Richmond School District

Transcription

1 Playful Storytelling through the First Peoples Principles of Learning (formerly known as the QTL project BC Ministry of Education sponsored Quality Teaching and Learning initiative) Richmond School District story place self- identity Introducing the Storytelling Basket (basket received by each school in the project) Sit with students in a sharing circle. Hold up and pass around items from the basket. What do you notice? What do you wonder? Point out shapes and design in the art in the books and animals. Where do these animals live? What animals do the students seem interested in or connected to? Find those animals in the Sharing Our World book and show and read the pages explaining what those animals represent in Pacific Northwest indigenous cultures. Students might make connections to what those animals represent in their cultures. Read a short story like Good Morning Animals to provide a frame for students to interact with the materials. Lay materials out for the students in baskets or on trays 1) natural materials such as twigs, rocks, shells, pinecones, etc to create places/settings/habitats/small worlds. 2) characters puppets, stuffed animals, wooden puzzle pieces, plastic animals Students choose their materials and create their own stories or replicate the frame of the story you have read to them. Provide an opportunity for students to share their stories. Retelling Stories As students develop an understanding of story, they often retell known stories, adapting them in their own way. As part of the project, several stories have been used successfully for retellings or to inspire related stories. Just a Walk This is a simple journey story. A boy had all sorts of adventures and then arrives back home. Students can choose an animal or other character and create various settings for the character have adventures in. Ie. river, lake, mountain, forest, waterfall, etc. The Little Hummingbird This is a short globally- inspired story with a big theme. Little things can make a difference. Students enjoy creating stick puppets and recreating the fire in the forest, with a river or pond for the hummingbird to dip into to get water. Where is Mouse Woman? Based on a traditional Haida story, various animals look in all sorts of places for Mouse Woman. Students can work together with different animals to recreate the story.

2 Stories that Connect to Big Ideas and the First Peoples Principles of Learning Many of the stories we use in the project have been selected because they embed big ideas and themes that are important First Peoples Principles. These stories inspire rich discussions and connection- making and provide opportunities for students to think deeply about the power of stories. After reading and discussing these stories, we have asked students to consider these principles and themes in the stories they create. Mouse Celebrates the Winter Solstice This short rhyming story addresses themes of community, celebrations, stories and elders and the power of one s voice. Students can discuss times of the year that their families or community comes together to celebrate. Students have enjoyed re- creating a winter forest setting and creating stories about the animals celebrating in different ways. Jingle Dancer This story highlights the important roles of family and elders in cultural traditions and celebrations. The importance and sacredness of regalia is also introduced and celebrated. Students are encouraged to share about their cultural celebrations and clothing and create stories that reflect their customs. Making Animals/Characters Provide opportunities for students to create their own animals or characters. Examples of materials that can be used are wooden peg dolls, rocks, clay, felting, found materials, etc. Many ideas can be found in Show Me a Story by Emily K. Neuburger (QTL resource). 2

3 Use of Local Photographs Photographs of local environments can be used to contribute to story settings. Photographs can be printed out to be used as backdrops for story creation, or glued on to box lids or large wooden blocks. We are currently playing with the use of video of to use as backdrops to settings to add motion and sounds to our settings. A story room with projected video or photographs can provide an immersive story experience. Finding Stories Outside School parks, walkways, gardens or a tree can be natural settings or sites for stories. By taking a basket of characters outside with a class, new stories will be inspired. 3

4 Creating Storyboards Using cedar shingles or shims, students have created storyboards to support their storytelling. Students created their stories first using materials and then thought of symbols, icons or metaphors that would help to tell their story. They painted these symbols in story order onto the cedar boards using acrylic paints and used the story boards to support their storytelling. Sharing our Stories Over the course of this project, teachers and students have used a variety of ways to share stories documentation panels, videos, photo storybooks, ebooks (using the Book Creator app) and other documentation using ipad apps. A Kindergarten student creates a story and a photo is taken. The student then tells the story while the teacher types it into the SodaSnap app. 4

5 Making Trees and Other Setting Materials Trees are regularly needed for small world play, story workshop settings and playful storytelling experiences. Here are some ideas for making trees to add to your collection. Paper Tree #1 Felt Tree #1 Cut a triangle template out of cardstock. Using two or three circle templates (with Trace around template onto paper and cut 3- one wedge cut out) increasing in size, cut out 4 trees out. You can use green construction shapes from felt. Stitch up straight edges to paper, scrapbooking paper or paper that has form cones. Trees can stand one their own as been painted and embellished collage, individual cones or stacked. fingerpainting, printing, stamping, etc. Fold triangles in half and using three or four Felt Tree #2 triangles, glue one half of the back of one Cut out two tree shapes from felt. Either sew triangle to another, completing a circle of or use fabric glue along edges, leaving a 2cm triangles and a tree that stands on its own. opening at bottom of tree. Stuff with batting Make a variety of sizes for an authentic or cotton balls and use a twig or cinnamon foresty look. stick to create a trunk, using a hot glue gun or Aleene s Tacky Glue to secure trunk into Paper Tree #2 felt tree. A small tree stand can be created by A paper tree can be cut to shape out of drilling a hole in a block or small tree cookie construction paper, cardstock or and then gluing or screwing the trunk in to scrapbooking paper. the base. A mound of playdough also works A regular clothespin to help the tree stand up. can be used as the trunk of the tree, Twig Tree using a playdough Gather small branches from outside and base to help the tree create trees by stand. standing the branches up in a playdough base. Paper Tree #3 Paper leaves could be A paper tree can be cut to shape out of added (drawn and cut construction paper, or using paper cardstock or punches). scrapbooking paper. A paper roll tube can Cork Tree be cut into sections Using a winecork as a base, snip a small sprig and painted to of rosemary or another evergreen plant and match the poke it into the cork for a tree/trunk/bush. By mini tree. During the cutting two small winter holiday season, slits in the base of ever lasting ornamental the tree, the tree can greens for decorating are be secured to the available in craft and paper roll base. dollar stores and can be cut up into smaller pieces. 5

6 Pinecone Tree Larger, fuller pinecones with a wide base can stand up and make a great tree. Green paint can be used if desired. White paint with clear or silver glittery can be added for wintery trees. Wood Tree Cut wood blocks into triangular shapes to represent evergreen trees. Paint or stain. These tree blocks will stand up on their own if the base is wide enough. Other Items Ferns can be made by grouping green feathers together and securing them in a base of playdough or clay. Small bushes or shrubs can be made by cutting a long rectangular piece of felt, creating a wave or zigzag along one long edge. The piece of felt is then rolled together tightly, gluing it as you roll and fanning the top out. Mushrooms can be made by painting wooden drawer pulls. Mushrooms can also be made by rolling and gluing a long rectangular piece of felt for the stem and then cutting out a round disc of felt for the cap and gluing it on to the stem. Adding snow to the branches of trees can easily done with a bit of tempera or acrylic white paint with a bit of glitter added. Snowy fabric mats for winter holiday displays can be purchased at dollar and craft stores in November and December. Create small world forest mats by cutting out large brown pieces of felt. Textured felt or fabric dark green mats of moss can be layered on top of the forest floor. A creek, stream or pond can be added by cutting out a shaped piece of blue felt or fabric. 6

7 Children s Books We suggest consulting with the FNESC document, Authentic First Peoples Resources (K- 9), for criteria in selecting authentic resources to use in BC classrooms. How Raven Stole the Sun by Maria Williams The Eagle s Song adapted by Kristina Rodanas The Little Hummingbird by Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas The First Strawberries retold by Joseph Bruchas Lessons from Mother Earth by Elaine McLeod Just a Walk by Jordan Wheeler Sharing Our World: Animals of the Native Northwest Coast by Native Northwest Where is Mouse Woman? by Gryn White Goodnight World by Native Northwest Mouse Celebrates the Winter Solstice by Terri Mack jnovakowski/updatedfeb2017 Our Enduring Understandings The teachers involved in the first year of this project reflected on what their enduring understandings were the pieces that will stay with them and continue to be a part of their practice. For many teachers, this experience was transformational. Pieces of the project that will stay with us developing language for storytelling weaving Aboriginal culture throughout the day seeking meaning through shared narratives is a holistic, integrated way to learn building the story with materials before jumping into writing capturing oral language using the ipads the importance of being outdoors storytelling as a vehicle to tie things together the materials were used with so much respect connecting to place Every child has their own stories to tell. - Kindergarten teacher in the Richmond QTL project 7

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