Ninja Notes

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Indigenous Cultures

Activities for Orange Shirt Day and National Truth and Reconciliation Day

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If you are looking for activities you can use to observe Orange Shirt Day which is also called National Truth and Reconciliation Day we have collected several in this blog post. Come learn about resources you can use in your upper elementary classroom.

Orange Shirt Day is recognized each year on September 30. Check your local area for activities so you can participate in acknowledging Residential School survivors. As of 2021, the Canadian government has declared September 30 a day of National Truth and Reconciliation.

It is important to educate everyone about Canada’s wrongs so we can learn from them. We need to repair the damage that has been done. We have searched out some student-friendly resources teachers can use in their classrooms to teach students about Residential Schools because Every Child Matters. Keep reading to get a list of resources you can use in your classroom.

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How to Connect Social Studies and Art

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One of the ways to teach social studies is to look at the artwork created by different cultures. Geography also lends itself well to art lessons. Come learn about some of the ways we connect social studies and art in our upper elementary classroom.

In Canada, elementary teachers teach all the subject areas in most schools-except specialties like French or music. This means generalist teachers like us are expected to teach art, even when we aren’t trained artists. Our students have been known to question some of our drawings over the years, so we’ve had to be creative in finding projects we can teach our students that help them learn, but don’t stress us out. We want to share ways to connect social studies and art with all of you.

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How to Explore Métis Storytelling Through Indigenous Art Lessons

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If you are looking for a great art lesson for painting that explores Indigenous art lessons, you should try this one out. Lots of suggestions on how to use your art once you're done is included too.

This is a lesson we’ve done with our students for years partly because it never fails to create stunning artwork and because it’s fun to do. Students always love it. Artists always study the work of other artists to learn techniques. This art project celebrates Indigenous artists by studying and creating new works inspired by Indigenous art lessons.

Come check out how we create these stunning pieces of art (which aren’t nearly as difficult as you might think) based on Indigenous art lessons.

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