WISELearn Grant Lesson Plan Template
| Title: Hair is Sacred | Author: Tara Grignon |
| Subject(s): Social Studies | |
| Grade Level(s): 3, 4, 5 | Total Time: 45 minutes |
Overview / Description:
The teaching of why Native American people grow their hair long and wear braids was nearly forgotten and destroyed during the boarding school era. More and more young Native American men and boys are wearing long hair and braids again and getting bullied because of it. This lesson is meant to teach understanding to those who don't understand the teaching as well as to teach young Native American boys to take pride in their sacred hair.
Learning goals/objectives:
After completing this activity, students should be able to . . .
Recall the purpose of boarding schools.
Recognize the cultural teaching of why hair is grown out and braided.
Workplace Readiness Skill:
| x | Social Skills | x | Communication |
| Teamwork | x | Critical Thinking | |
| Attitude and Initiative | Planning and Organization | ||
| Professionalism | Media Etiquette |
Content Standards:
SS.Hist3.a.i Compare events in Wisconsin history to a current issue or event.
SS.BH3.a.5 Investigate how interpretations of similarities and differences between and among cultures may lead to understandings or misunderstandings.
Materials:
Book- Thunder's Hair by Jessie Taken Alive- Rencountre
Native American Boarding Schools
Learning Activities:
Read Aloud- Thunder's Hair
Transition into a whole-class discussion about the link between the teaching of long hair and boarding schools. What happened to Native American children with long hair at boarding schools and how are boys with long hair sometimes treated today? Ask why people who are not Native American may not understand the reasoning behind long hair and how we can help them understand it better. Talk about how before boarding schools Native Americans always wore their hair long but were forced to cut it at boarding schools.
Watch the video located in Materials.
End the lesson with a whole class discussion about, what can you do if you see a child getting bullied for their long hair at school?
WHO (T=Teacher Focus Lesson; WG=Whole Group\; SM=Small Group; I=Independent)
| Learning Activity Task | WHO is responsible for this step? | Approximate time for task |
| Read Aloud | Teacher | 15 minutes |
| Whole class discussion | Teacher/WG | 10 minutes |
| Watch video | Teacher/WG | 10 minutes |
| Wrap up discussion | Teacher/WG | 10 minutes |
Assessment: Students will contribute ideas on how they can stop bullying or what they could say to stop the bully.
Wrap-Up: Class discussion on how we can stop the bullying over long hair in our school.
Extension Activity Research project on modern-day boarding schools.