Reconnecting with Our Cultural Wealth in the Digital Age

Reconnecting with Our Cultural Wealth in the Digital Age

Reconnecting with Our Cultural
Wealth in the Digital Age
Ruth Ferris
Science Horizons Initiative
June 2013
Abstract
How can we use cultural knowledge with students in a digital
age?
My dream is to have my students learn about the importance
of Native Montana plants from tribal elders. Students will
research an individual plant, create a document to share what
they have learned. Students will make a sign identifying their
plant. Each sign will have a QR code that can be accessed in
the courtyard or online.
Washington Elem Courtyard
Project Parameters
• Grade 5 – adaptable
• Goals
– Connecting ethnobotany, oral traditions, research skills,
and technology.
Mr Tall Bull sharing traditional knowledge about plants.
Time Line
Fall
• Botany Lessons (Taxonomy)
• Introduce Research Skills
• Practice Note Taking Strategies
• Nature Notebook
• Linwood Tall Bull, Northern Cheyenne Ethnobotanist
Winter
• Plant Research
Spring
• Photograph Plants
• Audio Recording
• Create Signs
• Courtyard Open House
Science Components
•
Content Standard 1 – Benchmark 1.6
– By the end of grade 8, a proficient
student will compare how
observations of nature form an
essential base of knowledge among
Montana Indians.
•
Content Standard 3 – Benchmark 3.4
•
•
By the end of grade 8, a proficient
student will investigate and explain
interdependent nature of
populations and communities.
Content Standard 3 – Benchmark 3.5
–
Create and use a basic classification
scheme to identify plants and animals.
• Plant recognition skills
• Hands on activities
• Plant parts & function
Cultural Components
• Plants As Food
•
•
•
•
•
•
Harvesting
Types of Plants
Seasons
Importance
Storytelling
Connections to Treaties
• Plants As Medicine
•
•
•
•
•
•
Used For
Parts of Plant Used
Season It Is Harvested
Who Harvested
Storytelling
How Used
Library Components
• Research Skills
•
•
•
•
Selecting Information
Fast Facts (Note Taking)
Citing Sources
Integrating written
knowledge with oral
traditions
• Technology Skills
• Creating Audio Report
• Designing a Sign
• Creating a QR Code
Essential Understanding 1
There is great diversity among the 12 tribal
Nations of Montana in their languages,
cultures, histories and governments. Each
Nation has a distinct and unique cultural
heritage that contributes to modern Montana.
Essential Understanding 3
The ideologies of Native traditional beliefs and
spirituality persist into modern day life as tribal
cultures, traditions, and languages are still
practiced by many American Indian people and
are incorporated into how tribes govern and
manage their affairs.
Additionally, each tribe has its own oral histories,
which are as valid as written histories. These
histories pre-date the “discovery” of North
America.
Connecting Digitally
QR Codes & the Courtyard
QR Codes are the cube looking barcodes. You can
generate them to share specific information. For this
project when you read QR Code you will see a picture
of a specific plant and hear a recording of a student
telling about the plant – tribal name, common name,
description, and how it was used.
Materials
•
•
•
•
Magnifying glasses
iPad
Nature Journal
Books
- Taste of Heritage – Alma Hogan Snell
–
–
–
–
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Montana Native Plants & Early People – Jeff Hart
Botany in a Day by Thomas Elpel
Shanleya’s Quest by Thomas Elpel
Patterns in Plants Card Game
Field Guide
Online Resources
• Montana Plant Life http://montana.plantlife.org/index.html
• Leafsnap: Electronic Field Guide
http://leafsnap.com/
• Symbaloo
http://www.symbaloo.com/mix/scienceinitiati
ve
• US Botanical Gardens - http://www.usbg.gov/
Acknowledgements
• Dr. John Peters, Astrobiology Research Center
and Thermobiology Institute
• Dr. Walter Fleming, Montana State University
Department of Native American Studies
• MT State University Department of Chemistry
and Biochemistry
• MSU – Office of Provost Chem Department
Generous Applause
• Dr. C. McLaughlin, Adjunct Professor of
Chemistry and Program Director
• Tess Corbin, Administration Assistant
• Team Members
– Amy Williams
– David Chalmers
– Kevin Newman
– Tera Flink
– Charla Lake