Coyote is a trickster. He tries to trick the people, but they already know what he is capable of doing and how far he will go to get his way. He has a bag full of tricks. This story should only be told during the winter months. This Ute Mountain Ute story booklet is part of the Native American Indian Literacy Project storybook series for the six main Utah Tribal Nations. The project was led by Shirlee A. Silversmith, American Indian education specialist for the Utah State Office of Education. There are five stories per Tribe, with a total of 30 booklets, plus an ABC book. The set of Indian Tribal stories may be utilized by elementary classroom teachers to (1) develop an understanding and appreciation of Native American culture and societal contributions (2) provide a genre of text for the application of reading strategies, and (3) facilitate the mastery of various Utah Core Content Curriculum objectives. The Native American Indian Literacy Project was made possible by funds from the Utah State Office of Education (USOE). It is a joint effort of the USOE and San Juan School District Media Center.
The original set has 30 booklets, measuring 5.5” x 8.5” each, and illustrated by tribal members. The booklets were formatted to be printed and assembled. This version of the book has been updated to accommodate using a projector or smart board with pages appearing in order.

When the earth was new, there were no people, only the animals. The animals had human characteristics, and they were able to speak to one another. Coyote was often the trickster and had to learn the hard way. The Ute people tell stories about Coyote and other animals to their children. Based on Coyote's mistakes, the elders teach children about proper behavior and positive attitudes. The lessons learned help them avoid making the same mistakes Coyote did and suffering the consequences in their own lives. This Ute(Uintah/Ouray) story booklet is part of the Native American Indian Literacy Project storybook series for the six main Utah Tribal Nations. The project was led by Shirlee A. Silversmith, American Indian education specialist for the Utah State Office of Education. There are five stories per Tribe, with a total of 30 booklets, plus an ABC book. The set of Indian Tribal stories may be utilized by elementary classroom teachers to (1) develop an understanding and appreciation of Native American culture and societal contributions (2) provide a genre of text for the application of reading strategies, and (3) facilitate the mastery of various Utah Core Content Curriculum objectives. The Native American Indian Literacy Project was made possible by funds from the Utah State Office of Education (USOE). It is a joint effort of the USOE and San Juan School District Media Center.
The original set has 30 booklets, measuring 5.5” x 8.5” each, and illustrated by tribal members. The booklets were formatted to be printed and assembled. This version of the book has been updated to accommodate using a projector or smart board with pages appearing in order.

Just as the birds in this story held a council meeting to decide how to deal with Buzzard, Ute people, to this day, have council meetings to discuss problems and solutions for their people. At these meetings, everyone has the right to express his or her opinion and be heard and listened to. Although some Native American Indian stories can only be told during the winter time, this story can be told any time of the year. This Ute (Uintah/Ouray) booklet is part of the Native American Indian Literacy Project storybook series for the six main Utah Tribal Nations. The project was led by Shirlee A. Silversmith, American Indian education specialist for the Utah State Office of Education. There are five stories per Tribe, with a total of 30 booklets, plus an ABC book. The set of Indian Tribal stories may be utilized by elementary classroom teachers to (1) develop an understanding and appreciation of Native American culture and societal contributions (2) provide a genre of text for the application of reading strategies, and (3) facilitate the mastery of various Utah Core Content Curriculum objectives. The Native American Indian Literacy Project was made possible by funds from the Utah State Office of Education (USOE). It is a joint effort of the USOE and San Juan School District Media Center.
The original set has 30 booklets, measuring 5.5” x 8.5” each, and illustrated by tribal members. The booklets were formatted to be printed and assembled. This version of the book has been updated to accommodate using a projector or smart board with pages appearing in order.

Tookwee’nup are Paiute legends or stories told during the winter months. They are mythical and humorous, and they often contain a moral. A Paiute elder explained, "The most important purpose of Tookwee’nup is to teach children to laugh at themselves. When a child falls and cries, the parent's laughter turns the child's tears into joy. Thus, when the child becomes an adult, he then has the ability to take calamity in stride." This Paiute booklet is part of the Native American Indian Literacy Project storybook series for the six main Utah Tribal Nations. The project was led by Shirlee A. Silversmith, American Indian education specialist for the Utah State Office of Education. There are five stories per Tribe, with a total of 30 booklets, plus an ABC book. The set of Indian Tribal stories may be utilized by elementary classroom teachers to (1) develop an understanding and appreciation of Native American culture and societal contributions (2) provide a genre of text for the application of reading strategies, and (3) facilitate the mastery of various Utah Core Content Curriculum objectives. The Native American Indian Literacy Project was made possible by funds from the Utah State Office of Education (USOE). It is a joint effort of the USOE and San Juan School District Media Center.
The original set has 30 booklets, measuring 5.5” x 8.5” each, and illustrated by tribal members. The booklets were formatted to be printed and assembled. This version of the book has been updated to accommodate using a projector or smart board with pages appearing in order.

The use of multicultural versions of the story Cinderella helps students make comparisons and observations.

2nd grade Students will be integrating social studies cultural awareness with cultural stories of Cinderella. Students will listen to the Charles Perrault version of Cinderella and identify the main characters, plot and conflict. They will read another version and identify similarities and differences of the two stories. They will create Venn diagrams to look at similarities and differences of their own school cultures and then use Venn diagrams to look at similarities and differences of Cinderella stories. With this information, they will create their own Cinderella story.

Students identify, explore and apply the elements of circle plot structures to their own stories by using graphic organizers, reading and writing stories, and using checklists to assess their work.

What do cowboy hats have to do with fairy tales? Two traditional fairy tales and their Texas-based counterparts set the stage for five different ways to respond to text.

In this lesson, students will be asked to read a grade level appropriate story and make a digital storyboard that includes the basic elements of the story. These elements are: characters, setting, beginning, middle and end.  They will illustrate the key elements of the story and use Apple Keynote to create and present a digital slideshow retelling of the story. 

Students gather factual information about frogs and toads to create nonfiction and fiction stories. Drawing is used for prewriting.

Students practice finding the main idea (what a text is mostly about) and supporting details found explicitly in the text.

This article describes the importance of teaching students the strategy of note taking and includes a template for use with elementary students.

This article describes how the lifestyle of Alaska's Inupiat people have changed over time, and the new challenges they now face as a result of a changing climate. Versions are available for students in grades K-1, 2-3 and 4-5. Related science and literacy activities are included.

Teach your students about sentence structure, rhyming words, sight words, vocabulary, and print concepts using a weekly poem.

This is a lesson plan created to help students learn how to retell the events of a story using first, next, then, and last using the story The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle. Students are also learning the life cycle of a seed. 

In this edition of Utah's Online Library Product & Librarian Spotlight, Dani Sloan and Melinda Overson, a librarian from Bryce Valley High School, explore NoveList Plus. NoveList Plus is a database of book recommendations for all library workers who do readers' advisory.