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Assignment Possibilities
Joanne Robertson-More, Plains Indian Cultural Survival School, Calgary
The following is the outline document that Project Teacher Joanne Robertson-More developed with and for her teaching colleagues in the project.
Museum/archival presentation
All projects begin with either a trip to the museum to investigate artistic literacy and archival references of cultural history or a guest presenter from the museum who assists students to investigate their history through story or archival references to cultural history.
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Trace family tree
This project would be suitable for the juniors in Social Studies class as they investigate culture and multiculturalism. The project would include a collection of family photos covering the past and present of the family. Accompanying this, a family tree of some sort would be fashioned illustrating as many generations of the family as possible. In addition, the student could write anecdotes about each person of the family tree to accompany the pictures; include writing(s) (ie. Postcards, letters, or documents to governments, etc.) speech(es) by that particular person(s); include historically documented information about the person(s). This could be presented in the form of a booklet of information or as a trifold presentation that could be displayed at the Celebration.
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Make a video or trifold presentation to showcase some aspect of Aboriginal
history
This project would be suitable for any level but may be again particularly well suited to the juniors as they study culture. Students could choose individually or as small groups of 2 or 3 students some topic to explore through Aboriginal history. (Ie. tools, transportation, dances, recreation, spiritual, traditions, shelter/housing, art and adornment, clothing, schooling, marriage or any other aspect of Aboriginal life that is of interest to students.)
A collection of photographs, video clips, or other visual representation needs to accompany this project. Forms of writing to accompany this project could include: personal narratives about what it was like to live at a particular time period compared to that of today. The student would take on the persona of one of the members of that society and write their reflections of how to use an item or of day-to-day life issues such as what the marital customs were like. Students could also include writing that describes, explains, or documents information from written sources in order to explain the culture. The project will be prepared for display purposes at the Celebration
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Documentation of oral history of a tribe/family
This project would be well suited for cultural classes or English/Language Arts. Students would need to talk to elders or seniors from their family in order to gather the stories of each person either in video format or by cassette tape format. These could deal with any aspect of the person's life but particularly with the positives-self-esteem building is of importance.
The stories could be aspects of how the individual has dealt with their cultural differences, or of how they have become a success in some aspect of their lives. In order that the history is complete, some photographic representation must accompany the oral component of the stories. Some form of written record of the oral history must also be presented. These stories and representations will be prepared for display purposes at the Celebration.
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Oral interviews
This project would work well in the cultural classes or English/Language Arts. Students interview elders or some significant person in their community about an aspect of culture (education, work, parenting, history, an archive). Through teacher guidance of proper questioning strategies, students must interview a member of their culture in order to document some aspect of the culture. This interview can be taped recorded or video taped.
There must be some visual aspect represented, including a picture of the interviewer(s), interviewee. Significant pictures, or photos may need to be included in order to explain the topic. Students may also include a story form version of the interview or an actual translation that will accompany the visual and audio aspects. This information may be presented in trifold format to display at the Celebration.
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Oral Storytelling
Drawing on the oral traditions, have the students give voice to their own stories or to those of a parent or grandparent. This will incorporate the interview assignment and the storytelling assignment and could also be incorporated into the cultural classes if students chose to tell their stories in their Blackfoot or Cree language, accompanied by an English version.
A professional storyteller and artists will be brought in to assist with student writing and representation. Once the written story is complete, some symbolic representation such as photography, or artwork is to accompany the selection. The student storyteller may choose to have other classmates work with them on the artistic representation. This project will also be demonstrated and displayed at the Celebration.
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Visit to or by an artist/writer/musician
Students will basically follow the directions for an interview but will focus on one artist/writer/musician of their choice within easy access of Calgary and the student. This would likely be more suitable to an adult student. The assignment will include a written component as well as an oral or written component depending on whether the interview is completed via video or photography. The project will be compiled and displayed for presentation at the Celebration.
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Written Storytelling
Students begin the project by studying the short story, myths and legends particular to First Nations culture. After they have examined several stories/myths/legend and have observed their purpose and structure, students will construct their own story about some aspect of their culture. A storyteller will be brought in once the students have completed a rough draft of the story.
Working with the storyteller, students will incorporate strategies and techniques appropriate for the telling of their stories. After the story is published in text format, the student or a group of students will work on artistic representation of the story. Artists will be brought in to facilitate this aspect. It is the objective of this project that representative stories will be included in a compilation of students' written and artistic works.
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Poetry
This project will begin with students studying the art of poetry. Through an examination of various poems, students will come to an understanding of what poetry consist of. Students will choose a topic that is of cultural interest and construct their own poem.
With the help of their teacher and a local storyteller, students will work to complete their poem and publish it in text format. Through a study of art, by invited artists, the student will represent their work in a visual manner. This can be done by the author or in a working partnership with a friend. It is the objective of this project that representative poetry will be included in a compilation of students' written and artistic works.
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