Themed Bundles

Research –based and field tested, the Aboriginal Reading Assessment is a reading assessment for children in the primary grades 1-3.
The Aboriginal Reading Assessment is designed to be used by classroom teachers to both inform instruction and to report on progress. Targeting the three reporting periods and utilizing the BC Performance Standards as a measure, it is meant to be a useful and reliable resource.
The assessment uses all aboriginal, fictional reading content to give students a greater comfort level by providing text that is both culturally relevant, and familiar. The idea is to reduce the level of “test anxiety,” by allowing the children to make easier connections to the stories presented.
With the Aboriginal Reading assessment you can analyze student reading comprehension, record oral reading, test for fluency, and document student progress over time.
The Aboriginal Reading assessment was designed to meet the needs of the students in our classrooms and it is our hope that it will meet the needs of the students in yours.
April and Leslie

6 copies or more is likely what will be required for the independent reads. I have quoted out the "Bundle" to include 6 copies of each independent read, 1 copy of each of the read alouds and 1 copy of the Educator Resource.

You can always choose to pick which titles and quantities that you need by clicking on each title -Terri

Strong Nations offers a Bear Theme Bundle chalk full of resources. This will make a great addition to your District Resource Collection!

If you are looking for a specific Theme Bundle please let us know and we can design one to meet your needs.

Strong Nations offers an Eagle Theme Bundle chalk full of resources.

If you are looking for a specific Theme Bundle please let us know and we can design one to meet your needs.

This is an unprecedented teachers' resource featuring reading strategies for both elementary and middle school students. Focusing on six Aboriginal texts that are rich in imagery and contain distinctive Aboriginal themes, the resource recognizes the values, beliefs, traditions, history and language of Aboriginal peoples as demonstrated through Shared Learnings: Integrating BC Aboriginal Content K-10.

This is a great resource for those who are just beginning to work with Aboriginal children and are concerned about teaching with authenticity. This resource very firmly guides educators through what is considered appropriate, and what isn't, from an Aboriginal perspective in the classroom. Therefore it could be easily taken the wrong way and I would recommend that while using this resource that you openly have conversation with your Aboriginal Education staff about what you're reading. Currently several of the Aboriginal titles are out of print but they are such well known books that they likely can be found in your DRC. -Terri


Create a curriculum that reflects and honors the diversity of all people," Lessons from Turtle Island "explores Native American issues in preschool and early primary education. The authors-one Native, one non-native-offer guidelines for learning experiences that move children beyond embedded stereotypes.

6 Learning Strategies for Teaching Reading Comprehension

Ways to engage students in the thinking process while they are reading both fiction and non fiction:
Effective reading instruction depends on the explicit teaching of decoding skills as well as the thinking processes required to make real meaning of the text. There are any number of strategies that can be used to teach students to deepen their thinking while reading. We have chosen to highlight six of these on the Strong Nations website. They have proven effective for all grade levels and curriculum areas and a brief description of each is provided below.

The Teacher Resource material has been prepared for teachers who are committed to providing language rich, caring classrooms, where students are invited to think deeply about the texts that they read. The project embraces inquiry based learning as a way for our young people to take ownership of their learning as they create authentic plans of learning that support the “Big Inquiry” question for this thematic unit.
Although the stories that are featured in this unit of study all come from the shores of beautiful Kulleet Bay in Stz’uminus Territory on Vancouver Island, the author believes that the project can serve as a model for exploring “story”. This focused study of the role that “story” plays in shaping our community can be applied to any nation, location or family. The project represents a concrete example of working closely with Elders, Hul’quimi’num Language Teachers and community heroes to create lessons sequences that provide learning opportunities for all students in the inclusive classroom to succeed.


Some of the project objectives include:
Providing a variety of ways to meet identified learning outcomes articulated in the B.C.Provincial Curriculum. For more details about key features and learning outcomes, visit www.bced.gov.bc.IRP First Peoples English.
Providing opportunities for students to engage in enthusiastic and joyful learning of the Hul’quimi’num Language.
Providing explicit comprehension strategies, that support the reader, before, during and after reading.
Providing culturally accurate and relevant stories from the Stz’uminus Nation.
Providing learning opportunities for all students, Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal, that focus on oral narratives and the important role these narratives play in shaping and guiding youth.
Providing lesson sequences that acknowledge central themes such as the significance of colonization. Accounting of the consequences of historical events such as stolen children attending residential schools are addressed.
Each of the five lesson sequences provide the lesson intention, the learning outcomes, sequences of activities for before, during and after the reading and assessment for and of the learning. Black line masters are provided that support the strategic lessons.
Teachers are given suggestions that move students toward identifying their own inquiry project. Several templates are provided for students.
Summary
The structures and approaches provided in the Teacher Resource Book provide ample support for teachers who want to implement a rich curriculum that is engaging and relevant for all students.

This comprehensive teacher's guide is designed to accompany Second Story Press' First Nations Series for Young Readers. This resource has been developed around the First Nations/Native American holistic concept of community and how teachers can use these ideas to help support differentiated instruction. Just as the series tells the stories of First Nations activists who have taken action on issues that are important to them, the guide is designed to encourage students to use their critical thinking and literacy skills to do the same. It can easily be integrated into everyday junior level classroom programming for language skills, arts, social studies, and character education. It is also appropriate for adaptation in intermediate and senior level classrooms. The material can be applied to other books and texts that address local, national, or global social justice issues.

The guide uses the six books in the "First Nations Series for Young Readers":

Environmentalists from our First Nations
Great Musicians from our First Nations
Men of Courage from our First Nations
Great Women from our First Nations
Great Athletes from our First Nations
Gray Wolf's Search

The material in this guide can also be applied to other books and texts about First Nations peoples that address themes of social justice, activism, the environment, sports, and politics

On a full-moon night in Alaska, a totem pole magically comes to life. The Grizzly, Beaver, Frog, Eagle, Wolf and Raven all stretch and scratch and voice their relief at being free at last. But then the first dawn light appears on the horizon, and the totems have to reassemble themselves in the proper order before morning. Who should be on top of whom? Can wise Raven reason with these contentious creatures?

While telling this story there is great opportunity to use the recommended plush animals as story props. Stack them one on top of the other as the animals struggle to decide who gets to be on the top of the pole. When they tumble down re-enact this by tossing the unstackable plush into the air. Watch the kids laugh and giggle! Then, when Raven steps forward and reminds the other animals why they are in the formation that they were, all the plush will stack and stay on top of each other. -Terri

This bundle features the foundational text, Untold History, as well as 1 copy of each of the recommended student titles and the 2 recommended supporting resources, Grand Conversations and Reading Power. I highly recommend using this resource to begin your journey of learning about the Residential School system in Canada. -Terri

Untold History, Understanding the Impact of Indian Residential School on Canada's Aboriginal Peoples, is a series of lessons created for students to develop an understanding of how residential schools impacted Aboriginal people across Canada. It is my hope that through these lessons, students will gain compassion and empathy for experiences faced by Aboriginal people in the past, and how these experiences continue to affect the Aboriginal community today.

By incorporating literature circles with the lessons found within this unit, the majority of learning outcomes for Grade 7 Language Arts will be met. As well, many of the learning outcomes for Social Studies are met. The recommended literature and corresponding lessons address the overreaching goal of the BC Social Studies curriculum which is to develop thoughtful, responsible, active citizens who are able to acquire the requisite information to consider multiple perspectives and to make reasoned judgments. Students will be able to critically reflect upon events and issues in order to examine the present, make connections with the past, and consider the future.