Grace Schermerhorn; Partnership/Collaboration Assignment; LIS617-02D

Collaborative Project: School Library Program for Native American History Month
Grace Schermerhorn & Claire Bailey

Program Title:
The Syllabary and Petroglyphs of the Cherokee in North Carolina

Program Length:
One hour

Program Goals:
 Engage with NC Essential Curriculum Standards for Fourth Grade*
 Educate class not only about Native American history but about the current experience of
being Native American
 Inform about appropriate ways to discuss indigenous populations, both historically and
presently
 Provide entertainment and enjoyment for class
 Help individuals in class create artifacts of their own to take home that will
simultaneously encourage to remember lesson
 Provide a list of suggested readings (fiction and nonfiction) for teachers to use in class
 Provide a list of suggested readings (fiction and nonfiction) for students/families as well

Program Objectives:
 Use educational resources created and/or provided by the Cherokee
 If possible, have a member of the Cherokee Nation be a guest speaker

Program Outline:
8 minutes: Introduce the topic of Native American History in general, the history of the
Cherokee in North Carolina specifically, and why they are important
5 minutes: Brief overview of other Native American tribes in NC
5 minutes: Play the PBS video about Sequoyah and supplement with the story about the talking
leaves
10 minutes: Pass out copies of the modern syllabary and ask students to try transcribing their
names, Sequoyah’s name, other words and phrases
5 minutes: Share the transcription of Sequoyah’s name for students to compare their transcription
to. Listen to a recording of the Cherokee pronunciation of several words (ask students to suggest
words to hear)
Grace Schermerhorn; Partnership/Collaboration Assignment; LIS617-02D

10 minutes: Guest speaker discusses importance of Cherokee culture and what it means to be a
Native American today
5 minutes: Brief introduction of Judaculla Rock (show pictures) and explanation of petroglyphs
12 minutes: Give students materials to create their own petroglyphs using modeling clay and
tools

Resources:
Sequoyah/syllabury:
http://www.history.org/history/teaching/enewsletter/volume9/sept10/images/SequoyahLessonMa
terials.pdf
Sequoyah video:
http://www.pbs.org/video/georgia-stories-sequoyah/
Cherokee pronunciations:
http://www.cherokee.org/About-The-Nation/Cherokee-Language/Dikaneisdi-Word-List
Judaculla rock:
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/judaculla-rock
http://northcarolinahistory.org/encyclopedia/judaculla-rock/

*North Carolina Essential Standards

o Social Studies (2010)

 Grade 4
 4.C.1 Understand the impact of various cultural groups on North
Carolina. 4.C.1.1 Explain how the settlement of people from
various cultures affected the development of regions in North
Carolina (languages, foods and traditions). 4.C.1.2 Explain how
the artistic...
 4.H.1 Analyze the chronology of key historical events in North
Carolina history. 4.H.1.1 Summarize the change in cultures,
everyday life and status of indigenous American Indian groups in
North Carolina before and after European exploration. 4.H.1.2
Explain...

North Carolina curriculum alignment

Social Studies (2003)

Grade 4
 Goal 5: The learner will examine the impact of various cultural groups on North
Carolina.
Grace Schermerhorn; Partnership/Collaboration Assignment; LIS617-02D

o Objective 5.01: Explain different celebrated holidays, special days, and cultural
traditions in North Carolina communities.
__________________________________________________________________________

 who the collaborators are:

o Grace Schermerhorn and Claire Bailey.
 the lead collaborator/partner
o I would say that I am the leader collaborator because I set up the original google
doc to brainstorm and came up with the original idea for the collaboration. I also
did the initial research and rough lesson planning.
 how the collaboration was developed
o I have a deep interest in Native American Studies and hope to one day work in a
Tribal Library. I decided to design a curriculum for Native American Heritage
Month (November) to introduce kids to local tribes and their traditions. Claire and
I partnered for the Challenge Assignment partially because we both live in
Asheville. We also are connected because her Father was the head of the English
Literature Department that I graduated from.
 the roles of partners/collaborators defined
o I came up with the original idea for a curriculum focusing on Native American
Heritage and the basic plans for activities. Claire fleshed out the general ideas and
activities into more detailed lesson plans.
 materials and resources provided by each collaborator/partner
o I set up the google doc that we used to brainstorm and Claire created the google
doc with the final plans. We also communicated via Canvas Messages and
Facebook Messenger.
 how collaborating with this stakeholder benefits those you currently or will serve, and
o One of the libraries that I work at already has both a Children’s Librarian and
librarians who plan and initiate both activities for children and teenagers. I no
longer want to be a children’s librarian but if I ever fell into that position I’m sure
that my experience as a preschool teacher would help with lesson planning and
curriculum creation. I am thinking about pursuing a career in Tribal libraries or
special collections/archives so showing that I am historically knowledgeable
would be a plus.
 lessons learned:
o what worked well,
Grace Schermerhorn; Partnership/Collaboration Assignment; LIS617-02D

o what didn’t work well, and

o what would you change about the planning process.
 Claire and I make a good team and I hope we have another class together
so that we can work together again. The only real issue I had was
confusion about actual assignment parameters so once that was clarified
planning the program was no problem. Without actually putting the lesson
plans into action there’s no way of knowing what possible issues could
arise from problems with the plan itself.