1/2s teacher Quynh Nguyen reflects on the experience she and her students had during their literature group while reading and learning about Sacajawea. -Ed.

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My Literature Group just finished reading The Story of Sacajawea by Della Rowland.

What has surprised me the most during our weekly discussions is how protective the kids are of Sacajawea and how invested they had become in her life story. They described her as a bright woman who played a crucial role in Lewis and Clark’s journey. Discussions sometimes centered around Sacajawea’s role as a wife and mother (They loved her infant son).  They hated when other people made decisions for her and told her what to do. They focused on the great sacrifices she made and how little she was compensated by the Expedition. When discussing the ending of the biography, the kids expressed disappointment about how a person with so much potential died young. They expressed sadness about how she had to give away her son so that he could have a better life. I think Sacajawea’s story has made an impact on our whole Lit Group.