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Thinking About Thanksgiving

January 9, 2018 by Cathleen Chilcote Wallace

“What is it about the story of ‘The First Thanksgiving’ that makes it essential to be taught in virtually every grade from preschool through high school?” begins the post  “Deconstructing the Myths of ‘The First Thanksgiving’ “ by Judy Dow (Abenaki).  This article includes 11 myths about the first Thanksgiving, notes and sources, recommended books about Thanksgiving, and primary sources from a colonialist perspective. Find this post and more under Resources at http://oyate.org.

A beautiful book for all ages is 1621 A New Look At Thanksgiving by Catherine O’Neill Grace and Margaret M. Bruchac with Plimoth Plantation, published by National Geographic. This book has informative photos and drawings, factual information from a native point of view, timelines, and recipes. From the back cover: “In the fall of 1621, English colonists and Wampanoag people feasted together for three days. Join National Geographic and Plimoth Plantation for a new look at the real history behind the event that inspried the myth of The First Thanksgiving.”

Giving Thanks, A Native American Good Morning Message by Chief Jake Swamp is a wonderful book that reminds us about the importance of being grateful for all that Mother Earth has provided for us.

Filed Under: Recent News

Resources for Teaching About the Mission Era

January 8, 2018 by Cathleen Chilcote Wallace

The blogs listed here provide background information and appropriate classroom lesson/activity suggestions for teaching about the Mission Era in the California Native American Unit of study. These resources are especially useful for fourth grade.

“Repeat after us, say no to the mission project.” from California History-Social Science Project at UC Davis; http://chssp.ucdavis.edu/blog/mission#.

“Dear Sierra:  An Open Letter To California Fourth Graders” http://badndns.blogspot.com/2015/ by Professor Deborah A. Miranda. Click here for more about alternatives to the Mission Project.

An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People, by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz and Adapted by Jean Mendoza and Debbie Reese

The following well researched historical fiction books offer the native perspective in the Mission Era:

Mission The Birth of California, The Death of a Nation, by Margaret Wyman. (This book is about the Kumeyyay experience during the mission years.)

Lands of our Ancestors Book 1, by Gary Robinson. (This is the story of a Chumash tribe’s experience when the Spanish priests and soldiers arrive and the devastating consequences.) A Teacher’s Guide is available to accompany the book and provides a variety of standards based appropriate activities across the curriculum. Resources-Lands of our Ancestors Books

Many 4th grade teachers use Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell as a class literature study during the Native American unit of study. Please read: A Critical Look at O’Dell’s Island of the Blue Dolphins by Dr. Debbie Reese (Nambé Pueblo).  Consider Dear Miss Karana by Eric Elliott. This engaging story is told by a present day ten year old Native American girl living on a reservation and attending a reservation school in Southern California. The story links the the life of Karana, the lone woman, and the native world today. This story is a rich resource of native culture and language and connects the past with the present.

Filed Under: Recent News

Resources from the California Education and the Environment Initiative (EEI)

January 22, 2017 by Cathleen Chilcote Wallace

The EEI Curriculum Catalog is a useful resource that includes materials for teaching the third and fourth grade  California Native American unit of study.

From the EEI website:

The California Education and the Environment Initiative (EEI) is a free K-12 curriculum that teaches critical skills in science and history-social science using environmental topics, such as water and energy, as a lens.

The EEI Curriculum makes learning relevant and fun for students by engaging them in topics they care about – the air they breathe, the water they drink, and the food they eat. All content is California State Board of Education-approved and helps support Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards. Use the free EEI Curriculum to build your students’ understanding of their relationship to the environment and prepare them to be critical thinkers and 21st century problem solvers.

What Is EEI?

The California Education and the Environment Initiative (EEI) is part of statewide effort to ensure all California K- 12 students are environmentally literate and can help shape a prosperous and sustainable world.

The EEI was signed into law in 2003 and mandated the creation of a standards-based curriculum to bring education about the environment into California’s K-12 schools. The EEI Curriculum consists of 85 state-adopted and approved science and history-social science units that complement existing instructional materials, allowing teachers to substitute EEI lessons for portions of their current textbooks.

http://www.CaliforniaEEI.org

 

Filed Under: Recent News

recent posts

  • Thinking About Thanksgiving
  • Resources for Teaching About the Mission Era
  • Resources from the California Education and the Environment Initiative (EEI)
  • Storytelling: Lessons Across Generations

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