11/17/2026

Morning Announcements

Morning Meeting Agenda

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November is Native American Heritage Month
Literacy of the Day

The man who invented an alphabet

Imagine inventing writing itself for your language — when you can’t read or write in any language at all. One Cherokee man did exactly that, and it changed his nation forever.

Portrait of Sequoyah holding his syllabary

Meet Sequoyah! He was Cherokee. His people could speak Cherokee, but they had no way to write it down. So Sequoyah made up letters for every sound — and taught everyone to read! Look closely: he is holding the letters he made.

Painting by Henry Inman, via Wikimedia Commons

Word of the Day: SYMBOL. A symbol is a mark that stands for something. Every letter you know is a symbol for a sound!

Some Cherokee letters and their sounds Ꭰ “ah” Ꮖ “quo” Ꮝ “s” Ꮕ “nah”

Sequoyah made a symbol for every sound in Cherokee!

Let’s talk
  • Look at those letters. Do any of them look like letters you know?
  • What is your favorite letter in the alphabet? What sound does it make?
  • Why is it important to be able to write things down?
Reveal a fun factHide the fun fact
Our alphabet has 26 letters. Sequoyah’s Cherokee writing has 85! Each one stands for a whole syllable instead of just one sound.
Try it

Invent a symbol! Use your finger to draw a brand-new letter in the air. Now make up a sound for it and say it out loud. You’re doing what Sequoyah did!

Mystery inventor: He could not read or write in any language. Over about twelve years, working alone and mocked by neighbors who thought he was wasting his time, he built a complete writing system for his language — 85 characters, each representing a syllable.

Who is he?Hide
Sequoyah — a Cherokee silversmith and inventor. He completed his syllabary around 1821. He is the only person in recorded history known to have invented a complete writing system while being unable to read or write any existing one. The giant sequoia trees are named in his honor.
Portrait of Sequoyah holding his syllabary

In this portrait, Sequoyah is holding the syllabary itself — the chart of all 85 characters he created. Notice that the painter chose to show him with his invention rather than with anything else.

Painting by Henry Inman, via Wikimedia Commons
What writing made possible 85 characters Each one is a whole syllable, not one letter Learned fast People could learn to read it in just days or weeks A newspaper The Cherokee Phoenix printed in two languages

One person’s invention, a whole nation’s literacy.

Let’s talk
  • People laughed at Sequoyah for years. What kept him going?
  • Why would a syllabary be faster to learn than an alphabet? Think about what each symbol does.
  • Why would a nation facing removal want its own newspaper so badly?
Reveal the answersHide the answers
A syllabary is quicker because each symbol is a complete sound chunk — you don’t have to blend letters together. Reports from the era describe Cherokee literacy rising rapidly, in some accounts surpassing that of nearby settlers. And a newspaper meant the Cherokee could tell their own story in their own words rather than having others speak for them — which is exactly why it mattered so much during the removal fight.
Try it

Syllable challenge! With a partner, count the syllables in your full name. Now imagine needing a unique symbol for each one. How many symbols would your class need for everyone’s names? That’s the problem Sequoyah solved.

Additional Notes/Activities

If additional activities are needed for the Morning Meeting, they will be added here.