Our First Grade Pow Wow!

We are winding down our Native American Unit.  We have spent 2 1/2 weeks on learning about different nations.

These are some of my favorite books to read to the students:

We first learn about pictographs and the students practice using various pictograph signs to communicate on paper with each other.  They then use these pictographs throughout the next two weeks on their other crafts they create.  

We learned about the Native Americans who lived in the southwest.  We talk about the Navajos and we create wall hangings and clay pottery.  I send home a recipe with the students so that I am not having to make 18 batches of clay. :)  The recipe is as follows:

The pottery air drys.  Such an easy clay to make and use.

We study about the Native Americans that followed the Buffalo.   The students learn about the Sioux and  design and decorate tipis and we create a village on our back table ... the students LOVE this.

We make totem poles and canoes when we study the Tlingit of the northwest.  

(Yes, the totem poles and the tipis are in the same village - but hey - we only have so much room to work with here! lol)

Tomorrow we will be making our headbands, vests, and necklaces in preparation of our pow wow on Wednesday afternoon.  Here are some pictures from last year.  We have five games set up and the students rotate through them.  One is a stick game.   They toss painted sticks.  It's similar to a dice game.  You get points depending on what sides of the sticks land facing up.  Another game has them put sticks on the backs of their hands and they have to toss them and catch them.  There is an arrow toss.  We use wooden skewers and toss them into a circle on the floor.  It's similar to a marble game where you get to keep any arrows your arrow lands on.  We also play a rock passing game where one rock has a red painted dot on it and one in plain.  You sit in a circle and pass to your right and the person on your left has to guess which rock you passed.  The last game involves  the students  tossing rocks (bean bags) into various sized hoops on the floor.

The students will  be writing about if they were a Native American.  This allows them to share what nation they would be from and why.  I will add the writing projects at the end of the week.

They get so excited about this unit and in turn it gets them excited about sharing what they have learned in their writing.  It has been a very fun 2 1/2 weeks!