South Orangetown Central School District

Fourth graders at Cottage Lane Elementary School are learning how to create corn husk dolls! CLE fourth grade teacher Denise Murphy created this activity as a culminating project as students recently finished learning about Native American history in social studies.

During this unit, students learned more about the Haudenosaunee and Algonquin groups who inhabited areas of New York State as well as how they interacted with their environment. The earliest examples of corn husk dolls were made by Northeastern Native American groups and students learned about the stories and legends about the dolls as told by Haudenosaunee groups.

Thanks to a SOCES PTA Teacher Grant, all fourth grade classes learned how to make corn husk dolls with the help of K-5 Literacy Instructional Coach Kristy Nadler. Nadler visited CLE fourth grade teacher Tara Impemba’s class to help students build their dolls—complete with hair and clothing. Using corn husks that had been soaked in warm water, students built the body of their doll and added any accessories and hair by tying it together with twine.

Thank you, SOCES PTA!

Literacy Coach Kristy Nadler helps student make corn husk doll