Thirteen Moons on Turtle’s Back

The pattern on the back of a turtle has thirteen large sections surrounded by a ring of 28 small sections, which can be used as a calendar to count the passing of days and moons through the yearly cycle. Each moon phase holds significant importance in the life of Oneida people.

Curriculum Areas: Language Arts, Visual Arts

Recommended Levels: Pre-K, Kindergarten and First Grade

Time Frame: 2 Sessions, 30 minutes each

Tribal Affiliation: Oneida Nation, Wisconsin

Geographic Location: Upper Midwest

Developed by: Carol B. Bauman, Language/Culture Trainee Supervisor, Oneida Nation Language Revitalization Program, Oneida Nation, P. O. Box 365, Oneida, WI 54155 (800) 236-2214

Email addresses of developers: duchess@greenbaynet.com

Date lesson was developed: July 25, 2001

American Indian Standards:

Visual Arts, Standard #6: Making connections between American Indian visual arts and math, science, social studies and language arts.

Language and Literacy Standard #1: Listen for meaning and gain information from spoken English and a Native language.

Language and Literacy Standard #2: Listen to Indian stories told in the oral tradition, comprehend their teachings and be able to retell them.

INSTRUCTION

Goal: To learn the Oneida names, ceremonies and seasonal activities of the yearly cycle as delineated by the teaching of the Thirteen Moons by using the visual aid of the shell of a turtle.

Behavioral Objectives: Students will:

• Listen to the story of how Turtle’s back relates to the Thirteen Moon Cycles of the Oneidas
• Draw a turtle’s back for classroom use.
• Place pictures drawn in previous lesson on Turtle’s back following the outline in Thirteen Moons of Turtle’s Back by Joseph Bruchac and Jonathan London, Scholastic Inc., New York, 1992
• Explain why Turtle’s back is used to convey the Thirteen Moon Cycle.

Prior Knowledge Needed:

• Oneida Names for the Thirteen Moons
• Oneida Creation Story

Materials and Resources Needed:

• Colored Markers, Paste
• Scanned pictures of 13 moon cycles that students created in previous lesson
• Sheet of construction paper measuring 36” x 48”
• Scanned picture of Turtle’s back from Bruchac’s book.
• Oneida Font
• Thirteen Moons on Turtle’s Back, A Native American Year of Moons, Joseph Bruchac and Jonathan London. Scholastic, Inc., New York, 1992

Culture Content and Strategies:

The turtle holds a very special place in Oneida cosmology as it was upon Turtle’s back that Skywoman was placed when she fell from Skyworld. With dirt that the muskrat found for Skywoman from diving deep into the water, Turtle Island was formed. One of the three Oneida clans is the Turtle Clan, along with the Wolf and Bear Clan. Each of the Five Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy have Bear, Wolf and Turtle clans. One of the symbols that the Oneida Nation uses to identify itself is the Tree of Peace sitting on the Turtle’s Back. At the top of the Tree of Peace stands an Eagle with its wings spread, watching for any challenges to the Nation. On either side of the Tree of Peace are the Wolf and Bear.

It is the belief of most native peoples that all of creation is related. A result of this relationship is that if we are observant, there are lessons to be learned that will make us better human beings.

Lesson Summary and Performance Tasks:

Share with the children the picture of Turtle’s Back. Review with the students the Thirteen Moons, both the Oneida names and English interpretation. Lead the students in a discussion about the placement of their pictures on the turtle’s back. Using an opaque projector, project the image of Bruchac’s outline so that students can draw the picture on the larger paper. Using the pictures that the students created in a previous lesson, have students place the pictures on Turtle’s back in the corresponding place.

Assessment:

Students will relate to the teacher where on Turtle’s back each moon cycle is placed and explain how Turtle’s back can help us remember the year’s events (Check list).

EXTENSION

Technology Integration:

Scanner

· to create copies of Bruchac’s turtle outline to be enlarged by students for classroom teaching aid.

· To reduce size of students pictures of the Thirteen Moons.

Opaque Projector

· To allow children to draw their own classroom visual aids of the Thirteen Moon Turtle

Enrichment/Remediation:

· Students can use the Thirteen Moon Turtle to track passage of time through the school year.

· Students can use classroom visual aid to create smaller versions to take home and share with family.

Teacher Reflections

To be added by individual user