Book Summary
The Cheyennes, written as fiction and based on historical events, tells about a group of people who lived in an area of the United States many years ago. The story focuses on the life of Black Bird, a boy who grew up as a Cheyenne, one of many Native American tribes. With a band of Sioux, another Native American tribe, they fought to preserve their way of life--a struggle that eventually forced the Cheyennes to live a very different way of life. Illustrations, nonfiction features, photos, and maps support the text.

About the Lesson

Targeted Reading Strategy

• Retell

Objectives

• Use the reading strategy of retelling to understand and remember text
• Sequence events
• Identify and understand comma usage
• Identify similes

Materials

• Book -- The Cheyennes (copy for each student)
• Chalkboard or dry erase board
• Timeline, commas, similes worksheets
• Discussion cards

      Indicates an opportunity for students to mark in the book. (All activities may be demonstrated by projecting the book on interactive whiteboard or completed with paper and pencil if books are reused.)

Vocabulary

• Content words: astonishment, awe, bluffs, brutal, catapulted, ceded, chaos, commotion, destitute, determined, dismounted, infinite, ordeal, pemmican, reservations, shaman, silhouetted, solstice, sovereignty, sweat lodge, trance, wisdom