Native American Literature Circles Agenda
Native American Children Video (www.youtube.com/watch?v+cG17sQjCMoY)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Hook (Students get assigned Native American Tribal Names)
Model Literature Circle Roles
Break into Literature Circles
Go through the Literature Circle process
Demonstrate Book Review
Explain the Literature Centers
Break into Centers
 Food (Gabby)
 Dream Catcher (Charli and Wendy)
 Rain Dance and Rain Stick (Sasha and Charles)
Literature Circle
Title: The Birchbark House
Author: Louise Erdrich
Anjelica Manuel- Literary Luminary
Passage #1 P.g 2
I chose this passage because it introduced the main character and what her
name means.
I would share this with the group by asking why did your parents select your
name? What does your name mean? How do you feel about your name?
Passage #2 P.g 6
I chose this passage because it used figurative language and had a good
description of the Native American people and where they lived.
I would share this my group by asking How are your families similar to Okamayas
family and how are they different? How is the setting of BirchBark similar to
where you live?
Passage #3 P.g 10
I chose this passage because it talked about Omakayas jealousity of her sibling.
This concept may relate to some of the audience.
I will share this with the group by asking How does Omakayas relationship with
her sibling mirror your relationship with your sibling?
Ryan Estes- Illustrator
I was the illustrator. For our circle, the group would make teepee's out of
construction paper, bendy straws, tape, and ribbon. The object is to decorate the
teepee the way you think your family's teepee would have looked.
Discussion Questions:
1. Why did you decorate your teepee the way you did? 2.Does any drawing have
a symbolic meaning in your family?
3. Since our theme is seasons, how do you think that the families survived
throughout the year living in these teepees?
4. Do you think the teepee's are a better alternative to the woven houses like in
our book? Why?
Charli Neal- Vocabulary Builder
I found a website that is a guide that goes along with the book. I thought it was
really great to use for vocabulary because it gives a list of words for each chapter
in the book. This gives the students a chance to try and figure out the definition of
each word as they read. This is a great guide for the whole literature circle and
can be used by each person.
http://www.guesthollow.com/homeschool/history/notesbirchbark.html
Chapter One
Solitary: alone; without companions; unattended
Willow: Tree or shrub of the genus Salix
Pliable: easily bent; flexible; supple
Chapter Two
Envy: a feeling of discontent or covetousness with regard to another's advantages, success,
possession
Haunch: the fleshy part of the body about the hip
Translucent: Allowing light to pass through partially
Chapter Three
Keenly: finely sharpened, as an edge; so shaped as to cut or pierce substances readily
Sinew: a tendon
For my literature circle, I searched for pictures on google. I typed in "Kake Alaska" and went to google
images and chose the pictures I wanted to use. I printed the pictures and used them as an example for
the activity and to provide a visual of some of the tribal traditions.
A Native American Christmas Story: Circle of Wonder
By: N. Scott Momaday
In our literature circle, my job was the checker. I made sure everyone completed their work and helped
them on their assignment if needed. My job also consisted of giving the whole class Native American
names, during our mock naming ceremony. The names were designed for each person in the class and
based off their personality traits.
In our literature circle, Charles Dye was the Illustrator. Charles drew a picture of the main character Toto
and the valleys that describe where he feels at peace. Toto is mute, because of his grandfather’s death
and to capture Toto’s emotions, Charles used warm colors to describe his misery.
In our literature circle, Wendy had two jobs. Wendy jobs where finding important quotes and difficult
vocabulary words in the book. Wendy found two quotes in the beginning of the book, which describes
why Toto is mute and tells about his family situation. For the vocabulary enricher section, Wendy found
three words; marsh, mass and crèche. These words we believed would cause difficult for the students
and will need to be introduced before they read the book. Wendy wrote the meaning of each word and
described how it correlated with the book.
In our literature circle, Jessica was the Director. Jessica job consisted of creating questions that would
keep the class engaged with the lesson. Jessica question consisted of the following:
Discussion Questions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Tolo is a mute. Can you tell me what a mute is?
Why is Tolo’s Grandfather important?
Explain how Tolo felt when he wanted to tell his parents stories of what he had seen and heard?
Tell me something interesting about Christmas at Tolo’s house.
How does their Christmas celebration differ from yours?
here is the web adress for the youtube video on how to draw a human profile.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6j4legwfoc
Comp Strategies
Wendy Bailey
Dr. Roberts
Comprehension Strategies
1. History Frames/Story Maps
Can be used in Social Studies classes to take advantage of skills already possess from Reading classes.
Students can make graphic organizers or story maps about history asking:
Where and when did the event take place?
Who was involved?
What was the problem or goal that set events in motion?
What were the key events?
How was it resolved?
What is the universal or personal truth?
2. Questioning the author
Students ask questions about the content they are reading.
5 questions students try to answer.
1. What is the author trying to tell me?
2. Why is the author trying to tell me that?
3. Does the author say it clearly?
4. How could the author have said things more clearly?
5. What would I say instead?