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World Inuit Day
“Meeting Mala /À la rencontre de Mala”
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Grade: K-8
Date: Nov. 7th, 2018. (* no deadline)
Share: Upload student work and photographs of students participating in this activity to Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook, or email to akgtcanada@gmail.com
Hashtag: Please share photographs using the hashtag #akgtcSA
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OBJECTIVES
- Students will learn about and celebrate the uniqueness and diversity of communities across Canada.
- Students will determine what they know and don’t know about Inuit people living in the Arctic in Canada today.
CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS
- Social Studies (Communities and cultures of Canada)
- Social Studies (Indigenous/Aboriginal education)
- Character Education (respect)
BACKGROUND (from Inuit Circumpolar Council website)
The Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) is a major international non-government organization which represents the approximately 160,000 Inuit of Alaska, Canada, Greenland, and Chukotka (Russia). It has official consultation status with and for the United Nations.
In 2006 the ICC decided to “annually proclaim November 7th, the birth date of ICC visionary and founder Eben Hopson Sr., as Inuit Day, and to urge all Inuit governments, agencies, and communities to annually proclaim this day as Inuit Day, and conduct appropriate ceremonies and celebrations.”
ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION
To help students (and teachers) recognize and honour this day, we have selected a resource created produced by the Canadian Government called “Through Mala’s Eyes”. We have combined Lessons 1 + 2 into one stand-alone lesson to be used on November 7th.
THROUGH MALA’S EYES
This series of lesson plans, built around the first-person narrative of a 12-year-old Inuk boy, will help you and your students appreciate life in the Inuit community of Salluit, in the northern part of Nunavik, Northern Quebec. Although designed for students from 9 to 12 years of age, some of the lesson plans and strategies in this unit can be adapted for other grade levels. Suggested activities and lists of research resources offer exciting and engaging opportunities to learn more about the history, customs and traditions of Inuit in Canada.
ACTIVITY
- BEFORE reading, have the students brainstorm in small groups what they already know about Inuit life in the Arctic and record it on a large piece of paper, or on a shared document.
- For Primary and Junior classes, we suggest you read the Lesson 2 story “Meeting Mala” /“À la rencontre de Mala”aloud to the students.
- For older students, you may want to have them read Chapter 4 “Inuit Time Line”, or Chapter 7 “The Importance of Family” for a more challenging activity.
- AFTER reading, have the students place a “√ beside any knowledge that was confirmed, an “X” beside any incorrect ideas they may have had. Have them record any new knowledge they may have gained from the reading, and circle that new knowledge.
- Discuss what they enjoyed learning, and what they are now interested in learning about the Inuit.
- OPTIONAL FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITY
- Watch the Inuit “Bone and Stick Game” video, and then have the students create a Bone and Stick game, and see how good they are at getting the bone on the stick!
MATERIALS REQUIRED
- “Through Mala’s Eyes” – English pdf available for download on ACI website
- or open and view this online
- “À travers le regard de Mala” – FRENCH pdf available for download on ACI website
- or open and view this online
- Bone + Stick Game video (we were not able to find this in French)
- Cardboard tubes, string, sticks, tape
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ADDITONAL RESOURCES:
- Avataq Cultural Institute: the Inuit cultural organization of Nunavik (Northern, Quebec, Canada) English Education Resources
- Section Pédagogique + Multimédia et Fiches d’activites pour les enseignants
- FNMIEAO (FNMI EducationAssociation of Ontario) has a wonderful Resource Section on First Nation, Inuit, and Métis culture, language, Residential Schools, Reconciliation, and other Indigenous issues
- The Inuit Cultural Online Resource (ICOR) of the Ottawa Children’s Inuit Centre provides students activities, podcasts, and quite a large section of informational resources.
- Ottawa Children’s Inuit Centre’s.
We know there are now many wonderful resources available across Canada about Inuit life.
Please contact us to share resources from your area that are available to other teachers.
Thank you!
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REMINDER!
PLEASE share photographs of your students in action!
However please be sure to keep student identities out of any Special Activity pictures you share!
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