“The Great Hunter” Storytelling Lesson

DESCRIPTORS

Curriculum Areas: Language Arts, Visual Arts

Recommended Levels: Grades 6, 7, 8

Time Frame: Ten Sessions, 45 minutes each session

Tribal Affiliation: Oneida Nation, Wisconsin

Geographic Location: Upper Midwest

Developed by: Carol B. Bauman, Language/Culture Trainee Supervisor, Oneida 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 Literacy

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

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

Standard 6:       Developing oral communication skills to perpetuate the American Indian oral tradition.

 

INSTRUCTION

 

Goal:  Students will listen to a story in the Oneida Language, interpret,  and retell the story using a multimedia software to illustrate the story. 

 

Behavioral Objectives: Students will:

 

Prior Knowledge Needed: 

 

Materials and Resources Needed:

 

Culture Content and Strategies:

The time during the winter months when the snow was deep and the wind blew cold, the People of the Longhouse stayed inside and used this time to tell stories and to work  on clothing, make drums, rattles, lacrosse sticks, snowshoes, etc. Food was dried and stored up, hunting for the most part was over and it was time to reflect upon the year.

As most Native peoples, the People of the Longhouse are well known for their humor  and storytelling. This might be a story told of something that just occurred during the most recent hunting season. Oftentimes, stories had a lesson attached to it so that the listeners would become better human beings.

 

Lesson Summary and Performance Tasks: 

Students will listen to the story as it is told by an Oneida elder speaker, read by the teacher or via an audio tape. They will identify the words that they are familiar with and listen to the story again for words that they aren’t familiar with. If necessary, a written form of the story will be provided so the students can identify these words. They will be able to use An Oneida Dictionary  to determine the meanings of the words. Once the story is understood,  the students can move to the computers to develop their slide shows utilizing their own drawings, digital cameras, scanned pictures, etc. Students will also have audio tapes to listen to in order to learn the story to be able to retell the story during their completed slide show.

 

Assessment:

Students will be able to:

·        Understand the story and demonstrate it by retelling (assessed by checklist, noting appropriate sequencing and significant details)

·        Develop slide show correctly depicting the main elements of the story (assessed by rubric)

·        Make a successful presentation to class (assessed by rubric)

·        Answer questions about the story back in the language (assessed by checklist)

EXTENSION

 

Technology Integration:

 

Enrichment/Remediation:

The students will have a method to deliver the meaning of the story to people who do not know the Oneida Language. They will be able to build their overall sense of self through the retelling of the story from the understanding they gained of the language and through the finished slide show. An illustrated book could be developed either as a picture book to accompany the audio tape, or include the written Oneida language. As students gain proficiency in storytelling, they also increase their ability to remember and to order thoughts. This will build a foundation towards learning the speeches connected to the ceremonies.