This lesson idea was designed in partnership with the UBC teacher education program.
About the Book
Author: Courtney Defriend
Illustrator: Terra Mar
Place: Turtle Island
Abstract: “If Instead of a Person imaginatively explores the wisdom to be learned from living as a tree. Using child-friendly rhyming verse, Courtney DeFriend thoughtfully ponders a tree’s steadfast connection and vital contribution to life on earth. Reinforced by Terra Mar’s powerful illustrations, If Instead of a Person invites readers to become change agents who respect the interconnectedness of nature and humanity.”
Indigenous Connections: Courtney Defriend’s Indigenous name is Ti’yuqtunat and she is of Coast Salish and European ancestry, with her mother’s side of the family being from the Stz’uminus First Nation
Indigenous Storywork Ideas by Emily Lidman
Indigenous Pedagogy
- Indigenous Storywork
- Respect
- Interconnectedness
- Reciprocity
- First Peoples’ Principles of Learning
- Learning ultimately supports the well-being of the self, family, community, land, spirits, and the ancestors.
- Learning is holistic, reflexive, reflective, experiential, and relational.
- Learning involves recognizing the consequences of one’s actions.
- Land-based Learning
Big Ideas:
- Addition and subtraction with numbers to 10 can be modelled concretely, pictorially, and symbolically to develop computational fluency.
Content
- Number concepts to 20
- Addition and subtraction to 20
Curricular Competencies
- Communicate mathematical thinking in many ways.
- Represent mathematical ideas in concrete, pictorial, and symbolic forms.
- Incorporate First Peoples worldviews and perspectives to make connection to mathematical concepts.