Teacher's Guide
Related Resources:
Lost Bird of Wounded Knee Late in the 19th century, a Lakota child survived a massacre and was adopted by a prominent white couple, only to endure a life of racism, abuse and poverty. Her poignant story is told in Lost Bird Of Wounded Knee. The program is based on the acclaimed book, Lost Bird of Wounded Knee: Spirit of the Lakota, by Renee Sansom Flood.
Lakota Land: Stories of the Pine Ridge Reservation (Produced by Oglala Lakota College)
Additional Native American Studies Resources
Things To Do
1. Print out the guided notes and distribute to class.
2. Watch Dakota Pathways Episode #20 and have the students complete
the guided notes.
3. Go online and complete the “Activity” (word search) and “Challenge” quiz.
4. Student glossary included.
5. There is a list of related links that would be helpful for
student research projects.
6. Print out the crossword puzzle and distribute to class.
7. Class Activity – Reality Check
8. Standards
1. Guided Notes
“Guided Notes” - Student
(PDF)
“Guided Notes” - Teacher
(PDF)
2. Episode #20
Watch the Video Stream.
3. Online games
a. Have the students access the main page of Dakota Pathways. The
word search activity is found by clicking “Activity”. (Answer key for word search.)
b. Have the students access the main page of Dakota Pathways. The
online quiz is found by clicking “Challenge”.
4. Glossary
Have the students access the main page of Dakota Pathways. We
have included a student glossary.
5. Links
We have included an extensive list of related sites. We preview
each related site looking for adult content. Unfortunately, we
cannot find all of the inappropriate material on an individual site.
We include links we feel may be of use in the education setting.
Each site has individual rights and disclaimers you must be aware
of. Please call us Toll Free at 1-800-456-0766 if you find any
questionable content and we will remove it. If we have
unintentionally linked to your site and we are not allowed to please
contact us at 1-800-456-0766 and we will remove the link. Thank you.
6. Crossword Puzzle
The students may use the vocabulary words and definitions for the
crossword puzzle if they need help.
Crossword -
Blank (PDF)
Crossword -
Solved (PDF)
7. Class Activity – Reality Check
Introduction:
Today’s students are exposed to media coverage like never before.
Many times the world is aware of someone’s death before the
immediate family even knows. Nightly news programs are saturated
with reports of human deaths at home and abroad. Just within the
last 2 weeks, news stations across the country reported that 12
miners had died in the Sago Mine disaster, hundreds of civilians
were killed in Iraq and innocent people were murdered in the United
States.
The number of Americans killed in the Iraq War has superseded 2000,
over 200,000 were killed in the Asian Tsunami of 2004, and over
3,000 were killed in the 9/11 attacks. The National Center for
Health Statistics reported 2,443,387 deaths in the United States
during 2000. These are just a few examples of our exposure to the
common occurrence of death. Video games also subject students to
death everyday. Millions of deaths occur on video games every day.
Children and adults exposed to repeated violence and death can
become immune and unaware of its importance. I find it hard to
imagine how one hundred people dying could mean anything to me if I
was killing thousands of people a day on video games or seeing
deaths every night on the news.
The following activity is designed to rejuvenate the reality of
death. Hopefully your students will increase their appreciation of
life and have a better understanding of death. They will also
remember and have a better understanding of the horrible events of
the Wounded Knee Massacre of 1890.
Materials:
Phone book (1 for every 3 students)
South Dakota Official Highway Map (1 for every 3 students)
Possible materials (your preference)
Plywood / poster board – student would need to bring
Chicken wire – (maybe complete this part at home)
Staple gun – (maybe complete this part at home)
Glue (white)
Water
Tempera paint
Newspaper or scratch paper
Corn/rocks/beans/beads (other small items)
Grass / small trees / twigs / braches
Note: Times may vary depending on your class size.
This may be a great outdoor project to reduce clean up time.
This may be assigned as a home project. (Great family project)
Process:
In class day 1: (50 minutes)
-The students should view Dakota Pathways #20: A Dark Day
-Use the contents of the video to visit with your students about the
events that took place on December 29th, 1890. For the following
project I suggest concentrating on the importance of the 1890 date
in relationship to other South Dakota events. Events leading up to
the massacre are provided on the included timeline (“Activity”
section).
-I would also concentrate on the number of unnecessary casualties
that occurred during the massacre. Eighty-four Minneconjou men, 44
women, and 18 children died that day. Thirty-one Calvary soldiers
were also killed. A total of 177 people died that horrible day. The
students need to understand the importance and reality of these
deaths.
- I have a few suggestions to get the students talking and thinking.
1. South Dakota Official Highway Maps have a chart listing the
population of cities and towns in South Dakota. It is a reality
check to look at the populations of the towns in comparison to the
number of people killed at The Wounded Knee Massacre. Over 120 towns
have populations less than the 177.
Maps can be obtained from the state. I would use the same maps
for a few years to reduce the total number of new maps required for
your class on a yearly basis. The information may be a little
outdated, but the message will be the same. Maps can be requested
from the Office of Tourism at (605) 773-3301.
A South Dakota map can be viewed online.
2. A phone book also works well. Have the students look up your town
in the phone book. Then look through all of the listings and imagine
that 177 of them have been removed.
3. This activity also works great for houses or trees in a town.
Take a walk with your students and count houses or trees. Keep
walking until you have counted 177. Then turn around and imagine all
of the trees or houses you have counted are gone. Many examples like
these can be used to reinforce the importance of the tragic deaths.
In class day 2-4 (50 minutes)
The students will each construct a three-dimensional topographical
model of the Wounded Knee Massacre site. The model should be
constructed on a piece of plywood. The contours of the valley
surrounding Wounded Knee Creek can be constructed using chicken wire
or crumpled pieces of paper. The chicken wire should be secured
using a staple gun. I suggest having the parents help with this step
at home. Crumpled pieces of paper can also be glued or stapled to
the board to produce the desired contours.
4. The following site includes a map of Wounded Knee.
–
Topozone Maps
Tear newspaper into strips
Mix glue and water (¼ glue with ¾ water)
Apply strips over constructed contours – dry time
Complete model (paint / grass / trees / small branches / etc.)
-welcome creativity
The following is the most important step. Each of the 177 deaths
that occurred at the Wounded Knee Massacre site must be represented.
Different types of beans, colored rice, corn, etc should be selected
by the students to represent each group below. The exact number of
each must be glued on the model. A key should be made in the corner
which shows the flowing information.
| Item (Glue to Key) |
Group |
Number of Deaths |
| Yellow corn |
Indian Men |
84 |
| Purple corn |
Indian Women |
44 |
| Read corn |
Indian Children |
18 |
| Colored beans |
Calvary Soldiers |
31 |
This is an educational activity that your class will never
forget! Having to glue the 177 separate items onto the model will open
the eyes of your students and reinforce the fact that the massacre was
a tragedy in history that should never be forgotten.
Wounded Knee Massacre Site Model (Photo
Album)
The photographed Wounded Knee Massacre site model was constructed
using a 2’ X 2’ X 1” piece of plywood. Brown grocery bags were stapled
to the wood to produce the contours. Strips of newspaper were attached
to the brown grocery bags using the glue mixture indicated in the lab.
The following model was decorated using spray paint (huffing concern –
tempera paint may be a better choice) and pieces of grass. The key and
colored pieces of paper were attached with Elmer’s glue.
FOURTH GRADE HISTORY STANDARDS
STUDENTS WILL:
3. trace the history of South Dakota with emphasis on notable
South Dakotans such as Red Cloud, Sitting Bull, John B. S. Todd,
Fred T. Evans, Laura Ingalls Wilder, James Scotty Philip, Niels E.
Hansen, Gertrude (Zitkala-Sa) Bonin, Peter Norbeck, and Francis
Case; impact of the gold rush; controversy over statehood; and
Indian Wars and reservation life.
4. Analyze issues of concern in South Dakota, including water
issues; farming and ranching issues; Indian and Non-Indian
relationships; and urban/rural population changes.
FOURTH GRADE CIVICS STANDARDS
STUDENTS WILL:
4. analyze the actions and rights of a responsible citizen, such
as obey rules (classroom, family, community), the use of conflict
resolution and compromise, voting rights, property rights, civil
rights, and human rights.
5. identify examples from South Dakota history of conflicts over
rights, how the conflicts were resolved, the important people who
helped resolve them, and conflicts that remain unresolved.
Episode 20 Script
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