Classroom Activities
Lesson One – Self-identity
Who am I? Where do I come from? Who are my people? Who am I related to? Am I on the right path?
This will be the first lesson for students to begin thinking about whom they are and their self-identity as Diné in respect to other cultures.
Introduction: Have students brainstorm who they are to identify themselves. Write the answers on the board so students can begin seeing the various answers that are being given by students. Guide students with questions to have them think about themselves. Use the questions to put the answers in categories.
Instruction: Introduce self-identity using a poem or a dictionary definition. Discuss the students' ideas and perspectives from the poem or dictionary definition. Tell students that knowing their traditional Diné clans is the foundation of who they are and determines behavior, attitude, personality, feelings, thoughts, thinking process and opinions about our selves. Tell students that related clans should never flirt, date, or marry because the clan system is away Diné keep the blood and seed clean and healthy. Tell students traditionally, saying your clans let people know who you are as well as the Holy People. The Holy People will recognize you and give you blessings and protection. Tell students the questions from the categories are answered with the knowledge of one's four clans. Tell students Diné clans' values and beliefs of the four clans are: we represent our mother's clan because we come from Changing Woman through our mother. Changing Woman is the one who created the four original clans from her body. Changing Woman represents Mother Nature and therefore we are connected to the Mother Earth like our own mother. Understanding the history of the Diné clans and its purpose creates an understanding of and positive relationship with our environment. Further, understanding Diné traditional clans' purpose creates positive behavior, attitude, personality, feelings, thoughts, thinking process and opinions about our selves to create a positive self-identity. Model for students how to introduce yourself in Diné. Write how to introduce your self saying your mother's clan first, your father's clan second, your maternal grandfather's clan third, and fourth your paternal grandfather's clan:
Ya'1t'44h. Sh7 47_________________yin7shy4. (My name is)
________________________nish[9. (mother's clan)
_______________________b1sh7shch77n. (father's clan)
_______________________dashicheii. (maternal grandfather's clan)
________________________dashin1l7. (paternal grandfather's clan)
Activity: Students will introduce themselves using the format to introduce self properly in Diné culture. Assist students to pronounce clan names. Students will use oral Diné language to identify themselves. Students with the same clans raise their hands to identify relationship with the person making the introduction. Students will begin to see whom she/he is related to in the classroom based on their clans.
Assessment: Student self-introduction with four clans and identifying one person with the same clan or clans as herself or himself. Students will begin to identify who is related them. If students do not know all of their four clans then have students ask their parents or extended family to get their right clans.
Extended Activity: Students introduce themselves daily or once a week before they speak in classroom activities. This helps to learn the proper self-introduction in Diné and pronounce their clan names correct.
Extended Activity: Write poems on being Diné to address self-identity.
Lesson Two – Diné Clan History
Who am I related to? What are my clans? How do you get I clans? Where do clans come? How will I tell my history?
This lesson will follow the activity on self-introduction of clans. This history of Diné traditional clans will enable students to understand her or his own history.
Lesson Three - K'4 d00 Shik'47
Introduction: Hand out a list of Diné clans to students and discuss the groups of clans by reading each clan name in Diné language. Students locate and identify their clan group and related clans in that group.
Instruction: Tell students clans in its groups are related. Meaning that those clans in one group cannot date or marry. Introduce the words k'4 and shik'47 and discuss the meaning of the words. K'4 means to be welcoming, caring, compassionate, and similar positive qualities. Shik'47 means being related to others by birth and clans. Diné use their clans to identify their relationship to others using Diné kinship terms as follows: sh1d7 (my older sister), shideezh7 (my younger sister), shinaa7 (my older brother), shitsil7 (my younger brother), shim1 (my mother), shida'7 (my maternal uncle), shim1y1zh7 (my maternal aunt), shizh4'4 (my father), shib7zh7 (my paternal aunt), shizh4'4 y1zh7 (my paternal uncle), shim1s1n7 (my maternal grandmother), shicheii (my maternal grandfather), shin1l7 (my paternal grandmother/father).
Activity: First have students color code the paper with a list of Dine clans. Teacher select colors that is most representative of each clan. Have students color each group of clans according to teacher direction using colored pencils or crayons. Have each student get four strips (1in x 5in) of construction paper that matches the student's clan colors from the clan sheet. Students write their clan names on the appropriate color paper. Show students a poster board chart (prepared by teacher prior to activity) with labels for student name and the four kinship terms, and names of all the students in the class including the teacher. Have each student paste their four clans in order according to the labels. (See appendix) Students will identify the others students in the class who is related to them by the colors. The colors that are the same in the first and second columns will be sisters and brothers. The third column will be related as maternal grandfather. The fourth column will related as paternal grandfather. Have students identify each other using the kinship terms instead of their English names.
Assessment: Student's four clans on the chart/graphic organizer.
Extended Activity: Create clan groups or clubs in the school with students, teachers and adult staff. Invite parents and community to share information about their clans' characteristic that helps students with their own personal history.
Extended Activity: Journal writing to tell who they found was related to them and their thoughts and feelings about the new found sister, brother, etc.
Lesson Three - We come from the Four Worlds
What is my story? Where do I come from? Where does my people's history begin?
This lesson can only be given during the winter months of November through February. (If you listen to nature it would be between the first frost and the first thunder.) This helps the Native Diné youth to be knowledgeable about the history of his/her own people.
Introduction: Have students tell what they know about the history of Diné. In groups have students write their answers on chart paper. Have each group share the information they wrote. Post those in the classroom.
Instruction: Tell students this is our history of our people. According to our elders and leaders before us, this is the oral account they left for us to carry on to future generations. Teacher reads or retells the oral Diné history about the beginning of Diné people. Discuss the events and traditional lessons and morals for students to understand their uniqueness and the importance to maintain the traditional oral tradition, and history.
Activity: Give students a choice to retell the oral history using power point, comic drawing, or write a short book about the Four Worlds. It could be about only one of the worlds or it could be about all the four worlds. Put students in groups of two to four to retell the events of their history.
Assessment: Student's presentation of the Diné historical events. .
Extended Activity: Invite community members to the classroom to tell other oral historical events of Diné.
Extended Activity: Students retell history orally to younger grades.
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