[link unavailable; checked 2026-10-15] Inquiry Design Model (IDM) Blueprint™
Water Song
NDNAEU 1 “Sacred Relatives”, NDNAEU 2 “Learning & Storytelling”, NDNAEU 5 “Tribal Policies, Treaties and Sovereignty”
Compelling QuestionIs water a living or non-living system? 
Standards and PracticesPerformance Standard MS-LS2-1
LS2.A: Organisms, and populations of organisms, are dependent on their environmental interactions both with other living things and nonliving factors. In an ecosystem, organisms and populations with similar requirements for food, water, oxygen, or other resources may compete with each other for limited resources, access to which consequently constrains their growth and reproduction. Growth of organisms and population increases are limited by access to resources.
Staging the QuestionWhat can be included in the living system that would create an environment of caring? (Water Song, Rainbow, Blue Huron-Thunderbird, Echo Systems) Water Test, Hypothesis. 
Supporting Question 1 Supporting Question 2 Supporting Question 3 
How do the North Dakota tribes’ creation stories relate or differentiate to other races? The American Indian sees the water as a living system. Does that create differences or correlations with western science? The tribes in North Dakota govern in tribal policy, treaties, and sovereignty but states mandate state policy on water. How does this affect water rights on tribal, trust and state lands?  
Formative Performance TaskFormative Performance TaskFormative Performance Task
Listen to North Dakota tribes Creation story and compare to other nationalities within state and in groups of 3 to 5 students compare and contrast. Listen to water song-and learn the song for appreciation and care of water.
Water hypothesis-good and bad (test)
Water flow is viewed as a woman giving birth, and a woman’s cycle. “Grasses grow” is viewed as the sweet grass hair of earth mother. American Indian Philosophy is “Treaty is as long as the water flows and grasses grow.” Discuss in small groups what is meant by this statement.
Featured SourcesFeatured SourcesFeatured Sources
https://www.ndstudies.gov/curriculum/high-school#heading2https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3yHiJqZXFchttps://www.ndstudies.gov/curriculum/high-school#heading2
SUMMATIVE PERFORMANCE TASK: Supported Claim (written/spoken) or Demonstration of Process (project-based)Using the NDNAEU #’s 1,2,5 students can write in groups of three or five a one-page paper on another living system (earth, air, or fire) to create a site of understanding in their district. 
SUMMATIVE PERFORMANCE TASK: ExtensionInterview an elder about water recycling. 
Taking Informed Action / Real World ApplicationTaking what they have learned and as a group come up with a policy to protect the water to the Tribal chief, president or mayor. 
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