Iroquois Legends & Myths

 

Storytelling is very important in the Native American culture.  Stories are passed down from generation to generation.

Some reasons why the Iroquois told legends and myths included the following:

·      Some stories describe how the universe came to be and what people’s relationship is to every part of the Natural World.

·      Some legends explain why things are the way they are, for example: “Why does Rabbit have long ears?”

·      Some stories remind us of how we should interact with one another in order to maintain peace and harmony.

·      Stories help pass down values and ideals from one generation to another

·      Some stories are told so that people will always know about their history. 

·      Stories have a message or a moral, and are told to teach a lesson.

·       Some types of stories are told just for entertainment. The Iroquois believe we need to have fun and laughter in our lives. 

 

 

 

Students collaborating while writing original legends and myths scripts inspired by their Iroquois unit  

 

 

 

Math 4

 

Math 4 students shared the results and analysis of their

Data Collection Projects

 

 

 

Math 4 students writing multi-step word problems for classmates to solve

Good Luck at the FLL Lego Competition Parker Bots!

 

 

3-D house for the Lego competition created by the students

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We learned many fascinating things during our visit to the

 Iroquois Museum in Howes Cave, NY

Mike Tarbell, a Mohawk from the Turtle Clan, showing a tool used by the Iroquois.

 

He spoke to the students about archeology, the tools of the Iroquois, food and traditions, and family life.

 

Creating one of a kind bracelets from glass beads

]used in the Iroquois culture

 

 

 

 

Having fun learning through interactive activities

 

 

 

 

 

Are there “13 Moons on Turtle’s Back?”  Count and find out!

 

 

 

The Hiawatha Belt made from Wampum

How to say "Bear" in each of the six Iroquois languages

 

Tools and other items used by the Iroquois

 

 

 

The Mohawk 500 years ago, before the Europeans arrived 

 

The Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Flag represents the original five Iroquois nations that were united in peace by the Peacemaker. The five nations include: Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Mohawk and Oneida. The pine tree symbol in the middle represents a White Pine. If you look at a White Pine you will notice that the needles are clustered in groups of five.

Students created their own illustrations of the Haudenosaunee Flag.

 

The False Face Society was an Iroquois healing group. They had an important job, to get rid of bad spirits.  They used masks, rattles and dance to scare away the evil spirits.

When making a mask, the Iroquois walked through the woods until they found a tree whose spirit spoke to they.  Some would carve their mask directly on the tree and only remove it when completed, while others would carve an outline of the face, cut out that section of the tree, and carve their mask in secluded shelter until it is complete.  The mask was polished then decorated with hair, feathers, and other adornments.

The 4/5 students created their own unique False Face Society masks, inspired by the Iroquois.

 

 

 

 

The Iroquois Indians played the Sacred Bowl Game during the last day of the "Ceremonial of Midwinter" which marked the end of the year. The wooden bowl was decorated with clan symbols.  To play the game a player placed six nuts, which were colored on one side, inside the bowl and hit the bowl against the ground. If five of the six nuts turned up the same color, the player scored one point and took another turn. The first player to reach 10 points won the game.

Partners worked together to create their own Iroquois Bowl Games.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Language Arts Time

 Students practicing short story creative writing inspired by pictures.

Students studied a picture and let a story unfold.  This gives students experience painting a picture with words.  They wrote some very imaginative pieces!

 

 

 

 

 

Having fun hiking with our buddies on Robert C. Parker Day!

 

 

 

The 4/5 students continue their unit on the Iroquois, learning about Native American Medicine Bags.

You might think that a medicine bag should only be carried by a Native American Medicine Man or Healer. That was one type of medicine bag - quite large as it would contain many herbs and articles, sometimes as many as fifty items.

But there is a personal type of Medicine Bag carried by many Native Americans, including the Iroquois.  It can range in size from a small pouch to a long bag. A personal Medicine Bag was not for healing others but to maintain personal harmony - with the physical, spiritual, and supernatural. A youth might have a small Medicine Bag.  As they added experiences, they also added things to their bag, so over the years, they often needed to replace the smaller bag with one larger in size.

These bags were used to carry plants for medicine and also to hold personal items and good luck charms.

 

The 4/5 students created their own Native Americans Medicine Bags and filled them with items of importance.

                                                                                                             

 

   

                                  

    

Each Friday, the 4/5s have "Buddies" with the 3 and 4 year olds.  It is one of our favorite times of the week.  The 4th and 5th graders are so wonderful with their buddies, whether they are playing with them, drawing or writing a book together, or reading to them.

 

 

                                           Buddy Poem

 

    "My Buddy"       

You're my best buddy,
 A caring, spirited friend,

I love the time we spend together
 We read, we run , we play, no matter what the weather.
 

You make me laugh and smile

You add joy to my days

You make me go that extra mile

You're very special in so many ways!

                    

Author: unknown