Arlee Powwow Big Book
Developed by Carrie Drye for Arlee Elementary
Text Title, Author and Citation
Harvey, Roger, Rhonda Howlett, Hope Litzsinger, Kathy Felsman, and Jan Bennett.Arlee Powwow Big Book. Arlee Elementary, Arlee, MT59821, June 1995.
About the Authors
The teachers involved with this book were trying to find culturally relevant materials for Reading Recovery students. They found very few and decided to make their own. The text was written to provide predictable language, and the pictures were taken of local dancers.
Text Summary
The text is a predictable book about which powwow dancers dance slowly and which dance fast. It has pictures of each kind of dancer in his or her regalia. There is also a diagram of the parts of the regalia at the end of the book.
Tribes Represented in Text
Salish, Pend d’Oreille and Kootenai
Setting of Text
The annual powwow held in Arlee, Montana, each year over the Fourth of July. This celebration has been in existence since 1898.
Genre of Text
Contemporary non-fiction
Suggested Grade Level(s)
K-1st grade
Time Required
20 minutes
Supplies and Materials
Arlee Powwow Big Book
Background Information
Each of the dances at a powwow has a different tempo. This book uses simplified language to help students understand the different kinds of dances and their respective speeds.
Implementation Level, Essential Understandings and MT Content Standards
Banks - O’meter / Essential Understandings – Big Ideas / Montana Content Standards4 / Social Action / x / 1-Diversity between tribal groups is great. / 5-History represents subjective experience & perspective. / Reading
1.1, 2.4, 2.5 / Social Studies
4.3, 4.7
6.2, 6.3
3 / Transformative / x / 2-Diversity between individuals is great. / 6-Federal Indian policies shifted through 7 major periods.
2 / Additive / 3-Oral histories are valid & predate European contact. / 7-Tribes reserved a portion of their land-base through treaties. / Science
2.2 / Math
2.1, 2.2
Speaking and Listening
3.6, 3.7
Writing
1.3
1 / Contributions / x / 4-Ideologies, traditions, beliefs, & spirituality persist / 8-Three forms of sovereignty exist - federal, state, & tribal.
Instructional Outcomes – Learning Targets
Content Area Standards
Essential Understandings
Essential Understanding 1: There is great diversity among the 12 tribal nations of Montana in their languages, cultures, histories and governments. Each Nation has a distinct and unique cultural heritage that contributes to modern Montana.
Essential Understanding 2: There is great diversity among individual American Indians as identity is developed, defined, and redefined by many entities, organizations and people. There is a continuum of Indian identity ranging from assimilated to traditional and is unique to each individual. There is no generic American Indian.
Essential Understanding 3: The ideologies of Native traditional beliefs and spirituality persist into modern day life as tribal cultures, traditions and languages are still practiced by many American Indian people and are incorporated into how tribes govern and manage their affairs.
Additionally, each tribe has its own oral history beginning with their origins that are as valid as written histories. These histories pre-date the “discovery” of North America.
Social Studies
Students will
4.3 examine biographies, stories, narratives, and folk tales to understand the lives of ordinary people and extraordinary people, place them in time and context, and explain their relationship to important historical events.
4.7 explain the history, culture, and current status of the American Indian tribes in Montana and the United States.
6.2 describe ways in which expressions of culture influence people (e.g., language, spirituality, stories, folktales, music, art, dance).
6.3 identify and describe ways families, groups, tribes, and communities influence the individual’s daily life and personal choices.
Science
Students will
2.2 examine, measure, describe, compare, and classify object it in terms of common physical properties.
Skill Sets
Reading
Students will
1.1makepredictions and connections between new material and previousinformation/experiences.
2.4use features and organization of fiction and nonfiction material to comprehend complex material (e.g., paragraphs, chapters, titles, indexes, tables of contents, graphs, charts, visuals).
2.5adjust fluency, rate, and style of reading to the purpose of the material with guidance.
Writing
Students will
1.3 demonstrate awareness of personalvoice, sentence structure, and word choice.
Speaking &Listening
Students will
3.6 draw connections between one’s experiences, information, and insights, and experiences communicated by others.
3.7 identify characteristics of enjoyable listening experiences by examining rhythm in music and visualization of images.
Math
Students will
2.1 exhibit connections between concrete and symbolic representation of a problem or concept.
2.2 use the number system by counting, grouping, and applying place value concepts.
Learning Experiences–Text-Based Inquiry
Before
Make a chart of some things that go fast and things that go slowly. Can some things go on both lists? How? Why? Talk about what a powwow is and about the Arlee Powwow in particular. See the website for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribes (listed in Resources and References) for information on Arlee’s celebration.
During
Read the book together. Have individuals point and read each page. Have individuals find the words “slow” and “fast” on the pages. Ask students to locate the initial consonant in slow and fast each time it occurs. Using the pictures, talk about how the regalia is the same and different in several of the pictures. When were the pictures taken? How do you know?
After
Using the chart in the front of the book, look at the pictures to see if you can find each part in each picture. Let students share their dancing experiences. Were they the same or different than the dancers in the book? You might use a Venn diagram to compare. Brainstorm to allow students to get ideas for their own fast/slow books.
Assessment
Teacher observation/student product, and the ability of the students to do a familiar read of the text independently.
Teacher Notes and Cautions
It is very important for teachers to be aware that not all dancing at Powwow is the same. Each dance has its regalia, its traditions, and its unique character. Please help students to understand that as you use this book.
Vocabulary
The names of the types of dancing; fancy dance, grass dance, traditional dance.
Extension Activities
- Write your own fast/slow book.
- Move fast/slow using many ways of moving.
- Draw dance regalia for yourself – make sure you choose a dance first.
- Use the book for counting activities. How many grass dancers? How many fancy dancers? How many bustles are in the book? How many roaches? etc. With older kids the book could be used for making word problems. If all of the grass dancers and all the fancy dancers were together, how many dancers would there be?
- Read all or parts of other powwow books. See list in resources below.
Resources and References
Ancona, George. Powwow. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1993.
“Coming Together: Entering the Powwow Circle.” Missoula County Public Schools. 26 June 2007>.
Thislesson is for 4th graders but it has lots of wonderful ideas that could be adapted for younger students.
Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. 2004. 26 June 2007 <
Cox, Rhonda. Powwow. Katonah, NY: Richard C. Owen Publisher, Inc., 2001.
Crum, Robert. Eagle Drum: On the Powwow Trail with a Young Grass Dancer.New York: Four Winds Press, 1994.
Hungry Wolf, Adolph and Beverly. Powwow Volume 1. Skookunchuck, BC, Canada: Good Medicine Books, 1983.
McCloskey, Murton.Your Guide to Understanding and Enjoying Pow Wows.Available from Montana OPI, reprinted 2006.
Powwows.com. 26 June 2007 <