Lesson plan · North Dakota
Themes: Kinship & family, Identity & belonging, Storytelling & oral tradition, Education & learning, Spirituality & ceremony, Culture & continuity, Arts & expression, Listening & observation, Humor & play, Intergenerational learning
Resource text
Inquiry Design Model (IDM) Blueprint™
“Celebration Songs”
NDNAEU 2 “Learning & Storytelling”, NDNAEU 7 “Native Identity”
Compelling Question
What purpose/role do songs play in celebrations?
Standards and Practices
G.6_12.3.1 Describe the differences and similarities
among cultures around the world.
SOC.6_12.1-2.D2.2 Explain the relationship between
culture and society.
WH.6_12.1-6.E2.3 Explain the emergence of cultural
interaction between Europe and other civilizations.
Staging the Question
What songs do you sing to celebrate different events in your life?
Supporting Question 1
Supporting Question 2
What songs do you sing during family celebrations, gatherings, or ceremonies and why?
What makes songs that we sing in our celebrations unique or special?
Formative Performance Task
Formative Performance Task
After brainstorming with their families, students will make a list of songs they sing during various family celebrations (gatherings, campfires, birthdays, holidays ect.). Along with each song, students will identify various reasons for singing (religious implications, family tradition, culture tradition, ect).
Students will then listen to Earl Bullhead singing in Lakota. While listening, students will answer: What do you think he is singing about? They will only have audio.
The second time listening, students will have the lyrics, but not the title.
Students will then have the title given to them to see how close they were.
Watch the video from Teachings of Our Elders with Dr Wayne Fox:
After a class discussion about what makes songs special for individual culture (family, religion, etc), students will be asked to select an event from their life that has special meaning (starting a new sport, becoming a licenced driver, harvesting their first deer or fishing with their grandparents, etc) and write a song to commemorate the event.
How does this relate to other cultures’ songs? Is it easier to create song out of celebration or sadness?
Featured Sources
Featured Sources
Music video, Earl Bullhead:
http://www.wolakotaproject.org/oseuthree/wakatakiya-ahhintuwan-olowan-song-by-earlbullhead/
Video from Teachings of Our Elders with Dr Wayne Fox:
https://teachingsofourelders.org/essential-understanding2-dr-wayne-fox/
Celebrating the Powwow by Bobbie Kalman :
https://www.amazon.com/Celebrating-PowwowCrabapples-BobbieKalman/dp/0865056404/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=14703
21205&sr=8-
1&keywords=Celebrating+the+Powwow+by+Bobbie+Kal
man
Available for purchase
SUMMATIVE PERFORMANCE TASK:
Supported Claim
(written/spoken)
or Demonstration of Process
(project-based)
Students will share in pairs, the importance of song in celebrations using
personal experiences using their song.
SUMMATIVE PERFORMANCE TASK:
Extension
Students will discuss the proper place and purpose of a song.
Taking Informed Action / Real World Application
Students will perform (sing/dance) a simple song to a familiar tune.
Source materials
- Inquiry Design Model (IDM) Blueprint™
- http://www.wolakotaproject.org/oseuthree/wakatakiya-ahhintuwan-olowan-song-by-earlbullhead/
- https://teachingsofourelders.org/essential-understanding2-dr-wayne-fox/
- https://www.amazon.com/Celebrating-PowwowCrabapples-BobbieKalman/dp/0865056404/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=14703 21205&sr=8- 1&keywords=Celebrating+the+Powwow+by+Bobbie+Kal man