2. discuss the way the Indians used natural resources to fulfill their basic needs.

3. learn about Navaho people, their clothing, dwellings, and traditions.

1. Have the children sit in a circle. In many Native American Indian cultures people would sit in a circle for storytelling. The formation of a circle meant that no one person is at the head. All people are "the same height" and this idea reinforces the notion that listeners or audiences are an important part of a story-the receivers. Remember, a good story cannot exist without a good listener. Read The Goat in the Rug by Charles Blood and Martin Link.

2. Have children discuss the story focusing on the relationship found between Glenmae and her goat (use picture clues from the story).

3. Have the children retell the parts of the story. Using picture cards and sentence strips have children name the steps in making a Navaho rug from goat's wool. With participation from the children, put these sentence strips in order.

4. Have children recall all materials used in making the Navaho rug. List these items on a chart. With the story as a resource, try to list from where each of the materials used in making a rug came. Discuss with the children that in the past there were no stores and American Indians had to use resources they found in nature. The types of resources they had available to them depended upon their environment.

Activity 2

1. Review the story The Goat in the Rug . Use a large United States map and locate the general location of the Navaho Indians. Point out and discuss the geographic relationship of this location to the location of our school.

2. Using the pictures in the book have the children describe:

3. Have children work in small groups to make murals, depicting scenes from the story The Goat in the Rug . Encourage the children to include clothing, hogan style home, background environment, and one of the steps in making the rug.

Activity 3

1. Have the children make their own representations of a Navajo rug. Introduce the activity by having the children look carefully at some actual Navaho rugs or pictures of them. Have children describe the colors, shapes, and patterns they see.

2. Give children or a group of children cut-up colored paper geometric shapes and a blank piece of paper. Each child should move the geometric colored shapes to create their design. When the children are satisfied with their designs, the papers should be glued into place to create their rugs.

3. Have children use math manipulative such as pattern blocks, color cubes, or parquetry blocks to make rug designs. Each design can be photographed.

4. Introduce the concept of weaving using a large sheet of sturdy paper, precut to form a loom. Help children to weave strips of colored construction paper or wallpaper scraps in a in-and-out weaving pattern. Staple or paste each strip into place once it has been woven.

5. Try cardboard loom weaving using stiff cardboard pieces with 1/2" notches at 1/2" intervals apart, across the top and bottom of the cardboard. Use very fat yarn for the weft (the yarn for weaving in-and-out).

2. Invite a speaker who raises goats and sheep to the class. Have the speaker explain the raising and care of the sheep. Have the speaker bring in some of the tools used for tending sheep.

3. Invite a person who spins and weaves into the classroom. Have the person demonstrate the spinning and weaving. Let children examine cleaned wool from goats and sheep and compare this to the spun yarn.

Have the speaker demonstrate spinning on a spinning wheel and on a hand spindle. Let children try spinning using the hand spindles. They can work in pairs, one to keep the spindle spinning and the other to work with the wool.

4. Discuss with the children how Glenmae planned to color the goat's wool. Discuss how plants, fruits, and vegetables can be used to make dye to color yarn and fabric as the Indians did long ago.

Dye some white cotton string or pieces of white fabric using dyes made from natural materials. Into boiling water or hottest tap water available add plant, fruit or vegetable material. Mix or let sit until the water is well colored. Carefully strain the colored water. Keep children a safe distance away.

Place fabric or string (unwound) into colored water. If you continue to heat the water with the string or fabric in it, the color will be darker. This can be done in a crockpot. The longer the item soaks the stronger the color will be. When the desired color has been achieved, remove the string or fabric from the dye, gently squeeze it out and let it drip dry.