Pow Wow Preparation - Learning About Our Tribe -- Lenni Lenape

 For the past week, we have been learning about our Native American tribe - the Lenape.  They are from the northeastern region of the United States - primarily Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Delaware. The Lenape men were hunters and did what they could to protect their families. The Lenape women were farmers. Both the men and women were story tellers, artists, and musicians.

 

 This week we read a traditional Lenape story called, "Rainbow Crow."  This is the story of how a crow saved a forest full of animals during a terrible snow storm. The crow was once a beautiful bird. During a relentless snowstorm, the animals of the forest asked him to fly to the Great Sky Spirit to ask for the snow to stop. It got burned by the fire he received to melt the snow. However, if you look closely at its black feathers you can still see traces of its rainbow color.

Homework this past week was to research our tribe and dress the cut out accordingly. The students shared how they made their Lenape person and also wrote about it in a "How To" piece in Writer's Workshop. The following are their creations...

 

Lenape Family Project

Lenape Nation on PhotoPeach


Students and parents were invited to research the Lenape tribe for homework. They were given a card board cut out to dress their Native American accordingly. Students presented their project to the class and told how they created it. Our Pow Wow is fast approaching. The children are learning so much about the "Original People."

Lenape -- "Oh Did You Know...?"

As we have been learning about our tribe, we have put together a song that helps the children remember fun facts about the Lenape. The yellow sheets in the video are their song books. Each morning they would learn something new about their tribe and draw a picture to go with the words. Below is the result of the song - we are so proud of young Lenape!

Lenape - "Oh, did you know ... song." from Maria Mallon on Vimeo.