Use the story to complete the activity.

The Forgotten Ear of Corn

An Arikara woman was once gathering corn from the field to store away for winter use. She passed from stalk to stalk, tearing off the ears and dropping them into her folded robe. When all was gathered she started to go, when she heard a faint voice, like a child's, weeping and calling:

"Oh, do not leave me! Do not go away without me."

The woman was astonished. "What child can that be?" she asked herself. "What babe can be lost in the cornfield?"

She set down her robe in which she had tied up her corn, and went back to search; but she found nothing.

As she started away she heard the voice again:

"Oh, do not leave me. Do not go away without me."

She searched for a long time. At last in one corner of the field, hidden under the leaves of the stalks, she found one little ear of corn. This it was that had been crying, and this is why all Indian women have since garnered their corn crop very carefully, so that the succulent food product should not even to the last small nubbin be neglected or wasted, and thus displease the Great Mystery.

Write one to two sentences explaining how stories like The Forgotten Ear of Corn helped Native American communities preserve their culture.

(2 points)

Stories like The Forgotten Ear of Corn helped Native American communities preserve their culture by passing down important values and teachings through oral tradition. These stories acted as a way to teach future generations about the significance of every aspect of their culture, including the importance of not wasting or neglecting any resources.

make it like a proper seventh grader writing

Stories like The Forgotten Ear of Corn helped Native American communities keep their culture alive because they passed on important lessons and values from one generation to the next. These stories were told orally, which means they were spoken and not written down. The story of the Forgotten Ear of Corn taught the Arikara people to not waste any part of the corn crop and to treat all resources with respect. By sharing these stories, Native American communities were able to preserve their customs and pass them down through the generations.

short

Stories like The Forgotten Ear of Corn helped Native American communities preserve their culture by passing down important lessons and values through oral tradition, ensuring that future generations would understand and appreciate the significance of their traditions.

shorter

Native American stories like The Forgotten Ear of Corn preserved culture by passing down important lessons and values through oral tradition.