Grade 2 Fall History - The Native Peoples of Our Region: Living Nations, Land, and Knowledge
Lesson 7 45 min hist.g2.f.lesson_07

The Seasonal Round - 13 Moons of Work, Food, and Ceremony

Skills targeted
Objectives
  • Students explain the seasonal round - how Indigenous food, work, and ceremony followed the cycle of 13 moons in the year.
  • Students name one moon and one corresponding activity from a specific named nation (e.g., 'the Anishinabe Sugar Bush Moon - March, when maple sap is gathered').
Vocabulary
seasonal round13 moonsmoonsugar bushwild ricesalmon runharvestceremony

Lesson plan

Warm-up

6 min

Read the seasons we know - winter spring summer fall. Then introduce: many Indigenous nations think of the year as 13 MOONS, not 4 seasons. Why might 13 moons be more useful?

Teacher moves
  • Pull up a turtle picture - count the 13 large plates on the shell
  • Surface: 13 moons is a calendar AND a planning system AND a teaching

Direct instruction

18 min

Read 'Thirteen Moons on Turtle's Back' by Joseph Bruchac (Abenaki) and Jonathan London (illustrated by Thomas Locker). Each spread tells one moon's story from a different Native nation - the Cherokee Moon When Plants Are Eaten, the Anishinabe Sugar Bush Moon, the Hopi Moon of the Long Days, and so on. Each moon ties to a specific WORK or CEREMONY that the nation does in that month. The seasonal round is not 'old' - the Anishinabe still gather maple sap in March, the Yurok still harvest salmon in fall, the Mvskoke still hold the Green Corn Ceremony in summer.

Key examples
  • The moon is also a teaching - it tells us what to do AND what to remember.
    model I would be in the Sugar Bush - tapping maple trees to gather sap for syrup. The Sugar Bush Moon teaches us to thank the maple tree.
    prompt If I lived with the Anishinabe and it was March, what would I be doing?
Checks for understanding
  • Name one moon and what people do during it.
  • Are there 4 or 13 moons in the seasonal round? (13)
Sourcework
Source type
Indigenous-authored book (Bruchac is enrolled Abenaki) + tribal moon-calendar cards from each nation's own publications
Routine
Author-as-source: which moon was authored by which nation's tradition?
Media
M-2-F-CUL-07-A Illustration
Three reproductions of Thomas Locker oil-painting spreads from Bruchac/London 'Thirteen Moons on Turtle's Back' (Putnam

Three reproductions of Thomas Locker oil-painting spreads from Bruchac/London 'Thirteen Moons on Turtle's Back' (Putnam 1992): (1) the title spread showing the turtle's back with 13 numbered plates; (2) the Anishinabe Sugar Bush Moon (March) - a family tapping maple in snowy woods; (3) the Cherokee Moon When Plants Are Eaten (October) - autumn harvest. Each spread reproduced at 12x18, captioned with moon-name and nation, cited '(c) Locker 1992 used per Putnam Penguin license.' Style: oil painting, atmospheric, dignified.

Guided practice

12 min
Tasks
  • MG-8 13-moons wheel chart, blank in pairs. Each pair fills in 2 moons (out of 13) with the activity from the book or supplementary card.
    scaffold Each card has the activity in 4 words
  • Class assembles the full wheel together on the wall.
Media
M-2-F-CUL-07-B Diagram
Wall chart 36x36, circular. Center: turtle-back diagram with 13 numbered plates. Outer ring: 13 blank wedges for each mo

Wall chart 36x36, circular. Center: turtle-back diagram with 13 numbered plates. Outer ring: 13 blank wedges for each moon name+activity, with a small pictograph slot. Outside edge: month labels (Jan-Dec) for cross-reference. Fillable in marker. Source note 'Adapted from Anishinabe and Abenaki moon calendars - other nations have different moon names and orders, which is also wonderful.' Style: dignified, present-tense, no stereotyped imagery.

MG-8 Chart
Mounted on classroom wall at child-eye-height. CRITICAL counter-trope tool: shows that Native peoples are HERE NOW in ev

Mounted on classroom wall at child-eye-height. CRITICAL counter-trope tool: shows that Native peoples are HERE NOW in every field - government, science, arts, sports, education. Used throughout the unit; final extension in lesson 18 capstone where children may add a Living Nations Today tile of their own research.

Formative assessment

5 min
Exit ticket
  • Pick one moon. Name (a) the moon and (b) what people do during that moon.
scoring Both = mastery; one = practicing

Closure

3 min
Moves
  • Add '13 moons', 'seasonal round', 'sugar bush' to Word Wall
  • Preview tomorrow: oral tradition as primary source

Homework

5 min
Tasks
  • Look at the moon tonight (or this week). Notice its shape. Tomorrow we'll talk about whether it is waxing, waning, or full.

Exercises in this lesson

hist.g2.f.cul.seasonal_round.ex_01
Match each moon to its activity (from MG-8 13-Moon wheel): (1) Sugar Bush Moon - (2) Strawberry Moon - (3) Long Days Moon - (4) Hunter...
 moon match · diff 2
hist.g2.f.cul.seasonal_round.ex_02
Look at MG-8 (moons) AND MG-14 (trade routes). Pick ONE moon and ONE trade good and explain how the seasonal-round activity of that moon...
 trade or moon · diff 4

Differentiation

Scaffolds
  • Pre-color each moon's quadrant
  • Highlight the work-words
Extensions
  • Investigate: what moon is it right now (in the [LOCAL NATION] calendar)? What activity is happening?
English Learners
  • Add moon names in family languages on side-cards
Ieps 504s
  • Use the turtle-back manipulative for tactile counting

Teacher notes

PROTOCOL: each nation has its OWN moon calendar - they are not interchangeable. The wheel chart is a teaching tool that helps children see the CONCEPT of 13 moons; it should NOT be presented as 'THE Native American calendar' (there is no single one). Note in the chart that other nations have other moon names. If you have access to your local nation's moon calendar, USE THAT ONE as a side-by-side. Never substitute 'moon' for 'month' as if they're the same - moons and months are different (lunar vs. solar). Bruchac himself is Abenaki; the book draws moons from many nations.