Indigenous Issues: “Nibi’s Water Song” by Sunshine Quem Tenasco

Grade Level: Grade Two

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

Book Title: “Nibi’s Water Song”

Author: Sunshine Quem Tenasco

Discussion Prompts/Questions:

Before Reading
- “Have you ever run out of water to drink at your house? What did you do, or what would you do?”
- “What are ways that you use water? Where does your water come from?”
- “There are many places where water isn’t safe to drink or use, and where water is running out. This book will teach about one of those place, and introduce us to a girl who did something about it.”
During/After Reading
- “What are some of the obstacles that Nibi faced while she was searching for water?”
- “Sometimes it seems like big problems are too big for kids to handle. What are some big problems, that you think you might like to solve in your own world?”

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 large blue rug, towel, or carpet. Challenge the students to see how fast they can clean up the water so that it is safe and clean again.
- Next, challenge students to create a machine/technology that can do this clean-up for them!
- Take it one step further, and make a model of an oil spill.
  - In containers (8 x 10 ish), have students create a “beach” at one end using sand, and then fill their containers with just enough water to have the water on a little bit of their sand. Put a few plastic animals/plants/etc on the beach. Then, add a tablespoon or so of oil to the top of the water. Students will need to first find a way to block the oil from getting on their animals and then clean up the oil (using supplies such as cotton balls, tooth picks, straws for making a ‘boom’, paper towel, spoons, etc). They will discover that making water clean again isn’t a particularly easy task!

BC Core Competency Connections:

Personal and Social

Positive Personal and Cultural Identity
- I am aware of different aspects of myself. I can describe my family, home, and/or community (people and/or place).
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

Communication

Communicating
- I can understand and share basic information about topics that are important to me.
Collaborating
- I contribute during group activities, cooperate with others, and listen respectfully to their ideas.

BC Curricular Connections:

Understand (Big Ideas):
- Stories and other texts help us learn about ourselves and our families. (ELA 2)
- Everyone has a unique story to share. (ELA 2)
- Through listening and speaking, we connect with others and share our world. (ELA 2)
- Local actions have global consequences, and global actions have local consequences. (SS 2)
- Strong Communities are the results of being connected to family and community and working together towards common goals. (Career Education 2)
Know (Content):
- Diverse characteristics of communities and cultures in Canada and around the world. (SS 2)
- Cultural and social awareness, achieved by exploring self-identity, acknowledging cultural differences, honouring indigenous traditions. (Career Education 2)
Do (Curricular Competency):
- Comprehend and Connect
  - Engage actively as listeners, viewers, and readers, as appropriate, to develop understanding of self, identity, and community. (ELA 2)
  - Demonstrate awareness of the role that story plays in personal, family, and community identity. (ELA 2)
  - Show awareness of how story in First Peoples cultures connects people to family and community. (ELA 2)
- Explain why people’s beliefs, values, worldviews, experiences, and roles give them different perspectives on people, places, issues, or events. (SS 2)
- Make value judgements about events, decisions, or actions, and suggest lessons that can be learned. (SS 2)

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:

Social Justice for Little Learners