Standard 9

Educators respect and value the history of First Nations, Inuit and Metis in Canada and the impact of the past on present and the future. Educators contribute towards truth, reconciliation and healing. Educators foster a deeper understanding of ways of knowing and being, histories, and cultures of First Nations, Inuit and Metis.

During this 490 practicum we had a First Nations elder come into the classrooms and tell stories, teach some Carrier words and do activities. In our class Mrs. H taught the students animal names in Carrier and the numbers from 1-5. I included the Carrier numbers when we would work on the Number of the Day with the students during math lesson.

Creating an environment with the respect and understanding of First Nation history in a K/1 class was a challenge. But by using basic content I was able to have success implimenting content in different areas throughout the day.

One activity we used in the K/1 class was the Talking Circle. I had explained to the students that in many First Nations cultures, elders would have meetings in a talking circle and would pass the talking stick. The only one that should be talking is the one holding the stick. I also explained that this was a great way to show their respect to others, listen to the speaker, practice taking turns and to practice not interrupting. We passed the talking stick to each student and started with a basic question so they understood what it would look like. The students were very respectful and were able to share as well as listen to the speaker. The students loved the Talking Circle so much that we brought it into the classroom again with more detailed questions and topics to think about.

In the PRAC 491 grade 7 class, we practiced “Circle” much like in my PRAC 490. I really liked how using Circle Talk can start the week off to an easy start and I can really assess where the students are at coming into the week. This also gave me an opportunity to learn more about themselves as individuals. I really focused on respect to others, patience, taking turns and being able to create a safe space for communication. I saw a big difference in the students from when I first got there to the end of the practicum. There were some students who weren’t opening up and just wanting to “pass” to the next person at the beginning and I feel that they really worked at creating a safe environment. I was also told by my Coaching Teacher that she really liked the “wait time” I give the students who are speaking. I feel that it is very important that in order for the students to feel safe, they need the time to express themselves as well.

One huge lesson that I did in this practicum was the Northwest First Nations Art class. I co-created this with my friend Mrs. Carifelle who is the Indigenous Support at Lakeview Elem. At first, I wasn’t too sure if I should create an art class that touched on the first nations bands in this area but Mrs. Carifelle and I decided to create an art class that touched on the Northwest culture but focused on the animals in this area.

The students and I discussed the importance of animals to them and how they connected with animals in their own lives. We then looked at how First Nations (particularly the Northwest) used animals in their lives and why they were of such importance. We also connected the students to the area by the novel they had just finished (Touching Spirit Bear) who’s area is the Northwest Islands of British Columbia.

I had the students go through a variety of different animals that were on a PowerPoint. Each animal had 3 different descriptive words that represented its characteristics. I asked them to choose one animal that stood out more then the others and to remember what that animal was because that is the animal they would be drawing. I then showed them examples of each of the animals but in the Northwest art form and they were very excited to be trying this! We went through a PowerPoint of how to draw ovoids, L-shapes, S-shapes, U-shapes and Split U-shapes. Once we had enough practice, I gave the students an outline of their animal where they could now create their own animal using the art form they had just learned. Once they were finished drawing, we used the traditional Red and Black colors to finish them off. I then had the students think of 3 words that best described them as a person and had them write their 3 words down below their animal. I found it to be a very powerful lesson for the students and self-reflective.