Landscape image of "Window Rock", a large red rock structure with a round hole in the middle with History overlayed on top.

Arizona’s Most Populous Tribe-The Diné (Navajo) – Part 1 History

Arizona’s Most Populous Tribe-The Diné lesson will compare and contrast the Diné traditional life to the present day. This lesson illustrates that despite everything, the Diné survived and are doing great things. Students will investigate the rich history of the Navajo Code Talkers and the forced migration known as the Long Walk to Fort Sumner. As well as take a deep look at Diné culture including ceremonies, jewelry, and weaving. 

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Course Information

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State Standards: , , , ,

Course Instructor

Brenda Kilmurray Author

Brenda Kilmurray is a National Board Certified Teacher, currently certified in Arizona with 17 years’ experience in the classroom working with 3rd – 5th grade students.  Brenda was awarded Cochise County’s Arizona Rural Teacher of the Year (2017), The Air Force Association’s Cochise County STEM Teacher of the Year (2017), Sierra Vista Unified School District’s Elementary Teacher of the Year (2017), and The Arizona Educational Foundation’s Arizona Teacher of the Year Semi-Finalist (2018). Brenda brings her passion for the classroom and understanding of the Arizona Department of Education State Standards together to create engaging and developmentally appropriate lessons. These lessons incorporate differentiated reading, writing, and STEAM activities. The lessons featured here were reviewed and critiqued by content experts, including historians, archaeologists, other educators, many of whom are members of Indigenous communities. For a full list the advisors visit Our Contributor’s Page.

Special Thanks to Our Contributors

Amerind would like to thank Dr. Laura Tohe for reviewing this lesson. The comments, advice, and guidance of our contributors improved these educational materials significantly. We are truly grateful for their help. Any errors or oversights in these materials are solely the responsibility of Amerind.

Course Structure

This course is delivered in 4 parts.

  1. History – Includes all links and activities in the Orange column below.
  2. ELA Reading and Writing – Includes all links and activities in the Yellow and Green columns with the title ELA.
  3. STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) – Includes all links and activities in the blue column with the title S.T.E.A.M.
  4. Resources – This is a simple page with links for extended learning and study. These are found in the purple column labeled Resources.

The table below gives a quick view of the lessons and links that are found in each of the lessons.

Arizona’s Most Populous Tribe-The Diné (Navajo)

History /Social Science Standard

Learning Objectives:
SP1.3 – We will generate questions about individuals and groups who have impacted history.
H1.1 – We will utilize a variety of sources to construct a historical narrative exploring the United States’ most populous tribe’s culture, civilization, and innovation.
RI.1 We will ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a grade-level text.
RI.10 – We will use social studies content to independently read grade-level appropriate texts.
W.7 We will conduct short research projects that build knowledge about a topic.

History ActivitiesELA 
Crosswalk		ELA
Activities		S.T.E.A.M.Digital
Resources
1) Diné Arizona’s Most Populous Tribe Digital Notebook
2) Arizona’s Most Populous Tribe-The Diné  
3) Arizona’s Most Populous Tribe CLOZE notes		Reading Passages
1) Diné (Navajo) United States Most Populous Tribe 
2) The Long Walk
3) The Diné (Navajo) Code Talkers

Writing Assignment
Arizona’s Most Populous Tribe The Diné (An Informative Writing)
1) Diné Duckster Reading Activity with on-line quiz
2) Sequence of events activity cooking with Diné traditional foods cookbook
3) Secrets of the Code Talkers
1) Navajo Code Talkers: create your own code
2) STEM Activity Hopping Corn
3) Beaded Corn STEM Activity		1) Kids and the Capital: Arizona’s Tribal Governments
2) The Navajo Nation The Story of America’s Largest Tribe
3) Code Talkers Were America’s Secret Weapon in World War II by Dr. Tohe
4) PBS Sun-kissed the Long Walk
5) Navajo Code Talkers
5) Test your Diné Language
6) RedBird Saves the Corn

Accessing the Course Content

This course is designed and presented with the goal that the material can be easily used by anyone. As a result, each lesson will present content in multiple ways to accommodate many different teaching styles and technology needs. For each lesson you will have the following options:

  • Website Content – The lessons/worksheets/videos will be available to view inside of the website. You can read and use the lesson from this site.
  • External Link – You will also have a link that directly links you to the resource (ie. Google Doc, Google Slide, YouTube Video)

* IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR GOOGLE DOCS AND SLIDES

If you go directly to a link to save a google document or slide, you must make a copy of the document and save it to your own account.

History

Introduction
Diné Arizona’s Most Populous Tribe Digital Notebook
Arizona’s Most Populous Tribe-The Diné
Arizona’s Most Populous Tribe CLOZE notes