn

Joseph Coburn, Director
Pacific Northwest Indian Program
Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory

Educational Systems, Inc.
2360 S.W. 170th Avenue
Beaverton, Oregon 97005


56

Acting Out
Acting Words
How does it look to...
brush hair or teeth?
jump rope?

be cold or hot, mad or happy, shy
ornice?

Acting Phrases
How does it look to...
waddle like a penguin?
jump like a frog?
hop like a rabbit?
Acting Sentences
How does it look?
A frog dives in the water.
A bear fishes in a stream.

A horse prances in a parade.

|5 ex E |


36

Divide the class at random into four groups.
Explain that:

We are going to be the People Tribe of
Indians. Within the People Tribe we will have
four clans. A clan is a group of people that:

* care about each other
* respect each other

* help each other

+ like each other

Each of you will have a picture to show
you to which clan you belong.

Pass out the clan pictures and have the chil-
dren color them the appropriate color. The clans and
colors are:

fe -
Sor i) cae a

Buffalo Turtle Eagle Mountain Lion
(brown) (green) (blue) (yellow)

The colored pictures can then be pasted onto
cardboard and tied around the children’s necks for
identification. (By the time the paper wears out, the
identification cards will no longer be needed.)

s@

fanr
as

‘ik

S

es

ty

°°
o-
O%



The Teaching Activities

DRAMATIZATION
1 —Warmup to Movement
2 —Acting Out
3 —Dance
4 —Role Playing
5 —Five Senses
6 —Pantomime

TALKING ABOUT: Main Ideas and Details
RETELLING THE STORY

1 —Dioramas

2-—Mobiles

3 —Scroll Story

4 —Making Filmstrips

5 —Flannel Board

6 —Murals

7 —Puppet Dialogue

8 —Picture and Caption

9 —“Here’s My Line”
10 —Radio Announcer
11 —Mock TV Shows

WRITING DOWN

1 -—Comics

2 —Comprehension: Inference and Validation
3-Add On

4 —Imagine Yourself

5 —New Roles and Story Endings

6 — Writing Notes

7 —Making Songs

8 —Writing Talk

9 —Making Tests

IN OTHER WORDS (Making Books)
WORD STUDY

1 —What Do You Say?
2 —Oral Reading

3 —Building Vocabulary
4 —Words in My World
5 —Action Words

47


Action Words

Help the children get into a story and illustra-
tions, and have them find all of the action in the still
pictures. For example, dancing, beating drums,
walking, singing andrunning might be action words
in A Little Boy's Big Moment.

Write on the board ail of the action words the
children can think of. They could then make a book
of the action words they have found or thought up.

eS

107


Classroom Environment

Not every classroom is the same; not every
student's language development is at the same
level. For learning is a shadow and everyone's
shadow is different, depending on the sun and each
person's position on the earth.

But shadows and learning can grow, and the
activities are designed to meet the needs of your
students, whether they are bilingual students using
English as their second language or advanced read-
ing students using English as their primary
language.

For example, a student using English as his or
her second language will think out a question in the
primary language, then translate it back into Eng-
lish, thinking twice of what he or she is going to say.
For this type of student, where even the seemingly
simple task of speaking English is difficult, more
practice naturally is needed in the basics of speak-
ing English. How can you read what you can't say?

We must expand these children’s oral lan-
guage abilities to the point where speaking is easy,
then push them into developing their creativity while
expressing themselves in their own words. Don't
concentrate on grammar; rather, encourage them to
talk about what they feel. What you think from what
you see is not necessarily what you see from what
you hear. Hear what the children say and be sensi-
tive to their world. See what you can see!

On the other hand, the advanced English-
speaking student who no longer needs the basics of
learning how to speak English, can advance into
some of the activities which require creativity and
free, independent thinking. Here's where you can
show them how to think, not what to think.

Try to be free, open and honest, accepting all
ideas for just awhile. Get out of yourself and laugh at
yourself as you learn with the children. Try to feel
comfortable making mistakes and taking chances
along with them.

Of course, you don’t want to let the children run
loose and wild, with no direction; rather, help them
become in charge of their thoughts. You know the
direction of the answers, so go there with the chil-
dren. Let the children be free in the activities, going
in the direction you guide them.

29


=) THE INDIAN READING SERIES:
‘SS Stories and Legends of the Northwest


All of this happened in an oral culture, when the
Indians knew many, many songs without the aid of a
tape recorder. They could go from Colorado to the
headwaters of the Yellowstone, or from the Colum-
bia Basin country to the Rocky Mountains, without
the aid of amap. They talked to each other and were
concerned. They helped one another and showed
each other how to live. Children listened to their
elders because they enjoyed the stories and
learned from them. They didn’t listen to argue. How
can one argue about what no one knows?

Then the sun set, and people who talked differ-
ently came to the land. They wanted to change
everything and wanted you to listen and argue
about things that didn’t have a purpose or meaning.

Dick’s ball bounced three times.
How many times did Dick’s ball bounce?

It doesn’t make sense.
No more feelings...no more thinking...
by the book...just memorizing...

This approach has lost a lot of Indians. Many
now hate being Indian. They change their names,
quit speaking Indian and want to be “civilized.”

But we haven't lost everything. And this is why
we have these stories, once again, for some of the
children, and for you, the teacher.


Puppet Dialogue

Puppet Dialogue allows children free-flowing
verbal interaction. The puppets do the acting, and
the students do the talking as they hide behind the
teacher's desk. The stage may be made any way
you want it.

Yardsticks taped together
to form a stage.

du WIPES Tare Nie vas evel evr eee ee

Puppets

Ke

EL) 3 pm E|

Blackfeet Theater

Hand paper puppet

?
Read story, draw characters,

Ww make a script, rehearse, and perform.

At first, the talk may be impromptu. Later, a
script can be made through the /n Other Words or
New Roles and Story Endings activities.

Cc

h

a

r

a .

c talk to impromptu
t each other part

e

r

s

75


92

The rhyme scheme can be any way you or the
children want it.

1, 2, rhyme; 3, 4, rhyme by the line

1, 4, rhyme; 2, 3, rhyme by the line

1, 3, rhyme; 2, 4, rhyme by the line

...or any other combination of
rhyming lines...

When the poem is completed, sing the words — the
tune is there in the air.

Have the children pretend to be crows by mak-
ing “Kaw, Kaw,” sounds. Then have the children use
that part of their voice to sing the tune. It is almost
like humming a tune.

Have the children chant:

Bird voice singing tune,
About like humming a tune.

After you find the tune and can sing the words,
you might hum the tune all the way through. Then
you can sing the words, using the bird’s voice
(sounds like a chant) to go through the tune.

And then:

Cottontail lost his finger,

He went to his grandmother,
He played a game,

And he wasn't the same.

The children can sing anything!


Dance as if your feet are on the drum.
a
aan

ee NS
<Gi )

Move like a bird flying,
circling, soaring, diving
for prey, eating prey.

Or a bear moving slowly, sitting
up, sniffing air, smelling

honey — oops! —in a swarm of bees.

Soe
A/S
\ |)

y
NS
Move like an eagle.
First you are sitting on the ground
and then you are flying, your wings
moving slowly and heavily.
You spread your wings and look like

a kite as you circle a rabbit.
You dive for the rabbit and take it home.

8&4
5 8

Dance

Put on the cassette tape, Little Songs and In-
dian Dances, and let the children play with the
following movements.

Before the children dance, you might talk about
the animal they are going to be; how the animal
looks, where it lives, how it moves and what it eats.

(218
Na
ar
Move like a prairie chicken.
Hold in your wings, let them out, then let them
in again.
Turn left or right by following your elbow down
and then wiggling your way up.

am
man

The different animals might interact and then

dance when you put on the music.

They could each dance as the animal they are

and then tell a story they have made up, through
their dance.

a
ia

How would a turtle dance?
With elbows out as if it were moving in water?

Dance like a bluejay.
Can you think of more?



Five Senses

Stop and think.

What do you think you think?

Read the story aloud and then stop any-
where you want. Let the children get into their
minds, using their five senses.

Does it make sense?

Give them back their senses.

Stop and think of what you see... tay

Stop and think of what you feel... BY

Stop and think of what you smell...
o) Stop and think of what you taste...
Stop and think of what you hear...

~~

In the story My Name Is Pop, Pop is under the
snow in winter.

Have the children pretend to be Pop talking.

I'm blind in the white snow.

| feel so cold and numb.

| smell clean air through the snow.
| taste fresh snow.

| hear a snowplow going by.

|3 = |

59


Rationale

In spite of some encouraging indicators in re-
cent years, Indians continue to lag behind the gen-
eral population in formal educational attainment.
Four major problem areas have been defined:

+ The reading and language arts curriculum ma-
terials currently in use in schools do not con-
tain content that is culturally relevant or within
the experiential background of most Indian
children.

+ When Indian children’s reading and language
skills are measured using typical norm-
referenced standardized tests, their scores
tend to be lower than scores for other com-
Parison groups (especially middle-class Anglo
children). Although the children learn decod-
ing skills, they seem to lag behind in develop-
ing comprehension and language fluency.

+ Indian children seem to become less in-
terested in school and school activities as they
Progress through the grades. Drop-out rates
in high school and junior high are extremely
high. Many elementary school Indian students
become quiet and withdrawn and do not ver-
bally participate in classroom activities.

+ Due to cultural conflicts in the classroom and
the resultant lack of academic success, many
Indian children lack a positive self-image.

13