Aboriginal Perspectives
Applying an Aboriginal Education Strategy to the Junior Science Classroom
The first Standard of Practice describes a commitment to treating students equitably and being sensitive to factors that influence individual students' learning. Being sensitive to the culture and needs of Aboriginal Canadian students by integrating Aboriginal education strategies into instruction is one way in which to do this.
Overview
This unit will introduce students to the effects that human resource use have on our natural environment. In addition to reviewing and reflecting upon current issues, students will be introduced to traditional Aboriginal knowledge of sustainable practices and identify aboriginal perspectives as knowledge as sources of information. Talking circles will be used throughout to share information. Ideally, a field trip to a nearby natural location will allow students to have an experience of place and how they connect and identify with it.
Lesson 1
Have students research using varied media human impacts on the environment. Media might include textbooks, books from the school library, websites, flash games, online videos, or others depending on access to resources. Students should take notes on interesting or important ideas that they encounter, and make note of their reactions to learning.
Talking Circle #1
Introduce the talking circle as a traditional aboriginal method of discussion and sharing. Have students take turns sharing their learning about current environmental issues and human impact on the environment. Move around the circle a second time to allow students to respond with their feelings about what others have said. Students should record their thoughts and learning on one side of a double journal page.
Lesson 2
Invite an Aboriginal speaker to visit the class in person, or via video, to share knowledge of tradition Aboriginal sustainable practices with the class, stories about traditional technologies for housing and clothing and how they were used to conserve and insulate heat energy, dry, cook and preserve foods, personal knowledge of how human resource use affects the environment and modern indigenous environmental activism, or other topics related to the interaction of humans and the environment from the Aboriginal perspective. Students should take notes about solutions and new learning on the other side of their double journal note page.
Talking Circle #2
Students can reflect on their learning and brainstorm ways to implement knowledge of Aboriginal sustainable practices to remedy environmental issues we currently face.
Lesson 3
Students take a field trip to a natural location around the school to observe nature as it thrives and how humans have impacted it. Students should be made aware of Aboriginal perspectives on the connection between people and place (hopefully by the speaker from Lesson 2). While taking observations, students should clean the environment of trash and take care to minimize their impact on the plant and animal life present. Students should reflect quietly in this natural setting on their notes.
Talking Circle #3
Students should reflect on how spending time in a natural setting has influenced their thoughts on their learning over the week and encouraged to share stories of moments of insight that they experienced in that place.
Specific Expectations Addressed
The major specific expectations addressed from the Ontario Curriculum, Grades 1-8, Science & Technology are:
1. Relating Science and Technology to Society and the Environment
1.1 analyse the long-term impacts on society and the environment of human uses of energy and natural resources, and suggest ways to reduce these impacts (e.g., turning off the faucet while brushing teeth or washing and rinsing dishes conserves water; reusing or recycling products, or using fewer products, conserves natural resources and energy) Sample issue: Natural gas is a clean, reliable, and safe fuel for heating our homes, but it is non-renewable and its use contributes to climate change (although not as much as other fossil fuels). Alternative forms of energy such as solar energy or wind energy do not deplete natural resources or contribute to climate change, but they may have other drawbacks (such as being more expensive and less reliable).
1.2 evaluate the effects of various technologies on energy consumption (e.g., improving our home’s insulation allows us to conserve heat and reduce energy consumption; aerodynamic design can improve the energy efficiency of cars and buses; household appliances designed to make our lives easier use large amounts of energy; some cars and recreational vehicles use energy less efficiently than others), and propose ways in which individuals can improve energy conservation
2. Developing Investigation and Communication Skills
2.2. use scientific inquiry/research skills (see page 15) to investigate issues related to energy and resource conservation (e.g., interview an Aboriginal person about his or her traditional teachings on conservation)
2.5 use a variety of forms (e.g., oral, written, graphic, multimedia) to communicate with different audiences and for a variety of purposes (e.g., in a small group, discuss ways in which technological innovations increase and/or decrease our ability to conserve energy)
3. Understanding Basic Concepts
3.1 identify a variety of forms of energy (e.g., electrical, chemical, mechanical, heat, light, kinetic) and give examples from everyday life of how that energy is used (e.g., electrical energy for cooking; chemical/electrical energy to run our cars; mechanical energy to hit a baseball; light energy for managing traffic on the roads; heat energy to warm homes and schools
3.2 identify renewable and non-renewable sources of energy (e.g., renewable: sun, wind, ocean waves and tides, wood; non-renewable: fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas)
1. Relating Science and Technology to Society and the Environment
1.1 analyse the long-term impacts on society and the environment of human uses of energy and natural resources, and suggest ways to reduce these impacts (e.g., turning off the faucet while brushing teeth or washing and rinsing dishes conserves water; reusing or recycling products, or using fewer products, conserves natural resources and energy) Sample issue: Natural gas is a clean, reliable, and safe fuel for heating our homes, but it is non-renewable and its use contributes to climate change (although not as much as other fossil fuels). Alternative forms of energy such as solar energy or wind energy do not deplete natural resources or contribute to climate change, but they may have other drawbacks (such as being more expensive and less reliable).
1.2 evaluate the effects of various technologies on energy consumption (e.g., improving our home’s insulation allows us to conserve heat and reduce energy consumption; aerodynamic design can improve the energy efficiency of cars and buses; household appliances designed to make our lives easier use large amounts of energy; some cars and recreational vehicles use energy less efficiently than others), and propose ways in which individuals can improve energy conservation
2. Developing Investigation and Communication Skills
2.2. use scientific inquiry/research skills (see page 15) to investigate issues related to energy and resource conservation (e.g., interview an Aboriginal person about his or her traditional teachings on conservation)
2.5 use a variety of forms (e.g., oral, written, graphic, multimedia) to communicate with different audiences and for a variety of purposes (e.g., in a small group, discuss ways in which technological innovations increase and/or decrease our ability to conserve energy)
3. Understanding Basic Concepts
3.1 identify a variety of forms of energy (e.g., electrical, chemical, mechanical, heat, light, kinetic) and give examples from everyday life of how that energy is used (e.g., electrical energy for cooking; chemical/electrical energy to run our cars; mechanical energy to hit a baseball; light energy for managing traffic on the roads; heat energy to warm homes and schools
3.2 identify renewable and non-renewable sources of energy (e.g., renewable: sun, wind, ocean waves and tides, wood; non-renewable: fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas)
References:
Ontario Ministry of Education. (2007). The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 1-8, Science & Technology, Grade 5, Understanding Earth & Space Systems: Conservation of Energy and Resources, pp. 107-109.
Ontario Ministry of Education. (2009). Aboriginal Education Strategy Teacher’s Toolkit: Grade 5 Language – Talking Circle. Retrieved from: http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/aboriginal/strategygr05lancircle.pdf
Ontario Ministry of Education. (2007). The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 1-8, Science & Technology, Grade 5, Understanding Earth & Space Systems: Conservation of Energy and Resources, pp. 107-109.
Ontario Ministry of Education. (2009). Aboriginal Education Strategy Teacher’s Toolkit: Grade 5 Language – Talking Circle. Retrieved from: http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/aboriginal/strategygr05lancircle.pdf