Instructions: Contaminants in the Environment as a Threat to Biodiversity By reviewing study students learn that bitumen has a powerful impact on many species including wood frogs. This is especially problematic since wood frogs have many important functions in an ecosystem including, helping to control insect populations, acting as a food source, filtering water as …
We recommend inviting an Indigenous language speaker into the learning space when teaching about Indigenous languages. Instructions: Extension Activity: Place Names There are at least 30,000 place names in Canada whose names come from anglicized versions of Indigenous languages.
Students will contact community leadership about a climate change related issue that they feel is important. Leadership should include local Indigenous community leaders as well as their MP and/or mayor etc. Students will be expected to express their understanding of the issue using drawing on Indigenous land-based and Western Scientific examples. Students will also outline …
We recommend inviting an Indigenous community member into the learning environment to share teachings related to local Indigenous agriculture. Depending on the time of the year this Learning Bundle is taught and if/when students grow beans in Learning Activity 10: Western STEM Connection- Engaging with Reciprocity and Interdependence students can engage in seed starting, planting, …
Extension Activity: The Ohèn:ton Karihwatéhkwen Students prepare a “Snapshot of Resistance” focused on the work of a local community member who is fighting to protect Manoomin. Work should include information on the positive impact of wild rice on local habitat (ie: wild rice filters water and provides food and nesting materials for animals such as loons and muskrats) …
Engaging in Reciprocity to Mitigate the Impact of Climate Change Read More »
Using Multiple Sources of Knowledge to Investigate Northern Environmental Change: Regional Ecological Impacts of a Storm Surge in the Outer Mackenzie Delta, N.W.T. (Smol, J) https://www.queensu.ca/pearl/media/Dead%20Zone%20project/ Study Summary: This study combined data gathered by environmental scientists with information gathered during workshops with local Indigenous hunters and community members. The Inuvialuit are experts on the delta environment …
Utilizing Different Ways of Knowing to Understand & Counteract Climate Change Read More »
Teacher discusses with students how Western scientists often look to lakes and oceans to understand the impacts of climate change. Oceans play a significant role in understanding and slowing climate change as they are massive heat sinks. Teacher reviews this vocabulary word with students along with atmosphere, lithosphere, cryosphere, biosphere, and hydrosphere using the Heat …
Optional Extension: Students may choose to read the book Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice to learn more about Anishinaabe Hunting, Trapping and Tracking.
In Bappaasenh Gaa-bi-Njibaad an old woman refuses to offer Weneboozhoo food and water. As a result, the woman turns into a woodpecker who has to work hard to find her own food. This story reminds us to be generous. Anishinaabemowin: Manpii dibaajmowining, maaba bezhig mindimoyenh gii-zaagtamwaan Weneboozhoon miijim miinwaa nibi. Mii dash maaba mindimoyenh gii-gweknaagzid. …
Western STEM Connection: The following study shows the manner in which reduction in precipitation caused by climate change impacts plant biodiversity locally. The study also points to things that can be done to live in reciprocity and interdependence with the natural world ie: watering and using fertilizer: Serafini, J., Grogan, P., and Aarssen, L. 2019. …
Western STEM Connection-Engaging with Reciprocity and Interdependence Read More »
Teacher introduces students to study that shows how climate change (caused by not living in reciprocity with the natural world) can change the makeup of a forest. Summary of study found in Subarctic Alpine Tree Line Dynamics.pdf. The following study shows how changing temperatures in arctic and subarctic regions affect the movement and population dynamics …
The teacher takes students outdoors and asks them to think of an area or green space that they have visited throughout their lives (could be a street, city park, conservation area, etc.). Ask students: In their Outdoor Learning Journals (introduced in Teacher’s Guide) students write about: Teachers then leads a discussion with students regarding the changing climate. Have …
Students create: Please note that the learning represented in this task reflects Big Idea C. in the Indigenous Knowledge Learning Bundle: “Reciprocity, Interdependence, and Holism are at the Heart of Indigenous Ways of Knowing and Being”. To help your students learn more about these concepts foundational to Indigenous ways of knowing and being check out …
Culminating Task: Spreading the Word about Invasives Read More »
Spotlight on Language Fire: Anishinaabemowin: Shkode Kanyen’kéha: Ó:tsire Indigenous Fire Keeping Activity: Western STEM Connection-Benefits of Fire: Heating with Wood Barto, D., Cziraky, J., Geerts, S., Hack, J., Langford, S., Nesbitt, R., Park, S., Willie, N., Xu, J., and Grogan, P. 2009. An integrated analysis of the use of woodstoves to supplement fossil fuel-fired domestic …
Western STEM Connection: Sinclair, J. S., Lockwood, J. L., Hasnain, S., Cassey, P. & Arnott, S. E. (2020) A framework for predicting which non-native individuals and species will enter, survive, and exit human-mediated transport. Biological Invasions, 22(2), 217-231. Sinclair, J. S., & Arnott, S.E. (2017). Relative importance of colonist quantity, quality, and arrival frequency to …
Factors Enabling Invasive Species to Establish and to Thrive Read More »
Discussion: Students discuss the differences they observed in the two conditions and how the introduction of phragmites could affect the native plants and animals in a wetland. Ask students to also consider the potential impact of phragmites on the Indigenous land-based practices that rely on native cattails.
Review of invasive species Discussion: Invasive plants: can be very harmful to an ecosystem by out-competing native species for resources such as light, moisture and soil nutrients needed by all species to survive and thrive. As a result, species composition can change, affecting wildlife that depend on native plant communities. For example, red-winged blackbirds require …
If building snowshoes with students, we recommend inviting an Indigenous community member into the learning environment. Local Indigenous group have many sophisticated tools and technologies that assist with transportation. One example is snowshoes. Spotlight on Language Kanyen’kéha: Kahwen:kare Anishinaabemowin: Aagam Students can add these words to their Outdoor Learning Journals (introduced in the QUILLS Teacher’s …
This activity is offered at the Elbow Lake Environmental Education Centre. Note that if harvesting materials from the land to make cordage an Indigenous community members should be invited into the learning environment to provide teachings related to the Honorable Harvest. Extension: Western STEM Connection: Students review the following study by reading through handout in …
We recommend inviting an Indigenous community member into the learning environment when discussing creation stories with students. Creation Stories
Potential Topics for discussion:
Following the Oil Spill Cleanup.pdf students use an egg carton to learn about how contaminants spread in a watershed and get into groundwater. Students question how the contaminants can be removed and talk about the implications of contaminants getting into groundwater. Activity adapted from: https://learning-center.homesciencetools.com/article/water-pollution-demonstration/ Optional Extension: Students learn the difference between crude oil and …
This activity is a hands-on activity that visually demonstrates how microplastics, toxins, and mercury accumulate in fish and humans, and illustrates the interconnectedness of living things. The toxins in the lakes/oceans are consumed by small fish and stored in their flesh and fat. Bigger fish who rely on fish lower in the food chain accumulate …
Each year, 5-million tonnes of road salt is added to Canadian roads. This salt dissolves and makes its way into our lakes and rivers. Road salt is commonly made up of Sodium (Na) and Chloride (Cl). Since the chloride in road salt does not attach to soils, it can move down through the soil to …
Testing for the Presence of Road Salt in Local Lakes Read More »
Ojibwe and Odawa Knowledge Keeper Liz Osawamick from Wiikwemkong Unceded First Nation on Manitoulin Island and Ojibwe and Odawa Elder Shirley Williams from Wiikwemkong Unceded First Nation on Manitoulin Island shared with QUILLS that there are many communities, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, from across Canada and the world that have threatened water sources. Indigenous communities in …
To care for our water, we need to remember that water flows into and out of our area. Keeping water clean is a collective responsibility. Optional Extension: 7 Generations Teachings
Western STEM Connection Optional Extension: Students research the use of technology to mitigate environmental impacts and report back to the class
Teacher leads a discussion with students about what the Indigenous law of water is. Métis Knowledge Keeper Candace Lloyd from Cross Lake Island, Saskatchewan and Sault St. Marie, Ontario shared with QUILLS her understanding of the Law of Water. These understandings are expressed in Law of Water.pdf. Teachers should review this source prior to facilitating …
We recommend inviting an Indigenous community member into the learning environment to share water songs with students. Community members may also feel comfortable discussing the holistic nature of water songs and their spiritual connection. Optional Extension: Through independent research students learn about the history and impact of protest music. Students choose an issue they care …
An Indigenous community member should be invited into the learning environment to help students learn about the role of water in ceremony.
Activity adapted from: “The Secret Life of Water” https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_zS5O5ObIzlhufKmudx_kqMpQzkEx6vH/edit
This activity demonstrates that the water cycle is more complex than the 2-dimensional cycle of evaporation, condensation, and precipitation that students should be familiar with. By understanding that water is in the ground, the air, bodies of water, animals, etc., students will build an understanding of the importance of protecting our water. 4. Discussion. Discussion …
We recommend inviting an Indigenous community member into the learning environment when discussing creation stories with students. Creation Stories
Spotlight on Language: Words for Science Anishinaabemowin– Aki gikendaasowi Kanyen’kéha– Sha’oyé:ra Definition: Two-Eyed Seeing: “To see from one eye with the strengths of Indigenous people’s ways of knowing, and to see from the other eye with the strengths of Western ways of knowing and to use both of these eyes together.”
Students are each given a card with a phrase on it (Found in Minds On Statements.pdf). Students circulate and share phrases with one another. While circulating students try to figure out what the unit is about. KWL Brainstorm KWL Chart: Teacher records all the class knows about water- students can copy chart into their Outdoor Learning …
If possible, we recommend inviting an Indigenous community member into the learning environment to help teach about the important role of Water Walkers. Ojibwe and Odawa Knowledge Keepers Liz Osawamick and Shirley Williams originally from Wiikwemkong Unceded First Nation on Manitoulin Island shared with QUILLS the important role Indigenous women play protecting water for future generations. …
This activity shows the interconnectedness of water to everything else. This belief is held in common with a Western scientific perspective. This activity, therefore, point to the similarities that exist between the two ways of knowing.
1. Teachers show students video segment embedded in ten-minute video accompanying the Water Bundle of Ojibwe and Odawa Knowledge Keepers Shirley Williams and Liz Osawamick discussing the relationship the Anishinaabe have to the water. 2. Teachers display images and passages around the classroom or outside that depict both the Indigenous and Western scientific understanding of …
An Indigenous community member must be invited into the learning space to deliver beadwork teachings.
We recommend inviting a Knowledge Keeper or community member into the learning environment to help students understand the spirited epistemology of local Indigenous groups. Image taken from commoxvalleyschools.ca Abiotic Elements: Water: Spotlight on Language: Note that students can go onto the online QUILLS dictionary to hear these word. The way the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe view …
Students reflect on the following questions in an exit ticket or other reflective writing piece. In Western culture things are made to be broken ie: to fuel capitalism.
PPT content: Importance of Land Acknowledgements Chances are, you’ve seen or heard a land acknowledgement at some point in the past few years. But maybe you don’t totally understand why land acknowledgements are so important. They are not about placing blame. Land acknowledgments are about our collective connection to and relationship with the land. Indigenous …
We recommend inviting an Indigenous community member into the classroom to tell the Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee Creation stories and talk about the significance of Indigenous languages. Storytelling: Language and Language Revitalization Grammar: Indigenous languages are polysynthetic. Polysynthetic Indigenous languages, by being comprised of longer more complex words with each word containing many morphemes, reflect the …
Instructions: 1. Students come up with a class definition of biodiversity. (This should be a review from Grade 6) 2. Teacher can show video segment from the Gifts of the Earth video accompanying this Bundle of Dr. Stephen Lougheed explaining what biodiversity is. 3. Class Discussion (Formative Assessment):
Instructions: Students support a local pollinator garden. Follow link below for a pollinator garden document developed by Kanyen’kehá:ka community member Kelly Maracle. Resource is also available in the Pollinator Garden pdf. Class One: 1. Students asked the following question(s): 2. Students are given 10-20 minutes to find out as much information out about this topic as possible. 3. …
Culminating Activity: Living in Reciprocity: Contributing to a Pollinator Garden Read More »
1. Students read the following news article: https://www.uleth.ca/unews/article/little-bear-plays-role-bringing-bison-back-banff#.YMF60y0ZNQI 2. Teacher leads class discussion focused on the manner in which Indigenous leaders, through regenerating land-based practices, came together to preserve and promote biodiversity. Links to guide discussion on Indigenous led initiatives promoting biodiversity: 3. Students choose an Indigenous leader to learn more about. A preliminary list …
Culminating Activity: Snapshot of Resistance: Showcasing Indigenous Leadership Read More »
A Knowledge Keeper or community member should be invited in to consult with students as they create their videos. Instructions: 1. Students review video series depicting Ra’nikonhrí:io Lazare and Katsenhaién:ton Lazare from Kahnawake Quebec providing teachings about Mullein, Staghorn Sumac, Plantain, and Milkweed. Videos were developed in partnership with the Kanien’kehá:ka Onkwawénna Raotitióhkwa Language and Cultural …
Culminating Activity: Entering into Relationship with our Plant Relatives Read More »
A Knowledge Keeper or community member should be present. Instructions: Western Science Connection 5. Students familiarize themselves with the study: What are the benefits of plants indoors and why do we respond positively to them? by Virginia Lohr (2010). Summary found on this interactive online tool. If computer access isn’t available, content can be found in the Plants as Good Relatives.pdf. …
A Knowledge Keeper or community member could be present. Instructions: Students take part in an activity that demonstrates the concepts of the Honorable Harvest. The Honorable Harvest is a mindful way of harvesting and using gifts from the land. The actions of the Honorable Harvest stem from a collection of Indigenous principles and practices of living …
Looking Inward: How Do We Impact the World Around Us? Read More »
Instructions: Part 1: Understanding “All Our Relations” Key Message: Story talks about how the Anishinaabe came to learn that all things are related and the importance of living in reciprocity with the land to ensure that all living things (including animal and plant species) thrive. Part 2: Reciprocal Relationships 3. The class then comes up …
Instructions: Climate Change as a Threat to Biodiversity Research shows a dramatic shift in spring emergence using song meter data. 2. Students listen to audio samples on the QUILLS website. Students can also visit the Ottawa U soundcloud where samples were taken from: https://soundcloud.com/uottawa-naturewatch/sets/learn-about-the-frogs-of, to become familiar with the different frog calls. Students then engage …
Biodiversity and Climate Change: What do Frogs Have to Say About It? Read More »
Instructions: Students should be able to: Western Science Connection Bird diversity can change based on the size of fragments of forests. For example, wood thrushes disappear quickly from small forest fragments while other species do well. 1. Teacher reviews the impact of forest fragmentation on wood thrush species using the PowerPoint titled Impact of Forest Fragmentation …
We recommend inviting an Indigenous community member into the learning space to help students weave cattail mats. A gift of the earth that provides for the spiritual, emotional, physical, and mental wellbeing of both the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe locally is cattails. Cattails Spotlight on Language: Overview of the Gifts of Cattails from Robin Kimmerer From …
We recommend inviting an Indigenous community member into the learning space to help facilitate this learning activity. Teachers explain that throughout the learning in the Bundle, the class should all try to see the best in one another, hear the best in the words of others, say kind things, and have an open heart.
Instructions: Worksheet will be made available in the Logo/Plant/Animal Flashcards that lists 16 corporate logos, 16 local plant species, and 16 local animal species.
Instructions: Introducing Classification:
