Luke Guenther

Curriculum B

Standard B: A culturally-responsive curriculum recognizes cultural knowledge as part of a living and constantly adapting system that is grounded in the past, but continues to grow through the present and into the future.

I remember that for our group it took us a little while to think of culture as a changing system, but once we got on that tack we realized how many options there were. We settled on how boarding schools changed native Alaskan culture because they had such a big influence on how things are now.

CRT

Culturally responsive teaching takes the culture of the students into account when teaching and uses it to help engage the students using relatable material.
Being a science teacher I could integrate history into many lessons such as sustainability and fishing. I could go into how changing laws and regulations have affected the salmon and forests of southeast Alaska.

The Last American Rainforest.-stories

This book was about A girl and her grandmother who are looking for spruce roots to make hats. The story has both a fictional and a factual aspect. As the story progresses the girl learns about the woods and their importance. This book would be great for biology because it has facts mixed in that you be easy to discuss.

Gill, Shelley. Tongass, The Last American Rainforest. Sasquatch Books. 1997.

Beyond Heroes

The highlight of our discussion revolved around how the past still affects the present. The best example of this that we have covered in class was the boarding schools. People are still around who went through that and some people still feel alienated either from western culture or their own because of their experiences. There are also still people who feel guilty, uncomfortable or defensive over what happened. We alot talked about how intercultural interactions would be so much simpler without all the history and past mistakes complicating the issues.

Idea- Arctic Circle and Earth’s Inclination.

The intended audience for this lesson would be between 7th and 10th grade. The lesson is about the arctic for a science class.
The lesson would probably take 1-3 class periods.
The essential question revolves around what causes seasons and the variation in day light.
Start the lesson with learning what the student’s background knowledge is on the subject of seasons and earth’s axial tilt. Ask questions like, What causes seasons, and why are days longer in summer than in winter. Then move onto earth’s axial tilt and how the earth moves around the sun. After that ask the student’s how far the earth would have to tilt to have a full day of sun light during winter. Have the student’s give their best guesses then divide them into groups and have them design an experiment to discover what the answer is. After that ask the students what affect this would have on the way people live in their town (hotter summers, colder winters, Large variations between day and night, ect.) Talk about the ways Northern Alaskans have adapted to these extremes. Then allow the students time to work on their projects.

Artifact-Bows

I chose the sinew backed bows, which were listed as Inupiaq, and Yupik or unknown. The age of the bows was also not listed but they were all from northern Alaska, Canada and Siberia. I was drawn to this display because I have been practicing archery since I was a child. I find it amazing that nearly every culture has bows and arrows, and that bow types across cultures are remarkably similar.

Wisdom from the Elders

What advice did you hear that resonated with you?

What implications might this have for you as a teacher?

When Linda talked about the students she knew that didn’t do well in school simply because they didn’t see how what they were learning related to them or why it was important. David also talked about this and how he did much better in school once he realized its usefulness and importance. This resonated with me because I see it so often in schools, when students don’t care about what they are learning they don’t do well. As often as I can I want to show students why the things they learn in school matter and how they can use the knowledge they are gaining. I also like the part where Linda talked about the kid who came up to her and realized that everything we learn in school is connected. I liked this part because it remained me of the times when I’ve seen students make similar connections, and how eager they are to share these realizations.