Connections to the Past: Ohlone Games
In a collaboration with the Lower School P.E. department, students had the chance to experience the traditional Ohlone Hoop and Pole game on the front field.
Each year, third grade students learn about the native peoples of the Bay Area including the Ohlone who have lived in the Bay Area for many thousands of years. To kick off this unit, students took a “virtual field trip” to travel back in time to visit the Bay Area 1,000 years ago. Students listened to sounds of waves crashing along the beach, bubbling creeks, and wind blowing through tule grass as they took mental photographs they later used to create watercolors of the imagined landscape. An important part of the lesson was to be mindful that their landscapes represented geographic features and cultural elements that specifically existed in the Bay Area during this time period, rather than making assumptions based on misunderstandings or stereotypes about indigenous cultures. Click here to see photos!