7 – Final Projects

The projects are done! All the students did a great job and we had our small group presentations. I've taken some excerpts from their writing and also some photos of their collages below. They also completed some reflection questions after all the presentations were done and it was great seeing that some of them were...

6 – Collage Project

To be honest, this unit could go on for the whole year and there would still be more to learn. Identities are not an easy thing to learn and explore through and it is a life-long process. However, I did want what we learned to come together. I have always been very proud of my...

5 – Literature Circles – Explode the Picture

One of the more exciting things about creating this unit was being able to collaborate with other teachers in the district. The following activity was developed with mentoring from the District Mentorship program. It is an activity that allows students to create a story, find meaning/understanding and use inferencing and observation skills from a picture....

4 – Literature Circles – Basics

I began a literature circle after the names to show the link that we have with stories. I used the following books for my literature circle. Stolen Words (weaker students) A Promise is a Promise Shi-Shi-Etko Shin-chi's Canoe Cheyenne Again I had a little book walk through so that they could choose their top three...

3 – Place Names – My Hometown

Continuing from place names, I wanted the students to share a little bit more about themselves and where they came from. I know that while I have many places that I call 'home', I do not know specifically much about what their names mean. If we are going to also name this place 'home', perhaps...

2 – Place Names

After discussing our own names, we looked at other names. Place names are all around us, they are the names of where we are from and so it's important to know the stories behind these names. It was also a way to share more about other students in the class - where they are from...

1- What’s in a Name?

Names! We all have them, but how often do we actually think about them? Names have meanings, names have stories and each name is unique even if it's given to the same person because there is a reason why that name was given to that person. This is a lesson/lessons that I have used in...

Reflections: Using the 6Rs

An important part of being a teacher is reflecting on what you have done in the classroom - what has worked, what didn't and how to improve. By doing this, you can also practice what you are asking students to do - reflect on who they are and their work and critically think about what...

Finding Resources – Teacher Resources

Looking for resources can be hard and it can be doubly hard alone! Reach out to your district or your community for help. These are the places/people I reached out to: District ELL Coordinator Teacher Mentorship Program District Indigenous Teacher Consultant Community Library! Musqueam Indian Band UBC - Teaching Department/Indigenous Library MOOC - Reconciliation Through...

Finding Resources – Videos

Videos are a great resource to use in the classroom as they are more engaging and allow for visual learning. Below are some websites that link to some videos that I thought might be useful. Curio - Reconciliation and Indigenous Youth Collections Our First Voices I Am Indigenous - CBC We Were Children (Movie) -...