The Story of a Wampanoag Day

Isabella Terzian

The high rounded hills, too tall to reach, stay under the purplish-bluish sky. A Wampanoag girl climbs up the bumpy hill, looking for berries. A hungry wolf searches for food, too. They look at each other. They share the same land.

The golden sun shines above the grassy hills. The big berries hang above the water. The Wampanoag girl comes home with all the berries in a basket. She wants to share them with her family. She gives the berries in the basket to her mother.

The brown tree wiggles while the wind blows. The blue sky floats while the sun shines. The hard-working girl kicks the ball to her friend. Her nice mother cooks for her daughter.

The sky looks like a rainbow because the sun is setting down on the soft hills. The Wampanoag mother starts a fire with wood and a spinning stick. The men are fishing for big fish on the ocean. They want to bring home fish for their families.

The white moon lights the sky. The moving mishoon floats on the water. The searching boys look for fish. The mother and her daughter sleep in the wetu. The fire goes out. The men will bring home fish for breakfast.

This is one of the many books which came to life while

the students of Mrs. Mattson’s 3rd grade class explored the

rich relationship between visual imagery and the written

word. This Time of Day book was created as a part of

Picturing Writing: Fostering Literacy Through Art®, an

art-and-literature-based writing program developed by

Beth Olshansky at the University of New Hampshire. The

program is designed to support the acquisition of literacy

skills in children with diverse learning styles. A research-

based literacy program, Picturing Writing has proven its

effectiveness in dramatically improving student writing.

After a visit to Plimoth Plantation in Plymouth,

Massachusetts, our class combined the Time of Day unit

with our study of the Wampanoag Indians and Pilgrims to

create our own, unique visions of “A Day in the Life of

Plantation.”

December, 2010