Native American Presentations

Mrs. Yollis’ class was learning about Native American tribes of the United States. We created posters to help us share what we learned for these four interesting tribes.

Each tribe was from a different region of the U.S.: Navajo, Cherokee, Iroquois, and Yurok. We used the U.S. map that we created earlier in the year to show where each tribe lived. Here are a few words from the “tribes” themselves.

* * * * *

The Yurok

By Shane F., Sean, Taylor S., Amanda, and Marcus

The caring Yurok tribe lived along the northern coast of California. This region where the Pacific Ocean meets the land was full of fish, sea lions, deer, and acorns.


The men of the Yurok tribe did the hunting, and the women did the cooking. The shelter was made from the tallest trees in the world, the redwood trees. The plank house was partly underground and had a circular hole for a door. The Yurok money was made of long smooth shells called tooth shells. They came from shellfish that lived in deep water along the Pacific coast. In the Yurok tribe, the word for bald eagle was tohet, and the fish were called me’woo. In our opinion, we think that the Yurok tribe are helpful.

* * * * *

The Iroquois

By Warren, James, Chloe, Shane J., and Lexi

The Iroquois lived south of Lake Ontario and west of the beautiful Appalachian Mountains. They hunted deer, bear, beaver, and what they could find in their environment. Also, they harvested the three sisters, corn, beans, and squash.


Their houses, called longhouses, were made out of posts, bark, and animal hide. About six to ten families lived in one shelter.

(Extra credit longhouse created by Lexi and Taylor S.)

Important to the Iroquois tribe were the five Iroquois nations. They fought in wars to see who could hunt and who could farm the land. There was a belt called the Wampum Belt. On this belt, Iroquois believed that the four squares and the tree represented the five nations. In our eyes, we think that the Iroquois tribe is the best!

* * * * *

The Cherokee

By Taylor G., Clementine, Jonah, Garrison, and Alasia

The Cherokee lived in the beautiful southeast Appalachian Mountains. Because of the plentiful environment, they had deer and rabbits to hunt. Also, they fished, collected turtles, and gathered acorns and fruit. Another way they survived was to farm corn, beans, and squash.

The Cherokee had a winter home and a summer home for special seasons. The winter home was shaped like a small dome and the summer home was shaped like a modern day house, except that it was made of logs. The Cherokee towns had more than a hundred people living in them.

The Cherokee had a special language made by a smart man named Sequoyah. The language had 86 letters, or characters, in it. His daughter was the first one to use his language. Here are some of the characters.


Not all of the Cherokee life was great. They had a sorrowful journey that was called the Trail of Tears. They were forced to move from their homes and unfortunately, many people passed away. We hope you enjoyed our presentation on the Cherokee Indians!

* * * * *

The Navajo

By Bethany, Emily, Matthew, Kyle, and Behyan

The Navajo lived in the Basin and Range region near the Rocky Mountains. It was a sandy, dry area, but they managed to farm. Beans, squash, and corn are what they harvested. They also tended sheep and goats.


The Navajo used mud and wooden poles to build their hogans, or house. When they where done they would let them harden in the sun. The doors to all hogans faced east, where the sun rises.

(Extra credit hogan created by Bethany.)

One thing that was sacred to the Navajo was sand painting They used it to cure the ill. The medicine man would carefully put colorful sand in place. That is how the Navajo tribe survived in the desert.

(Extra credit tipi created by Taylor G. This was the shelter for the Sioux of the plains.)


* * * * *

Several students were interested in weaving mats like some Native Americans did . They used plants they found in their yards. Here are three mats that were woven by students. Clementine and Taylor S. used agapanthus leaves. They were long and they seemed like they would be a good material. Bethany and James both wove yucca leaves that we learned the Chumash Indians used to use.

After weeks of drying out, one weaving material turned out to be useless. It crumbled into pieces!

The yucca mats were strong, even after they dried out. The Chumash were smart to weave with such a strong material!

We enjoyed learning about America's history, and we hope you enjoy our post!

* * * * *

Comment Ideas: Compare the tribes! How are they alike or different?

Do you know any other plants that can be used for weaving?

President Obama's Inauguration

Today in Mrs. Yollis' class we watched Barack Obama's historic inauguration. We followed the ceremony on T.V. and on the U. S. links on Mrs. Yollis' Website.

Here are some of the comments and observations from the students...

Lexi: I cheered when President Obama came out!

Clementine: I loved when he said "...still river of peace..." in his speech.

Matthew: I liked the transforming schools part because some school aren't really as great as others, and he said he would transform that.

Emily: I liked when he said, "Yes, we can." It makes me feel like we can accomplish a lot of things.

Shane J: I liked when he said, "we can do and we will do," because whatever you want to do...you can do it, if you put your mind to it.

Bethany: I liked when he said "We the people..." because it made me feel like we have plenty of freedom.

Kyle: When he said "still water of peace..." it made my mind open.

James: When he said, "Starting today, we must pick ourselves up..." means that we can do things that we have never done before.

Shane F: When he said, "Yes we can." That felt very strong and powerful and it made me think that if you try, you can do it.

Taylor G: I liked when he said, "...challenges will be met," because it made me feel stronger.

Behyan: I like when he said "timeless words" when he was talking about George Washington.

Sean: When he said, "We are all free." I liked that because some African-Americans used to not be free, and now everyone is free.

Garrison: I loved his inauguration speech because it was really heart-soaring.

Jonah: I enjoyed when he said "...for the world has changed and we must change with it."

* * * * *

We read about President Obama in our Weekly Reader.

Mrs. Levenson brought in a coloring sheet with the oath and the flag on it.

After the ceremony, the class wrote letters to President Obama. Many included advice for the President and quotes they enjoyed from his speech.

We invite people to leave comments about the Inauguration! Tell us about what you liked or learned!


For example, Sean taught us that Obama automatically became President at 12:00, even if he wasn't sworn in. That happened!

* * * * *

In the comment section, Bethany shared great information about the five flags that were hanging in front of the Capitol. Here is a link to an interactive site where you can see the flags and stars for yourself!

Navigate through the site to the Capitol hot spot:
The Capitol

* * * * *

The class was talking about how many people attended the ceremony. Here are some satellite photos. Can you see the people gathered around the giant T.V. screens?


Does anyone know how many people attended the event?