On Monday , BES fourth grade Mountaineers had an Iroquois Enrichment Day.  Students in Ms. Meyer, Ms. Laz/Ms. Bersaw and Ms. Mulvey’s classrooms rotated through three different stations to enrich their study of the Iroquois. 

This day was an opportunity for students to learn about the Iroquois’ games, food and culture.

The morning was spent rotating through the stations described below.

Iroquois Enrichment Stations:

Wampum with Ms. Meyer: Students learned about the way wampum belts were used to tell stories and communicate with other tribes. Students were then able to create their own wampum belts using beads and pipe cleaners. 

Lacrosse with Ms. Mulvey: Students learned that the Iroquois created the game of Lacrosse, and that Lacrosse was sometimes used to settle disputes between tribes instead of going to war. Students compared Ms. Mulvey’s high school Lacrosse stick to her Grandpa’s wooden lacrosse stick from 1965. 

Ghost Bread with Ms. Laz: Students helped to make Ghost Bread. The dish gets its name because of the role it plays in a Seneca ritual of mourning the dead. This was served as part of a traditional meal during a 10 day mourning of the death of a loved one. 

At the conclusion of the rotations the whole fourth grade came together to discuss what they learned and made a list of questions they still had for their future study of the Iroquois.

photos BCSD Communications