We continued to talk through a variety of student questions today, before working through another 1.5 chapters (students should have read up to the end of "Rougarou comes Hunting," and have their notes up to date).
I posted a variety of current links/articles etc in the "general " second of our Team - worth a look for the sake of interest.
No additional homework.
We talked at length about the chapters recently covered.
Students also discussed the reserve system as a tool of colonization. We also talked about how communities on reserves are present centres of family, culture, and connection - and how folks can now connect to those centres without living on that land full-time (as opposed to being forced to stay within the boundaries, unless issued a pass by a government agent).
We focused specifically on the ways in which reserve land was often not conducive to survival/traditional ways of life - and have talked in the past about how lands were repeatedly re-appropriated.
We thought about the following questions:
HOMEWORK - Students should read the next chapter, "The Other Indians," for homework, and continue their character notes.
David Craik worked through a social/emotional lesson with students - we will continue our novel work on Monday!
Students have been working their way through The Marrow Thieves, and are doing so very well. They have written a chapter summary, and are staying on top of their character notes as we move forward.
Yesterday, I asked students to finish the final two pages of a chapter for homework - a number did not do so.
Today, we read to the end of "The Potential of Change" - students should complete notes up to pg 117.
We have also been working our way through a series of anonymously asked questions, in order to dispel myths, racist assumptions, and misunderstandings related to Indigenous folks and policy in Canada - students are very insightful, and their questions are helping everyone to see the world a bit more clearly.
Today we talked about the Christmas Bureau - fundraising has fallen to p.1 classes - no obligation.
We went over "Magic Words" and looked at what might belong in a chapter summary (key events, symbols, big ideas, thematic connections, literary devices etc.)
Students will hand in their character notes for the first time tomorrow, so they should be sure to be up-to-date.
HMWRK: Notes need to be up-to-date all the way to the end of "Haunted in the Bush," which students would do well to re-read.
Today we discussed two separate videos - one Metis culture, and another on the concept of dystopia
We also read "Magic Words"
HMWRK - students should be up-to-date on character notes, which will be collected Thursday.
Today we read to the end of "Story: Part 1"
Students discussed climate change, the appropriate age for children to find out about the darker aspects of humanity, and the dangers of portraying the ol' "two sides to every story" (as it sometimes implies expert opinion is 50/50 - as per this piece on climate change)
We sought to connect the world of the novel to our own, and looked to where those worlds diverge...
HMWRK: Students should have an ongoing set of notes for characters as they appear in the text. These notes should include physical descriptions and information about the pasts of the characters - Most importantly, notes should include quotations WITH PAGE NUMBERS that illustrate what characters are like as people. This may be direct description, or their conversations with others, or actions that illustrate particular qualities. These notes will be collected, twice, and they will be foundational for future writing.
