Researching Ourselves – Spirit Stones

For years, I planned closely with my history counterparts to do cross-curricular units of study.  English and history overlapped and connected so that our students truly internalized the things we read and learned.  One of these cross-curricular units was a study of Native American culture, sayings, stories, and history.  As history classes focused on the settlement of the United States and the Trail of Tears, I introduced Native American stories, sayings, and beliefs about animal spirit guides or totems to my English classes.

            Curricular changes have caused this cross-curricular work to become a mere memory.  However, I feel that this Native American study is so worthwhile, I continue to use it in our English class alone.  The focus has changed a bit.  Now, the unit is a part of a bigger research project, researching ourselves.  We continue to read Cheyenne Again, a picture book by Eve Bunting.  We read “The Medicine Bag,” a short story by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve.  And we take a look at Native American sayings from a book called Enduring Wisdom, also by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve.  We take some time to discuss what seems to be important to Native American cultures based upon these writings.  One thing always comes up in our discussions: animals as guides or totems.  Then, our research begins.

To begin, I ask my students to identify their own attributes by following these directions:

• Ask two people in this class who know you well to identify three attributes or behaviors they see in you.  Write their names and the attributes or behaviors they identify.

• Ask two people from outside of this class who know you well to identify three attributes or behaviors they see in you.  Write their names and the attributes or behaviors they identify.

• Ask two family members who know you well to identify three attributes or behaviors they see in you.  Write their names and the attributes or behaviors they identify.

• Now, truly and honestly, think about yourself, and write three attributes present in yourself.

• Then, I ask my students to answer a number of questions about animals in their lives.

• Using reputable Native American websites, find attributes associated with different animals.

The websites and different resources I have collected over the years are available to my students for the next two days or so.  My students pour over their own attributes, checking them against the attributes of the various animals important to the Native American cultures we have a record of.  These days are a flurry of reading, re-reading, talking, exclaiming, and questioning.

Finally, I ask my students to make a decision.  Which of all of these spirit animals represents them most? 

When they make their decision, we embark upon a ceremony of sorts.  I play a CD of Native American flute music.  I place a number of small smooth garden stones on a cloth covered in Native American designs.  I ask the students to approach the cloth two or three at a time to select a stone.  I tell them to hold the stones, making sure that theirs is comfortable—that it feels right.

I ask my students to use pencil first to mark their stones with a representation of their chosen animals.  Some draw the entire animals.  Others draw paw-prints or feathers or fangs or other distinguishing parts.  I distribute black Sharpies to my students, and they make the designs permanent.  Once the black designs are finished, I ask my students to coat them with ModPodge to protect them.  These stones stay in our classroom over night to dry.

What happens next is always beautiful.  My students come into class the following day and rush to the stones, finding their own.  They take the stones to their seats with them, holding them and rubbing them or placing them on their desks in front of them.  I explain that the stones represent who they are.  They are a reminder of the things that make them unique.  And that is not the end of it.  My students carry these “spirit stones” with them from that day on.  They take them out and place them on their desks when they are about to take tests in any class.  They rub them when they feel stressed or worried.  They keep them, taking them to high school and even college!

Of course, we follow this research with some writing.  I alternate between writing informative pieces about why this animal is their spirit guide, and telling a story, perhaps fictional, about how their spirit animal came to them.  The stories are usually more fun to read.  What is truly important is the research, the questioning, the self-realization, and making a decision based upon the facts at hand.