Alaska Native Knowledge Network, Culturally-Based Curriculum Resources
BOOK IT!: National Reading Incentive
"Developing a lifelong love of reading." Pizza Hut Inc.© works with teachers and parents to help children in K-6 grades to develop their enjoyment of reading. Children who complete their personalized reading requirements (as set by their teachers) receive free pizza, prizes and the opportunity to be on a readers honor roll. The site also offers bibliographies, resources, and BOOK IT!© program information for kids.
Multiculturalism, and the Ethics of Children's Literature
This article by Eliot A. Singer is a critical analysis of "multicultural folktale" picture books focusing on Native peoples of North America.
Born to Read: A Guide for Teen Mothers
"A San Antonio Public Library literacy program that targets teen mothers and gives them helpful information about reading to their babies," with a focus on English and Spanish. Tips on choosing books and reading to babies, and finger games, songs and rhymes are available at the site. Although the examples may not be appropriate for a tribal library, the concepts introduced here can help stimulate new ideas for serving the youngest library patrons.
Children's Books With Native North American History, Themes & Characters
Founded by Buffy Sainte-Marie with major funding from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, the Cradleboard Teaching Project provides lesson plans, curriculum and relationship building with long-distance peers via technology and "standard tools." The Project materials and pedagogy are developed in Indian Country for both Native and mainstream school children, and focus on the honest realities of the past, present and future of Native peoples.
Bibliography on North American Indians, For K-12
First Nations Website on
School librarians work closely with the teachers at their schools to help in curriculum design and support, and school librarians are teachers too! This site provides educational resources and curriculum ideas, lesson plans, background materials, visual aids and more to the teacher and to the school librarian, and all aimed at educating the Indian child within the context of his or her own culture.
4Directions: An Indigenous
Model of Education
"...a project administered by the Laguna Department of Education that focuses on integrating Native American culture and technology into education in a way that enables students to maintain and learn their heritage while taking full advantage of their future."
How Stuff Works by Marshall
This site focuses on how things work, particularly different types of technology within mainstream America. Simple explanations with lots of illustrations make this a readily accessible site for children (and adults too) to understand the workings of things from computers to marshmallows. Offers free electronic newsletter.
"If I Can
Read, I Can Do Anything": A Reading Promotion Program for Schools on
Literacy Project Organizational Team, chaired by Dr. Loriene Roy, Professor at the University of Texas at Austin.
The John Newbery Medal Online
Picture of the Day Archive
Most are photos and in color, with an explanation for each image.
Native American Geometry
"...a broad range of hands-on exercises that integrates multicultural art with mathematics." For grade levels 4 - 12.
"...a Native organization working to see that our lives and histories are portrayed honestly, and so that all people will know our stories belong to us."
Selective Bibliography and Guide for "I" Is Not for Indian: The Portrayal of Native Americans in Books for Young People
Stories about Contemporary Native Americans to be Read - aloud in Preschool and Kindergarten Classrooms
Children about Native Americans
Return to Useful Links for Tribal Libraries