Indigenous Sky Stories

Grade: Gr. 6 Unit: Sky Science Lesson Duration: 1 hr

SLO- 2
TQS- 5 ASSESSMENTS
Learning Objectives
LO Students will:

Explore science from different perspectives Exit ticket

Explore Indigenous sky stories Discussion

Article

Introduction (10 min.):

Constellation review Notes:

- Write on your white boards what constellations are
- Write the purpose of constellations
- What did the Ancient Greeks think the constellations were there for?

Body (45 min.):

3D Art Perspective 0-:45 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BorcaCtjmog Notes:

- The stars we see are not next to each other, one star in a constellation
might be closer and smaller than another that is huge but far away. From
our perspective we see them on what looks like a flat canvas but like in
the art when you look from another perspective you see something else.

Constellations tell stories like we heard yesterday from the Greeks. So today we
will hear some more stories. First, we will listen to a scientist from Manitoba of
the Opaskwayak Cree Nation named Wilfred Buck. He is known as the “star guy”
and carries on the knowledge of First Nations Astronomy.

Indigenous constellations (On board)

- Listen to Wilfred Buck’s video about The Dog Stars (10mins)
https://www.facebook.com/mfnerc/videos/wilfred-buck-shares-story-of-the-little-
dipper-the-dog-stars/2529251627181159/
- What is different about the Indigenous stories from the Greek? What is
similar? (Discuss with a partner from your desk, pull sticks)
Read article about Ursa Major “Big Dipper”
- Highlighting differences between the stories of different indigenous
communities.
http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu//full/2008JRASC.102...59D/0000059.000.html

Students explore “Figures in the Sky” on Google Classroom (show on smart

board)
Hand out zodiacs & Quiz for review

Closure (5 min.):

Exit ticket – What is similar about constellations across cultures? What is Notes:
different about those perspectives?
- Clean up