Instructions:
Students will focus on learning about the plant they chose to develop a relationship with, in Activity One: Language Scavenger Hunt. Teachers can choose to do one or more of the following activities with their students:
a. Students think creatively to record Western scientific knowledge of the plant (name, habitat, description; etc.), the history of the plant’s use in settler culture, and Indigenous uses for the plant (ie: medicinal, spiritual, utilitarian, food etc.) To learn more students can check out the Indigenous and WS Plant Knowledge worksheet.pdf.
b. Students find a story from an Indigenous perspective about their chosen plant. If possible, teachers should have books on hand for students to explore.
Examples:
Teacher can also show students the video Ohontsá:ke Sha’kontón:ni ne Ken’niyohontésha’ (When Strawberries Came to Be) read in Kanyen’kéha by the late Joe Brown.
Joe Brown is a Kanyen’kehá:ka, Turtle Clan Knowledge Keeper from Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory who contributed to the creation of the QUILLS Learning Bundles and passed away on February 9th, 2022.
The video is accessible on the QUILLS website. In this Haudenosaunee story, a young Kanyen’kehá:ka girl gifts her brother with strawberries after they get into a fight. This story explains why the Haudenosaunee give the gift of strawberries when repairing relationships.
Kanyen’kéha:
Kí oká:ra ken’nityakoyón:’a Kanyen’kehá:ka wahón:yon ne yatate’kénha ne ken’niyohontésha’ shahyateriyóhsi. Kí oká:ra ne wathró:ris oh nontyé:ren ne Haudenosaunee shakonahyanón:tens ne ken’niyohontésha’ aonsahatirihwakwatá:ko tsi na’tehón:tere akohrénshon.
This story was originally shared to accompany interpretive signs at Elbow Lake Environmental Education Centre (ELEEC). Signs can be accessed on the ELEEC trail app. https://elbowlakecentre.ca/app/
c. Students learn to do a proper sketch of their plant for classification purposes using the Steps to Make a Scientific Drawing and Scientific Drawings of Plants worksheet. Students walk their neighbourhood to find their plant, reflect on their relationship to the plant, record their observations of the plant and its environment, and sketch the plant in their notebooks.
d. Students create a poem/short story/song about their plant. Students find the plant in the natural world and read their creation to it privately.
e. If at the Elbow Lake Environmental Education Centre students can also practice creating a herbarium specimen.
Optional Extension Activity: Sharing our Gifts
Students can choose a creative way to share what they have discovered about their plant with the rest of the class.
