SHARING THROUGH STORY focuses on the power of story, through literacy supports, literature and storytelling resources.

Indigenous cultures share stories in many ways – orally, in song, in drumming, with pictographs, and through medicine wheels and tipi rings. Traditionally, stories are told by elders – known as Knowledge Keepers or Historians in some nations – as well as community members who have earned the title of Storyteller.

In classrooms, storytelling creates a climate that is responsive to the individual needs of the classroom while making connections to prior and new learning. Through storytelling in its many varied forms, teachers provide analogies or connections to ideas that students can understand, so that learning is meaningful and transformative.

Literacy Seed Kit

A collaborative partnership between Northlands School Division, Edmonton Public School Division and Alberta Education developed the Literacy Seed Kit. The 76-book collection was created as a travelling classroom library to support the need for culturally relevant resources. Like a seed, it is meant to grow and expand depending on local conditions. The collection contains fiction and non-fiction books in a wide range of genres.

The Indigenous Literature Kit: Growing Our Collective Understanding of Truth and Reconciliation is a collaborative professional learning project developed by Greater St. Albert Catholic Schools and the St. Albert-Sturgeon Regional Collaborative Service Delivery region, and supported by the Edmonton Regional Learning Consortium. This kit is a professional learning resource that supports educators to grow in their collective understanding of Truth and Reconciliation. The project started with titles from the Literacy Seed Kit and added new titles that advance First Nations, Métis and Inuit foundational knowledge.

Fatty Legs Webinar Series and Resources

This two part webinar series is about the book Fatty Legs, which includes meeting the author of the book and her mother-in-law (about whom the book is about) and a teacher who has used the book with her grade seven classroom. You will learn about the origin of the book and how it can be used to support student learning about the topic of residential schools.

This series was designed to help K-12 teachers delve into how they can infuse Indigenous texts in their classrooms in meaningful and respectful ways. Teachers will appreciate the Q&A format, age-appropriate literacy strategies and children’s Indigenous book recommendations. This set of materials can be used for self-study or can be used in a larger professional learning context.

In an effort to support the infusion of Foundational Knowledge across the curriculum, ARPDC consultants along with Tłı̨chǫ Dene Author, Storyteller, Educator Richard Van Camp collaborated on this project.

Find out more about Photovoice as a participatory action research method that employs photography and group dialogue as a means for marginalized individuals to deepen their understanding of a community issue or concern, as well as a student example from Edmonton Public Schools.   

The Kanai Photovoice Project provides a report about a research project conducted in the spring of 2011, when representatives from Ever Active Schools and the Manitoba Institute of Child Health evaluated the voice of students in an Aboriginal community (Kaniai). The researchers used three separate qualitative methods (photovoice, focus group discussions, one on one interviews) to assess the perceived barriers and facilitators to a healthy school environment in their community. The report outlines results, key findings and recommendations.

Mark of the Métis: Traditional Knowledge and Stories of the Métis Peoples of Northeastern Alberta

The “Mark of the Métis” was created to preserve the rich history and cultural traditions of the Métis people of northern Alberta. The stories of 104 elders who have lived and worked in the area are captured through interviews conducted by the Fort McMurray Métis Local 1935. The Elders tell their stories in their own terms and in their own unique meaningful ways.  Storytelling is a traditional way of the Métis, passing knowledge and customs on through generations. The stories told will preserve this cultural heritage for Métis youth, providing them the opportunity to grow up confident and secure with a true sense of belonging to a strong Métis community.

Read and Listen

This Indigenous and Northern Affairs website shares and encourages learning about Indigenous peoples, history and culture through stories and activities.

DAOW (Digital, Art, Oral, Written) of Digital Literacy

Jason Ohler explores how oral and written storytelling, as well as storytelling using digital and art skills, are involved in the creation of digital stories, and how all these literacies and forms of storytelling can reinforce each other.