Paired Texts > The Basket Weaver

by Jacque Summers 2012

We've identified these texts as great options for text pairings based on similar themes, literary devices, topic, or writing style. Supplement your lesson with one or more of these options and challenge students to compare and contrast the texts. To assign a paired text, click on the text to go to its page and click the "Assign Text" button there.

How the Stories Came to Be
How the Stories Came to Be
Mabel Powers

In the folktale "How the Stories Came to Be," retold by Mabel Powers, a narrator describes the beginning of stories for the Iroquois people.

Pair “How the Stories Came to Be” with “The Basket Weaver” and ask students to discuss the importance of telling stories. Why is storytelling important to both the Iroquois and Chumash People? What can people learn from storytellers? How do people in other cultures use storytelling?

3rd Grade Folktale 840L
The Impossibles
The Impossibles
J. Patrick Lewis

In J. Patrick Lewis' poem "The Impossibles," a speaker describes accomplishing seemingly impossible things.

Pair “The Impossibles” with “The Basket Weaver” and have students think about how people overcome their fears to do things they never thought were possible. How does the speaker describe impossible things in “The Impossibles”? How does Yo’ee do something she never thought was possible in “The Basket Weaver”? What can we learn from the speaker of the poem and from Yo’ee when we feel like something is impossible?

4th Grade Poem
The Sacrifice of the Rainbow Bird
The Sacrifice of the Rainbow Bird
John M. Burt

In "The Sacrifice of the Rainbow Bird," a bird brings fire to humans to help them survive the winter.

Pair “The Sacrifice of the Rainbow Bird” with “The Basket Weaver” and ask students to discuss the ways animals are used in Native American storytelling. How is the story of “The Sacrifice of the Rainbow Bird” similar to the chief’s story in “The Basket Weaver”? How is it different? What part do animals play in both stories?

4th Grade Folktale 810L
A Totem Pole Comes Home
A Totem Pole Comes Home
Kathleen Curry

In "A Totem Pole Comes Home," Kathleen Curry describes how the Haisla people solved the mystery of their missing totem pole.

Pair “The Basket Weaver” with “A Totem Pole Comes Home” and ask students to think about how art objects can have special meaning. How does Yo’ee’s basket have a special meaning in “The Basket Weaver”? How does the G’psgolox pole have a special meaning to the Haisla people in “A Totem Pole Comes Home”? How do people show that these art objects are meaningful and important?

5th Grade Informational Text 930L
Carving Stories in Cedar
Carving Stories in Cedar
Kristine F. Anderson

"Carving Stories in Cedar" describes the First People's practice of carving trees into traditional totem poles.

Pair “The Basket Weaver” with “Carving Stories in Cedar” and ask students to compare how people tell stories through art. How does Yo’ee use art to tell stories in “The Basket Weaver”? How does Israel Shotridge use art to tell stories in “Carving Stories in Cedar? How are the ways that they tell stories similar and different?

5th Grade Informational Text 990L
Sir Thomas and the Dragon
Sir Thomas and the Dragon
Monica M. Roe

In "Sir Thomas and the Dragon," a scared knight faces his fear of scaly creatures.

Pair “The Basket Weaver” with “Sir Thomas and the Dragon” and have students think about how both characters overcome their fears. What is Yo’ee’s fear in “The Basket Weaver”? What is Sir Thomas’s fear in “Sir Thomas and the Dragon”? How are the ways that they face their fears similar and different? What advice do you think Yo’ee and Sir Thomas would give to someone who was feeling fear?

3rd Grade Fantasy 730L
Our Family Treasure Chest
Our Family Treasure Chest
Jenny Whitehead

In "Our Family Treasure Chest," a speaker describes their family's tradition of unwrapping ornaments to hang on their Christmas tree. Pair “The Basket Weaver” with “Our Family Treasure Chest” and have students think about how certain objects can have special meaning. What special meaning does Yo’ee’s basket have in “The Basket Weaver”? What special meaning do the Christmas tree ornaments in “Our Family Treasure Chest” have for the speaker and their family? How do the people in both texts show that these objects are meaningful and important?

3rd Grade Poem