Kipimâcihowininaw ôta Kitaskînahk (Cree)

Survival in Our Land

Earl Stobbe

Timber Bay School

Timber Bay, SK, Canada

 

 

Rekindling Traditions
Cross-Cultural Science and Technology Units
(CCSTU)

Series Editor

Glen Aikenhead
University of Saskatchewan
Saskatoon, SK, Canada

 

CURRICULUM CONNECTION

Grades 6-10 outdoors education, structure & design, science topics by teachable moments

 

OVERVIEW

Emergency shelters are built by students in the out of doors using two different methods: at first, no tools; and then with tools. The activities offer many teachable moments for students to learn a wide range of content and processes in Aboriginal science and technology and in Western science and technology. The two cultural ways of knowing about the world are addressed and bridged. Duration: about 3 days out of doors, plus about 4 in-class lessons..

 

PURPOSE

This unit is designed to enrich students' understanding and appreciation of Aboriginal science and technology, and to encourage students to continue their studies in school science in the future. Building emergency shelters will strengthen students' own Aboriginal cultural identities, will motivate students toward success in all school subjects, and will demonstrate to them that they can achieve at Western science without setting aside their Aboriginal values. This unit is only one of many activities (e.g. Small School Games, Regina field trip, fund raising activities) that serve to teach students a tradition of living and working together as a team (how to do things cooperatively and in a self-sufficient manner).

These activities involve parents to an increasing degree in order to contribute to parents' life-long learning at the same time as their children are learning the same habits of working with others as a team. The teacher has the opportunity to listen and learn from parents and students. By getting out of the classroom, the teacher can shed the role of expert and model the role of a learner – listening and observing to find out local norms, values, and skills, for instance.

 

GOALS

  1. To bridge students' perceived gap between the world of school knowledge and the world of everyday (Aboriginal) knowledge, by involving students in challenging authentic activities in which students need to use the language from both worlds.
  2. To involve students in the out of doors.
  3. To engender a sense of community among the students, a sense that will endure through life.
  4. To promote a sense of ownership in what students do, and to augment students' self-esteem.
  5. To provide the teacher with a wealth of shared experiences that will serve as points of reference in many future lessons (in other units).
  6. To get students to interact with their environment and their community.
  7. To introduce students to career possibilities related to science and engineering.

 

OBJECTIVES

  1. Students will experience the need for tools in meeting basic needs, and will recognize this as a basic human need.
  2. Students will solve problems when using their natural environment (when surviving in our land).
  3. Students will engage in activities that facilitate the sharing of knowledge, skills, and history.
  4. Students will practise measuring.
  5. Students will learn a safe and proper way to build a fire.
  6. Students will use their knowledge and skills acquired from earlier out-of-door activities, as well as use ones learned in this unit confidently in future out-of-door activities.

 

LESSONS

  1. Building Emergency Shelters Using No Tools
  2. Debriefing
  3. Building a Camp Using Minimum Tools
  4. Debriefing
  5. Overview & Student Assessment

Appendix:     A Photo Tour of a Survival Camp

 

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Northern Lights School Division
Teacher Resource Department
Bag Service 6500
La Ronge, SK S0J 1L0
(306)425-3302

 

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