I. General Information
School Name: Hatzic Middle School
School District: SD#75 Mission
Inquiry Team Members: Lyn O’Grady (teacher) – lyn.ogrady@mpsd.ca
Inquiry Team Contact Email: lyn.ogrady@mpsd.ca
II. Inquiry Project Information
Type of Inquiry: NOIIE Case Study
Grade Levels Addressed Through Inquiry: Secondary (8-12)
Curricular Areas Addressed: Language Arts – Literacy, Language Arts – Oral Language, Language Arts – Reading, Language Arts – Writing
Focus Addressed: Indigenous understandings (for example, Traditional Knowledge, oral history, reconciliation), Core competencies (for example, critical thinking, communication, problem solving), First Peoples Principles of Learning, Inquiry-based learning
In one sentence, what was your focus for the year? To use Indigenous literature (graphic novels) written by Indigenous authors with my Gr. 8 English class as they worked on an inquiry/research question.
III. Spirals of Inquiry Details
Scanning: I used the four key questions with all of my Gr. 8 class students. Their responses seemed to revolve around their friends and their favourite subjects/teachers. I am guessing their answers were indicating their comfort zone. The students worked on First Peoples Principles of Learning in small groups. I suggested this idea as again it was a comfort level for the students and not having to speak individually in front of the entire class. This activity worked quite well as the students were able to freely discuss their ideas and create a list of common ideas.
Focus: I selected this area as there is not a great deal of Indigenous culture discussed in depth in our school. In addition, the students do not have access to Indigenous graphic novels and I was hoping this would inspire them in a number of ways (ie. learn about important Indigenous Canadian peoples/heroes and how they contributed to society).
Hunch: The students don’t have access to many Indigenous books written by Indigenous authors for various reasons, so I thought using graphic novels would intrinsically motivate the students to read, explore, discuss, inquire and research their graphic novel. We had many staff from the school board, principals from other schools and TTOC’s teaching classes at our school, so it was difficult to have continuity for the students. Additionally, if adults are not comfortable teaching Indigenous content it can be challenging for everyone.
New Professional Learning: Areas of my professional learning included:
1. Indigenous Graphic Novel Study Booklet – I created this booklet a few years ago and made a few changes to it this year to accommodate all students learning styles/development/levels
2. Tales from Big Spirit Graphic Novel Series by David Alexander Robertson – these include graphic novels about 7 Indigenous heroes from Canadian history
3. Artifacts – I encouraged the students to create an artifact to ‘make their learning visible’ and to represent an aspect of their learning
Taking Action:
1. Indigenous Novel Study Booklet – this booklet provides an ‘entry point’ for all students, no matter if they are working on adapted program, IEP, or any program. The booklet provides opportunities for the students to write/jot notes, use illustrations to show meaning, make connections by illustrating and writing a paragraph, and create a sequence of events using detail.
2. Big Spirit Graphic Novels – the students worked in groups of 4-5, and I suggested they choose the novel for their group. Indigenous novels chosen included The Rebel-Gabriel Dumont, The Poet-Pauline Johnson, The Peacemaker-Thanadelthur and The Ballad of Nancy April-Shawnadithit. Students worked on the following activities:
a) completed a ‘Baseline’ prior to reading the book, based on the book cover and title of the book (ie. 5-10 sentences why you think this Indigenous person may be important)
b) read the book individually and then as a whole group, and made notes about common ideas/topics/themes you found throughout the book
c) used one of these ideas/themes to create an ‘open\inquiry question’ (I provided the necessary scaffolding for this activity)
d) discuss and create 6 ‘big ideas’ that enable you to research your ‘inquiry question’ (I provided the necessary scaffolding for this activity)
e) each student researched one big idea and wrote down 10-12 detailed jot notes
3. Artifacts – each student needed to contribute to this group activity, so they could convey meaning and understanding to the class during their sharing/presentation. Students chose creating a comic book to tell the story of Gabriel Dumont (The Rebel), creating a sequential picture talk to explain their learning of The Ballad of Nancy April (Shawnadithit), creating a diorama to show the impact of the fur trade in Indigenous communities Thanadelthur (The Peacemaker) and creating a variety of puppets and script to relate the success of Pauline Johnson (The Poet)
a) students then shared their learning as a group, showing and explaining their artifacts
Checking: I was really satisfied with the use of Indigenous graphic novels. This literature inspired the students to read, discuss and share their learning. Students enjoyed these graphic novels, as the graphics and writing provided greater understanding.
The Indigenous Novel Study Booklet made it easier for students to record their information as everyone could use it, and the students were creating the information to research. It proved to be very ‘student friendly’ at all levels of development. The students really enjoyed creating their artifact to represent their learning. They used a great amount of time and detail when creating these artifacts and felt proud of what they had created.
Reflections/Advice: I learned that creating my own novel study booklet encouraged all students to be involved in their learning, and it was a terrific tool for self and group motivation. It also allows for greater understanding of their research. Students creating an artifact encourages problem solving, critical thinking and individuality. In addition, the students thoroughly enjoyed the ‘hands-on’ approach.
My advice to other schools is Tales from the Big Spirit is definitely worth having in your school and using with your students. I would like to promote this inquiry with my department next year.