On Nov. 5th, Grade 4 traveled to Huber Woods in Middletown to build a longhouse as the early Lenape did.
The early Lenape did not have a written language. Using petroglyphs and pictographs, the early Lenape were able to carve in rock and paint with natural dyes to tell some of their stories.
Grade 4 students created pictograph stories by mixing dirt and water to make paint. They painted their stories on brown papers as the Lenape would on animal skins or bark.
While the “bark” dried, the students used precut logs and rope to build their longhouse. They learned to tie the ropes using the early techniques of frapping and wrapping. Then they covered the sides and roof of their longhouse with the “bark” they designed.
After a couple of hours, the students were finally able to sit inside their longhouse!
