The Amulet

Throughout this website you will come across glowing hot amulets like the one Finn found in the book. These amulets have been strategically placed throughout the website to coincide with events in the book. Click on the amulet and learn about the environmental concern Finn was grappling with. There is more information available to you and your students and an activity to do with your class. These activities are meant to create thoughtful reflection on the topic, add to your experience with the story, and include some Art activities into this unit of study.

Activities

• Salt Dough Amulet Section 03
• Bald Eagle Poetry Section 05
• Animal Conservation Venn Diagram and Writing Prompt Section 05
• Classroom Tree and Facts Section 06
• Shad Classroom Fish Hatchery Section 06
• Lenape Origin Story Art and Story Link Section 10
• Eagle Feather-Craft Section 11

The Story

Finn’s mysterious stone has puzzled him since he found it on the hillside above his home in Shimersville. It is not until Finn meets Sarah, a Lenape by birth, that he comes to understand the stone’s meaning and importance. Finn’s stone is a Lenape effigy, a carved resemblance of a Lenape spirit called Mesingw, who was one of a number of spirit forces called manetuwak, created by the supreme being Kishelmukong, to help manage affairs in the natural world and help the Lenape people cope with everyday problems of survival. Mesingw was an especially important manetu, for it was his responsibility to look after the animals of the forest and ensure their health and safety. When Finn encountered nature in distress, his stone reacted by warming. Our amulet, in the story, is meant to help us understand Finn’s growing awareness of man’s abuses to nature and his growing understanding of the world around him.