Teachers » Native American Curriculum

The Health * Honor * Wisdom curriculum draws from the rich heritage of New Mexico’s Native American people. Developed by two teachers from Santa Fe Indian School, these hands-on activities empower children with a holistic understanding that healthy eating and active living are interconnected with a healthy community and environment.

You can view and download the entire curriculum, each unit of the curriculum, and individual lessons with great activities for both upper and lower elementary students.

Download the entire K–5 Curriculum (very large file)

Unit 1: Healthy Me

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  • Lesson 1: I'm Yazzie; My Face; Kayla Bunny; Bennie Badger; Connect the Dots to Food; My Community Maze; Happy, Healthy Me Poem; Joseph's Special Clothes; Jessie's Special Clothes; Yazzie Bear Says
     
  • Lesson 2: Energy!; Dinky Raccoon; Fruit Basket; Yazzie Says; Vegetables and Pottery Bowl; Five-a-day Veggie Word Search; Five-a-day Fruit Word Search;Colors of Food; Grandma Abby's Story; How Strawberries Came to Be; Delicious Strawberries; Delicious Strawberry Drinks; Yazzie Bear and Salad; Yazzie Bear Loves Celery; Yazzie Bear's Evening Snack; Grandparent Food Interview; Munchums; Apple Delights; Veggie Plates; Rainbow Foods; Fruit, Vegetable, and Healthy Snack Word Search; Acrostic Poem
     
  • Lesson 3: The Ball Game between the Animals and the Birds; Upside-down Yazzie Bear; Yazzie Loves to Play Outside; Yazzie Bear Dancing; Navajo Running Song; Twilight Games; My Favorite Games; Parent Interview: Outdoor Games Word Search
     
  • Lesson 4: My Healthy Me Pledge; Parent Pledge
     

Unit 2: Healthy Community

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  • Lesson 1: Grandma's Stories; The Storyteller; Cochiti Storyteller; Interview Parents and Grandparents; My Family; Family Activities; Native Pottery; Pottery Designs; More Traditional Pottery Designs
     
  • Lesson 2: The Great Jim Thorpe; The Story of Jim Thorpe; The Ballplayers in the Sky; Eagle Boy; Terry the Turtle; Sam the Squirrel; Josephine Jay; Beatrice Bunny; Bertha the Bear; Kesitce: The Moccasin Game; Interview Grandparents
     
  • Lesson 3: Yazzie Likes to Help Make Dinner; Yazzie Bear Sweeps Up; Helping Hands; Helping Hands in the Community; Helping Hands Show We Care; Chores at Home Word Search; Create a Class Poem
     
  • Lesson 4: Yazzie's Healthy Eating Song; Yazzie Bear Is a Food Detective; Be a Food Detective; Hidden Salt; Eating Out; Color Yourself Healthy; Too Much Sugar
     

Unit 3: Healthy Agriculture

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  • Lesson 1: Coloring Corn; Corn Planting Song; Growing Corn; Navajo Hunting Song; Story about Corn; The Bean Woman; Draw Bean Woman and Corn Man; The Deer Dance; The People of the Maize
     
  • Lesson 2 : Water and Life in the Beginning...; The Beauty of Water; A Special and Sacred Place; Old and New Water Containers; Waynabozho and the Wild Rice; How My Ancestors Used Water; The Beauty of Water
     
  • Lesson 3: Foods of the Americas; The Four Seasons; Agriculture of Native America; Yearly Cultural Calendar; From Sanctuary to the Teacher; What's Your Story
     
  • Lesson 4: Seeds; Seeds Contain Life; Seed Balls; Salad Bowl; Plant an Indoor Garden; Tomato Plants; Yazzie Bear in the Garden; My Garden; Yazzie Bear and His Garden Vegetables
     

Unit 4: Healthy Environment

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  • Lesson 1: Thanks to Mother Earth; Happy, Healthy Me Faces; Thanksgiving Address; The World around Me; Thanks to the Sky; Thanks to the Moon; Thanks to the Animals; Fishes and Four Winds; We Continue to Remember All Things to Give Thanks for
     
  • Lesson 2: Grandma Abby's Watermelon Story; The Five Senses; Walk in the Woods; Yazzie Bear Takes a Nature Walk; Yazzie Bear's Healthy Lunch; Yazzie Bear and Friends Create Food; Observing Nature; Herbal Tea; Fill up the Basket of Life on Earth
     
  • Lesson 3: Wildlife All Around; Animals around Your Home; The Beauty of Our Tribal Lands; Yazzie Bear Fishing; Interview Your Family; The Lands, River, Sky, and Wildlife around My Home; The Great Peacemaker of the Iroquois 6 Nations; The Tree of Peace Society; A Tree of Peace for the World
     
  • Lesson 4 : Original Instructions; Mother Earth-We Need to Keep Her Healthy, Too; We All Love Mother Earth; The Great Mother of Us All; Portrait of Mother Earth; Mother Earth-Clean and Beautiful