Lesson 2

Navajo Sand Art
Grade Level:
4th Grade

Objectives:
The students will investigate Navajo culture, their sand art’s use of symbols, the importance of color, and Navajo traditional healing rituals.

The students will design 10 symbols based on our inquiry into symbols and Navajo sand art that will have a special meaning for them as healing symbols.

The students will create their own sand art using a few or all of the symbols they designed to make an artwork that represent their “healing artwork”.

Materials Needed:
·         Paper
·         Pencils
·         Glue
·         Colored sand
·         Images of Navajo sand art

Procedure:
·         Lead the class in a discussion about symbols, what they are, how they are used, and what a symbol can be
·         Lead the class in a discussion about colors, what they can represent and why
·         Demonstrate a few symbols
·         Introduce Navajo sand art’s use of symbols and colors
·         Have the students design 10 of their own symbols and assign their own meaning to different colors
·         Demonstrate how to put a design on paper, spread glue, and apply sand to the glued surface to create sand art
·         Allow the students to design their sand art and give them glue and colored sand once their design is complete

Assessment:
·         Does the class show an understanding of symbols and their different meanings?
·         Did the student show thought in their creation of symbols?
·         Did the student make color choices based on meanings they prescribed?
·         Does the student’s artwork reflect their idea of healing?

Vocabulary:

Culture, design, symbol, tribe, nation, ceremony, ritual

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