Interacting with Texts / Concepts
Students will read Ghost River: The Fall and Rise of the Conestoga multiple times. Before reading, project Penn Wampum Belt (1682 Shackamaxon treaty). How might the image in the wampum belt relate to the paintings? Is it a primary source? Tell students the belt was given by William Penn's great grandson to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania in 1857 and that historians do not know if the belt and date are accurate. Legend has it that the Lenapes and William Penn signed the "Great Treaty" in what became Philadelphia. The site is now called Penn Treaty Park and includes a statue of William Penn.
Wampum was used for peace treaties, political agreements, historical events and ceremonial gifts. "[W]ampum beads, strings, and belts [were] integral to much of (the Iroquoian) religious and political life" (Richter 45).
Materials
- Ghost River: The Fall and Rise of the Conestoga
- Knowledge Rating
- Guiding Questions
Multiple Readings of Ghost River
- Initial read: Teacher Think Aloud focused on the images.
- Review the Knowledge Rating vocabulary terms / concepts. Students will encounter additional terms / concepts in the text.
- Echo read: Teacher reads text and students echo the reading. (Teacher may opt to have groups rotate the echo read. For example, group 1 echoes chapter 1, group 2 echoes chapter 2, etc.)
- Read with Guiding Questions.
- Divide the class into groups of 3 - 4. While reading, students will answer the guiding question in a double entry journal. Teacher may select to jigsaw the text. Each group will read and answer the guiding questions for one chapter.
- Have students share responses on chart paper or smart board. Re-read the chapter, students share responses, and the class agrees/disagrees with the responses.
