Wild Rice Harvest

Lesson Plan Text:

Introduction/Background:  Wild rice has always been important to Native Americans, not only as a source of food, but also as an item for barter and for use in a ceremony to the ¿Underneath Spirits¿ to ensure a good harvest and calm weather.  Because wild rice was a staple of Indian subsistence, it also provoked some inter tribal warfare as different communities fought to protect the stands of wild rice.  Wild rice continues to be a prolific crop near the upper Great Lakes.  The harvest of the wild rice has always been a team effort and that tradition continues today.

Lesson Objectives:  The students will¿
1) read an article describing the harvest and drying process of wild rice.
2) sequence and illustrate the harvest and drying of wild rice.

Information/Resources:  Article--Wild Rice --a prominent 19th century author discusses wild rice and provides some recipes

Suggested Activities:
1) Give each student a grain of rice.  Ask students to write as many words as they can think of in one minute to describe the grain of rice.

2) Students read the article.

3) Each student is provided with 2 white construction paper circles with a diameter of 6 inches.  Have students fold one of the circles in half, then in fourths and finally into eighths.  Unfold the circle and cut out one of the pie shaped eighths.  Place the folded 7/8 circle on the top of the other circle and attach in the center with a paper fastener.  Using the top 7/8 circle as a guide draw lines on the bottom circle so that circle is divided into eighths.  Using the information from the article illustrate the 8 step process for harvesting and drying wild rice.  Each step will be done on a different section of the bottom circle.  On the top circle that originally had been folded, write the title The Harvest and Drying of Wild Rice by student¿s name.

Glossary: 

tedious¿long and wearisome
botanist--a person who specializes in the study of plants

Conclusion:  Play ¿Wild Rice Scattergories¿.  Have the students write the letters WILD RICE vertically on a piece of paper.  Write one word for each letter that has something to do with wild rice.  Tell the students they will get one point if the word they write matches the word on your list. *(See possible teacher list below in Additional Information.)

Assessment:  The students will be assessed by the correct sequence and illustration done on the circle project.

Additional Information:  *W=Woman,  I=Indian,  L=lake,  D=Dry,  R=Rice,  I=Increase,
C=Canoe,  E=Eleven feet tall

Possible Lesson Extensions:  Have students find a recipe in a cook book for Rice Pudding and compare it to the Wild Rice Pudding recipe in the article.