The Ute people have a close association with nature and a respect for all living things. They share the earth with animals, and they look to them for guidance. The Utes honor the hawk in ceremonies, and they use hawk feathers in their regalia. This Ute Mountain Ute 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 students are given the opportunity to express themselves, they need creative options and a variety of formats available to meet their needs. See how AI supports the student's content through design and publishing process in tools like Sway and Stream to allow students to share professionally designed work without wasting time and energy on executive tasks.

Tookwee’nup, legends, are Paiute stories told during the winter months. They are mythical, often humorous, and they contain a moral. Tookwee’nup teach Paiute children why things are like they are. The stories give spiritual instruction and expose the children to human characteristics that we all possess. This lesson uses this Paiute tale to help students learn about fire myth patterns, wildfires and develop vocabulary. 

Hi! My name is Pili Lee and I am a Speech-Language Pathologist. Everyday, I work with students on practicing their speech or language skills. Overtime, when students are close to reaching mastery, we often shift to practicing in a more natural and unstructured setting to help them generalize their skills outside of speech therapy activities. Although there are many different things we can do, I recently learned about “genius hour” and especially love the idea of helping my students discover and learn more about things they are interested in or passionate about. When my students get to work on things they love and are excited about, not only does it keep them motivated to practice their speech and language skills, it also prepares them to communicate well when it comes time they get to share what they love and know about in everyday life. Image created by Pili Lee using Canva

In this lesson, students practice a way to communicate without words by using a glyph. They create a name card using information about themselves. Students also interpret glyphs made by others.

In this lesson designed to enhance literacy skills, students learn that transitional fossils provide scientists with evidence to establish how major animal groups are related to one another.