Teaching resources

Seeking the common ground between two diverse cultures in our school garden

 

Session 1

 

 

Activity: Learning about the life of Native Americans

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Duration: 10 minutes

Activity type: brainstorming activity

Class organisation : pupils work in plenary in the garden

Teacher role: T acts as a co-ordinator, facilitator, encourager

Teacher: T invites pupils to sit in a circle around a tree in the school garden and shows pictures of the Native American people. Discussion deals with the close connection of Native Americans to nature and parallels are made to contemporary facts.

Pupils: Ps are encouraged to recall facts they know on the topic, ask questions, listen to what their classmates bring into the circle.

Educational content, tools, resources: Material can be found at

https://www.history.com/topics/native-american-history/native-american-cultures#section_11

https://bancroft.berkeley.edu/Exhibits/nativeamericans/index2.html

http://www.masshist.org/photographs/nativeamericans/

Expected outcome: Ps are expected to gain new knowledge on a different culture, make connections with their own context, compare and contrast practices and understand that the natural environment has always been a key factor in people’s lives.

 

 

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Activity:  A message of struggle and love

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Duration: 25 minutes

Activity type: Meditation and writing activity

Class organisation : pupils are divided in two groups (the Greek farmers, the Cherokee people) and then they work individually to write a short message  

Teacher role: T acts as a co-ordinator, facilitator, encourager

Teacher: T helps Ps get into the context of the writing activity, hands out supplementary material (extracts from stories, articles) and guides the activity. 

Pupils: Ps ask for and get whatever information they need so that they are able to compose short messages which must include aspects of the farmers’ or Cherokee people’s daily routines.

Educational content, tools, resources: Plenty of material and links to lesson plans and authentic texts can be found at the link below

https://www.childrensmuseum.org/sites/default/files/Documents/Educators/K-3_OneWithTheEarth_UOS.pdf

 

EXAMPLE OF EXTRACTS FROM A STORY WHICH CAN TRIGGER BRAINSTORMING

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From: Bruchac, Joseph. The Bearwalker. New York: Harper Collins, 2007.

“…My   uncle   Jules   told   me   about   the Bearwalker.  Long ago,  he said,  there  was  a Mohawk village. One day people began to dis-appear. They would go out hunting or to work in the fields and never return. Were enemies ambushing them?  Was it some big animal that attacked silently and then carried off their bodies? No one knew. Then one day a hunter found something that filled him with fear. He ran back to the village to tell everyone. “I saw the tracks of a huge bear,” he said. “We have  all  seen  bear  tracks  before” another  hunter  said. “What is so  special  about bear tracks?” “Ah,” the  first  man  said, a  shiver  of  fear going  down  his  back  as  he  spoke, “these  were no ordinary tracks…”

 

From:  Βενέζης Ηλίας. Γαλήνη. 1939. (extract from a Greek literature book referring to the efforts of Greek refugees to settle down in the mother land after their being forced to abandon their homes in Asia Minor)

“…Οι πατέρες τους και οι πρόγονοί τους ξέραν μονάχα τη γη, και πέρα από τα βουνά πάλι γη, χωρίς τέλος. Τους παρακολουθεί το χώμα σαν το  αίμα στις φλέβες τους. Δεν ξέρουν τι θα πει ξεκούραση. Δουλεύουν, σκάβοντας, με το ένστιχτο του ζώου που γυρεύει καταφύγιο. Ξέρουν πως η γη που θα ξεχερσώσουν θα τους δώσει τροφή και σπόρο…”

Expected outcome: Texts were chosen with a view to help Ps realise the dependence of humanity on natural environment, the struggle of people to make earth bear fruit   as well as help raise other issues such as the notion of hostility in humans and wild nature.

 

Session 2

 

Activity 1 Reading a native American folk tale

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Duration: 40 minutes

Class organisation : pupils find a comfortable place in the school garden and sit in a circle around the teacher

Teacher role: T acts as a co-ordinator, facilitator, encourager

Teacher: T starts reading the folk tale and invites Ps to take on the role of the narrator. After that T initiates discussion by asking questions like

What matters to you? What do you notice about the world around you?

What are you grateful for? Why?

What ways do you show your gratitude?

Why is it important to reflect on both your blessings and difficult times?

What did you learn about the Cherokee and Cherokee traditions and culture? What more would you like to know?

Pupils: Ps listen to and read the story, contribute to the discussion with their comments.

Educational content, tools, resources: We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga, by Traci Sorell

Expected outcome: Ps are expected to empathize with the heroes of the tale and be in a position to make connections to their own reality. Universal feelings, cultural norms and values are meant to be emphasized at this point.

 

Activity 2:  A “thank you” note

 

Duration: 5 minutes

Activity type: Writing a gratitude note and hang it on the tree the class chooses, taking a class photo for the school blog

Class organisation : pupils find a comfortable place in the school garden and sit in a circle around the teacher

Teacher role: T acts as a co-ordinator, facilitator, encourager

Teacher: T hands out colourful strips of paper and string. T encourages Ps to send a thank you note to nature by writing it on the piece of paper and then hang it on the tree branches.

Pupils: Ps go back to the things they saw, smelt, felt, touched, heard while in the garden. They are expected to come up with a personal reason for feeling grateful and communicate it to the school community through the “thank you” note.

Educational content, tools, resources: We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga, by Traci Sorell, a video with vocabulary in the language of Cherokee people https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18reQ6cHfSQ&feature=youtu.be which could be used inside the classroom prior to the session in the garden in order to increase motivation.