W@hta (Maple) Language Lesson

DESCRIPTORS

Curriculum Areas: Oneida language and culture, Tribal stories, and technology

Recommended Levels: 7^th & 8^th with 3^rd grade

Time Frame: 1 week - 45 minute periods

Tribal Affiliation: Oneida

Geographic Location: Oneida, Wisconsin

Developed by: Gail Danforth, Oneida language and culture teacher, Turtle School, P.O. Box 365, Oneida, WI

Email addresses of developers: gdanfort@oneidanation.org

Date lesson was developed: 7/25/01

American Indian Standards:

Traditional American Indian Stories

American Indian Foods

Standard 1.1: Interpersonal Communication

Standard 2.1: Interpretive Communication

Standard 2.2: Products of Culture

Standard 3.2: Acquiring New Information

Standard 5.1: Language Beyond School

Standard 5.2: Lifelong Learning

American Indian Language and Technology

Standard 1.1: Interpersonal Communication

Standard 1.3: Presentational Communication

Standard 3.1: Making Connections

Standard 5.1: School and Community

INSTRUCTION

Goal:

To learn Oneida language through the traditional activity of making maple syrup

Behavioral Objectives: Students will

• Review orally the sounds used in the Oneida.
• Review orally sugar camp vocabulary and phrases.
• Attend sugar camp and identify equipment/objects in the language.
• Teach vocabulary/commands to younger students, while walking them through the process of sugar camp.
• Work in pairs, with older students teaching younger students to use the digital camera.

Prior Knowledge Needed:

• Basic knowledge of the maple syrup making process.
• Basic knowledge of the Oneida sound system.
• Familiarity with sugar camp vocabulary and phrases.
• Basic knowledge of digital camera and accompanying programs.

Materials and Resources Needed:

• Elder as a resource speaker.
• Sugar Bush vocabulary (new) by Hudson Doxtator, Oneida elder/speaker. Available from Oneida Language Revitalization Program, Oneida WI.
• Sugar camp supplies
• A sugar bush
• Younger students
• A digital camera
• Oneida Font

Culture Content and Strategies:

Making maple syrup/sugar and Thanks to the Maple ceremony are important traditional activities on the Iroquois/Oneida calendar. It is vital that our children become familiar with the process of sugar camp and learn the appropriate terms and phrases in Oneida language.

Lesson Summary and Performance Tasks:

The older students can be put in teams with younger students. The older students with the younger students repeating can use vocabulary, commands and phrases repeatedly throughout the class period. They will take pictures the older students instructing the younger students. Upon returning to the classroom the older students will instruct the younger students on retrieving pictures on the digital camera. They can make booklets reflecting their retention and older students can be used as resources for correct identification and spelling, in Oneida language.

Assessment:

ü Checklist

ü Presentation of booklets by the teams.

EXTENSION

Technology Integration:

· Digital camera and software

· Word-processing

Enrichment/Remediation:

The community possesses a rich resource of stories collected in the 1930’s under

The Work Project Administration. These are accessible through the Cultural Heritage Center in Oneida, WI. There are stories on all aspects of daily living as well as several stories about making maple syrup.

The K- 6 Oneida Language curriculum contains a maple tree story in the third grade curriculum. This is available through the Turtle School Language and Cultural Department.

Teacher Reflections

The older students can be prepared and organize their strategy with their younger teammate during one class period. Several class periods can be devoted to going out into the sugar bush and then several class periods can be spent in the computer lab.