Lesson 10: The Lakota People's Language

The Lakota People’s language

This lesson will introduce students to the Lakota language spoken by the Lakota/Dakota people. Students will learn and work with words of the Lakota language for grandpa, grandma, mom, dad, son, daughter, and children.

Materials and Resources

- All Families Are Special By Norma Simon with Lakota word additions (3 copies)
Write the Lakota family word on yellow painters tape. Place the Lakota family word over the English family word in
the book. Then when you record the book on tape read the Lakota family word instead of the English word.
- All Families Are Special By Norma Simon with Lakota word additions recorded on tape/CD (3 copies)
- Yellow painter tape
- Tape/CD player (3)
- Lakota Family Word Cards
- Lakota Family Word Matching Game (3 copies)
- My Lakota Dictionary for each student
- Crayons
- Pencils
- Four artifact photographs from WHS
12x9-inch size
Original size

Goal(s) for Lesson

Students will learn family words of the Lakota language. At the end of this lesson students will have learned the Lakota words for grandma, grandpa, mom, dad, son, daughter, and children.

Objectives for Lesson

1. After viewing Lakota Indian Artifacts, the student will recognize that Lakota Indians lived in the area that is now Winona, Minnesota.
2. The student will produce a dictionary that illustrates Lakota family words.
3. The student will match Lakota family words with English family words in the matching game.
4. The student will listen to and look at the book All Families Are Special and translate the Lakota family word to the English family word.

Procedure

Introductory Experience (5 Minutes)

- Post artifact pictures of Lakota Indians on the board at the reading corner.
- Gather students on the floor around the reading corner.
- Review what students learned yesterday.
Where do Lakota Indians live? (reservations, towns, cities, neighbors, etc.)
What do they do? (traditions, celebrations, play with friends, go to school, eat dinner with their families, etc.)
Who are the Lakota Indians? (Native American Indian tribe, people)
- Explain to students that the pictures on the board are of Lakota Indians that used to live in the Winona area or would have know Lakota Indians that lived in Winona area. Pass original size pictures around. Allow time for students to view the pictures.
- Tell students that today they are going to learn some words from the Lakota language. Explain that the people in these pictures used this language to speak to one another everyday. Explain that some people still speak Lakota, but most people also speak English.

Developmental Experience

1. Send students back to their desks and have them take out their crayons. As students go back to their desks pass a Lakota Dictionary out to each student. Post Lakota family words on the front board. Have students place their name on the front of the dictionary. Read through the words on each page and point to the word on the board. Say the Lakota word and have students repeat the word, then read the English equivalent. (4 minutes)

2. Explain that students will create illustrations to help them remember the words on each page. Example: for the Lakota word unc’i (which means grandma) students may draw a picture of their grandma doing something she enjoys doing. Explain that students will do this for each page. (15-20 minutes)

3. As students finish their dictionaries, have them clean up their desk and then send them to the reading centers in groups of 3 or 4. Each reading center should include a copy of All Families Are Special with Lakota word additions and recording of book on tape/CD. Have students listen to the book in their small group. (5-10 minutes)

4. Once students have finished listening to All Families Are Special have their group move to the floor to play Lakota-English matching game. Students will match the Lakota family word with the English family word. Encourage students to say the word on the cards they flip over. Students may bring their dictionary to this activity if they desire. Also, the matching cards will have illustrations to assist students. (5-10 minutes)

(Note: Students will move through the 3 activities at different rates. Some students may be completing the dictionary while others are listening to the book, and perhaps others may be starting to play the matching game.)

5. Have students put away their matching game and come back to the reading corner (2 minutes)

Culminating Experience (4 minutes)

- Take down the Lakota family word cards from the front board and bring to the reading corner.
- Ask students what they have learned today.
Possible answers: The Lakota Indians spoke another language, some people still speak the Lakota language, the
different words that they learned.
- Hold up each Lakota family word card. Say the word, have students repeat the word, and say the English equivalent.
- Remind students that the people in the pictures posted in the reading corner spoke this language everyday and that some people still speak it, but most also speak English or another language.

Assessment

Students completed the Lakota dictionary and created illustrations appropriate for each page.