5
Applying Foundational Knowledge about First Nations, Métis, and Inuit
A teacher develops and applies foundational knowledge about First Nations, Métis and Inuit for the benefit of all students.
Winter Counts (PSI)
(d) supporting the learning experiences of all students by using resources that accurately reflect and demonstrate the strength and diversity of First Nations, Métis and Inuit
This artifact is about my first art class on Winter Counts with my Grade One students. Winter Counts were used by the Nakota people of North America to record important events that occurred from the first snowfall of one year to the next year's snowfall. Instead of written language, pictographs and oral traditions were used as documentation in Winter Counts and students viewed, discussed, and created their own pictographs of people, events, and other significant objects in their personal lives. The storybook "My Heart Fills with Happiness" by Monique Gray Smith was also read together to help generate ideas for students.
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I chose to include this artifact because I wanted students to develop knowledge, understanding and appreciation about the First Nations people and emphasize oral and visual methods of communication, expression and record keeping. Students had an opportunity to learn specifically about various pictographs and what they represented in traditional Winter Counts. Students were also able to expand on the learning by making personal connections to the methodology and creation of pictographs for a classroom Winter Count which was displayed on the hallways bulletin board for other students and staff to see.
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From this artifact I learned the importance of delivering an effective lesson. Although the final product was a success, I felt as though the process of learning, connecting, and creating was not as organized or impactful as I had hoped. I had initially wanted to deliver the historical significance orally (to reflect oral traditions of First Nations cultures), but for Grade Ones (with some students that would need differentiation like an ELL student and a deaf student, a long oral lesson was not an effective way to deliver this lesson. I also learned the importance of closure and how taking time at the end of the lesson to check and solidify understanding would have been an important step in student learning.
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The ways in which I grew or changed as a teacher as a result of this artifact are that as a teacher, I have a responsibility to provide opportunities to students to learn and apply foundational knowledge about FNMI communities and that I need to ensure that the way that I am delivering the lesson is effective for the class that I am teaching. I would change the design for this activity to help students to think more critically about important people, events, and objects in their lives and inviting FNMI individuals from the community to ensure accuracy and relevancy for students would offer more engagement and connection to their learning. For future lessons, I could get in touch with the Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation so that the context could be established in Canada and specifically within Alberta as well.
Making Connections to FNMI Content (PSII)
(c) using the programs of study to provide opportunities for all students to develop a knowledge and understanding of, and respect for, the histories, cultures, languages, contributions, perspectives, experiences and contemporary contexts of First Nations, Métis and Inuit
This artifact is of the PowerPoint slides from my lessons that develop foundational knowledge about First Nations, Métis, and Inuit. Slides were used as a point in which the discussion could be shifted to focus on the Canadian experience. The first picture examines the boundaries of Indigenous lands. While talking about the Spanish Inquisition, students got to think about how Canada also participated in their own "inquisition" by taking land away from the Indigenous peoples. Through this slide, students had the opportunity to discuss why we have land acknowledgments in morning announcements, how treaty lands and reserves were created, and be provided with resources such as the links in the slides to understand the importance of land when we talk about the implications associated to colonialism.
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I chose to include this artifact because I wanted students to examine the experiences of the Indigenous Peoples of Canada as we learned about the Aztecs and the Spanish in Mexico. The perspectives of Canada's FNMI peoples were integrated through my lessons in a natural and organic way to enrich students' knowledge and understanding of the historical, social, economic, and political implications that colonialism had and continues to have in society.
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From this artifact, I learned how to include Indigenous voices as a natural part of learning about social studies. Oftentimes, we set aside time and inorganically check off TQS #5 every time we do one little thing associated with FNMI people. I really wanted my lessons on the Spanish and Aztecs to not only provide a platform for the Mexican Indigenous People's voices to be amplified but to also have students draw connections to the realities of our own country.
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The ways in which I grew or changed as a teacher as a result of this artifact are the importance of decolonizing the frameworks in which we teach and our own teaching practices as well. Much of this unit was spent on personal teaching practices that would allow for the deconstruction and decolonization of learning. The Aztecs and Spanish unit allowed me to consult various resources that changed the perspective of thinking and to share these with my students during class to hold meaningful discussions on our own bias and teh way that history is recorded, learned, and replicated.
Orange Shirt D (PSIII)
(a) understanding the historical, social, economic, and political implications of residential schools and their legacy.
This artifact is of a website I created for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Both my Grade 9 and 10 classes spent the entire period listening to the voices of the Indigenous Peoples of Canada and contemplated what the definition of reconciliation looked like on a personal level.
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I chose to include this artifact because this was the first-ever day in Canadian history for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. I dedicated many weeks in the summer and in the fall in order to curate an online resource that students can use to learn not only about the history of residential schools and their legacy but also the celebrations of Indigenous Peoples in contemporary Canadian society.
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From this artifact, I learned how important it is for me to be honest with my kids and for me to admit my vulnerability when it comes to teaching FNMI content. As I am not Indigenous, I have to admit that my voice will not be equal to someone who has lived experiences with what reconciliation means.
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The ways in which I grew or changed as a teacher as a result of this artifact are the importance of establishing the context when it comes to teaching. With content that has so much weight, such as residential schools, it is crucial that students know the importance of why we are learning this. By teaching this lesson, I was able to understand the importance of attention-grabbing and emotionally connecting intros and impactful closures that help students cement their learning.