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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Code Talkers

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Students investigate the Navajo code talkers contributions to World War II. They read and discuss a fact sheet, and create and decode secret messages using a Navajo code talkers' dictionary.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Memorandum Regarding the Enlistment of Navajo Indians

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Young scholars examine the Navajo dictionary used by the U.S. military in W.W. II. They role-play Navajo messengers and Marine Corp staff. They research the Battle of Iwo Jima and confirm or discount the claim that Navajos made the...
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Website
Other

Army: Native Americans in the u.s. Army: Code Talkers

For Students 9th - 10th
During World War I and World War II, Native Americans from various tribes worked to keep American military communications secret through the use of tribal languages as code. Learn how these individuals worked to create codes that the...
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Website
Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of the American Indian: Native Words, Native Warriors

For Students 9th - 10th
Excellent online companion site to a traveling Smithsonian Institution exhibition on the World War I & World War II American Indian Code Talkers. Features information on Native languages, boarding schools, code talking, and lesson...
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Website
Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of the American Indian: Native Words: Code Talking

For Students 9th - 10th
Learn how members of many Native American tribes became a vital part of America's efforts during World War I and World War II, divising codes that were never broken by the enemy. Includes examples of encoded words.
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Website
Other

Defense: American Indian Heritage Month: Code Talkers

For Students 9th - 10th
Find out about the Native Americans who used their tribal languages as code during World War I and World War II. Includes information on Charles Chibitty, a Comanche code talker who was inducted into the Pentagon's Hall of Heroes.
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Handout
Other

Le Code Navajo

For Students 9th - 10th
In French, read about the Navajo specialists who used their language to help defeat the Japanese in WWII. These Native Americans saved 1000s of lives with their spy code skills.
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Activity
Other

Nat'l Security Agency: National Cryptologic Museum

For Students 9th - 10th
On this site one can find the National Security Agency's history of cryptology, some online exhibits, and sections on mathematics, education, and more.
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Handout
Stephen Byrne

History for Kids: Navajo Tribe

For Students 1st - 6th
History for Kids give us an overview of the history of the Navajo tribe, native to the areas of Utah, New Mexico and Arizona. Provides interesting facts.
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Handout
Scholastic

Scholastic: Code Talker Discussion Guide

For Students 9th - 10th
This resource is a discussion guide for Joseph Bruchac's book, Code Talker: A Novel about the Navajo Marines of World War II.