Orange Shirt day is coming up next Monday, September 30th. It's a time when we reflect on why every child matters, and take time to remember that Residential Schools were a real thing. That really happened. These topics can be extremely challenging to teach, but more importantly can be triggering for our students and their families, whether they have Indigenous ancestry or not. In the primary grades it can be especially tricky as we want to acknowledge the truths that happened, but these kids are only 5 and 6. So what I recommend is that you focus on why every child matters, and the resiliency of the children that were forced into residential school. To help you teach this on Monday, and in throughout the year, I've made two units based upon popular books, and have also included a free book list of books that I approve for classroom use. You can find the unit's here: I've also created a free book list of other great resources for you use, which can be downloaded here. Here are also a few teaching tips I have when teaching about Residential Schools
in the elementary grades:
If you have any questions, or need support with anything, please contact me, as I am more than happy to help.
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I don't know about you, but I feel like there's been a lack of good quality non-fiction books on Indigenous culture, particularly that have authentic text. By authentic I mean that the author has a connection to the community they are writing about, or that the author themselves is Indigenous. SO, I have fallen in love with this series by Beech Street Books. They're bright, informative and all the authors and content consultants (to my knowledge) have a strong and respectful community connection. The best thing about these are that they're for Grades 2-6ish. They're perfect for inquiry or research projects.
To help you along with your primary and intermediate classes, I've created a powerpoint lesson for you to use. This Non-Fiction Text Features lesson teaches your students how to read, understand and find information in primary non-fiction books. Download the PowerPoint here Going back to school is an exciting and stressful time for all parties involved! So I've prepared a booklist of my favourite Back To School read alouds that calm those nervous first-day jitters, welcome new students, and set the first off on a good (kind) foot. These are 10 of my favourite back to school books for primary students! This post contains affiliate links. You're Finally Here by Melanie Watt Lena's Shoes Are Nervous: A First-Day-of-School Dilemma by Keith Calabrese Pete the Cat: Rocking in my School Shoes by Eric Litwin This School Year Will be the BEST! by Kay Winters The Exceptionally, Extraordinarily Ordinary First Day of School by Albert Lorenz Be Brave Little One by Marianne Richmond All Are Welcome by Alexandria Penfold The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson The Big Umbrella by Amy June Bates The Pout-Pout Fish Does to School by Deborah Diesen If you enjoyed this list, go to my Teachers Pay Teachers store to download the list that includes lessons and how I use each one of these. I hope you find these suggestions helpful!
Do you have a favourite that was missed? Please let me know! Indigenous curriculum has a growing presence in Canadian schools, which I think is amazing. BUT… I’ve found this has left most non-indigenous teachers, scared and unsure how to approach teaching about a culture in which they don’t belong.
Well, I think that’s also great. It means that these teachers care about teaching these subjects areas respectfully and authentically. The problem these teachers are left with is…. how do I teach about a culture I know nothing about? Well it can be done by taking the right considerations, and with the right resources. To start I've made a FREE booklist of my top 20 favourite books to get you started. Find it here. I find that our educational world is lacking the curricular resources to support teachers in teaching Indigenous curriculum, and particularly, resources without the jargon, theory and academia ramblings. My focus is to provide teachers with valuable, classroom-based resources that save you time and provide a guide and lessons to implementing authentic Indigenous perspectives. Lose the stress of having to navigate Indigenous curriculum blindly, while walking on eggshells. I want to provide you with thoughtfully prepared, ready-to-use documents that give you a guide to navigate new curriculum, curated book suggestions, and supplemental lesson plans and activities. Using the popular book Stolen Words, I've created this mini-unit to introduce Primary classes to Residential Schools. In this resource you'll find meaningful, ready to use activities and worksheets for your students to gain an understanding of the topic. By using Reading Comprehension techniques, you'll be able to lead your students through this tricky subject. Save your time, and lose the stress. Get this resource here. As a consideration, I self-identify as a Metis person, and have many years experience of working with Indigenous peoples in Canada. However, my advice or suggestions that I provide are from my own unique experience, and may not be the right way or be respectful for every individual or group. Please keep this is mind while exploring my Indigenous related resources. Some general rules of thumb and protocols that I have when teaching with or about Indigenous peoples comprise of these 3 general rules:
2. Don't cookie cutter it. - All Indigenous Communities are unique. When teaching an Indigenous unit, or when working closely with an Indigenous Community in any capacity, please treat each person or topic individually. Specifically in regards to teaching, don't teach that ALL Indigenous communities are the same. Each community has its own concerns, ways of doing things, values, ways of teaching etc. 3. Acknowledge. - A gesture of respect is acknowledging the land you live on or are visiting. When teaching a unit on Indigenous culture, residential school, or other topic, it's a good rule of thumb to acknowledge that the place you are teaching and living on is (probably) the traditional territory of someone else. - Example: A am grateful to live and work on the unceded (or traditional) territory of the ________ Peoples. If you have any questions along the way, let me know how I can support you! |
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