Nathalie C. Lilavois, Ed.D.
Elementary Living Book Project III
2016-2017
Integrated Socials Studies/ English Language Arts
Book Summary:
Twelve-year-old Morning Girl and her brother, Star Boy, two native Americans of the Taino tribe, take turns describing their life on an island in pre-columbian America. In Morning Girl's last narrative, she witnesses the arrival of the first Europeans to her world.
In order to address the new grade 5 Social Studies Curriculum, we are developing a new district wide book project around the books, Morning Girl by Michael Dorris and Encounter by Jane Yolen as part of the unit on The Western Hemisphere, European Explorers & Slavery. Both texts appear as recommended texts for Integrated Social Studies/ELA Curriculum.
Putnam/Northern Westchester BOCES Revised July 2015
"I am inspired by this work that will shine a spotlight on a historical narrative that has remain largely unacknowledged. Coupled with the expectation for Informed Action also found in the new grade 5 Social Studies curriculum, I am curious to see how today’s students react and respond to issues of basic human rights and how these students might address them today. Current issues, such as the Dakota Access Pipe Line and the state of race relations in our country may become topics of interests that spark positive action." ~ Dr. Lilavois
Book Summary:
When Christopher Columbus landed on the island of San Salvador in 1492, what he discovered were the Taino Indians. Told from a young Taino boy’s point of view, this is a story of how the boy tried to warn his people against welcoming the strangers, who seemed more interested in golden ornaments than friendship. Years later the boy, now an old man, looks back at the destruction of his people and their culture by the colonizers.