Symbolism in a Coin: Native American Code Talkers

• 1 overhead projector or other classroom technology
• 1 overhead transparency (or equivalent) of the following:
  • "2016 Native American $1 Coin" image
  • Printed webpage with circulating coin images
• Copies of the following:
  • "2016 Native American $1 Coin" image
  • Printed webpage with circulating coin images
  • "Symbolism – Native American Code Talkers" Checklist, one per student
• Websites that provide background on Native American Code Talkers:
  • 2016 Native American $1 Coin
  • Code Talkers Recognition Congressional Medals Program
  • National Museum of the American Indian: Native Words, Native Warriors
  • National Archives: Memorandum Regarding the Enlistment of Navajo Indians
• Blank sheets of paper for coin design assignment

• Make an overhead transparency (or equivalent) of the following:
  • "2016 Native American $1 Coin" image
  • Printed webpage with circulating coin images
• Make copies of the following:
  • "2016 Native American $1 Coin" image
  • Printed webpage with circulating coin images
  • "Symbolism – Native American Code Talkers" Checklist, one per student
• Bookmark websites that provide background on Native American Code Talkers:
  • 2016 Native American $1 Coin
  • Code Talkers Recognition Congressional Medals Program
  • National Museum of the American Indian: Native Words, Native Warriors
  • National Archives: Memorandum Regarding the Enlistment of Navajo Indians
• Prepare blank sheets of paper for coin design assignment

Worksheets

Worksheets and Files (PDF)

1. Display and examine the "2016 Native American $1 Coin" reverse image.
2. As a group, ask students to identify the shape of the coin as a round, or a circle.
3. Using circulating coin images printed from preparation, have students cut and categorize coins by size and type, counting the amount in each group. Conclude that all the coins are made of the circle shape.
4. Explain that the U.S. Mint makes coins and that all U.S. coins are circles when viewed from above.
5. Using the circulating coin images printed out in preparations, have the students identify all the coins as circles while identifying the differences in size.
6. Display the "2016 Native American $1 Coin" reverse once again. Explain that this coin is worth as much as a dollar bill.
7. Ask the students to guess what the imagery on the coin means.
8. Explain that each part of the image represents a symbol and that symbols are images or objects that can mean something else. Give examples.
9. Explain that the two helmets represent soldiers that fought in two different wars and that the feathers make a "V", symbolizing victory.
10. Explain that, together, the helmets and feathers symbolize a special group of Native Americans that helped the U.S. save lives during two wars by using a special language that the enemy couldn't understand.
11. Hand out the blank sheets and have students create a circle to fill the sheet.
12. Have students design a coin using a symbol of their choice. Ask the students to recall or remember something special to them and then draw a picture to symbolize it. This can be an event, place or person(s).
13. Explain that their coin design must have the following: One symbol, the amount their coin is worth and their first name.
14. Have the students complete the checklist as they work.
15. Have students present their coins.
16. Collect the checklists.

Have premade coin templates printed in advance.

Have students work in pairs or groups.

Print additional sheets of the circulating coin images and have students use cutouts of the coins as currency in a Financial Literacy Unit.

Arrange a showing using a public space in the school to display the coins.

Symbolism: Native American Code Talkers Checklist

Name:_____________________________

Directions: Circle each as you complete.

I used a symbol in my coin design.

I added a value to my coin.

I signed my name on my coin.

Symbolism: Native American Code Talkers Checklist

Name:_____________________________

Directions: Circle each as you complete.

I used a symbol in my coin design.

I added the year on my coin.

I signed my name on my coin.

Code Talkers Recognition Act Lesson Plan

Discipline: Math
Domain: K.G Geometry
Grade(s): Grade K 
Cluster: Identify and describe shapes (squares, circles, triangles, rectangles, hexagons, cubes, cones, cylinders and spheres)
Standards:

• K.G.1. Describe objects in the environment using names of shapes, and describe the relative positions of these objects using terms such as above, below, beside, in front of, behind and next to.
• K.G.2. Correctly name shapes regardless of their orientations or overall size.
• K.G.3. Identify shapes as two-dimensional (lying in a plane, "flat") or three-dimensional ("solid"). 

Discipline: Math
Domain: K.G Geometry
Grade(s): Grade K 
Cluster: Classify objects and count the number of objects in each category.
Standards:

• K.MD.3. Classify Objects into given categories; count numbers of objects in each category and sort the category by count.

This lesson plan is not associated with any National Standards.