Third grade students have recently been through a time warp! In art class, they were transported to the year 1857. They landed in the Great Plains, and became members of the Lakota Sioux Tribe.
Well, they didn’t really travel back in time. But, we did learn all about the Lakota Sioux Indians and how they tell stories and record history through what they call a winter count. The winter count is like a calendar. Events are recorded from first snowfall of one year, to the first snowfall of the next year using pictograms.
Students were asked to choose their own adventure in the Great Plains. They each recorded what happened to them in a winter count journal, and then translated their words into pictograms. Students even had the opportunity to invent their own pictograms for words they couldn’t find symbols for. Finally, students drew their pictograms on rawhides that they made earlier. The end result: each student has a unique and imaginative story to tell in the style of a winter count. Enjoy a few samples below!
I like this idea. Never heard of a winter count before.
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