Social Justice for Little Learners

Grade Level: PS 3 and PS 4

Topic: Indigenous Issues (Clean Water, Equitable Access, Connection to the Land, Conservation)

Book Title: “Nibi Is Water”

Author: Joanne Robertson

Link to Purchase: https://a.co/d/6YsGUdO

Link for Online Read-Aloud : *I highly recommend watching this with your students, as you’ll get to hear from a speaker of the Webequie First Nations Dialect (Oji-Cree) of the Anishinaabemowin language. Some words were translated to reflect this dialect. https://youtu.be/hiENfyrRyRI?si=6nIjtCpMVOWylZaY

Discussion Prompts/Questions:

• “What do we use water for?”
• “Where do we find water?”
• “Why is water important?”

Follow-Up Activity:

• “In some places, the water isn’t safe and clean. That’s a big problem!”
  • Play a “clean up the water” game, where little toys or bits of paper are scattered on a blue rug, towel, or carpet. Challenge the children to see how fast they can clean up the water so that it is safe and clean again.

BC Core Competency Connections:

Personal and Social

• Positive Personal and Cultural Identity
  • I am aware of myself as different from others.
• Social Awareness and Responsibility
  • I am aware that other people can be different from me.
  • I can identify when something is unfair to me or to others.

Thinking

• Creative Thinking
  • I get ideas when I play.
• Critical Thinking
  • I can explore materials and actions.

Communication

• Communicating
  • In a safe and supported environment, I respond meaningfully to communication from peers and adults.
  • In familiar settings, I communicate with peers and adults.
• Collaborating
  • In familiar situations, I can participate with others.

BC Curricular Connections:

• Understand (Big Ideas):
  • Stories and other texts help us learn about ourselves and our families. (ELA K)
  • Everyone has a unique story to share. (ELA K)
  • Stories and traditions about ourselves and our families reflect who we are and where we are from. (SS K)
  • Strong Communities are the results of being connected to family and community and working together towards common goals. (Career Education K)

• Know (Content):
  • Ways in which individuals and families differ and are the same. (SS K)
  • Cultural and social awareness, achieved by exploring self-identity, acknowledging cultural differences, honouring indigenous traditions (Career Education K)

• Do (Curricular Competency):
  • Comprehend and Connect
    • Engage actively as listeners, viewers, and readers, as appropriate, to develop understanding of self, identity, and community. (ELA K)
    • Recognize the importance of story in personal, family, and community identity. (ELA K)
  • Create and Communicate
    • Exchange ideas and perspectives to build shared understanding. (ELA K)
  • Acknowledge different perspectives on people, places, issues, or events in their lives. (SS K)
  • Identify fair and unfair aspects of events, decisions, or actions in their lives and consider appropriate courses of action. (SS K)
  • Share ideas, information, personal feelings, and knowledge with others. (Career Education K)

FPPL Link:

• Learning ultimately supports the well-being of the self, the family, the community, the land, the spirits, and the ancestors.
• Learning is holistic, reflexive, reflective, experiential, and relational (focused on connectedness, on reciprocal relationships, and a sense of place).
• Learning involves generational roles and responsibilities.
• Learning recognizes the role of Indigenous knowledge.
• Learning is embedded in memory, history, and story.

BC ELF Link:

• Families have the most important role in contributing to children’s well-being and learning.
• People build connection and reconnection to land, culture, community and place.
• Play is integral to well-being and learning.
• Relationships are the context for well-being and learning.

TFT Through-line Link:

• Justice Seeking
• Community Building
• Servant Working