U & D

The MicMac, Maliseet, Penobscot and Passamaquoddy are not just a Social Studies lesson

I went to an all-day English teachers’ workshop last Friday – on 6 + 1 Traits Writing. It was billed as a rewarding six hours with a master teacher Sheryl Lain – that is exactly what it turned out to be. I didn’t learn a whole lot new about teaching wring, but I did make a page of notes about how great teaching snippits can improve Native Studies.

Sheryl says, “Get them messing around before you get didactic.” Playing Pictionary, digging gardens, porting canoes, reading children’s books, looking at cartoons, acting out land sale negotiations, making double-curves, playing word bingo, journaling, listening to Native music, reading stereotypical lyrics: all of these are necessary to understanding the Essentials of LD291. Those of you have already jumped into these peripheral activities: you are doing the right thing! [note: all of these have been incorporated into lessons you can find through my Lessons Resources].

The Word Wall is a small something that we should all run with. The principal is simple: Make a list of the essential words – concepts, terms – for a discipline. Put those words on a postor, put the poster on the wall in every room, in every school in the state. A Word Wall is a powerful thing.

We need a list.

Below you will find my list of 49 words gleaned from LD291 and related materials. Why 49? It is 7 * 7. Moreover, a word must be seen and heard from 7-49 times before it is truly understood. My selection rules: no proper nouns (tribes, places, people, historical events, documents), general rather than specific (no specific animals, objects, etc.), long words are OK, no dichotomous words.
It would be best, of course, for our Word Wall to be created by consensus of Maine’s educators and Natives. So – Write a Comment to this post or to the Page called Words for the Wall (link at the top of this page) containing your suggestions and deletions. I will maintain an updated version. When you like what you see, let me know. At some point, we can do a simple online vote for a final word list. Maybe someone can find a grant that would fund about 8710 laminated posters – that’s 10 for every elementary, middle and high school in the state.

What to do with a Word Wall

Lots of things. The one thing you do NOT want to do is use it for didactic lessons, like defining the words and memorizing the definitions. You can find my ideas for using the wall – in any classroom or in a teachers’ meeting – in this .pdf file: Word Wall Activities.

Imagine how powerful it will be when elementary and middle schoolers are running through the halls shouting out these words!

A Beginning List

1. gathering (not sure about this one)
2. technology respect
3. culture
4. worldview
5. interdependency
6. coexistence
7. consensus
8. conservation
9. environment
10. de-humanization
11. generation
12. power
13. economic system
14. resource
15. pre-contact
16. self-sufficiency
17. sovereignty
18. diplomacy
19. treaty
20. cultural continuity
21. sustainability
22. alliance
23. life source
24. homeland
25. territory
26. stereotype
27. canoe routes
28. allotment
29. reservation
30. sustenance rights
31. freedom of information
32. racism
33. barter
34. petroglyph
35. epidemic
36. fur trade
37. land grant
38. depopulation
39. spirituality
40. balance
41. harmony
42. assimilation