2. listen to legends about Indian children and discuss the important role children played in Indian life.

3. discuss how legends about Indian children helped the Indians transmit their values and culture to their children.

4. participate in activities in which they have to problem solve, evaluate, make choices, and give opinions.

Activity 1

After the reading of the story discuss why her name was changed at the end of the story to One-Who-Dearly-Loved-Her-People. Talk about how Indians used these names to describe a quality of a person. What qualities did this Indian girl have?

Have the children share times when they had to give up a prized possession to another (i.e., favorite clothing, a room, furniture, etc). Encourage them to make a name for themselves to describe a characteristic of themselves or something that they do well. For example, He-Who-Likes-to-Paint for someone who enjoys painting. Have the children draw a picture of themselves doing this idea. These names and pictures can be shared in a book called "Guess-Who-I-Am."

2. Review The Legend of the Bluebonnet . Have the children summarize the important events. Discuss the term sacrifice. (Refer to the previous activity of giving up a prized possession). Have them brainstorm and list other possible ways to please the Great Spirit that the Indian child could have tried.

Also discuss how this Indian child's life might have changed after she became One-Who-Dearly-Loved-Her-People.

3. Have the children list or make pictures of their three most valued possessions. Have them share their pictures and discuss how their life would be different if they gave away these three things.

4. Make a class book of "Our Most Valued Possessions." The children should draw pictures and complete this sentence: This _____________ is very valuable to me because __________ .

5. Have the children make their own warrior dolls using two sheets of brown paper or bags. Have them draw, color, and cut out the dolls. Have them wrinkle newspaper to stuff inside their doll after they staple around the edges. When their dolls are completed have them role-play the story.

6. Provide pictures and materials on the Comanche Indians. Show where the tribe is located on a map of the United States. Discuss and show physical characteristics of that part of our country. Show pictures of how the Comanche dressed, their homes, food, etc. Encourage them to ask questions about the Comanche Tribe and help them find material to answer their questions.

7. Have the children discuss the Indian idea of give and take. Indians feel that people are responsible for giving things back to Earth. Have the children work in small groups and brainstorm what we take from nature (i.e., from trees, lakes or oceans, and the sky). They can list or draw pictures of the idea. For example:

1. Gathered in a circle, show the children a paintbrush and a real Indian paintbrush flower or a picture of one. Review what a legend is. Read the story, The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush retold by Tomie de Paola. This is a story about the value of children being different from one another and how we each have something special to contribute or share with society. In discussion of what Little Gopher felt and missed by not being able to do what the other Indian boys were doing, brainstorm a class list of good and bad things about Little Gopher having to stay home in the village. Also discuss times when the children had experienced the disappointment of staying home or not being able to keep up with other children. What did they do? What could they do if this happened another time?

2. Have the children think about qualities that make people special. What is special about their parents, aunt, uncle, godparent, or a friend? Have them make a "I am special because . . ." badge. Make it out of oak tag and attach a ribbon to it so that they can wear it. They may also want to make a badge for a special person in their lives.

3. Review the story emphasizing the pages that illustrate Little Gopher's picture writing. Discuss picture writing as a way that the Indians had of telling and recording stories. A good source of information is Indian Picture Writing by Robert Hofsinde. Have the children write a story using Indian pictures. Have them share their stories with the class.

4. Little Gopher's tribe lived in tepees. Discuss and show pictures of various Indian homes. Discuss the reasons for different types of Indian homes. Then show pictures of various tepees. Tell how a tepee door always faced east so that the wind blew against the back of the tepee and so that the rising sun could wake and warm the sleeping family when the flap was left open. Tepees were made from buffalo skin and held up by poles. Tepees could be made from 10-40 hides and were made, set up, and taken down by Indian women.

Have the children make a tepee by tracing a large 1/2 circle on a piece of brown paper. Have them decorate and cut out one side of the paper with animals or a design. Have them roll the 1/2 circle into a cone and tape it on the inside. Cut a small slit on one side for a door flap and fold it back. Glue tooth picks or sticks at the tip. The class can arrange their tepees in a village around a large council tepee. Face the tepees in the village in the correct direction (flap facing East).

5. Have the children brainstorm and invent ways of making paintbrushes using sticks and whatever other methods they think of. Have an art center so that they can try out the paintbrushes that they made. Have them paint sunsets. Display work in a sunset book.

Activity 3

1. Read the Pawnee tale, The Mud Pony retold by Caron Lee Cohen, about a poor Indian boy who longs for a pony. He shapes a small pony from mud and Mother Earth then makes his dream come true.

Have the children recount the story by dictating sentence strips to the teacher. Have the children sequence the story strips in order. Encourage the children to see that this poor Indian boy rose to become an admired chief in his tribe through his perseverance and love of animals.

2. Discuss the story again focusing on the importance of the pony in this story. In this story, like many other Indian stories, the animals give strength to the people, teaching them courage, perseverance, and strength to carry on in a noble manner. Discuss the advantages of owning a pony. For what purposes would an Indian child or even an Indian family use a pony or horse.

3. Plains warriors like the Dakota, Crow, Pawnee, Cheyenne, and Arapaho took Coup (rhymes with blue) sticks with them into battle. The warriors used coup sticks (about the same height as a man) to touch live enemies--not to kill them. A warrior who got close enough to an enemy was considered far braver than one who killed him with a bow and arrow from a distance. An eagle feather could be earned for each coup in battle. Indians felt it required more courage to touch an enemy and leave him unhurt than to attack him.

How to make a coup stick. Use stick of 12 to 24 inches. Wrap paper stripes or ribbon spiral around the stick and glue them. Use yarn to tie on real or paper feathers.

After the children have made and displayed their coup sticks, have them discuss how this idea of nonviolence versus violence could be used to solve problems in the classroom. Role play some of the ideas suggested.

4. The boy in The Mud Pony became a chief. Review the reasons why he became a chief so loved by his people. Show pictures of the necklace he was wearing in the last several pictures of the story. Have the children make a Bear Claw Necklace. Cut out plastic claws from white plastic bottles. Punch a hole in each claw. Using yarn and macaroni pieces, have the children make their own patterns and string their necklaces. Have them explain their pattern designs as a way of integrating math into the lesson.

5. Read a Navajo legend of how horses came to the Indians in Turquoise Boy written by Terri Cohlene. This is another legend of how the horse came into the life of Indians and why this animal was so appreciated. Compare this story to The Mud Pony . Have the children tell which legend they liked better and why. Comparing Turquoise Boy with The Mud Pony would provide an opportunity to compare the Pawnee and Navajo tribes. What were the similarities and the differences? Where were they located?

2. Paint a mural for each of the three stories.

3. Read and discuss other stories about Indian children from the book, Children of the Earth and Sky , by Stephen Krensky. Find out about the cultures mentioned in these stories.

4. Have the children practice the art of storytelling. Have them make cut out or puppets of people and animals in the stories you have read to them. They can retell the stories to younger children. If possible invite a storyteller to class to share the art of storytelling.

Carlson, Laurie. More Than Moccasins: A Kids Activity Guide to Traditional North American Indian Life . (Chicago: Review Press, 1994) (ISBN 1556522134).

Cohlene, Terri. Turquoise Boy . (Mahwah, NJ: Watermill Press, 1990).

de Paola, Tomie. The Legend of the Bluebonnet . (New York: Scholastic, 1983) (ISBN 0590426036).

de Paola, Tomie. The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush . (New York: Scholastic, 1988) (ISBN 0590447068).

Hofsinde, Robert. Indian Games and Crafts . (New York: William Morrow and Co, 1957).

Hofsinde, Robert. Indians Picture Writing . (New York: William Morrow and Co, 1959).

Lee, Caron. The Mud Pony . (New York: Scholastic, 1988) (ISBN 0590415263).

Sheppard, Sally. Indians of the Plains . (New York: Franklin Watts, 1976).

Spies, Karen. Our National Holidays . (Brookfield, CT: Millbrook Press, 1992) (ISBN 156294109).

Where Indians Live: American Indian Houses . (Sierra Oak Publishing, 1989).

In addition, Children's Press publishes a New True Book , series on many Indian Tribes.