This guide attempts to help teachers of American Indian students in grades 7-8 provide a culturally relevant education that takes place in the regular classroom, includes content related to Indian students' lives, makes students proud, expands to other experiences, and enhances learning. Creating sacred places means responding appropriately to students' academic, social, emotional, physical, and spiritual needs. Research has shown that to empower Indian students to learn, their school programs must incorporate their language and culture, involve parents and community as partners, provide appropriate instruction, and use appropriate testing methods. The approach presented here combines the teaching of various subject areas and reinforces classroom instruction with language and cultural activities by using American Indian literature as a basis for instruction. Materials and activities are aligned with challenging content standards. This guide outlines 24 thematic units, which include background information, relevant Indian literature, objectives, activities, evaluation methods, and content standards. Eight science-based units cover electricity; oil and gas; use of plants; man, animals, and plants; sun, moon, and stars; abuse of alcohol and drugs; water; and Indian art. Eight social studies and history-based units cover tribal histories, before 1492, 1492 and the 1500s, 1600s and 1700s, 1800-68, 1869-99, 1900-52, and 1953-2000. Eight language arts-based units cover contemporary Indian young people, student writing, oral tradition and oratory, Indian stories, Indian biographies, poetry, short stories, novels, and American Indian and Alaska Native authors. A final section lists additional resources and sources for books. (SV)