Holden's Ranch: Totem Pole Project

One area of focus for the Social Studies standards for Second grade is understanding "cultural contributions" made by people within the United States. Students are also expected to understand how traditions are passed down from one generation to another and understand these traditions will continue over time.

During our recent studies of Native Americans students learned the role of Native Americans and the customs and traditions of different tribes. Students were given the assignment to create a Totem Pole with three symbols and a picture sharing with others more about them, their family, and their heritage.

As students presented so many shared their excitement and surprise as they discovered where they came from. One student told me she had no idea she had so many people in her family.

I loved reading Juliana's paragraph where she wrote that her mothers family were Coal Miners from the mountains of Kentucky. Hannah chose a whale as one of her symbols. In her paragraph she wrote, "My dad is in the Army. When he was away I had to be brave and that is the symbol of the whale."

Edward explained that he chose the rattlesnake jaw as one of his symbols because it stood for strength. He said,"My family has strength because we always work together." Natalie told us about her families tradition of going to her Grandmothers house every Christmas morning.

Trevor explained that he and his twin brother Tyler worked with their Grandfather to create their Totem Poles. It was so heartwarming to hear how they worked together to create a totem pole that represented their family, customs, and traditions.

I was so proud of my students and loved hearing their amazing stories! We learned so much about each other, our families, traditions, and heritage.