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Issue #14
January, 2011

Professional Development

Monograph #11 – Integrating Aboriginal Teaching and Values into the Classroom

http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/inspire/research/Toulouse.pdf

Source: Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat – Ontario Ministry of Education Pamela Rose Toulouse, Ph. D, Laurentian University
Focus: Teachers and researchers

Summary: This monograph explores the relationship between Aboriginal students’ self-esteem and educational attainment. The key questions that guide this discussion are:

  • What strategies currently work for Aboriginal students, and why are they so important for creating meaningful change?
  • What are the day-to-day implications for educators endeavouring to ensure Aboriginal student needs are met?
Classroom Practice: Elementary

Through Mala’s Eyes: Life in an Inuit Community. A Learning Resource

http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/ach/lr/ks/rrds/rrds_mala-eng.asp

Source: Indian and Northern Affairs Canada
Focus: Junior/Intermediate students

Summary: This series of lesson plans, built around the first-person narrative of a 12-year-old Inuk boy, will help teachers and students appreciate life in the Inuit community of Salluit, in the northern part of Nunavik, Northern Quebec.

Although designed for students from 9 to 12 years of age, some of the lesson plans and strategies in this unit can be adapted for other grade levels. Suggested activities and lists of research resources offer exciting and engaging opportunities to learn more about the history, customs and traditions of Inuit in Canada.

Relevant Research

Child care for First Nations children living off reserve, Métis children, and Inuit children

http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/11-008-x/11-008-x2010002-eng.htm

Source: Leanne C. Findlay and Dafna E. Kohen.

Summary: Previous research has shown that child care has an impact on children’s social and developmental outcomes. However, little is known about child care for First Nations, Métis and Inuit children.

The purpose of this study is to describe child care for First Nations children living off reserve, Métis, and Inuit children in Canada, including the cultural aspects within the care environment. In addition, the availability of culturally relevant activities and language spoken in care were examined as predictors of children’s outcomes.

Related Links

Canadian Directory of First Nations, Métis and Inuit Collections

http://library.usask.ca/native/directory/english/index.html

Source: Indian and Northern Affairs in cooperation with the University of Saskatchewan
Focus: Students and researchers

Summary:The directory lists library and cultural institutions with collections related to First Nations, Métis and the Inuit in Canada.

This directory is compiled by the Library and Information Needs of Native People’s Interest Group of the Canadian Library Association, the Departmental Library of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada in cooperation with University of Saskatchewan Libraries.

Multimedia

Tipatshimuna – Innu stories from the land

http://www.tipatshimuna.ca/

Source: Virtual Museum of Canada
Focus: Researchers and students interested in learning more about the Innu culture and history

Summary: According to Innu oral tradition, the world is an island created by wolverine and mink after a great flood. The archaeological record shows that the Innu and their ancestors have occupied a large portion of Labrador and eastern Quebec for two thousand or more years. The Innu refer to this territory as “Nitassinan.”

Discover the heritage and tradition of the Innu through their stories and material culture which are presented on this virtual site.

Early Childhood

A Training Curriculum for Early Childhood Education Educators in the Aboriginal Head Start in Urban and Northern Communities Head Start Program Working with Special Needs

http://nationtalk.ca/story/a-training-curriculum-for-early-childhood-educators-in-the-aboriginal-head-start-in-urban-and-northern-communities-program-working-with-aboriginal-children-with-special-needs

Source: Emily F. King. Lakehead University
Focus: Early Childhood Educators, Special Education teachers and Administrators

Summary: This report emphasizes the need for special needs training in Aboriginal communities and highlights the importance of developing a framework which is founded on Indigenous ways of knowing. Six Guiding Principles were established, emphasizing traditional elements that need to guide the process of curriculum creation. Traditional elements of particular importance to participants included the need to recognize the many important roles of Elders within the community, the need for experiential learning to be central to a developed curriculum, and the recognition and identification of Indigenous ways of knowing which should guide all curriculum implementation and programming.

Drawing from these principles, this curriculum framework was created outlining both content and process associated with the guiding principles and features essential to include in an Aboriginal special needs early childhood education curriculum.

Classroom Practice: Secondary

Exploring Motion-Related Technology Through a First Nations’ Game: A Lesson to Support Science 1

https://www.stf.sk.ca/?Sy3uQUnbK9L2RmSZs02CjV%2FLfyjbyjsxsuIVpI9h2B1M=F

Source: Government of Saskatchewan. Developed by a team of teachers, Elders, and cultural advisors: Yvonne Chamakese, David Hlady, Anna-Leah King, Duane Johnson, Marcia Klein, Lana Lorensen, Sally Milne, Joseph Naytowhow, Lamarr Oksasikewiyin, Stuart Prosper, Ron Ray, Ted View, John Wright, and Laura Wasacase.

Focus: Grade 10 Science

Summary: This lesson is from the unit in the Saskatchewan Science 10 Curriculum Guide entitled Physical Science: Motion in Our World (MW), and can be used as an introduction to the concept of motion.

The lesson uses a First Nations’ game, snow snakes, to illustrate motion. Because snow is necessary for this game, the unit will need to be used during the winter.

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