Goals: To show students that the first colonists to the New World came to a land already rich with literature; to have students understand and identify with American Indian culture through its literature.

Objectives: Students meet these goals by telling American Indian stories to each other and discussing what they find identifiable in these stories &emdash; from familiar plots to recognizable themes.

Overview:

€ We will spend four days at the start of school reviewing American Indian stories. Rather than have students read all the stories in the packet (taken from American Indian Myths and Legends), you will form groups of 3 or 4, with each group receiving a different story.

€ Each group is then responsible for "telling" their story to the rest of the class. The point of this is to recreate the oral tradition of literature practiced by American Indians. Each group has the option of acting a skit with costumes and props, creating a puppet show or silhouette show, or sitting around the "campfire" and telling the story dramatically.

€ Each group then must reflect and report on what contemporary stories their story reminds them of. My hope is that by finding parallels with familiar movies and novels, students will see American Indians as very much like themselves.

€ Finally, each group must reflect on report on the themes they find in the story.

Stories come from the following chapter divisions from the text:

€ tales of world creation

€ tales of human creation

€ ghost stories

€ apocalyptic visions

€ tales of the sun, moon & stars

€ ordeal of the hero

€ counting coup: the warrior's code

€ love and lust

€ trickster/Coyote tales

€ stories of animal origins

Schedule: We will spend between 3&endash;4 days on these stories in the following manner:

Day 1: Introduction of unit; explanation of project; groups form & begin rehearsing.

Day 2: groups 1-3 perform & discuss

Day 3: groups 4-6 perform & discuss

Day 4: groups 7-8 perform & discuss / class discussion & review

We end with a discussion on the following question: "What surprised you about these stories?" Typically, students are surprised at how "human" these stories are &emdash; how funny, how concerned with matters of love and betrayal, and how moving they are. I will end by asking you to look for these themes, especially regarding America as Eden, as we read the texts in our American literature course.

Evaluation: This is an introduction to the course and is intentionally a non-graded exercise. However, students must complete the following essay assignment which is graded.

American Indian myths and legends seek primarily to reveal the obscure, whether it be the creation of the world or why wood ticks are flat. Write a myth in highly symbolic language in which you explain some mystery. Feel free to make it mystical, cosmic, down-to-earth or humorous. What is the origin of teen fashion trends (baggy pants, bell bottoms, high heels, etc.). Why does the sun rise every morning? Why is it so foggy in San Francisco in the summer? Why do MUNI buses always arrive three at a time? Why do most teachers dress so badly? What is the origin of the SI dress code?

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