Classroom Activities
Lesson 1 – Season: Autumn
Objectives:
1. I will read the English version of the poem entitled "Breakfast" with my student partner.
2. I will translate the English words to Navajo.
3. I will read the poem "Breakfast" in English and Navajo with my partner and 2 other classmates.
4. I will write a paragraph about how traditional Navajo people used to eat breakfast.
5. I will draw and write a paragraph about how Navajo people eat breakfast today.
Procedures:
1. I will read the English version of the first stanza of the poem entitled "Breakfast" with my partner.
2. I will work with my partner to translate the meaning of the English words to Navajo by asking my partner a question about what he/she "thinks" the word will translate to; then write down our answers.
3. Partner 1 line: "Do you know the Navajo translation of this word, student name?"
[Wait for your partner to respond]
Partner 2 line: "Student Name, What do you think this word will translate to in Navajo?"
[Wait for your partner to respond]
*Student Activity – Students interact with each other and utilize the question format. Students will have their sheet with the given words in English. Complete the activity.
*Teacher Activity – Teacher facilitates and encourages students to speak to one another. Teacher refers student to the English interpretation of the poem if students are struggling.
1. I will say key words and phrases in English and translate to Navajo.
2. I will read the poem "Breakfast" in English and Navajo to my partner.
3. I will write a paragraph in my booklet to explain how traditional Navajo people ate breakfast.
4. I will write a paragraph in my booklet to explain how Navajo people eat breakfast today using the poem and the picture.
5. This will lend to discussion amongst students about the differences in our Navajo culture from traditional to modern.
Brief Explanation: The teacher should plan for three lessons during the course of the school year because the lessons are organized by the seasons of autumn, winter, and spring. Summer is optional for the teacher. The main purpose for the lessons is to have students increase the use of their native language, Navajo, through the use of poetry written in both English and Navajo. In addition, the focus for each lesson will be for students to understand the activities of the Navajo people that occur during the given season. The identified poems are short in length and written in English and Navajo. The English and Navajo words are organized side by side, which will assist the students with translation of the poems in both languages.
Season 1 : Autumn Poems
Duration: 3 to 4 days
Objectives:
1. The students will review how poetry is organized.
a. This would include knowing poetry in terms of lines, stanzas, free verse and rhyme, as well as short and long poems.
2. The students will read the following poetry titles in English and Navajo: "The Hogan," "The Cornfield," "My Mother, My Father," "The Lambs," "The Trading Post," "Autumn," and poems on weaving.
3. The students will read in English and Navajo the identified poems individually and with a partner.
4. The students will create a booklet for their knowledge of key words in Navajo that translate to English for Navajo vocabulary development.
5. The students will write a paragraph about each poem to understand the activities that traditionally occurred among Navajo people during the autumn season.
Pre - Assessments:
1. Prior to each poem, students will be given a list of Navajo words to translate to English. This will help the teacher to identify students who are developing a command of the Navajo language through the identified vocabulary words.
2. Teacher will prepare questions about the activities that occur during autumn season. Sample question: "What was the purpose of a Trading Post for Navajo people?"
3. Teacher will have students individually read the poem in English and Navajo to ensure their grasp of the fluency of the text.
Post-Assessments:
1. Teacher will assess the students' knowledge of Navajo vocabulary words.
2. Teacher will provide students with a written assessment to explain the purpose of the Trading Post in order to gauge the students' understanding.
3. Teacher will assess reading fluency in English and Navajo by individually listening to students reading to their partners and students reading to the teacher.
Classroom Procedures for Teacher:
1. Teacher will begin with the introduction of how poetry is formatted. The focus would be on the following: poetry vs. a story, lines, stanzas, free verse, rhyming, and other types of poetry, poems can tell a story, and poems can be written in different languages.
2. Teacher will teach in the following order: "Autumn," "My Mother, My Father," "The Hogan," "The Cornfield," "The Lambs," "The Trading Post" and "Weaving."
3. Teacher will prepare a listi of key Navajo words and target questions prior to the introduction of each poem.
4. Teacher will implement both pre and post assessments for each poem.
Poem 1, entitled "Autumn," pp. 61-63 from book entitled Little Herder in Autumn by Ann Clark:
1. Key Navajo words from poems: 'aak'eed, ch'il, naayizi, lahgoo, nizhoni, ya'at'eeh, shima, dzil deeya, ch'iiyaan, azee, 'aghaa', shizhe'e, neeshch'ii, nayiilaah, t'aa sahi, chiditsoh,
2. Teacher would have the words written in Navajo using the Navajo font so that students will see and read the correct annotation for each letter.
3. Teacher will read the Navajo words to the students and they will write the correct English translation for each word.
4. Teacher will provide a copy of "Autumn" and ask the following questions:
a. Prior Knowledge questions: "What do you know about the season autumn, which is sometimes called fall? What happens during this season?" Student will create a list of activities or changes that happen during autumn.
b. The poem will be read in English first so students will have the mind set of what autumn looks like based on the poem. Question for students: Name three main activities that the Navajo people engage in during autumn. Student should list the following: harvesting of plants, gathering of plants for dyes, foods, and medicine, and picking pinions in the mountains.
c. Both teacher and student will re-read the poem for clarity of the content.
d. Teacher will have students read the poem three times in English with a partner, independently, and in individual practice with teacher.
e. Next, teacher will slowly read each stanza from the poem "Autumn" in Navajo—
f. and assist students with the translation from Navajo to English.
g. Teacher will spend some time with students practicing the pronunciation of each word.
h. Students will eventually read the stanza / poem on their own and with a partner in the Navajo language.
i. Students will compare and contrast the traditional and modern life of Navajo people as the students perceive it for themselves. Teacher will lead discussion for students to engage in and talk openly about the differences and similarities they see among traditional Navajo peoples and within their own families.
Closure:
Students will reflect and write about their progress from the beginning of the lesson to the end. Students can reflect on how they did or did not know the key words, but realize that now they know all the words in Navajo. Students can reflect on their reading practice in English and Navajo. Student will reflect on their knowledge gained about the activities that occur in the Navajo culture. Students will write what they have learned about the activities that occur during the autumn.
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