THE GREAT NATIVE AMERICAN SCAVENGER HUNT
- a scavenger hunt of Native American clues -
As a 5th grade teacher, I always anticipate our unit over Native American cultures, & ways of life, with great excitement and eagerness! One of my favorite ways to bring this unit to life - is by the use of a hands on learning/immersion, as well as cross curricular connections. (Now I know this won't be feasible for all, depending on your curriculums/materials used in your classroom, but hopefully you can draw inspiration in how to do this similarly with other content, in your classroom!)
That said, in our 5th grade classroom we use the WONDERS reading curriculum, and lucky for us, the 5th grade text books have a WONDERFUL story about the early Navajo code talkers of World War II called, "The Unbreakable Code" (I HIGHLY recommend this read, even if you do not have access to the Wonders Curriculum! There are great read alouds even of this book on YouTube! Link below.) The story is a narrative of a grandfather telling his grandson of his time as an original code talker, and gives a strong connection to our studying of culture, language, and lifestyles of our Native American tribes from Social Studies!
Once we have read the "Unbreakable Code", we then read, "Chester Nez and the Unbreakable Code". The stories are VERY similar - however, the later gives a very INTROSPECTIVE look at the emotions and character traits of an early code talker! (We even watch a video interview on YouTube of Chester Nez, which -- SHOCKER! -- was filmed 10 minutes from our school in little, Pittsburg, KS!) It is VERY easy to compare and contrast these two stories and perspectives!
All the connections start forming, and all the while the students are LOVING IT!
At this point... I have them hooked with the information -- but now I'm stuck with the question...
HOW DO I MAKE THIS RELEVANT AND EXCITING FOR MY STUDENTS!?
The next day, I have students enter our classroom to the sound of a traditional Native American pow wow music. Excited, confused, and curious -- I then tell students, upon entering the classroom, that WE are going to go on our very own CODE TALKER, NATIVE AMERICAN SCAVENGER HUNT!
Students are then given a clue / 'recording sheet'. On this sheet, students read clues that will lead them around the building to different locations. At each location is a notecard I have already taped up with 3 'Navajo' Native American code symbols. The students then record the symbols from the notecard, onto their recording sheet... Once all the locations and symbols have been recorded, the student teams return to their 'camp grounds' (homeroom) to then 'decode' their messages, from a picture dictionary. The first team to crack the code wins! (In my classroom I give different increments of classroom cash depending on which 'place' they come in, in completing the challenge -- but as always, you pick what works best for you!)
All in all, the Great Native American Scavenger Hunt is a FAVORITE in the Miss B. classroom, and is ALWAYS a great closer or introduction, to covering a Native American centered unit!
As always, if you have any questions, feel free to hop over to the 'Contact' page to leave a message, or email me, and I will get back to you as soon as possible!
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