The 5th Grade Tribe Totem pole

During the fifth grade, students learn about the southwest Native American Indians. To complement their social studies lessons, we looked at images of totem poles and discussed their many different purposes, including representing a tribe. Native American tradition provides that each individual is connected with different animals that will accompany each person through life, acting as guides and guardian spirits. Different animal guides come in and out of our lives depending on the direction that we are headed and the tasks that need to be completed along our journey. With this animal a connection is shared, either through interest in the animal, characteristics, dreams, or other interaction.

Each fifth grader identified their animal spirit and together we created The Fifth Grade Tribe totem pole to tell the story of the fifth grade class.