Collecting Observations of Learning using Google Forms

Compiling observations of students' learning is difficult: lots of loose paper, sticky notes, checklists, portfolios and examples of student work, notebooks, trying to remember things, pictures ... and it gets even more difficult when you teach Ontario Kindergarten and are in a teacher/ECE partnership (as well as planning time teachers, educational assistants, student support teachers, and everyone else who educates our littles).

I used to have a binder with notes and copies of assessments for each child. I will still do this, especially for copies of assessments (phonemic awareness, phonics, PRIME math, oral language screeners, etc.). However, my notes were taking forever to copy over into each child's section and collecting information from other educators didn't happen to its fullest (or at all).

I decided to play around with Google Forms, especially after hearing how some Junior/Intermediate teachers in my school have been using it to track IEP goals.

I opened Google Drive (using my school account). Because I have things on there from studies and inquiries, I created a new folder; this year's folder is "2019-2020 School Year Documentation." After, I created a new Google Form and titled it "Ford Grade 1D Observations" (I'm Mrs. Ford, our class is Grade 1, section D (we have 4 Grade 1 rooms)).

Create a Google Form.

Now, you can start adding your questions. You can have several types of answers: multiple choice (when you need one answer), checkboxes (when you may need a few options as an answer), dropdown (good for space-saving, similar to multiple choice), short answer, long answer, date, etc..

Here is an example of a multiple choice answer format.

You can have your form as complex or as simple as you want - but keep in mind that you (and others) will be inputting information. I try and keep things as simple as possible - with only the need-to-know information.

Click here to add questions.

Questions I had when I taught Kindergarten:

1. Educator (Who are you?) - drop-down answer
2. Date of Observation - date answer
3. Student Name(s) - checkboxes answer with a list of all student names
4. Program Frame(s) - checkboxes answer with the names of each frame
5. Observation of Learning - long answer

Questions I have now as I teach Grade 1:

1. Who are you? - dropdown list of all educators in the room
2. Area of the curriculum - checkbox answers include Learning Skills
3. Student name(s) - checkbox list of student names
4. Observation notes (incl. level of work, if applicable) - long answer

Once you've finalized your form's answers and formatting, you can add answers; click the eye (preview). You can also send this directly to everyone you want to input information into the form.

You can now input information.

You'll want to eventually see the form's results, so open your form again and click Responses at the top (next to Questions). You can scroll down and gain lots of very valuable information, including:

• how much participants are contributing to observations of learning
• how many observations have been made for each student (no more surprises!)
• how many observations have been made for each frame

Click the little green box that will say, "view responses in sheets" when you hover over it. A pop-up will come after you click it, and go ahead with the default of creating a new sheet.

Click this to view a Google Sheet (spreadsheet) with your results from all data that's been input.

A beautiful spreadsheet will appear, but you'll quickly notice that it isn't useable because it's all jumbled up and it isn't sorted by student name (which you will need to do for reporting purposes). I did learn how to further have Google sort this into a Google Doc file for each student, but it stopped working for me halfway through - and a quick Google search showed that many people have this issue for no apparent reason (so I dropped it!).

You will need to apply a filter using student names. I've attached a video below to walk you through it. Instead of looking for state names, you'll be filtering for student names. Once you filter for a student name, you'll be able to view a spreadsheet for only that student's observations of learning!

You can then sort that student's spreadsheet by the date of the observation. I like to have them in order (especially in Kindergarten) so I can show growth over time. This is especially important if you have multiple people inputting observations as the dates of observation will be jumbled (as the spreadhseet will list, by default, from the date the observations were put into the form).

After applying the filter and sorting by observation date, I chose to print each child's sheet. I liked to highlight and add notes and scribbles, cross things out and add checkmarks as I wrote reports.

I chose to print my Google Forms after filtering by student name and sorting by observation date.

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I will soon be updating this blog post to show how to organize photos using Google Keep.

Developing Student Inquiries with Staying Power

2018-19 was my second year teaching full Kindergarten (I had spent 2 years in SK/1 and before that, 2.5 years in Grades 1/2). In my previous experiences in inquiry- and play-based learning, I came in with high hopes and became a bit disenchanted when students would be really excited about something for a day (heck, an hour!) or a couple days then completely drop it. Meanwhile, I had collected a bunch of loose parts, books, and lesson ideas to support their inquiry! I know I'm not alone in this experience.

I've put off this blog post because I've struggled to figure out how to organize it and write it. I've decided to write it in a chronological fashion so you can see how the inquiries have developed and unfolded. It is important to note that this is definitely not the only activities we were doing, which leads us to my first ingredient for the inquiry recipe:

• Inquiry-based learning is a choice, not a theme. Student voice is important. Unlike a classroom theme or traditional unit theme, inquiry-based learning is a choice of materials within the greater classroom or environment. Different areas of the classroom have learning provocations of various topics - they are not all immersive of the same subject (animals, space, simple machines, or any other theme). Instead, the classroom's areas can accommodate learning provocations for various learning goals of a variety of student interests and curriculum expectations. This way, students don't get bored or overwhelmed with a subject - and they can make connections between areas of the classroom and apply their learning from one area to the next.As educators, it is important for us to know our program expectations thoroughly (for example, Ontario Kindergarten Program or curriculum expectations). Knowing your learners, where they are, and where they may be going with their learning is also important. This type of learning environment is dynamic and ever-evolving. Prepare by reading learning expectations in their entirety and not by producing/planning/preparing smaller units of study without consideration of student interest, voice, developmental and readiness level, and input.

September to October

We were getting to know our students and working heavily on building community, inquiry and play skills, Zones of Regulation, and finding a rhythm to our day that met the needs of all students (proactive behaviour management and making accomodations for exceptional students and other needs, such as taking medications). Many students enjoyed talking and reading about dinosaurs and building Jurassic Park zoos with blocks and our plastic dinosaurs - and the LEGO. Some students began to play with the plastic animals. Then more - and more, and the conversations and buildings became more elaborate and thoughtful. What did the animal need to live? How much space does it need? Which animals can live together?

Does this look familiar?

I knew I wanted to incorporate the Seven Grandfather Teachings this year. We started with Beaver (who teaches Wisdom). I wanted to start with this because I wanted to have a lot of STEM activities in our classroom. We visited a nearby wetland and saw a beaver lodge, dam, and a clearing made by the beaver. Here, students made dams in Tupperware containers using plastecine, twigs, and pebbles. They poured water on one side and checked for uneven water levels, showing that their dam is water-tight.

My ALP (Annual Learning Plan) included a goal to incorporate more photodocumentation up in the room. I was really good at it for the first term and then I felt like I got too busy as the year went on and it wasn't the biggest priority (which was fine, I feel, because it was most important as a booster in the beginning of the year - although I want to find a sustainable balance and make it last the whole year).

Students enjoyed seeing pictures of themselves and their classmates in learning action. They often retold events, what they had learned, and about the process documented in the picture. They celebrated each other. They asked questions amongst themselves. It really helped build our class community.

When we ran out of space or needed to change up our bulletin boards, photodocumentation sheets went into a binder that was stored on an easily-accessible shelf. Students often visited the binder and fondly flipped its pages. I photocopied the pages and sent them home in communication bags of students pictured/written about. (I blacked out faces of students without photo publication consent first.)

• Photodocumentation, pictures of students in the learning process, and documentation walls are powerful. Do not underestimate them. They are well-worth the time and effort. You can make them as elaborate or simple as you want, or as time, space, and resources permit.

November

Students began to ask questions related to mapping skills. Where does this animal live? Sometimes, they would refer to a small globe in the classroom. At first, I would tell and show them - but I knew we were missing out on gaining some research skills. I made animal atlases available (from Dollarama, Scholastic, and Costco), but they didn't have all the weird animals my students were interested in on the maps. What could I use? - then I remembered that PebbleGo has a map feature!

When students played with the toy animals, they would ask, "Where does this animal live?" I taped a world map to the bottom of our sensory table cover (which our amazing tech teacher built) and projected PebbleGo on the whiteboard with an iPad. Students searched for animals and used the map feature to place them where they belong. Students learned the names of all 7 continents this way - in Kindergarten! I also put this out (along with an iPad) at Welcome to Kindergarten in May and it was a hit! Families and my admin were shocked at the rich learning involved in this task. Even visiting older siblings got into this provocation.

Ok, so now our students knew how to use PebbleGo and its map feature. Many could also name the seven continents - and even some countries (which was a small spin-off inquiry, supported by PebbleGo's Social Studies section and more maps). But how could I get my students to demonstrate some other literacy behaviours on top of this? I decided to make some simple booklets to help them search animals (spelling) and to document their learning (copying text, writing on their own, drawing, cutting and pasting from magazines).

• Be prepared to support "offshoots" of connected but different learning pathways. Don't be discouraged if students abandon the learning pathway and aren't moving toward the place where you expected or wanted them to get. In my experience, they usually return to the original path after exploring the offshoot for awhile - or learn about each in parallel. For example, my students returned to animals after dabbling learning about countries - and some continued to research both (which connects to Grade 2 Social Studies). Keep your ideas and supporting materials available. You'll see more examples of this further on in this blog post.

• Scaffold skills and build independence in children. Inherent differentiation is important - Universal Design for Learning.  I feel my students enjoyed being able to do their own research (PebbleGo is great because students can search by looking at the pictures or by typing in the search bar) and knew I'd appreciate their documentation no matter what level they are in skills. We had rich conversations and questions. They appreciated having a way to document their research in an open form (not like a quiz - many couldn't read anyway!). Do you just want to search the animal and colour where it lives on the map today? That's ok!

I made this resource to support the inquiry and add a responsibility of documentation. When opened, the left side has a world map (students colour wher the animal lives) and the right side is blank - except for a picture (clipart) of the animal and its name (good for students to copy the spelling to search on PebbleGo). The product also allows you to create booklets per biome (polar regions, desert, rainforest, ocean, etc.) and/or combine it as one whole booklet. This 100+-page product can be found here on my TPT store.

I sent these booklets home with the login information and posted students throughout the inquiry and research process on our class Twitter feed to engage parents. I also sent home copies of photodocumentation. Several students continued their inquiry learning at home and/or taught their parents about the animals they researched that day.

• Involve families. Engage families! Not only is this important (and expected) of the Ontario Kindergarten Program, but it helps families mirror and support students' learning in class. Students feel proud when they can teach their families something - and excitedly show and share what they've learned and/or created at school. Is this something you can have out at Open House, family engagement nights, or Welcome to Kindergarten?

Students also began talking about which kinds of environments animals live in. For example, lizards live in North America - but not in the colder Arctic regions. Crocodiles live in Africa, but not in the hot, dry deserts! We added biome to our vocabulary and I edited our booklets to include biomes sections - and made mini books for various biomes (all included in the product as linked).

My RECE partner and I created these bulletin boards (another board had Arctic, forest/wetland, and savannah/grassland biomes). We already had laminated cut-outs of animals from magazines, so we attached Velcro dots to the pictures and to the bulletin boards. Students took the pictures and placed them into the biome where they belong. This is in the Problem Solving and Innovating frame (sorting items in various ways).

Students worked together to research and share knowledge. They thought critically. If lions eat gazelle, they must live in the same biome.

December

Does this animal live where we live? Does it live in our country? Does this animal live in Canada? Together, we made a list of animals we came across that live in Canada and I made another booklet to focus on Canadian Animals, which you can find here.

• Student voice and co-planning is crucial! Students are capable - and their ideas really drove the classroom and its really deep learning. They were more engaged and learning was linked, integrated, and introduced when they were ready for it! Students asked me to make a list of animals in my observations notebook as they orally dictated, we made charts and lists on chart paper (children wrote and/or drew their ideas and animals), and they came up with ideas of manipulatives to bring out or look for (including constantly writing me shopping lists!).

January

To keep students continually interested in documenting their research, I created another resource. This one is a bit less open-ended than the booklet. Students write their name and the name of the animal. They have bubbles to colour in - like multiple-choice. What does the animal eat? How does it move? Which biome(s) does it live in? What is covering it? At the end, there is a big box for students to draw and colour the animal. This free download can be found here on my TPT store.

• Change it up a little to keep it fresh. This includes books available to children in your classroom library. As you see above, I added a choice for documentation of learning and research. The original booklets were always available on our shelf. I looked for new toy animals in the thrift store, dollar stores, and bargain bins: hard-to-find animals like deer, camels, koalas, and kangaroos. When I added the toy camel, students gathered in a group and sang Alice the Camel for nearly an hour together (awesome for Math and backward counting, too!). Add new challenges and materials to keep students interested and exploring new pathways, topics, use new skills, see things in a new way, and sparking more conversations and questions to provoke them. Can you use the same materials in different ways - can manipulatives you already have be used in a different way? (see examples below)

We reused our laminated animals from the bulletin board biome sort for a tabletop learning provocation. Using dry-erase makers, we made charts on tables (some like above, some Venn Diagrams, t-charts, separate circles, etc.). In the center of the table, I had baskets with the animal pictures (they have construction paper backing so kids didn't get confused with the image on the back). Children wrote how they were sorting their animals - and got quite creative! Meat or plant-eaters? Big or small (and what does that mean)? Fur, feathers, or scales? Mammal or reptile? Pet or wild? North America or Africa?

We reused the laminated animal pictures with another simple tabletop provocation: can you write the animals' names? We had a few picture dictionaries available for students - who were also encouraged to sound it out as well.

Because learning is not linear, we hit a major offshoot. Students started talking about landforms - connecting what they'd learned about countries, biomes, animal habitats, and even the time of the dinosaurs. Volcanoes were a big thing (started by conversations and play about dinosaur worlds). Students kept on this topic for awhile, so we saw a lot of potential and student interest and voice. We started writing down their questions and statements.

• Write down students' questions and statements - and display them (even if you just leave it on the chart stand). This is something I did much more of this year - and I found that it really motivated students to question, comment, add to learning, and to engage in the inquiry process. We would revisit and read what we had said to confirm or disprove or answer it. These pieces of chart paper ended up on a learning documentation wall (bulletin board) along with pictures, photocodumentation pages, student drawings, and other artefacts of learning. I would write down student questions and statements during class discussions but also candidly throughout the day as we engaged in conversation (or as I listened in). Students were always allowed to use the chart paper and write on their own (which they became more comfortable with doing as the year went on).

Yes; PebbleGo has volcanoes and earthquakes in their Science section! This is a truly amazing resource.

February

• Go on a field trip or have a guest speaker. What do you mean adults are interested in this, too? You're saying that I can study this in college and university and have a whole job that is all about this topic? Going places and inviting experts in engages the community, lets students engage with experts (asking questions but also showing off what they know), and boosts engagement in the inquiries. Who doesn't love a great field trip? Don't be too shy to contact the destination and give them some background on student inquiries and questions!

The newest curator at the Miller Museum of Geology at Queen's University tailor-made a workshop about tectonic plates, volcaoes, and types of rocks in a way Kindergarten students would understand. Amazing! She even let us touch some fancy rocks and dinosaur fossils! I had e-mailed her pictures of our chart papers with our student questions and statements about this inquiry thread.

As an aside, if your students ever engage in a volcano inquiry, you must purchase/download Pixar's short movie, Lava. Our students often asked for it and sang along together. This started it own mini-offshoot of retelling the story in various ways: through plasticine and Play-Doh, loose parts, acting it out, drawing, and other ways - both indoors and during outdoor play and recess.

To further continue this interest in countries and landforms, I bought some slip-in photo albums from the dollar store and e-mailed the staff at our school asking for their travel photos (particularly with pictures of landforms). I had a lot of responses: Vesuvius, the Andes, Uluru, Guatamalan volcano treks, Hawaiian lava floes, and added my own pictures! I organized the pictures by location. Before the photos (just printed on regular paper), I had the site name and country printed (The Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA) and underneath, a world map with a red circle where the pictures were taken. Students not only talked about the landforms, but got to know other staff members in our school. I did extend the invitation to families but did not get responses - but would have added those as well.

 

Above, you can see my photos from Giant's Causeway in Ireland. The basalt columns are in the shape of hexagons. Enter pattern blocks. How can you make a hexagon with red trapezoids? With blue rhombuses? With green triangles? (Not only Geometry - but connections to fractions!)

• Bring in pictures of yourself, other staff and community members, and students and their families. This is so much better than random Google Images! Kindergarten is all about connections and community - use the human resources and connections inherent in schools!

Students had been talking about symmetry a bit (wintertime brought some exploration of mandalas), so I made some symmetry pictures using real photos. I laminated them with my Scotch-brand laminator and set out loose parts and dry-erase markers. Some students, including reluctant writers, even labelled their drawings! You can find the resource here.

At this point, students renewed their interest in animals and continued that inquiry pathway. We often wrote down a question and made lists or a t-chart. Here, students asked, Which animals live in Australia? and are copying "eagle."

A student brought in an eagle talon during a time of huge interest in eagles. We also learned about the Seven Grandfather Teachings - and Eagle teaches Love. This same student brought in a coyote pelt, bear paws, and beaver teeth (Beaver teaches Wisdom - and we had visited a beaver dam and lodge!). Student contributions and student voice is paramount.

May

Earlier in the springtime, students engaged in learning about the changing of the seasons, including: weather, worms, growing plants, and temperature. Our talented tech teacher built us a Medicine Wheel table and we started using it to learn about the four seasons. By May, students were talking about maps and directions again, so we learned about the four cardinal directions. You can learn more on my blog post about Infusing Indigenous Content in My Classroom.

 

This was also the time of year where people brought in tadpoles and we ordered caterpillars. Life cycles of animals was an obvious inquiry pathway and we did "the usual stuff" - life cycle cut-and-paste, drawing observations, acting it out, making with dough, life cycle toys/manipulatives, and incorporated the Medicine Wheel again. With the life cycle, we also talked about the stages of life (also with the Medicine Wheel, and detailed in my Infusing Indigenous Content blog post).

Sensory play is important. Here, a child has made a butterfly garden using homemade scented dough, fresh herbs from my garden, coloured pasta, and spices such as anise stars, cinnamon sticks, and nutmeg.

During our learning about tadpoles, students became more interested in amphibians - not quite reptiles, not quite fish! Of course, they used PebbleGo a lot to research. We also learned that amphibians are very sensitive to water changes and pollution - just in time for Water Awareness Month. We used the book The Water Walker in this provocation and students made posters to spread awareness. (This is also written about in my Infusing Indigenous Content blog post.)

We also had student interest in all the new critters waking up around us and visiting us outside. How can you tell the difference between an arachnid and an insect? Let's learn about how to classify animals and why the number of legs matters! We read One is a Snail, Ten is a Crab. After, we made a chart and students were encouraged to draw and label. We also used addition templates (used throughout the year with different inquiries, including with dice, dominoes, and during colour-mixing) and small plastic animals to add how many legs they have; for example, a tiger (4 legs) + a grasshopper (10 legs) = 14 legs in total.

• Integrate various skill sets and areas of the program or curriculum. Not only does this connect and integrate learning in various frames/strands/curricula, but it gives students to apply their skills and knowledge. It gives them more opportunities, in context and through play, to practice a variety of skills. How can you integrate other skills (like The Arts, Math, and Literacy) into learning provocations and inquiry pathways?

I hope this has given you some insight, ideas, and hope. I know how disheartening it feels when students or an entire class don't seem to engage in inquiries for very long, do not speak and question much, and how tough it is to motivate some to build skills such as researching, collaboration, and documenting.

Personally, my next steps include reading Interacting or Interfering? Improving Interaction in the Early Years. I want to have more insight how I can use conversation and intentional interactions to expand inquiries and student learning - and when to step back and observe. I also want to expand my photodocumentation and documentation walls.

Feel free to comment with your own tips, links, learning provocation photos, and success stories (or learning through failure!). All the best this school year!

Infusing Indigenous Content into the Primary Classroom

Every year, we (Ontario teachers) are required to complete an Annual Learning Plan (ALP). In it, we need to identify two areas or skills that we want to improve or try. My main goal for the 2018-19 year was to infuse more Indigenous content into our program. (My second one was to delve more into photodocumentation and displaying it in the classroom - and later storing the pages in a binder for children to look through.) Often, the ALP is just another piece of beaurocratic paperwork that is quickly filled out and forgotten - and submitted along with safety training, year plans, timetables, and everything else.

Knowing this was going to be my goal, I spent the summer of 2018 collecting resources. It was really important to me to collect quality resources. I'm fortunate to have quite a few experiences and connections to draw from, which helped me in my quest:

• teaching high school English and ESL in Kashechewan, Ontario (a Cree community)
• taking the 3-part Indigenous Education workshop provided by my school board (a few times!)
• teaching in Sharbot Lake for over 3 years - a community with very strong Algonquin roots and many who keep traditions and teaching alive
• in Sharbot Lake, we had connections to have an Early Childhood Educator in once a month to focus on local Algonquin teachings; this culminated in a field trip in June to the area's Strawberry Moon Festival (this is where I got many of my book titles and nature connection ideas)
• connecting with local Elders throughout the years and keeping connected to friends from Kashechewan and colleagues passionate about Indigenous Education (and who teach in communities all over Canada/Turtle Island)
• currently working in a school (going on 3 years) named after a Haudenosaunee woman and with administration and staff who are passionate about infusing Indigenous content and honouring the First Peoples of this land
• spending a year with an RECE partner (2018-19) who also was involved in education in northern Ontario and in First Nations communities and continued connections and resource-sharing.

Me in 2008 - cooking bannock over a campfire on an island near Kashechewan, Ontario. This was one of my first experiences in Kashechewan - a memorable day!

It is very important for me to tell you that I am not of FNMI descent. My father's side is Scottish and Ukranian and my mother's, I presume, is mostly English. I was born in northern British Columbia and spent my first years living in now what's called Haida Gwaii. My dad was in the military and often collected artwork and pictures (and stories!) from his travels, which also included several trips to what is now Nunavut. These were the pieces of art and pictures and stories I was always most interested in as a child - the stories of helping locals wrangle caribou, the soapstone carvings, the geometrical and bold Haida art, paintings of the Northern Lights.

I write this blog post with good intentions and as a way to stop the disservice my own education did handling FNMI history and peoples (either by being non-existent or terribly stereotyping, outdated, or just absolutely horrible (I was a student in Texas in Grades 7, 8, and 9)). I feel like moving forward and ignoring this problem is not okay - especially in the spirit of Truth and Reconciliation. Many educators shy away because they don't want to be disrespectful, can't find resources, or are just overwhelmed - but even a little bit is attainable (and beneficial!). If I have not communicated something well, have left something out, you have something to add or change, or otherwise, please let me know! This is a journey of learning for me.

For me, the biggest pieces of advice given to me have been:

• Do not homogenize Indigenous peoples. There are 634 First Nations in Canada with more than 50 distinct languages. The number is more when you include Métis and Inuit. Each nation is distinct and to blend them together would be like saying Africa is a country or the USA and Canada are the same.

Check out native-land.ca! It also has information for some areas of South America and Australia. It would be interesting to have students notice there's no information for Europe, Africa, Asia, and a lot of South America - and to delve into an inquiry as to why it's that way.

• Know the history of the land. Whose traditional territory do you live on, do you teach on, do you vacation on? Does you classroom or school have land acknowledgements? Is there a treaty (a whole argument in itself)?
• Consider this when choosing your literature and materials (although this can be really tough); for example, I try my best to collect literature and legends and items that are from and reflect my region. Are those the only stories, pieces of art, etc. that I use? No! - but I always preface readings/lessons with "This book/art is by _[author/artist]_ and is from  _[area of the world]_, which is the traditional lands of ____." As an additional benefit, this is a wonderful reason to have a map readily-available.

This was a total tourist trap (I was in love with hutias!) in Pinar del Rio, eastern Cuba. The Taino are Indigenous Peoples of the Caribbean - including Cuba.  This picture is from my March Break trip in 2016.

• Acknowledge if this is not your culture. You are encouraged to (really, should) tell students where you learned this knowledge and are passing it on (like naming an Elder) or why you have chosen a book (recommended, how you researched it, where you bought it). For many, this may be the biggest reason why many shy away from it all - or just stay away; I get it - but I believe that inclusion and representation is important in public education and our classrooms need to represent the communities we serve. Having access to Elders in the education system on a regular basis can be difficult (again, getting into the history of government and the education system, genocide of FNMI peoples, and systemic barriers many Indigenous Peoples face is a deep topic we could go on for much longer than this blog post). Do your best to be informed, be transparent in your learning journey, source your materials, and ask questions with your connections (like your FNMI consultant, local Friendship Centre, a Faculty of Education's FNMI Education office, an Elder, etc.).
• Understand what is acceptable and a hard no. Having students do traditional dances (although I've had Elders teach simple circle dances and drumming to my student during the Strawberry Moon Festival - which was wonderful!), make and wear regalia (like construction paper feathered headdresses), and make toilet paper roll totem poles are not okay.
• Be aware of the resources you are providing. Does the textbook or story refer to First Peoples as Indians or focus on Inuit Peoples living in igloos? It's outdated and is perpetuating stereotypes. Does that old book hidden in your classroom library tell a story of battling Cowboys and Indians? How about the Disney Pocahontas? I prioritize purchasing books by Indigenous authors and illustrators.

Read texts before making them available to your students. Think critically about them. Not all resources made for teachers are created by educators and/or convey accurate messages. After seeing this on social media, I have contacted the publisher (Popular Books Canada Inc.) and have been told this version has not been in print since November 2017 and was revised the following month.

• Representation needs to be modern, respectful, inclusive - and I would say natural. When you change your classroom library up and/or your bookshelf display, are there any books you can put out from your collection that depicts FNMI (and other) cultures? For example, during our study of butterflies, I read and put out Nanabosho and the Butterflies.

Jessica explained this very well when responding to another educator who confided she is apprehensive of incorporating Indigenous Education into her class. I got permission from Jessica to use a screenshot of her response in this post.

Resources I Use

• 13 Moons on Turtle's Shell Calendar:  I mounted the scutes onto magnetic photo paper and this is displayed on our (magentic) whiteboard. There are 13 full moons in a year - and 13 big scutes on turtles' shells. There are 28 days between full moons - and 28 small, outer scutes! Every day, we add another small scute on our calendar to count the days until the next full moon. This product uses the Ojibwe language and the moon names of that region. It's important to note that the moons' names reflect what happens at that time in that region, so different areas will vary. Finding the information for your area can be difficult using the Internet; connect with local Elders or your FNMI Education consultant. Be accepting that your sources may tell you different things. Personally, I've been inclusive and have told my students various moon names and we look for what is happening at that time in our city. For example, I've learned that February's moon can be the Snow Moon, Bear Moon, Eagle Moon, and Midwinter Moon; I was excited to read about a Bald Eagle sighting on Lake Ontario in our city during this lunar cycle! We also have Gregorian calendars in our classroom.
  
  The Toronto Zoo has released a resource - Walking with Miskwaadesi. The PDF includes a story, lesson ideas, and links to further resources.

13 Moons on Turtle's Shell Calendar

The full moon in June is known as Strawberry Moon in my area. This is when strawberries turn red and are ready for picking. Did you know the strawberry is known as the heart berry? We compared its shape to a picture of a real human heart - and they are very alike! It teaches us forgiveness and peace.

• Catcha Bear: Early Years Seven [Grandfather] Teachings Series: These books are simple but explain the Seven Grandfather Teachings in ways that are understandable to young children. This is wonderful for Character Education. This year, our class was really interested in animals, so they were really into understanding why those animals were chosen to represent each teaching. We went on a community walk to look at a nearby beaver lodge, dam, and a cleared forest area ("the beaver's workshop"). We saw a giant snapping turtle laying eggs on our conservation area trip in June. We watched a pair of Bald Eagles raise their babies on a live webcam from the West Coast of North America.
• Beaver teaches Wisdom
• Wolf teaches Humility
• Eagle teaches Love
• Turtle teaches Truth
• Bear teaches Courage
• Bison teaches Respect
• Sabé teaches Honesty (Colonizers refer to the Sabé as 'Bigfoot' - but this is not a respectful way to refer to it, I learned after asking an Elder. The term 'Sasquatch' is a Salish term from the West / Pacific Coast.)
• The Canadian Forestry Association Teaching Kits contain a lot of hidden gems. You can order hard copies (paying shipping) or access them online for free.



During our trip to the pumpkin patch at Fruition Berry Farms, we learned about the Three Sisters. Squash, Beans, and Corn all help each other in symbiotic relationships. When we returned to the classroom, we listened to the story again (available on page 23 in this CFA Teaching Kit) and students retold the story in various ways through play and inquiry. Here, a child uses Play-Doh to tell the legend.

• GoodMinds.com: This is a store run out of Brantford, Ontario. It has one of the largest selections of FNMI books that I've come across. They have books in both English and French. I especially appreciate how each book listing has additional information about the author/illustrator, content, and often sources where it is from.

Click here to see what GoodMinds has to say about Blackflies!

• Native Reflections: This is an expansive site (a company run out of Winnipeg) and I'd recommend you be intentional when you order. We have their peg puzzles (which I actually bought in another store when visiting Victoria, BC last summer) and a few other items. They have a few books I haven't seen anywhere else.

This book is a favourite. It is not a long read (so it's also great for young children) and it has beautiful, vibrant illustrations. This legend tells of how Muskrat sacrificed his life to create the land of Turtle Island (North America). I VERY highly recommend this book!

The giggles this book brought into our classroom when the Big Bad Wolf got a giant tail slam was priceless! Students kept asking for this book. It is a great variation of The Three Little Pigs - although we had to address the fact that beavers live in lodges and not  their dams. You can find this here.

• Keepers of the Earth, Animals, Night, etc. series: I ordered a few of these books on Amazon and while writing this blog post, found that it's cheaper on GoodMinds.com (ugh!). I learned of this series from our school board's FNMI Education consultant when she came in to lead a Sweetwater (Maple Syrup) teaching - using Keepers of the Earth (Manabozho and the Maple Trees - Anishinabe, Great Lakes Region). These resources are extensive and provide many legends from all over North America (and sources which First Nations these legends are from!) and provide extension ideas for each concept.

• Chapters Indigo, Scholastic, Amazon, and your local thrift store are also good places to find books and price-compare!
• National Indigenous Peoples Day (June 21) resources can be ordered here. This year, we received activity booklets, temporary tattoos, a few different colouring sheets, and a Métis fiddle packet for students - and a poster!
• Canada's Food Guide comes in a FNMI version!
• Epic! is free for educators. You can search by title or topic. They have many books when you search "First Nations," "Métis," or "Inuit."
• Connect with local field trip providers. Some already have connections and/or use Indigenous Education in their programming. Look for FNMI field trip opportunities. Below, you can see how a trip to Maple Madness at Little Cataraqui Creek Conservation Area us celebrate Maple Moon (March). Students were shown - and were allowed to practice, how local First Nations Peoples used deer antlers to pick up hot rocks to boil the maple sap.

   

The Medicine Wheel

Unfortunately for my own education, I was first taught about the Medicine Wheel when I was a teacher in Kashechewan during the Great Moon Gathering (a professional development opportunity). The workshop focused on addictions and mental health and brought in the Medicine Wheel and its teachings around health an well-being.

I had "bumped into" the Medicine Wheel over the years, but it was never a focus or explicitely brought up as something educators can use in the classroom. It wasn't until our administrators invited an Elder who resides in the Napanee area (if I remember correctly) to begin our Professional Development day with Medicine Wheel teachings. Our staff gathered in a circle around a giant, fabric Medicine Wheel that had been laid down in our library. We learned how the Medicine Wheel represents many teachings and explanations of how life and the world work. The Elder used pictures mounted on construction paper to show us how it teaches us about health, seasonal cycles, life cycles, stages of life, the cardinal directions, four sacred medicines, races of humankind, the elements, and more. She also taught us that the Medicine Wheel is a symbol that represents "that Indigenous teachings take place here" - that it is a safe and inclusive environment (I immediately made a connection to how many educators and others have rainbows or other LGBTQ ally stickers or signs displayed.).

Medicine Wheel

Not all Indigenous Peoples and Nations use the Medicine Wheel. Some use colours other than Yellow, Red, Black, and White. Some have them in a different configuration in the circle. If you're wishing to incorporate the Medicine Wheel in your space, please take a look and see what is used in your region. In this post, I will be referring to the Medicine Wheel with yellow in the East, red in the South, black in the West, and white in the North. My RECE partner this year taught me that the white should always be pointing to the North and teachings begin in the East (I remember this because the Sun rises in the East, thus starting the day).

   

Here are some easy ways that I incorporated the Medicine Wheel (and literature!) into our butterfly inquiry. We raised Painted Lady Caterpillars and watched then turn to chrysalises then released the butterflies in our Grow Garden. I plan on including Black Line Masters like these in the resource collaboration project that I'll be working on this summer.

It got better. Our technology teacher built a few Medicine Wheel tables for our school! Because infusing FNMI content into our classroom was happening so much this year, we were chosen to have one in our room! She's extremely talented and kind - and happened to be taking the Indigenous Education AQ course online (and we supplied her with tons of lessons, pictures, and videos of student learning in return).

Here's the Medicine Wheel table that was made by our amazing tech teacher!

Our first inquiry and teaching with the Medicine Wheel table was about the seasonal cycle. This coincided with Spring weather and lots of student talk about worms, birds, insects, and gardening. We gathered loose parts from around the room and students sorted them by season (also important to note that some things, like butterflies, can belong in a few areas). This was wonderful for oral language and critical thinking! Can you tell which colour is which season? Can you see the connections to Ontario Grade 1 Science and Ontario Kindergarten's Problem Solving and Innovating (sorting various ways)?

A conversation about a pet that passed away started conversations about the cycle of life. One Kindergarten student put it profoundly, "Things die so there can be new life. Like, old cats die but there's always baby kittens." We started looking through our stash of National Geographic magazines for pictures of people and animals in various stages of life. Students helped me glue them down on construction paper (arranging to minimize paper waste - a spacial awareness activity!) to prevent confusion with what's on the back. Can you see how they sorted?

This year, our students were really interested in researching animals on PebbleGo.com. On a world map, they'd often sort toy animals by which continents they're found (for example, placing a toy koala on Australia and polar bear in northern Canada or other polar region). I used an outline of a map and my clipart to show where some animals, buildings, and other things are from. I added a star where our city is. Students sorted pictures based on where they are in relation to us! Many students even showed an understanding of intermediate directions, (NE, SE, SW, NW) and placed pictures on the borders between colours! Do you see the explicit connections to the Ontario Grade 2 curriculum?

We read How Chipmunk Got His Stripes and the book refers to how the Sun rises in the East and sets in the West. Time to bring in our Medicine Wheel table! During my planning time, I went through my clipart to find pictures depicting what happens during different times of the day. This also brought out a lot of oral communication skills and collaboration. Do you see the explicit connection to Ontario Grade 1 Science?

I have connected with a local Elder to collaborate and make a resource so incorporating the Medicine Wheel into your classroom is much easier - and plan on including print-and-go resources as seen above (but a bit more refined!). That's my summer project and I'll post a link here when it's done!

Residential Schools

This is a very sensitive - but important, subject. Like other topics, I have heard arguments against introducing residential schools to students in the primary years (K-3). However, I feel that sensitive or "difficult" topics can be introduced to children with age-appropriate conversations and resources. They do not need all of the details and controversies with young children - but I also feel like this topic shouldn't be a surprise in the Intermediate years and in high school. It is a horrible time in Canadian history (Did you know the last residential school closed in 1996?), but it cannot be erased nor forgotten.

In Kindergarten, we always stress kindness and acceptance. Treat others well. Be kind. Help others. Celebrate differences. Be empathetic. I've used these principles when resolving bullying issues and social disagreements (MEND conversations), with LGBTQ texts (like 10,000 Dresses or And Tango Makes Three), celebrating World Down Syndrome Day, celebrating Autism Awareness Month, Black History Month (Yes, we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day and I tell students he was shot and killed by somebody who didn't like him.), and with introducing residential schools as well. I have used Eve Bunting's Terrible Things: An Allegory of The Holocaust in Grades 1/2 in the past.

One way I have put it is, "There were people living on Turtle Island before people from Europe came on the ships. (These peoples, we now refer to as First Nations and Inuit.) Many people who came on the boats and their children and children's children, and so on (descendents) did not like the people who were here first and tried to control them. They forced children to be away from their families and live at school. A lot of people working in the school were not nice to the children. They cut their hair, didn't let them speak their own language or wear their own clothing, and even changed their names! Many children were hurt and some even died. Some tried to run away. These were called residential schools and they were open for a very long time, all across our country."

Many students add to the conversation. Why is your name important? How is the way you wear your hair part of your identity? Do you speak another language? What role do your parents, extended family, and community play in your upbringing? They all agree that residential schools were not a nice thing. They understand why it is important that we learn from historical mistakes and honour our diversities and the history of this land. (As for curriculum connections, there are connections in Social Studies as well as Kindergarten's Belonging and Contributing frame.)

Stolen Words is one book I used this year (in Kindergarten) to bring an awareness of residential schools. Click the title to see the synopsis by GoodMinds. The pictures bring dramatic feelings (it reminds me of the illustrations in the book The Magic Beads). Feeling emotions while reading is important - all sorts of emotions. If I remember correctly, we read it on Orange Shirt Day (September 30).

This book has been in my library for a couple years, although I have not used it as a read-aloud. When We Were Alone follows a conversation between a child and their Kokum (Grandmother) about her experience as a child in a residential school. Click the title to read more via GoodMinds.

I used My Name is Seepeetza when I taught a locally-developed English course in Kashechewan. I'd recommend it for Intermediate grades (7-10). It is written in a diary format and follows a 12-year-old girl as she attends Kamloops Residential School. Please click the book title to read more via GoodMinds.

Other Activities

We painted pinecones (collected during our community walk) to look like strawberries to celebrate the Strawberry Moon!

After learning that Beaver teaches Wisdom and visiting a local beaver's habitat, we build beaver dams out of plasticine, rocks, and twigs. We could check how water-tight they were by pouring water on one side and comparing water levels. I even had little beaver figurines available!

We read Nanabosho Steals Fire, which reminds me a lot about Prometheus (I minored in Classical Civilizations!). This legend also explains why rabbits change colour with the seasons (and so do some other animals). My RECE partner brought in two rabbit pelts: one brown and one white - an idea I got from the ECE classroom speaker in Sharbot Lake years ago!

An eagle talon - brought in by a student!

Beaver teeth - brought in by a student!

We read The Water Walker and students made posters to promote taking care of our water sources (we are located on Lake Ontario) to put up around the school. The book calls North America Turtle Island, so it reminded students of our excellent Turtle Island book.

Painting turtles after reading Nanabosho: How Turtle Got Its Shell.

My Picture Book / Read-Aloud Book List

• Thirteen Moons on Turtle's Back: A Native American Year of Moons (Bruchac & London)
• Thirteen Moons on Turtle's Back (Sandra Samattee)
• Turtle Island (retold by Bobbie and Gentle)
• Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message (Chief Jake Swamp)
• Turtle's Race with Beaver (Bruchac & Bruchac)
• The First Beaver (Caroll Simpson)
• The Legend of Beaver's Tail (Stephanie Shaw)
• The Story of the Three Little Beavers and the Big Bad Wolf (Bobbie and Gentle)
• Maple Moon (Connie Brummel Crook)
• Goose Moon (Carol Arden)
• The First Strawberries: A Cherokee Story (retold by Joseph Bruchac)
• Everybody Needs A Rock (Byrd Baylor)
• Nipin and the Rocks (Victoria Bouvier)
• Trudy's Rock Story (Trudy Spiller)
• Dawn Flight: A Lakota Story (Kevin Locke)
• The Medicine Wheel: Stories of a Hoop Dancer (Teddy Anderson)
• The Sharing Circle (Theresa "Corky" Larsen-Jonasson)
• Nanabosho Grants a Wish (Joe & Matrine McLellan)
• The Birth of Nanabosho (Joseph McLellan)
• Nanabosho and the Butterflies (Joe & Matrine McLellan)
• Nanabosho Steals Fire (Joseph McLellan)
• Nanabosho: How the Turtle got its Shell (Joe McLellan)
• Nanabosho Dances (Joe McLellan)
• Nikik and Wapus Save the People (Joe McLellan)
• Zomo the Rabbit: A Trickster Tale from West Africa (Gerald McDermott)
  * This trickster rabbit reminds me of Nanabosho, so I have included it on this list.
• How Chipmunk Got His Stripes (Joseph & James Bruchac)
• The Bear's Long Tail: A Tale Retold (Jane Chartrand)
• Storm Boy (Paul Owen Lewis)
• How the Sun was Born - Como el Sol Nacio (written and illustrated by third-grade stuents at Drexel Elementary School, Tucson, Arizona)
  * I studied Spanish as a student in Texas and have had Spanish-First-Language students in my school.
• Raven: A Trickster Tale from the Pacific Northwest (Gerald McDermott)
• How Raven Stole the Sun (Maria Williams)
• The Raven and the Loon (Rachel & Sean Qitsaulik-Tinsley)
• The Little Hummingbird (Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas)
  * The ETFO Primary Arts resource uses this book.
• The Raven (eaglecrestbooks.com)
• Alaska's First People (Judy Ferguson)
• a northern alphabet (Ted Harrison)
• Sweetest Kulu (Celina Kalluk)
• My Arctic 123 (Michael Arvaarluk Kusugak)
• The Lonely Inukshuk (written and illustrated by students Inuglak School - Whale Cove, Nunavut)
• Hide and Sneak (Michael Arvaarluk Kusugak)
• The Delta is My Home (Tom McLeod & Mindy Willett)
• A Promise is a Promise (Robert Munsch & Michael Kusugak)
• Smelly Socks (Robert Munsch)
• Bear for Breakfast (Robert Munsch, illustrated by Jay Odjick)
• Blackflies (Robert Munsch, illustrated by Jay Odjick)
• Totem Poles (a PebbleGo nonfiction book)
• Jingle Dancer (Cynthia Leitich Smith)
• Anishinabe Nation Colouring Book (given to our class by the Union of Ontario Indians)
• Alex Shares his Wampum Belt (Kelly Crawford)
• Dakota Talks About Treaties (Kelly Crawford)
• You Hold Me Up (Monique Gray Smith)
• Our Healthy Journey: A Collection of First Nations Children's Perspectives (available via PDF)
• Lila and the Crow (Gabrielle Grimard)
• Stolen Words (Melanie Florence, illustrated by Gabrielle Grimard)
• When We Were Alone (David A. Robertson)
• The Water Walker (Joanne Robertson)
• Sometimes I Feel Like A Fox (Danielle Daniel)
• Catcha Bear and the Seven Teachings series (7 books)
• Good Morning World (artwork by Paul Windsor, Haisla, Heiltsuk)
• Learn the Alphabet with Northwest Coast Native Art
• Learn to Count with Northwest Coast Native Art
• Sharing Our World: Animals of the Native Northwest Coast

 

More Resources

"#FNMIEducation doesn’t always have to be an elaborate lesson. It can look as simple as reading a book by an Indigenous author or an author who co-wrote with an Indigenous community."

Liv Rondeau is currently a Masters of Education Candidate at Queen's University. She can be found on Instagram at @FNMIeducation, Twitter at @MissORondeau, and has a website at http://teachingaboriginaleducation.weebly.com. [I asked Liv for permission to link her on this blog post.]

Emily from Instagram recommends The University of British Columbia's Reconciliation Through Indigenous Education 6-Week Massive Open Online Course (MOOC). It was recommended to her by a Faculty of Education professor at Queen's University. [I confirmed with Emily that she did not want her Instagram linked.]

ETFO has a resource called First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Education Resource: Engaging Learners Through Play. I do not own this resource (yet).

The National Film Board of Canada has a website called Indigenous Cinema in the Classroom Ages 6-11. It has several short films (some only a couple minutes long) by Indigenous filmmakers, made for young learners.

Molly of Denali is a television show for children. It's available online through CBC (Canada) and PBS (USA). From what I've read, the characters are voiced predominantly by Indigenous Peoples and the episodes often celebrate culture and life in the North. Each episode includes 2 stories, between which are real-life clips. The first episode, Grandpa's Drum, includes some references to "boarding schools" (residential schools) and loss if identity/culture (assimilation).

Epic! (free for educators) has a lot of FNMI books, including newer releases. You can search in the top toolbar - for example, search "First Nations." Many publications are American, so I caution you to be aware of that and their less-stringent uses of terminology and representations.

50% of the sales of this resource will be donated to the Gord Downie and Chanie Wenjack Fund while the remaining 50% will be used to fund FNMI learning opportunities for my students (Elder visits, field trips, purchase of items and books, etc.).