Create Your Own Story Totem Pole

Yesterday you learned about Native American totem poles. You know that Native Americans often created totem poles to tell stories. Today, create your own story totem pole.

A Note to Teachers/Parents: This is a great project to help teach kids about the parts of a story. Read a story and then have the students create a totem pole that retells the tale. Tell students that their totem pole should include all the main characters, the problem, the solution, and three plot points. In my area, 2nd and 3rd graders have been learning about the parts of a story for at least a month and they have filled out more graphic organizers than anyone should ever be made to fill out. This totem pole project is a fun way to break up the monotony and to appeal to more visual, kinesthetic, or artistic learners.

Supplies Needed:

A good story (I used Goldilocks and the Three Bears)
Paper towel rolls
Construction paper
White paper
Markers/Colored pencils/Crayons
Scissors
Glue
Tape
Rubber bands

Read the story. Think about the main characters, the problem, the solution, and three plot points. All of these things should appear on your finished totem pole.
Draw and color each item. My totem pole tells the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears so I drew three bears, Goldilocks with porridge, Goldilocks in a chair, and Goldilocks sleeping in bed.

Cut out your pictures. Arrange them in the order of the story. I put the beginning of the story on the bottom of the totem pole and built each piece on top of the one before it.
Choose a color for the background of your totem pole. I chose red. A sheet of construction paper is the same length as a paper towel roll, but you’ll need to cut the paper to the correct width. You want it to be about 6 ½ inches wide. If you want your totem pole to be longer than a paper towel roll, just fit another roll inside the first and attach with a little tape. You’ll then need to cut another piece of construction paper and tape it to the first piece.
Glue your pictures, in a column, to the center of the construction paper. Let them dry.

Spread glue over the back of the construction paper. Wrap the paper around the paper towel roll. Carefully twist rubber bands around the ends to hold the construction paper in place while it dries. If you’re in a hurry, or the glue won’t hold, use a little bit of tape at the edges.
Return to main page.

Totem Poles

Along the northwestern coast of North America (America and Canada), some Native Americans create totem poles. These totem poles are carved from whole, full-grown Western Redcedar trees, and can be huge. They show people and animals stacked on top of each other, sometimes painted bright colors.

We don’t know how long Native American tribes have been carving totem poles because wood rots. Eventually, every totem pole must be taken down and destroyed. There are totem poles from the 1800s and stories about totem poles from much earlier.

Totem poles are used for different reason within different tribes. Some are used to show family history, some tell stories, and some are meant for protection. Native American tribes even used to use totem poles to embarrass other tribes who owed debts.

When a Native American totem pole artist creates a totem pole, he first decides what animals to include. He designs his pole. When he knows what his totem pole will look like, he begins to carve. This can take a year to finish. Imagine carving an entire tree! Depending on which tribe he belongs to, the artist may then paint the animals with bright colors.

When the totem pole is finished, the tribe stands it up. First, the base of the totem pole is burned using wood chips that were carved from the pole during its creation. This is supposed to help slow the rotting process. Then a wooden scaffold is built and attached to the totem pole to make it easier to pull the pole up. It takes hundreds of people to raise the totem pole. Next, there is a ceremony in which the artist is paid for his work. He then dances around the totem pole holding the tools he used to create it

Check out this site for pictures of totem poles.

EDITED TO ADD: Create Your Own Story Totem Pole

Return to main page.