Learning to Look Pt 1

1. What is the purpose of the teaching lodge? What did children learn? How were they taught?
Who taught them?
a. Kinoomaagegamik (teaching lodge) provides the setting for life-long learning. Live with
and honor all creation through ceremonies, prayers, songs, stories and wiigwaas scrolls.
Purpose- to learn about original spirituality. Taught by Kinoomaagegamik. Some of the
teachers were fire, water, tobacco, cedar and sage.

2. What materials were essential in teaching and learning?

a. Fire, water, tobacco, cedar, sage, sweetgrass, shakers, pipes, copper, vessels, megis
(cowrie shell), wooden bowls, decorated animal pelts, hides from buffalo, deer and
bear.

3. What is Midewiwin?
a. A secret medicine society

4. Within the three fires confederacy of the Anishinabe, what I the role of the of the Ojibway?
a. The Ojibwe (Chippewa) are the keepers of songs and ceremonies

5. What is the heritage language of the Anishinabe Culture?

a. Anishinabemowin were rich and descriptive

6. What is blood memory and how is it a resource for learning?

a. Blood memory is an inherent connection we have to spirituality. It is the emotions you
feel when you hear the drum of your language for the first time. Use emotions to
understand language and heritage

7. What is the Anishinabe Clan system and why is it important?

a. Dodems-clan (animals, fish and birds)
b. The clans would sacrifice themselves to the anishinabe as food and skins
c. Clans teach and protect

8. How are children viewed in Anishinabe culture? How are elders viewed?
a. The youth are very important. They represent the future of the people. They will pass
down stories.
b. Elders are important because they teach the kids. One day the kids will be elders which
is why they are important. It is a cycle.

9. What are the seven teachings of the Anishinbe? How are they taught?
a. Love
b. Respect
c. Bravery
d. Honesty
e. Humility
 f. Wisdom
g. Truth
h. Create a more peaceful life. Follow and you’ll create a better life for the next 7
generations.

10. What is the concept of sovereignty? Why would the Anishinabe interpret the founding of the
U.S. as ironic?
a. In small tents
b. Whites brought lots of “gifts,” one being alcohol which was actually used as a weapon.
An interpreter was used to negotiate between the nations while the Indians were drunk
c. 2 separate nations

11. What happened during the treaty era? What were typical conditions under which treaties
were negotiated? What government policies were used to remove Anishinabe people from
the land?
a. Treaty’s removed Indians from their land because when the Indians signed them, they
often misunderstood what the treaty’s said. Treaty’s were legally binding.

12. What happened at government boarding schools?

a. In session for 9+ months
b. Children were forced to march like soldiers
c. Taught children Christianity and forbid them to speak their native language.
d. Made people forget their traditions and become assimilated

13. How would the legacy of treaty violations, forced removal from land, and separation from
family, language and culture shape families’ relationships to public schools, it’s curriculum and
practices?
a. Many families never learned how to parent due to family disruption.
b. Kids were forced to march, weren’t allowed to speak their native language, and had to
learn to be Christian
c. Made many people worry and tore up the Indian community
 Learning to Look Pt 2

Building an Insider View of the Classroom Community

“Successful kidwatchers intentionally build an insider view of their students and the culture of the
classroom” (p.3)

1. What characteristics of writing workshop do you observe?

a. It seems ‘messy’ meaning that all of the students are in all different spots, but the
writing is still clicking with all of them.
b. Stressful- Many of the students do not seem excited to write. It seems like a task that
HAS to be done.

2. What ‘best practice’ in teaching writing do you observe?

a. REPITITION- The teacher is constantly having students do and redo all of the time
b. Personal experiences- the teacher constantly brings all of the aspects of the workshop
back to personal experiences.
c. Modeling- The teacher constantly models what to do as well as not do in writing. She
often writes a paragraph and has the students correct it, or will write a model paragraph
for students to follow.

3. How much time is designated for writing? How are activities paced?
a. The students are given 40 minutes allocated for writing workshop
b. The first 10-15 minutes are spent on mini lessons
c. The students get a good half hour to write

4. What predictable structures and routines do you observe

a. Some kids are more behind than others. These students then have to work with the
teacher while other students work one on one
b. Writing Workshop time is also snack time for the students. Many of the students refuse
to write until their snack is done (and they like to take their sweet time getting it done…)
c. Students often spent more time worrying about the spelling of a single word, rather
than the actual sentence they were working on.

5. How many students are in the classroom? How is seating arranged?

a. There are 23 students in the classroom. There are two huge tables shaped like t’s and a
smaller table that only seats 4 people. All of the students sit at the large T’s, and when
they need extra help/ work with the teacher, they move to the smaller tables.
b. During writing, students move to tables that correspond with how far they are. So kids
who are far behind are at a table, while students who are almost done are together.

6. What can you say about the tone of writing time?

a. It’s fairly obvious that the students don’t want to write. Many of them try to talk but are
correct right away. It seems like chore.
 b. Students often seem tuck on one idea and have a hard time moving away from it.
c. Many students look like they write just to beat the clock. There are a few that seem to
actually enjoy it.

Organizing a Rich Environment for Learning

7. If the class is currently working together on a type of writing, what is it? What can you tell
about the guidelines and the expectations of the assignment?
a. The students are actively working on realistic fiction.
b. The students were encouraged to remember a time that was meaningful to them. They
then got to add a little twist to make it fictional.
c. The student’s stories were supposed to have ‘morals’ or ‘lessons’ in them but the
teacher decided to focus more on the fictional story.

8. How engaged are students during writing time? How meaningful do writing tasks seem to the
students?
a. Some students are definitely not as interested as others.
b. Students are constantly talking which I not allowed (under the teachers rules)
c. Students eat snacks during writing so they are much more focused on their snacks than
their writing.
d. Writing seems to be a chore to many. I can count the number of students who visibly
enjoy writing on one hand.
e. Partner work seems to run much smoother

9. What opportunities do students have to learn through talk?

a. Students were designated one class period when they were able to partner up and
share their stories. They were able to hear suggestions as well as praises.
b. Other than speaking with the teacher, students are not actively allowed to talk to on
another
c. During the min lesson, students are encouraged to talk

10. What kinds of identities are students developing (Ray, p.33)

a. Students are developing a voice
b. In their fictional stories, students are able to make up any piece they want, and because
it’s fictional, it’s allowed! Students creativity really starts to show!

Understanding How Language & Literacy Develop

Knowledge construction (How Learning Happens)

11. What do you notice about students’ relationships and interactions with each other?
a. Students want to talk but are not allowed. Many times I hear whisper regarding the
writing. I heard one student ask the student sitting next to her for help with an idea. I’m
constantly hearing students ask others how to spell a word as well.
 b. Many of the students see to get along. They clearly want to interact more than they’re
allowed.
c. Boys do not want to be paired with the girls, but seem to do much better when they
are!

12. Based on your observations, what do the students already know how to do with language?
What are their strengths?
a. Students clearly know how to tell a story. It might not always make sense, but they
definitely have the imaginations to do it!
b. Students are also very good at referencing real life occurrences. They take things they
see at home or on TV and are able to make it something new.

13. What “errors” in using language (spelling reading, writing, speaking) in general have you
observed children make? How do those errors actually reflect students’ developing
understanding about language and how it works?
a. Students have a hard time with spelling. They often lost their train of thought when they
fumble on a word, and spend too long trying to figure out the spelling rather than the
writing.
b. Many of the errors I see are silly spellings. Things like “neif” for knife, or “Pokit” for
pocket. They have the right sounds, but incorrect spelling.

Personal and Sociocultural Influences

14. What are the demographics of the schools?

a. Race/ Ethnicity
i. 38 American Indian
ii. 4 Black
iii. 32 Hispanic
iv. 1 Native Hawaiian
v. 620 White
vi. 5 Two or more races
b. Gender
i. 345 Male
ii. 355 Female
c. Lunches
i. Free lunch eligible: 297
ii. Reduced- Price lunch eligible: 57

15. What do you know about students’ interests, passions, talents, activities, or hobbies outside
of school? What are they good at?
a. Students are really into video games (specifically Minecraft)
b. Students like movies and TV
c. Students like to spend time with family members (as many of them wrote about
spending time with Grandparents or other family).
d. Some students are involved in dance
16. What do you know about students’ families and cultural backgrounds?
a. Some families are very different. Some come from 2 parent households, others come
from 1 parent or split parent
b. 1 students parents are going through divorce, and the father will purposefully hold back
homework and lunch so the student has to call him and he can bring it in and look like
‘super dad’.
c. There are a good handful of Native American students (many of which are in 4th grade)
d. The majority of the school population is white, but more than half of the school is
eligible for free or reduced lunch.

17. What do you know about students’ home language and access to literacy materials?
a. Most students have access to some sort of computer or gaming device as many of them
discussed Minecraft.
b. Every student in my classroom speak English as first language

18. What ‘errors’ in using language (spelling, reading, writing, speaking) in general have you
observed children make? How might these ‘errors’ be because of cultural differences?
a. Lots of errors I see come from spelling. They spell it how it sounds rather than how it’s
actually spelled. The English Language is one of the most difficult languages to learn
because of that. Students will put an F where PH belongs, or a shin where tion belongs.