Sequoyah’s Diary

Summary

Students will research the life of Sequoyah and create a diary detailing his accomplishments and the creation of the Cherokee syllabary.

Coin Type(s)

  • Dollar

Coin Program(s)

  • Native American $1 Coins

Objectives

Students will research the life of Sequoyah and create a diary detailing his accomplishments and the creation of the Cherokee syllabary.

Major Subject Area Connections

  • Social Studies
  • Language Arts

Grades

  • 7th
  • 8th

Class Time

  • Sessions: Three
  • Session Length: 45-60 minutes
  • Total Length: 151-500 minutes

Groupings

  • Whole group
  • Individual work

Background Knowledge

Students should have a basic knowledge of diaries, biographies, and the writing process.

Terms and Concepts

  • Native American $1 Coin
  • Reverse (back)
  • Obverse (front)
  • Diary
  • Biography

Materials

Preparations

  • Make an overhead transparency (or equivalent) of the following:
  • Identify potential biographical materials for Sequoyah in print and online.
  • Make copies of the "Sequoyah's Diary Rubric" (one per student)

Worksheets

Lesson Steps

  1. Display and examine the "2017 Native American $1 Coin" obverse and reverse. Tell the students that the front of a coin is called the "obverse" and the back is called the "reverse." Explain that there is one coin per year and the coins celebrate contributions made by Indian tribes and individual Native Americans to the history and development of the United States.
  2. Explain that the man featured on the reverse of the coin is Sequoyah, who invented a written language for the Cherokee people called the Cherokee Syllabary. Examine the design with the students and have them identify the images and writing in this coin design, including Sequoyah, his writing implements, and "Sequoyah from Cherokee Nation" written in syllabary along the border of the design.
  3. Review the concept of a biography. Review the writing process (prewriting, writing, editing and revising and publishing). Tell the students that they will be researching the life of Sequoyah and his accomplishments and writing a diary from Sequoyah's perspective. The diary should include five entries and cover the following topics:
    • The development and invention of the syllabary
    • The unveiling of the syllabary
    • The adaptation and spread of the syllabary
    • The consequences of this written language for the Cherokee people

Differentiated Learning Options

  • Allow work in pairs or small groups

Enrichments/Extensions

  • Have students illustrate the diary
  • Have students design a cover for their diary
  • Have students develop a multimedia presentation on Sequoyah's accomplishments

Assess

Use the "Sequoyah's Diary Rubric" to evaluate whether the students have met the lesson objective.

Connections to Related Material

"Working Diary" lesson plan

Common Core Standards

Discipline: Math
Domain: 4.MD Measurement and Data
Grade(s): Grade 4
Cluster: Understand decimal notation for fractions, and compare decimal fractions.
Standards:

  • Know relative sizes of measurement units within one system of units including km, m, cm; kg, g; lb, oz.; l, ml; hr, min, sec. Within a single system of measurement, express measurements in a larger unit in terms of a smaller unit. Record measurement equivalents in a two-column table. For example, know that 1 ft is 12 times as long as 1 in. Express the length of a 4 ft snake as 48 in. Generate a conversion table for feet and inches listing the number pairs (1, 12), (2, 24), (3, 36), ...

Discipline: Math
Domain: 4.NF Number and Operations: Fractions
Grade(s): Grade 4
Cluster: Understand decimal notation for fractions, and compare decimal fractions
Standards:

  • 4.NF.5. Express a fraction with denominator 10 as an equivalent fraction with denominator 100, and use this technique to add two fractions with respective denominators 10 and 100. For example, express 3/10 as 30/100, and add 3/10 + 4/100 = 34/100.
  • 4.NF.6. Use decimal notation for fractions with denominators 10 or 100. For example, rewrite 0.62 as 62/100; describe a length as 0.62 meters; locate 0.62 on a number line diagram.
  • 4.NF.7. Compare two decimals to hundredths by reasoning about their size. Recognize that comparisons are valid only when the two decimals refer to the same whole. Record the results of comparisons with the symbols >, = or <, and justify the conclusions, eg, by using a visual model.

National Standards

This lesson plan is not associated with any National Standards.