Lesson 4: Braiding Sweetgrass, “An Invitation to Remember,” “Skywoman Falling,” and “Wiingaashk”

Routine: Turn and Talk

Directions: Take out your Homework Journals and copies of Braiding Sweetgrass. Discuss the annotations you made in your Journal about what the author suggests about how humans should relate to the natural world.

Routine: Introduce New Words Using Morphology

Target Word: flourish (also appears as flourished and flourishing in the text)

Directions: We’re learning about the word flourish today. It shows up in Braiding Sweetgrass to describe the results of Skywoman and the animals helping each other. Let’s explore this word more deeply.

• This word appeared on p. 21 of the reading you did for homework. Did you know the meaning of this word when you first read it?

• Do you know any other words with the root flour or flor?

• Using what you know about the root flour/flor, what do you think flourish means? Remember, you can also use the context of the story where the word appeared.

Check for Understanding 

List the word flourish in your Personal Dictionary. Underline the root. Write the definition of the root and the full word.

Part A: Analyze “An Invitation to Remember”

Routine: Turn and Talk

Directions: With your partner, reread the chapter “An Invitation to Remember” and discuss the following questions:

• How does Kimmer describe “kinship” on p. 10? What does “kinship” mean to her?

• What is the “grammar of animacy,” and how is it different from the English language? (pp. 11-13)

• How will Kimmerer use “capitalization” in this book to further demonstrate the “grammar of animacy”? (p. 15)

Part B: Exploring “Skywoman Falling”

Routine: Close Read and Annotation

Directions: Write the headings “Reciprocity,” “Figurative Language,” and “Flourish” in the columns of your organizer. Then, listen carefully as I read this chapter out loud. Follow along with your copy of the book, and use your graphic organizer to annotate for the three elements:

1. Reciprocity: Note how the author develops the central ideas of reciprocity (as defined on p. 10).

2. Figurative Language: Note when the author develops her ideas by using figurative language, such as imagery and comparisons.

3. Flourish (p. 21): Star the word when it appears and note what or who flourishes and why.

Record your annotations in your graphic organizer, referring back to the text as needed.

Routine: Turn-and-Talk

Directions: We will now reread and focus closely on a few sentences from the text. We’ll talk about how the sentences help develop the tone and central ideas of the chapter. As I present each sentence, turn and talk to a partner about the questions I will be asking you about each sentence.

“She fell like a maple seed, pirouetting on an autumn breeze" (p. 18).

• What does Kimmerer compare Skywoman's fall to?

• Why does the author choose this image? What tone does it create?

“The geese rose from the water, flying beneath her to break her fall.” (p. 18)

• What do the geese do for Skywoman after catching her? Cite the specific line.

• What do these actions show about reciprocity?

“As she carefully scattered them [branches, fruits, and seeds] on the earth, sunlight streamed through the hole from Skyworld, and the seeds flourished.” (p. 21)

• What flourishes?

• What does flourishes mean in this context?

• Why do they flourish? What allows them to grow?

• What is Kimmerer teaching us through Skywoman's story? What is the central idea?

Quick Write

Directions: Complete a Quick Write response based on the following prompt.

• Based on Chapters 1–3, what did you learn about reciprocity? Use the word flourish or flourishes in your response. Include at least one piece of evidence from the text.