Author:
Lorna Loy, Brenda Beyal
Subject:
Literature
Material Type:
Lesson Plan
Level:
Upper Elementary
Tags:
  • Coyote Stories
  • Lesson Plan
  • Native American Culture
  • Native American Storytelling
  • Northwest Band of Shoshone Tribe
  • License:
    Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial
    Language:
    English
    Media Formats:
    Text/HTML

    Education Standards

    Coyote & Mouse

    Coyote & Mouse

    Overview

    This tale's main character is Coyote. Many Native peoples use Coyote stories as a means of teaching morals and lessons. This story is a humorous story where Mouse is the trickster and Coyote is the object of his trickery. "Coyote and Mouse" is a humorous trickster tale of the Shoshone. The is a lesson grossology or scatology? This is a lesson on animal SCAT! 

    Details

    Time Frame 

    • Two (2) - thirty (30) minute lesson sessions

    Format

    • Whole Group

    Authors

    • Original lesson by LeeAnn Parker, modified by Brenda Beyal and Lorna Loy

     

    Goals and Outcomes

     

    As a result of this activity, students will accomplish the following: 

    • Improve comprehension through reading the story, "Coyote and Mouse: Tale From the Northwestern Band of Shoshone," using prediction, character study, and plot stratgies. 
    • Share and explain two things they learned about Native American storytelling with class members. 
    • Describe and articulate where the Northwest Band of Shoshone are located. 
    • Analyze and interpret evidence and information that animals often leave behind tracks and scat. These clues help people study and track animals in thier natural habitat. 

     

     

     

    Background Knowledge

    Northwestern Band of Shoshone Nation

    The Shoshone, Paiute, Bannock and Ute people are related, and call themselves Newe or Neme (the People). Prior to contact with Europeans, the Newe groups formed small extended-family groupings that traveled extensively as semi-nomadic hunter-gatherers to survive in the harsh environment of the Great Basin desert. The Northwestern Shoshone traveled with the changing season. In the early autumn, the Northwestern Shoshone moved into the region near what is now Salmon, Idaho to fish. In the spring and summer, the Northwestern band traveled around southern Idaho and throughout Utah. During these months, they spent their time gathering seeds, roots, and berries and socializing with each other. Late summer was root digging time and smaller-game hunting time. Around late October, the band moved into western Utah and parts of Nevada for the annual gathering of pine nuts. The nutrient-rich nuts were an important part of the Shoshone diet. The area around what is now called Franklin and Preston, Idaho, was a permanent wintering home of the Northwestern Shoshone. It was known as Moson Kahni, which means Home of the Lungs. The rocks in the area looked sponge-like and made the Shoshone think of lungs. In this area and the rest of Cache Valley were natural places for the shoshone make their homes. More information about the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation can be accessed in the resources below. 

    The teacher need to be familiar with the Shoshone tale, "Coyote and Mouse," an adaptation of a traditional Shoshone tale. Teachers need to be familiar with the theme of the story and the purpose of traditional Native American tales and be able to explain to students that Native American traditional storytellers used legends, folktales and fables for many reasons. These stories recount the history of the people, they are used to entertain children, to educate children about morals and values, to teach life lessons through the characters and the consequences of thier choices. The resource, "Native American Storytelling" gives a summary of storytelling for teachers to use in picking main points that they feel are important to teach to thier students. 

    Coyote and Other Animal Stories in Native American Culture

    Special thanks to Patty Timbimboo, member of the Northwestern Shoshone Tribe, who served as cultural consultant on the stories and lesson plan. Coyote stories are traditionally told by Native tribes during the fall and winter seasons. We ask that teachers respect this custom and teach these lessons beginning in early fall throughout the winter season ONLY.

    This tale's main character is Coyote. Many Native peoples use Coyote stories as a means of teaching morals and lessons. This story is a humorous story where Mouse is the trickster and Coyote is the object of his trickery. In many other stories, the coyote is known as a “trickster”—always getting into mayhem but sometimes providing a bit of humor to the lesson of the story. Many tribes have their own form of coyote stories that are used to teach their people through humor. Through creation stories and parables, Native cultures have displayed their reverence for animals and acknowledge the influence animals have had over their communities. Animals play a central role in many creation stories. Tribal creation stories often feature animals as playing the pivotal role in the creation of the universe, the planet earth, and the emergence of human beings. In many tribal belief systems, animals are treated and revered as sentient beings, and humans are only one among many creatures deserving of reverence and respect.  In many tribal cultures, animal stories are meant to teach both adults and children a variety of lessons. Some tribes even have distinct classifications for certain animal stories: some were sacred, some had important legal and cultural lessons, and some were for humor or amusement. For example, a Coyote story might teach children how to find the North star so they would never get lost. or it might explain the best time and place to go salmon fishing in the area. Coyote stories also could teach a child how to act. Since Coyote's bad behavior often got him into trouble, children listening t the stories could learn that being good had more rewards than being bad. 

    Native American Storytelling

    Like many events in American Indian culture there is a proper time and place for all activities. Traditional storytelling is reserved for the winter months for many tribes. This was a practical choice given the fact that during the other season's, people were busy growing, gathering, and hunting food. It was in the winter, with the long dark evenings, the snow and wind blowing outside, that telling stories was a way to entertain and teach the children. Another reason is that many traditional stories contain animal characters. To be respectful, people waited until the winter when animals hibernate or become less active so they cannot hear themselves being talked about. More information about Native American Storytelling is attached. 

    Tracking Scat

    ‘EWWWWW....What is THAT?’ Have you ever heard these words while out hiking or said them yourself? Often the answer to this question is SCAT! Scat is the scientific name for animal poop and a much preferred term than poop, which inevitably results in lots of giggles from children of all ages. Discovering scat while hiking is an amazing learning opportunity you shouldn't pass up. Think of the observational and analytical skills to be learned!

    Scatology or Coprology is the study of poop or excrement. Analyzing poop is as old as pooping itself. The ancient Chinese, Egyptians, and Greeks all analyzed human feces in an attempt to diagnose and treat all nature of illnesses. People believed you could tell fortunes or the future by evaluating someone’s poop. Still today, doctors often ask patients when their last bowel movement was. For both animals and humans, poop is an important and natural function, and with the right tools, it can reveal a treasure trove of information.

    Poop… perhaps no other word in the English language has more euphemisms than poop. Whether you call it scat, dung, turds, fecal matter, excrement, droppings, crap, number 2, take a dump, bowel movement, stool, waste, or simply the “s” word, most people know exactly what you are referring to.

    Scatology and coprology are both derived from Greek root words for poop. Evaluating poop tells researchers and doctors much about our bodies and diseases. Recently a Classics Professor teamed up with doctors to produce an etymologically correct medical term for the experiment on human poop. This required a thorough exploration of the Latin words for poop. There were 4 Latin words that referred to poop, laetamen, merda, stercus, and fimus.

    • Laetamen – seemed to most often be used in farming and animal dung
    • Merda – remains a Romance language word for poop, but relates to the smell or stink
    • Stercus ¬– the common Roman term for poop, but evolved into a curse word
    • Fimus – the term used by Roman writers Virgil, Livy, and Tacitus

    Animal poop identification has been an important tool since the beginning of time. By paying attention to poop on the path, skilled hunters could know which animals were in the area. By evaluating the warmth and freshness of a dung pile, a hunter could know how close the bear or elk might be. Whether humans were the hunter or potentially the hunted, dung piles along the path alerted many astute hunters to danger or reward. The plains Indians used bison chips or dung for fuel when wood was scarce. The Sioux called bison dung “nik-nik” which refers to any bovine feces.

    Piles of scat in nature are a wealth of information to biologists, naturalists, and researchers. Scientists can determine not only which animals are present and what they are eating, but a detailed analysis of poop can also help scientists determine the health of the overall ecosystem. DNA can be extracted from poop and individual animals can be identified and studied by scooping their poop. By analyzing animal poop scientists can measure things like stress and reproductive hormones, toxins in the environment, and the availability of food in the environment. Zoos working with the critically endangered white rhino measure hormone levels in their poop to ensure successful mating. To ensure they are monitoring the correct dung pile, they mix a specific color of non-toxic glitter with the rhino’s meal. When they need a specific sample, they simply search the enclosure for droppings with red or blue glitter!

    Some scientists even study the physics of poop. Which animal species turds sink vs which species turds do not sink. Scientists have measured and quantified the odor of animal scat, from least smelly to overwhelmingly odorous. It was determined that larger animals defecate faster than smaller animals. Of course, they release more excrement, but it takes about the same amount of time for an elephant to do his business as a dog. In case you were wondering, elephants release poop at about 6 cm per second; a human releases poop at about 2 cm per second.

    All fun aside, you are probably here because you have channeled your inner naturalist and have located a mysterious pile of poo somewhere in or near your home or business. You too can tell a lot about the nearby wildlife by locating and examining poop. Sometimes poop is an indicator of wildlife getting too close for comfort. Whether the mysterious poop is in your attic or on your back deck, learn to quickly identify your potential nuisance species of wildlife by identifying their poop. You can identify scat by the size (length and width), by what's inside the scat (looking for evidence of remains), by the shape and form of the scat (tubular, round, oval, etc.), by the color of the scat (shiny, dull, furry, etc.). Every animal poops, so might as well understand it! Kids LOVE talking about it, too. Animal droppings come in all shapes and sizes! The shape and size is dependent upon their diet and the size of the organs in their digestive track. 

    Risks Associate With Animal Scat

    When you find mysterious piles of excrement in and around your home, the gross factor immediately kicks in. For good reason too! Fecal matter, of all species, is associated with the spread of disease, fly and other insect infestations, unpleasant odors, and unsightly aesthetics. Unsanitary practices surrounding the treatment of both human and animal poop have contributed to countless deaths. In contrast, poop in the form of animal manure has benefited humans tremendously by increasing crop yields and improving the quality of the soil. Pigeons were once so valued for their droppings that armed guards were kept outside of the dovecotes where pigeons were housed. The prairie land of the Great Plains would not be what it was without vast numbers of bison depositing nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, sulfur, and magnesium into the ecosystem.

    However, large accumulations of fecal matter in close proximity to humans lead to disease outbreaks and potentially death. Water sources can be contaminated and with improper sanitation fecal particles in food can lead to devastating consequences. Human exposure to animal feces is more common in the developing world. According to the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), “domestic animals such as poultry, cattle, sheep, and pigs generate 85% of the world’s animal fecal waste.” If you encounter unexpected droppings in your yard or home, do not touch them with bare hands.

    There are more than 40 diseases spread by ingesting or handling items contaminated with animal feces. In addition to bacteria, unabated poop piles contribute to parasites in the soil. Although relatively rare, many of these diseases can be quite serious, especially for the elderly and immunocompromised. Large accumulations of poop can be safely cleaned, but personal protective equipment (PPE) should be used.

    Nature’s insistence on decay and decomposition is evident in piles of turds as well. Flies play an integral part in breaking down matter and they are drawn to freshly laid fecal matter. Filth breeding flies smell poop and immediately head towards the steaming mound to lay eggs. Flies will find poop within minutes of its deposit. The larvae, also known as maggots, emerge from the eggs and begin consuming the filth. High manure locations such as horse barns, dairy farms, and poultry raising operations struggle to contain flies for this reason. Should you find an attic full of animal droppings, flies and roaches are sure to be present as well.

    It goes without saying that poop is closely associated with foul odors. An occasional dropping on your pool patio is unlikely to be a serious odor nuisance, but accumulations of nuisance wildlife in your attic or under a deck can seriously impair the air quality in your home. The most common visual frustration related to feces is pigeon poop. Pigeons do not urinate; all of their waste is excreted in the form of poop. It is therefore high in uric acid and highly acidic and damaging. Pigeon droppings littering city sidewalks, historical buildings, and community parks become an eye sore and a community health concern.

    Additional Resources

    Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation: Office Website

    Utah Division of Indian Affairs: NWBS

    History To Go: Native American Tribes in Utah

    Utah American Indian Digital Archive: Shoshone

    Wild About Utah: Tracking Wildlife in Winter

    ThinkTrees: Scat Identification 

    Arizona: Track and Scat Guide

    Left Brain Craft Brain: Learn All About Animal Poop

    Lesson Preparation

     

    Student Background Knowledge

    • Prior knowledge that would be helpful would be a general knowledge of Coyote trickster tales and their use in Native culture.
    • Native American storytelling
    • More about the Northwest Band of Shoshoe tribe such as - location, tribal history, and more. 

    Materials Needed: 

    Strategies for Diverse Learners

    Advanced students may be given several Coyote tales from various sources to compare and contrast the characterization of Coyote throughout the stories, looking for commonalities and differences. To meet the needs of struggling readers, the students may be paired with a proficient reader to read and study character as a pair. The story could be read aloud to a small group and the character map filled out together. Prior reading with a volunteer or technician could also facilitate greater confidence in the student for small group instruction.

    Lesson Procedure

    1. Activate prior knowledge:
      • Ask students what they know about Coyote stories, fables, Native American storytelling and the Shoshone people. Give a brief description of each.
      • Show location of the reservation for the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation. 
    2. Tell students that animals often leave sign behind in the form of tracks, scat, nests, and more. Show pictures of:
      • Animal tracks
      • Animal poop or scat
    3. On the picture of scat, ask, "What is THAT?" Be a nature detective and tell me what you see. Have you ever heard seen this while out hiking or in your yard or garden?" Often the answer to this question is "It's poop!"  Tell your students that it is "SCAT! Scat is the scientific name for animal poop and a much preferred term than poop."
    4. One way to introduce your lesson and story is to say, "Wildlife tracking is one of the many activities Native Americans have been doing for centuries. Native Americans believe that scat are the messages animals leave behind. Native American trackers and hunters have long honored traditional hunting and tracking practices. It continues to be important to all outdoor enthusiast today. We need and want to know where animals are and what they doing in the area. For example, you would want to know as you are hiking in the mountains how to track and locate bears, wolves and mountain lions. So, let's be polite in talking about scat."
    5. Select and teach more about animal scat - you can choose from the following:
      • Talk about the science of scat.
      • Scientists studying scat can determine the health of the individual animal by analyzing the chemical content of this material, as well as looking for seeds, plant parts, berries, and other indicators of the animal's diet.
      • Scat can tell us a lot about an animal’s diet, habits and movement, so scientists like to study it both in nature and in the lab. Outdoors, scat can identify what animals are present in an area. Then researchers take it to a lab, dry it out and dissect it for clues about the animal’s diet.
      • Studying animal scat can also support conservation. Some researchers have trained dogs to sniff out the scat of endangered species, such as the blunt-nosed leopard lizard, which is found only in a few grasslands in central California. By locating an endangered animal’s scat, scientists can estimate how many of that species are left in an area, analyze its diet and do DNA testing without having to disturb it.
      • Why hunters track scat. There are two key ways scat helps hunters track wildlife: 1) Poop can tells hunters what type of animal species are occupying a wild area or potential hunting spot. 2) The shape and texture of droppings can offer clues about what an animal has been eating.

    You can end your session here or continue on with the second portion of the lesson: 

    1. Look at pictures of the following scat:
      • Porcupine - Porcupines aren’t picky when it comes to the kind of forests they live in. They will occupy different types of forests across Canada, and can sometimes be seen sleeping in treetops. Porcupines are herbivores, but make sure you keep your shoes on your feet next time you’re in the forest. This species loves salt and will eat materials (such as socks) salty from a day of hiking! Their cashew-shaped scat can often be found in large piles near their den sites in rock piles, caves and hollow trees.
      • Mouse - Mouse droppings look similar to a grain of rice, ranging in size from 3/16 to ¼ inch long. The pieces typically have pointed ends and a color varying from blackish brown to gray depending on how old it is and the diet of the mouse. Fresh droppings are black, they turn brown over the next week, and change to grey over time. If a rodent has consumed pesticide from a bait station, the droppings may be the same color as the bait. Older droppings will crumble upon contact, while fresh ones will be soft and malleable (never touch with your bare hands). Mice can leave behind 50-75 pellets per day. The number and size of droppings you see can help you determine the severity and type of pest problem you are facing. These critters will poop while they are moving, so droppings will be seen along the paths they travel and in the places where they are finding food. They may poop near their nest, but they will not go to the bathroom in their actual nest — believe it or not, they like to keep their homes clean!
      • Coyote - Coyotes have 4 toes that often register on the track, and curved claws that also often register. The palm pads (below the toes) are triangular, but sometimes the palm pads on the hind feet do not fully register, leaving a smaller, central oval shape. The front track is usually around 2.5 – 3.7 inches long, and 1.7 – 2.8 inches wide, while the hind track is around 2.4 – 3.3 inches long, and 1.7 – 2.6 inches wide. Coyotes leave urine and piles of scat to mark territory, with the same location sometimes being used repeatedly. Tracks and scratch marks may be found near scat piles since they use the odor on their feet to mark territory. Scat varies greatly depending on diet, with meat and insect scat being dark, sometimes even black, and fruit scat taking more of the color of the fruit ingested. Scat is often tapered at the ends into long tails and may contain hair and insect parts. It is usually around 3.0 x 0.6 in. 
      • Risks with Animal Scat - Teach the risks and caution students. Let students know that animal scat found in or around the home must be cleaned with precautions.  
    2. Teach more about Scat and Urine using pictures or models: Scat and urine are usually big hits with the kids, but not the adults. Talk a little about what scat is and show some of the rubber scat.  Ask the students to try and identify what animal made each scat.
      • From their size, shape, and consistency, you can determine not only what species left the scat, but what the animal was eating, where it was eating, when it was eating, when it passed by, etc.
      • Members of the carnivore families usually leave tubular droppings.
      • Cat droppings are usually somewhat pointed, while those of the dogs are more often (but not always) blunt on the ends.
      •  Scat of predators contains hair and/or bones.
      • Herbivores generally have pellets.
      • Hare scat is like cocoa puffs, round, tan, and sawdusty.
      • Deer have "milk duds," oval, dark, and shiny.
      • You can also talk about owl pellets in this category.  Found at the base of roost trees, pellets reveal many bones wrapped inside the hair of the owl's victims. 
    3. After you have talked about the different types of scat ask the students to brainstorm who might look for animal signs in the wild, in the past and why these people looked for animal signs? (Hunting or fishing for food, following animals to better grazing lands). People such as: 
      • Native Americans
      • Pioneers
      • Voyagers
      • Cavemen...to name a few.
        • People still look for animal signs today for work and for fun - such as:
          • Wildlife biologist
          • Ranchers
          • Hunters
          • Fishermen
          • Marine biologist
      • Tell the students that these people not only look for animal signs to learn about animals but also use technology.  Ask if the students can think of any technology that can be used to track animals? (GPS, Radio Collars) Take a brief moment to explain GPS. Global Positioning System is a system of satellites and receivers that allow you to pinpoint your exact location anywhere on earth. GPS satellites circle the earth twice a day.  Like a television satellite sends a signal to your television, GPS satellites send a signal to a portable GPS receiver.  When the receiver gets the signal it “knows’ exactly where it is on the planet. Scientists put GPS collars on animals to tell where they migrate, eat, bath, swim, fly, and much more. This technology is used in animal conservation. Ask if the students can figure out how information about where an animal lives and migrates can be used for conservation?  Ask if they can think of any animals that are tracked using GPS? (Dolphins, Whales, Sea Turtles, Caribou, Elk, Elephants, Cranes, Hawks, Eagles, Osprey, many more)
    4. Ask the students if they would like the job of tracking animals? (You might want to find a good example of an animals that is tracked for the purpose of conservation or study.)  Finally ask students what they should do if they find animal signs in their yards or around their homes? 
    5. Today (or now) we are going to read a story from the Northwest Band of Shoshone Nation. It is a story about Coyote and Mouse. Mouse plays a trick on Coyote.
      • Have fun by illustrating all your learning with making cookies, No-Bake Poop Cookies! Shape to match what you’ve learned. Eat before, during or after reading the story. 
    6. Do you remember that I said, "Wildlife tracking is one of the many activities Native Americans have been doing for centuries. Native Americans believe that scat are the messages animals leave behind. Native American trackers and hunters have long honored traditional hunting and tracking practices. It continues to be important to all outdoor enthusiast today. We need and want to know where animals are and what they doing in the area. For example, you would want to know as you are hiking in the mountains how to track and locate bears, wolves and mountain lions. So, let's be polite in talking about scat and let's be respectful as we listen to this story."
    7. Read, "Coyote and Mouse A Tale from the Northwestern Band of Shoshone"
    8. Some comprehension activities to do AFTER the story has been read:
      • In traditional stories like this, animals often take on humanlike qualities. They speak to one another as if they are all part of the same family, and lessons are taught using humor, personification, and exaggeration. Think of some well-known fables or traditional stories and compare and contrast them with this story.
      • Go over elements of character - main character, supporting characters, details in the story that establish character. You can also use story maps, story sequence, summarizing and visual imagery teaching strategies with this lesson. 
      • Story sequencing - using transitional words: First, next, then, last. 
    9. Go over vocabulary list; see attachments.
    10. After reading: Have a discussion using the students' character maps as the vehicle for study of Mouse, Coyote and Porcupine.

    Lesson Extensions:

    • Dramatize the story, create a puppet show, or have students come up with the next "chapter" to the saga between Coyote and Mouse. Have students practice storytelling and share the story with other classes. Begin a study of the Shoshone people.
    • Nature walk to locate animal tracks and scat for identification.

    Assessment

    Use the following to guide informal assessments for literacy:

    • Vocabulay
    • Scat identification
    • Story retelling or story summarizing
    • Story sequence 
    • Predicting

    Use the following questions to guide your assessment of cultural learning:

    • Can the student show on a map the approximately where the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation are located?
    • Can the student relate reasons why storytelling is important to Native peoples?

    Additional Resources

    Additional Resources on Native Americans:

    • PBS: Circle of Stories - Circle of Stories uses documentary film, photography, artwork and music to honor and explore Native American storytelling.
    • History To Go - The Utah Division of State History acknowledges that the land Utah resides on has always been indigenous lands. Learn more about the Native American tribes of Utah here.
    • Native American Curriculum Initiative Teaching Artist Roster - This new Native American Teaching Artist Roster has been established with help from Brigham Young University and their Native Curriculum Initiative. As tribal leaders guide this curriculum initiative, they are equally forthcoming identifying those that best present their songs, dances, stories, baskets, weavings and other art forms important to them. UDAM is delighted in supporting this initiative and in welcoming artists new to our state agency.  For more information on BYU s Native American Curriculum byuartspartnershipblog.org/category/nativeInitiative american/ visit https://
    • BYU ARTS Partnership: Lesson Plans on Native American topics - Founded as an initiative in the BYU-Public School Partnership, the BYU ARTS Partnership works to increase the quality and quantity of arts education in Utah elementary schools. The initiative is housed in the Center for Improvement of Teacher Education and Schooling (CITES) in the McKay School of Education. BYU faculty, district administrators, and teachers collaborate to provide professional development programs and create materials and resources for teachers.
    • Utah American Indian Digital Archive -  (UAIDA) is a gateway to the best resources regarding Utah’s Indian tribes. With articles, books, government documents, tribal documents, oral histories, photographs, and maps pertaining to the Northwestern Shoshone, Goshute, Paiute, Utah Navajo, White Mesa, and Ute Indians, this unique archive captures the complicated history of Utah’s tribes from multiple perspectives. The project, which stems from forty years of research conducted by the University of Utah’s American West Center on behalf of Utah’s Indians, offers tribal members, students, and researchers unprecedented access to information about the rich history and culture of Utah’s native peoples.
    • U of U: Utah American Indian Digital Archive - The Utah American Indian Digital Archive is a joint venture between the American West Center and the Marriott Library with generous support and guidance from the Division of Indian Affairs of the State of Utah. The project compiles essential Utah tribal primary source documents digitized for an online, key-word searchable archive. In undertaking this state-of-the-art venture, Center staff has built on the extensive research done across the country by Floyd O’Neil and Greg Thompson in their combined years of service at the American West Center. The goal is to create an archive that will serve more than just researchers, offering the tribes themselves unprecedented ease of access to information about their past.
    • SCAT Books