English Language Arts
Please access the ARC online catalogue to search for authentic Indigenous resources. Any resource on our catalogue has been reviewed for authenticity. Teachers may contact Cathy Norton via email to have resources couriered to your school. Please note, we do not have class sets of books. Our library is intended to show teachers the kinds of resources available. Signing them out gives you a chance to try them out in your classroom. The intent is then for you to make suggestions to your principal to acquire these books for your school.
Ask your teacher librarian about Aboriginal Education's Fabulous Five! 5 book titles and a short annotation is sent out to teacher librarians every week. Resources shared are authentic Aboriginal Resources and are available through ARC. Check with your teacher librarian about the Fabulous Five. This is an email sent out by Cathy Norton to all Teacher Librarians in our district. It highlights 5 resources each week.
Please also check out our lists. As new resources come in, we add to this list. The lists are located on our catalogue. They are on the left hand side of the screen.
Please access the ARC online catalogue to search for authentic Indigenous resources. Any resource on our catalogue has been reviewed for authenticity. Teachers may contact Cathy Norton via email to have resources couriered to your school. Please note, we do not have class sets of books. Our library is intended to show teachers the kinds of resources available. Signing them out gives you a chance to try them out in your classroom. The intent is then for you to make suggestions to your principal to acquire these books for your school.
Ask your teacher librarian about Aboriginal Education's Fabulous Five! 5 book titles and a short annotation is sent out to teacher librarians every week. Resources shared are authentic Aboriginal Resources and are available through ARC. Check with your teacher librarian about the Fabulous Five. This is an email sent out by Cathy Norton to all Teacher Librarians in our district. It highlights 5 resources each week.
Please also check out our lists. As new resources come in, we add to this list. The lists are located on our catalogue. They are on the left hand side of the screen.
FNESC Guides to support Early Literacy:
In Our Own Words - Bringing Authentic First Peoples Content to the K-3 Classroom
This resource guide is a little dated but it still provides excellent instructional suggestions for embedding Indigenous content into English Language Arts.
The guide contains 8 classroom units:
Each unit provides multiple lessons and suggest literacy resources to complement the lessons. Though some of the resources suggested are dated, it would be easy to substitute them with more current materials. Each unit also includes assessment suggestions and black line masters.
The first part of this guide also provides a detailed FAQ which is well worth reading.
The document can be downloaded for free. In Our Own Words Download
Authentic First Peoples Resources for Use in K-9 Classrooms
This resource is also available online. Know that a paper version and an online version are available. Please be aware that this document is currently being revised. In this guide, you will find the criteria used to determine what makes a resource authentic. This is the same criteria that Aboriginal Learning uses when reviewing resources for LRS. The guide also contains the names of books with an annotated description of the book. The description will get you some background information on the story and hopefully will give you key ideas relating to the story that you need to make explicit to your students.
In Our Own Words - Bringing Authentic First Peoples Content to the K-3 Classroom
This resource guide is a little dated but it still provides excellent instructional suggestions for embedding Indigenous content into English Language Arts.
The guide contains 8 classroom units:
- Unit 1: All About Me
- Unit 2: Gifts from the Earth
- Unit 3: Stories of the Seasons
- Unit 4: Our Animal Neighbours
- Unit 5: The Spirit of Celebration
- Unit 6: The Power of Stories
- Unit 7: Making our Ancestors Proud
- Unit 8: Stories from the Sky
Each unit provides multiple lessons and suggest literacy resources to complement the lessons. Though some of the resources suggested are dated, it would be easy to substitute them with more current materials. Each unit also includes assessment suggestions and black line masters.
The first part of this guide also provides a detailed FAQ which is well worth reading.
The document can be downloaded for free. In Our Own Words Download
Authentic First Peoples Resources for Use in K-9 Classrooms
This resource is also available online. Know that a paper version and an online version are available. Please be aware that this document is currently being revised. In this guide, you will find the criteria used to determine what makes a resource authentic. This is the same criteria that Aboriginal Learning uses when reviewing resources for LRS. The guide also contains the names of books with an annotated description of the book. The description will get you some background information on the story and hopefully will give you key ideas relating to the story that you need to make explicit to your students.
Board Books and Series sets.
ARC has numerous board boards available for loan. We also have a number of series
- Strong Readers levels 1 - 10 and Strong Readers 11 - 20 are a collection of fabulous books from Strong Nations. They are a collection of non-fiction and fiction titles all with Indigenous content. The teachers manual is fantastic too. It includes assessment strategies, running record sheets and so much more.
- Strong Readers Metis and Northern Series are also available.
- Turtle Island Voices - schools were gifted a copy of these resources several years ago. Please have a look for them in your library.
- We Are All Connected series is a fantastic resources
- Strong Stories Series ( Kanyen'kehà:ka series , Tlingit series, Metis series, and Coast Salish Series). These are different that the leveled readers in that they are intended to provide students with information about specific communities. They are not leveled readers.
- Seven teachings series: (7 stories related to wisdom, courage, love, respect, honestly, humility and truth
- Picture books: our Aboriginal Resource Centre has too many picture books to name. Please log onto our catalogue and look at some of the amazing titles.
Links relating to ELA - Storytelling
- Learn about the significance of story telling from an Aboriginal perspective. See sample videos of Aboriginal storytellers.
- Storytelling, the art of Knowledge - a website dedicated to understanding the art of storytelling from an Indigenous perspective
- When Aboriginal and Metis teachers use storytelling as an instructional practice
- Storywork give away for Educators - a very good read! Do's and Don'ts of using Indigenous stories
- Indigenous Storybooks by community name (Haida, Swampy Cree, Plains Cree)
- This is an excellent document that describes some of the things to think about when exploring Indigenous Stories.
- The Mountain of SGaana - In The Mountain of SGaana, Haida filmmaker Christopher Auchter spins a magical tale of a young man who is stolen away to the spirit world, and the young woman who rescues him. The film brilliantly combines traditional animation with formal elements of Haida art, and is based on a story inspired by a old Haida fable.
