 | Promising Practices in Aboriginal Education |
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Issue 24 Elementary Education Focus : Junior level students Summary : The Learning Circle has been produced to help meet Canadian educators’ growing need for elementary-level learning materials about First Nations. It is the second in a series of three classroom guides on First Nations in Canada. Because First Nations are culturally diverse, the information in this activity book does not necessarily apply to all groups. To learn more about particular First Nations, and to get help with learning activities, teachers are encouraged to consult local Aboriginal Elders, cultural education centres or friendship centres. Some key addresses and contact numbers are listed at the end of this guide. The Learning Circle is organized in thematic units, each with its own teaching activities. Units are designed to give teachers and students simple but effective exercises, projects and activities that will encourage students to learn more about First Nations. Educators can follow some of the exercises as stand-alone units on First Nations topics, or integrate them with existing curricula on Aboriginal peoples. Most exercises in The Learning Circle can be completed in one period. Certain others will take several periods, days or weeks. Secondary Education Summary: The Yukon Territory is in the northwest corner of Canada and borders on Alaska. There are eight aboriginal languages used there. Seven are from the Athapaskan family which spreads from central Alaska through northwestern Canada to Hudson Bay. These seven are Gwich'in, Hän, Kaska, Northern Tutchone, Southern Tutchone, Tagish, and Upper Tanana. There are also pockets of Athapaskan in the lower 48 states including Navajo and Apache. Tlingit is found mostly along the southwest Alaskan coast. Inland Tlingit is spoken in parts of British Columbia and southern Yukon. Tlingit is very distantly related to the Athapaskan family. (For more information on Athapaskan and other languages please see the sites listed by the Society for the Study of the Indigenous Languages of the Americas. You may also be interested in the site of the Alaska Native Language Center since ANLC works on many joint projects with YNLC on Athapaskan languages and Tlingit.) Early Childhood Source: Julia O’Sullivan, Ph.D., Janet Goosney with the International Expert Panel Summary: Canada’s North is an immense region crossing six time zones, inhabited by a young, culturally and linguistically diverse population living in communities that differ immensely in size and economic base. For this paper we define the North as Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Labrador, and large northern areas of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec. In Canada there are 1,980,605 young school-age children; 133,405 (or 6.7%) live in the North. Like five- to nine-year-olds in the rest of Canada, young northern children spend much of their time focused on learning to read. Today in Canada we expect all children to read well, usually by the end of Grade 3 and children’s reading at that time is a strong predictor of high school graduation. This report describes the learning opportunities young northern children need to get ready, get set, and get going on the road to reading success by:
Multi Media The Amendment
Related Links In Pursuit of Adventure: The Fur Trade in Canada and the Northwest Compan Source: McGill University Summary: Professional Development: In Pursuit of Adventure: The Fur Trade in Canada and the North West Company is a scholarly research site, which illustrates and documents, in part, the heroic age of the fur trade in Canada by examining the exploits of the North West Company and other Montreal-based fur trading companies at the end of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth century. The story of the North West Company is closely tied to the evolving economic, geographic and political history of Canada and Quebec, especially after France seceded Quebec to Great Britain in 1763. At the core of this site are the full texts of thirty-eight manuscripts that are known collectively as the Masson Papers and cover the period ca 1790-1820. The patrimonial importance of these diaries is of the first order and provide important insights into the history of the North West Company and the fur trade in general. Professional Development Source: William Demmert Jr Summary: This literature review examines research-based information on educational approaches and programs associated with improving the academic performance of Native American students. A search reviewed ERIC's over 8,000 documents on American Indian education, as well as master's and doctoral dissertations and other sources of research on the education of Native Americans. Selected research reports and articles were organized into the following categories: early childhood environment and experiences; Native language and cultural programs; teachers, instruction, and curriculum; community and parental influences on academic performance; student characteristics; economic and social factors; and factors leading to success in college or college completion. The status of research and major research findings are reviewed for each of these categories; brief summaries of research findings with citations are included following the review of each category. Also included are an annotated bibliography of more than 100 research reports, journal articles, and dissertations, most published after 1985; and a bibliography of 23 additional references to other literature reviews and non-Native studies. Source: Linda Kaser and Judy Halbert Summary: The vision of the schools in the BC network of schools is every learner crossing the stage with dignity, purpose and options. The Aboriginal Enhancement Schools Network (AESN) represents one effort to make the goals of individual district enhancement agreements come alive in classrooms through inquiry, teamwork and creating relationships of respect. The work in AESN schools reflects a small part of the work that is taking place across schools and communities in BC to strengthen the learning experiences of Aboriginal learners. This article describes the way in which AESN schools are ‘walking together’ to realize the vision of a better future for the learners they serve. |