Economics and Geography Lessons

The Hummingbirds' Gift

MCPS Status of Book as of 4/4/96:
Not Evaluated

Title: The Hummingbirds' Gift by Stefan Czernecki and Timothy Rhodes (Hyperion Books for Children, New York, NY, 1994)

Lesson Developed by Barbara S. Yingling

Literature Annotation: This story, beautifully illustrated with native artwork, tells the legend of how the Tarascan Indians of Mexico learned to weave the traditional straw figures called panicuas. Weaving the figures, which are used in celebrating the holiday called the Day of the Dead, offers the Tarascans an income in years when drought limits the production of wheat.

Grade Level: 2-3

Duration: 60 minutes

Economic Concepts: Scarcity, Production, Specialization

Geography Themes: Place, Relationships: Humans and Environments, Movement (Cultural Transmission)

MSPAP Outcomes and Indicators:

Economic Outcome: Students will demonstrate an understanding of the historical development and current status of economic principles, institutions, and processes needed to be effective citizens, consumers, and workers in American Society.

Indicators:

• Identify economic resources located within a community.
• Describe the impact of economic specialization on the growth of communities.

Geography Outcome: Students will demonstrate an understanding of geographic concepts and processes as needed to examine the role of culture, technology, and the environment in the location and distribution of human activity.

Indicator:

• Explain the relationship between the physical setting of a community and its ability to satisfy the wants and needs of its people.

Objectives: Students will be able to:

• Identify the economic resources in the community.
• Write stories about scarcity problems.
• Describe the impact of economic specialization on the people of the village.

Vocabulary: harvested, nectar, ancestors, crops, mill, burro, drought, Day of the Dead festival

Materials:

• Book: The Hummingbirds' Gift
• Weaving worksheet, 1 copy for each student (sheet with 7 vertical lines printed on it)
• scissors
• glue
• 1" x 11" construction paper strips of various colors, 6 for each student
• On-line Resources
  • Photographs showing the Day of the Dead Festival in Oaxaca, Mexico

Teacher Background: Knowledge of the native peoples of Mexico would be helpful. The authors' note at the back of the book offers background information.

Lesson Development:

Motivation:

1. Introduce the technique of weaving: Distribute a copy of the weaving worksheet to each student. Have them fold the paper in half so that the 8 1/2" edges are together and the cutting lines are visible. Direct the students to cut each cutting line by starting at the fold. Remind them to follow the cut lines, to stop cutting when the lines stop, and not to cut all the way to the edge of the paper. After all the cuts are made, have the students open the paper and smooth the fold line. Distribute 6 construction paper strips to each child. Demonstrate the technique of weaving by threading one strip of colored paper down through the first slit of the background paper, up through the second slit, down through the third slit, and so on until the strip is woven through all the sections of the background paper. (The strip will overlap the edges of the paper. This overlap can be trimmed later.) The second strip of paper should be started by guiding it up through the first slit and then weaving it through the rest of the slits. Continue alternating each strip until the weaving is completed. Glue the edges and trim the excess length from the top and bottom. Help the students as needed to complete the weaving projects. Display their work in the classroom.

2. Tell the students that weaving is a very important art form to some people. Locate Mexico on the world map. Point to the area west of present-day Mexico City. Explain that this area was once the center of the powerful empire of the Tarascan Indians before the Spanish conquistadors conquered them in the 1520's. There are still some ruins of giant pyramids destroyed by the Spaniards, but only small villages remain. The Spanish introduced wheat as a farm crop to the native Tarascan Indian people. The native people, who were already familiar with weaving techniques, used the wheat in a new way. (Hold up the book and point to one of the hummingbirds.)

3. Say: "This book tells one of the lends, or stories, passed down from generation to generation of Tarascan Indian descendants. Let's read the legend to find out how the gift of the hummingbirds saved their village."

Activities:

1. Read the book, The Hummingbirds' Gift , to the students.

2. Ask: "When the story began, how did the people of the village use the resources of the land to make money?" (They raised wheat that could be sold at the nearby mill.) Show the picture of the wheat field facing the 4th page of text. Point out that wheat was the only crop that the people were raising in their field. Tell the students that raising only one crop is a form of specialization. Specializing in a wheat crop was successful for the farmers as long as the crop grew well.

3. Ask the following questions to debrief the story:
   • What natural resource became scarce? (Rain water was scarce; there was a drought.)
   • How did this change in the natural environment affect the wheat crop? (Because there was no rain, the earth grew parched, the river dried up, and the wheat withered and died.)
   • How did the loss of their special crop affect the people? (There was no wheat to sell for income and hardly any food in the house.)
   • According to the legend, how did the hummingbirds show Consuela to use a natural resource in a new way? (The birds showed her how to weave the dry wheat straw into figures that could be sold at the Day of the Dead festival.)
   • Why do you think people were willing to spend money at the festival for the figures? (People admired the woven figures; they might buy them as gifts to give their children and to honor the dead.)

4. Show students the inside of the book cover where some of the woven figures are shown. Point out the intricate designs of the figures. Tell the students that, to this day, woven figures are hand-made by the descendants of the native Tarascan Indians. Ask the following questions:
   • What are some of the shapes of the woven figures? Why might the weavers choose those shapes? (Some of the shapes are skeletons and animals. Maybe these shapes are important symbols in their culture.)
   • How are the weaving techniques learned by each new generation? (The adults teach the children how to weave just as Consuela taught her children in the legend.)

5. Besides the woven figures, many other traditions of the Tarascans are mentioned in the text or included in the illustrations. Have the children work in groups of 3-4 to list all the traditions they can find. (Day of the Dead festival which includes a procession to the cemetery where they clean their ancestors' graves; telling stories about grandparents and great-grandparents; going to a marketplace; buying gifts to honor the dead; including nature in their colorful artwork; music and dance; painting pots)

Conclusion/Closure:
Ask the students to think of examples from their own lives of traditions and skills that are handed down from an older generation. (Jump rope chants are learned from older children; dance steps are learned by watching dancers; carpentry or mechanical skills might be learned by helping an adult; special recipes are used on holidays and shared with each generation.)

Thoughtful Application: Help the students to generate a list of natural resources on which their families depend. Some examples might be land, water, animals, minerals, trees, soil fertility, and so on. Point out that the villagers in the story had to adapt to changes in their natural environment when water became scarce. Brainstorm with the students ways that a scarcity of any of these natural resources would affect their lives. Have them copy this title onto lined paper:

Have the students choose one natural resource to fill in the blank space in the title. Direct the students to write a story about a day in which that natural resource was no longer available to them. Remind the students to tell how the scarcity of that resource would affect their lives. Suggest that they include any adaptations they might make to the new environment. Allow time for sharing the stories with the class.

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Last updated on April 1, 1997
Maintained by John L. Day

<jday@umd5.umd.edu>