Lenape Legend: Rainbow Crow

Today we read a Native American legend called Rainbow Crow. We discussed what a legend was and how Native American people used legends for many purposes – to preserve their history, to share a lesson, or to explain something in their environment. In the story Rainbow Crow, we learn about how the crow got its most well-known attributes: a hoarse voice, black feathers, and a subtle rainbow iridescence in its feathers.

While reading we discussed the meaning of unknown words, made predictions and found text-to-world connections. After reading, we retold the story and discussed some reflection questions. We did some research as a class to see a close-up image of a crow’s feathers. Students discovered that the feathers look black from afar but really do have a rainbow shimmer in the right light! Finally, students colored a Native American image of a bird, drawn by a school-age child from the Acoma Pueblo tribe. Students colored the image of a two-sided bird to represent the two versions of the crow from the story: rainbow and black.

The Summit Preparatory School is a fully accredited, non-religious, private school offering a full-time seated independent education for students in Springfield, Ozark, Nixa, Rogersville, and the greater Southwest Missouri area. Our preparatory school setting offers an enriching early childhood, elementary, middle school, and high school curriculum in a supportive environment. We have state of the art facilities, highly-qualified teachers and staff, and a large range of educational programming. Interested in enrolling your child? Learn more about our admissions process.

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