15. Studying Words

When the first white men who came to this country met the Indians, they learned from them some new words. The white men used these Indian words more and more. To-day we think of the words as English words, and we have almost forgotten where we got them. In talking about Indians we shall need these words. Let us learn them at once. Then we shall make no mistakes when we use them.

STONE HATCHET

Oral Exercise. 1. Listen carefully as the teacher pronounces each word in this list of Indian words. Then pronounce it the same way. Then read the entire list distinctly and rapidly without making a single mistake.

tepeesquawwampumhominytoboggan

wigwampapoosemoccasintomahawktobacco

2. Which of these words do you already know? Make sentences using each of these to show that you know what they mean. Learn the meaning of the others and then use them in sentences.

Group Exercise. With each of the Indian words in the list make one interesting sentence. This the teacher will write on the board. Then the entire class will make it as much better as possible. The teacher will write the improved sentence on the board under the other one. Thus, with the first word in the list, you might give this sentence:

The hunter saw a tepee.

The class tries to make the sentence more interesting. At last the following sentence is seen on the board:

The brave Indian hunter saw a large new tepee in the woods.