Booger masks are popular items for ritual dances.
Teaching second-graders the ways and life of the early Cherokee tribes ensures that the old ways are not forgotten. The significance of colors and the respect Cherokees have for earth and nature are essential lessons. The practice of face painting, what they wore as clothing and how the clothing was made can be included as part of any class project involving Cherokee Indian history.
Face Paint and Masks
Have the children make a chart of the colors of face paint used by the Cherokee. Poster paint is good to use for this. Eight basic colors are used and each one represents a certain Cherokee belief. Create construction paper headdresses using the basic colors.
Second-graders should be able to make papier-mache masks, such as the ones used by the Cherokee, commonly called booger masks. Simple Halloween masks could be used instead and the children could paint them to look like booger masks. Booger masks were important for use in ritual dances.
Cherokee Villages
Build a display of twig buildings showing the original summer and winter living shelters of the early Cherokee. The children can gather and bring in twigs or have a short nature excursion to a tree-lined area of the school yard. All that's needed are twigs 6 to 8 inches long. Use glue or use longer green twigs that can be woven into the shelter forms. Create the council house surrounded by the individual family shelters. Most Cherokee villages were built along a river bank. Use blue construction paper or poster paint to simulate the river or stream.
Cherokee Foods
Have the children demonstrate how dried corn kernels were pounded with a mortar and pestle. The larger pieces were used in soups and stews, while the smaller pieces were ground into cornmeal for bread. Each child can plant a vegetable seed, such as corn, squash, pumpkin or beans. Sunflowers also were used often.
Create a display with poster boards and pictures from magazines. Show the vegetables, dried beans, venison stew or hearth-baked bread that would be served at the Green Corn Ceremony.
Clay Bowls
Make clay bowls and dishes from air-dry clay. Gather pictures of Cherokee Indian bowls and dishes and have the children try to duplicate them. Poster paints can be used to make simple designs. Have several books available that show the designs or print some sheets from the Internet they can use. The symbols painted on the bowls could represent one of the seven Cherokee clans. These figures do not have to look professional; stick figure drawings are fine.
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