What’s the most beautiful thing you know about horses?

About the Book

Author(s): Richard Van Camp

Illustrator(s): George Littlechild

Place: Fort Smith, Northwest Territories

Abstract: “Author Richard Van Camp has always been curious about horses. He is a member of the Dogrib (Tlicho) Nation, a Native North American tribe that uses dogs instead of horses because it’s too cold for them up in Canada! One wintry day, he decides to do some investigating. Our friendly guide invites us to accompany him on his playful search for the most beautiful thing about horses. He asks his family, his friends, and even the artist, George Littlechild, what is the most beautiful thing they know about horses. The answers he gets range from zany to profound, and show him that even seemingly ordinary things can be seen in entirely new ways.”

Indigenous Connections: Richard Van Camp is an Indigenous author from the Dogrib (Tlicho) Nation. George Littlechild is an Indigenous illustrator from the Plains Cree Nations.

Storywork Ideas by Kristine Colosie

Indigenous Pedagogy

• Indigenous Storywork
  • Respect
  • Responsibility
  • Reverence
  • Holism
  • Synergy
  • Interrelatedness
• First Peoples Principles of Learning
  • Learning…
    • ultimately supports the well-being of the self, family, community, land, spirits and the ancestors.
    • is holistic, reflexive, reflective, experiential, and relational.
    • recognizes the role of Indigenous knowledge.
    • is embedded in memory, history, and story.
    • involves patience and time.
    • requires exploration of one’s identity.

Curriculum Big Ideas

• Fractions are a type of number that can represent quantities.
• Standard units are used to describe, measure, and compare attributes of objects’
  shapes.

Content

• Pattern rules using words and numbers, based on concrete experiences
• Fraction concepts
• One-step addition and subtraction equations with an unknown number

Curricular Competencies

• Visualize to explore mathematical concepts
• Communicate mathematical thinking in many ways
• Connect mathematical concepts to each other and to other areas and personal
  interests