Turn your everyday paper plates into a beautiful Cherokee rattle craft. Also, you’ll love my free Native American Unit Study for Kids Who Love Hands-on Learning.
Your child will enjoy it while you learn all about Cherokee customs, history, and who they were and are as a people.
I am a big fan of simple crafts using basic items that most of us keep on hand in our craft supplies (or at least in the kitchen).
A real Cherokee rattle is typically made from a gourd or turtle shell.
It was adorned with beads, feathers, and other decorations.
They are used in traditional Cherokee ceremonies and healing rituals, creating a sound that is both rhythmic and soothing.
It is often used in conjunction with singing and drumming.
And its sound is said to help create a connection between the physical and spiritual realms.
The Cherokee are a Native American tribe who have lived in the southeastern United States for thousands of years.
They are one of the largest Native American tribes in the United States, with over 300,000 enrolled members mostly in northeastern Oklahoma.
The Cherokee have a rich culture and history. They were once a powerful tribe, with a large empire that stretched across the Appalachian Mountains.
The Cherokee were known for their advanced farming techniques.
Also, they are known for their written language, which was one of the first Native American languages to be written down.
In the 1800s, the Cherokee were forced to leave their land in Georgia and Alabama and move to Oklahoma.
This forced removal, known as the Trail of Tears, was a terrible journey that resulted in the deaths of thousands of Cherokee people.
Despite the hardships they faced, the Cherokee survived and thrived.
Today, they have a strong presence in Oklahoma and other states across the country.
BOOKS ABOUT THE CHEROKEE FOR KIDS
The Cherokee are proud of their culture and heritage, and they continue to work to preserve their traditions and language.
Our rattle pays homage to their history and traditions but here are some other wonderful ideas to make your unit rich and full with hands-on activities, crafts, books, videos, and more.
Next, look at some books about the Cherokee.
When possible I prefer living books.
8 Cherokee Books for Kids Who Love to Read and Be Read To
Grab some of these books about the Cherokee to add to your reading list or to a unit study.
Tells of everyday life in the Cherokee Nation and how it changed with the coming of the white man
A work of historical fiction about Sequoyah and the creation of the Cherokee alphabet, from the acclaimed author of Code Talker Thirteen-year-old Uwohali has not seen his father, Sequoyah, for many years. So when Sequoyah returns to the village, Uwohali is eager to reconnect. But Sequoyah’s new obsession with making strange markings causes friends and neighbors in their tribe to wonder whether he is crazy, or worse—practicing witchcraft. What they don’t know, and what Uwohali discovers, is that Sequoyah is a genius and his strange markings are actually an alphabet representing the sounds of the Cherokee language.
The story of one of the great leaders of the Cherokee nation... as well as the fascinating and disturbing story of cultural transformation and subsequent oppressive injustice that ended in The Trail of Tears.
A Cherokee boy plants an apple seed, already seeing the apple tree it is meant to be. But the little apple tree is not so sure. Young and impatient, it begins to doubt its calling after apples fail to appear that first fall. How can the boy convince the tree to give the seasons the time to work their magic? The story is told in English with Cherokee translation, and includes a Cherokee syllabary.
Step back in time for a captivating glimpse of Cherokee life in pre-Columbian North America. Join Little Wolf and his family as they prepare to celebrate Itse Selu, the harvest festival. As night approaches the village, the magic of anticipation fills the air. The luscious feast, Grandfather's storytelling, and the sacred corn dance weave a magical tapestry of tradition.
From an award-winning Native American storyteller comes this captivating re-telling of a Cherokee legend, which explains how strawberries came to be. Long ago, the first man and woman quarrelled. The woman left in anger, but the Sun sent tempting berries to Earth to slow the wife's retreat.
After Possum and Buzzard fail in their attempts to steal a piece of the sun, Grandmother Spider succeeds in bringing light to the animals on her side of the world.
From 1837 to 1838, thousands of Cherokee Indians were marched from their homelands in Georgia to exile in Arkansas by the same white men they has once befriended. The Cherokees journeyed through bitter cold and blazing heat, with little food or water. One out of every four died --- and with them died a culture that had existed for hundreds of years, a civilization that had existed for hundred of years, a civilization that had embraced the white man's ways only to perish through his betrayal. Today, only the names remain of this once great nation.
Then, look at more activities to go with the Cherokee rattle craft.
CHEROKEE ACTIVITIES, CRAFTS, AND RESOURCES
- There is so much information and rich history in my Free The Trail Of Tears For Kids Fun Unit Study Ideas And Lapbook.
- Make Corn Husk Dolls at home like Cherokee children would have played with long ago.
- Get the Cherokee Rose coloring sheet with label. This flower was named for the people who were responsible for distributing the plant.
- Learn the Cherokee language through free videos available on YouTube in multiple lessons.
- Watch a short 5 minute video about the Cherokee with information on where they began as well as their life now.
- Dive into other tribes like the Navajo by creating a pinch pot and compare various tribes’ ways of life.
- Learn how to make a Wattle and Daub house perfect for housing plastic figures
Also, add some fun Cherokee facts to your learning day.
CHEROKEE FACTS TO KNOW
The Cherokee word for “hello” is “osiyo.” but there is no word for “goodbye” instead they say “donadagohvi,” which means “Until we meet again!”. I just love that.
Cherokee comes from a Muskogean word that means “speakers of another language”.
The Cherokee lived in wattle and daub homes.
Wattle and daub homes were framed with tree logs and then covered with mud and grass to fill in the walls.
They called themselves the Ani-Yunwiya, meaning “principal people”.
The Cherokee were the first Native American tribe to develop a written language, it was developed by Sequoyah one of the most famous members of the Cherokee tribe.
Finally, look at how to make a Cherokee rattle craft.
HOW TO MAKE A CHEROKEE RATTLE CRAFT
You will need:
- Two paper plates
- Beads
- Craft feathers
- Jumbo craft stick
- string/yarn
- markers
- Hot glue gun/glue
First, on the convex side of the paper plates draw a design with Cherokee symbols or whatever you like, you could also draw the design to resemble a turtle’s shell.
Too, you could use paper bowls to get a different sized drum with a different sound instead of plates.
On the concave side hot glue a 6” string to either side.
Add a handful of beads or use beans to the plate to create the rattling noise.
Hot glue the jumbo craft stick to the bottom of the plate on one side.
Add beads to the string and feathers to embellish it.
If you add a bit of hot glue to the feather tips and push them into the bead it acts as a stopper for the end of the string. Trim off any excess string.
Quickly add hot glue all the way around the lip of the first plate and press the second one into place
The hand drum is ready.
