edHelper.com
Native Americans
 The Navajo People

The Navajo People
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 4 to 6
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   5.84

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    dysentery, silverwork, starvation, tribal, trouble-makers, up-the, young-were, hispanic, underworld, homeland, treaty, sacred, dome, jewelry, tribe, acquire
     content words:    Mount Taylor, Mount Blanca, Mount Hesperus, San Francisco Peaks, Kit Carson, Fort Canby, Long Walk, Bosque Redondo, New Mexico

Print The Navajo People
     Print The Navajo People  (font options, pick words for additional puzzles, and more)

Quickly Print - PDF format
     Quickly Print: PDF (2 columns per page)
     Quickly Print: PDF (full page)

Quickly Print - HTML format
     Quickly Print: HTML

Proofreading Activity
     Print a proofreading activity

Feedback on The Navajo People
     Leave your feedback on The Navajo People  (use this link if you found an error in the story)

The Navajo People
By Mary Lynn Bushong 		  
1     When you think of the Navajo people, what do you think of? Do you think of woven blankets? Do you think of silver and turquoise jewelry? What do you know of the people?
 
2     The Navajo and Apache were once a single people. Even now they are very much alike.
 
3     The Navajo believed that they were created in an underworld. They passed through twelve of those worlds before they got to this one. Four sacred mountains sit on the corners of their land, Mount Taylor, Mount Blanca, Mount Hesperus, and the San Francisco Peaks.
 
4     Young people learned about ceremonies, legends, and tribal law from older members of the tribe. There was even a celebration for a baby's first laugh. Girls learned from the older women. Boys learned with the men and had to pass a test of courage before becoming a man.
 
5     Families were very important to the Navajo. Every family belonged to a clan. There are more than 100 clans. Children belonged to the clan of their mother. Boys would have to go to another clan to get married.

Paragraphs 6 to 15:
For the complete story with questions: click here for printable
Copyright © 2009 edHelper