Native American Boarding School Curriculum: Chilocco Indian Boarding School
K-2nd and 3rd-5th Grades aligned to C3 Standards
Intro

Dr. Samantha Benn-Duke

Oklahoma State University Library

Teachers can select to use full lesson plans, which could span over 2-3 days, or select the parts that are most relevant to their own state standards

These lesson plans are targeted to elementary students from grades Kindergarten through second and from grades three through five. The standards align to the C3 Framework Standards.

The lessons are designed as stand-alone inquiry lessons, allowing the educators to use one or both lessons. The lessons draw from primary and secondary resources, including oral histories from alumni of Chilocco Indian Boarding School in northern Oklahoma.

While the timeline of the resources is primarily from the latter years of the school’s operation, earlier years are referenced as well. Much of the resources from latter years demonstrate positive perceptions of the Native students who attended, and it is of importance to them that the curriculum and lessons demonstrate this as well. Although not all experiences were positive, the lessons for these early and middle elementary grades will focus on the positive experiences and perceptions. As students enter middle school grades, they can be exposed to the harsher realities, which are included in the curriculum for those grads.