Ideology assignment EDUC 3501 C & I, Section LM, Marcella Etherington St Georges

Ideology Summary: Story Work

Story work encompasses the ideology of teaching through oral stories.

According to First Nations, Metis and Inuit cultures, among many more
around the world, stories are an effective tool for relating ideal behaviors
and values. Storytellers adhere to a particular set of standards: respect,
reverence, responsibly, and reciprocity. Storytellers have an obligation to
their listeners. They must keep alive the values of their culture, ensuring
they show respect for their inter-relationships and intra-relationships.
Together, the four principles guide the storyteller to share their knowledge,
in a manner that benefits and informs the listener of their culture’s beliefs.

Knowledge is power. By passing down your stories in a responsible manner,

you show respect for your culture and encourage others to pass down their
findings. Relationships are not only a physical matter but a metaphysical.
Stories, therefore, keep alive the holistic viewpoint of body, mind and,
spirit. Each story addresses the many relationships between ourselves,
each other, and our environment; the interconnection between each
relationship originates from peoples personal experiences with their
community, land and nature. The care you show for another person’s
quality of life is expressed through stories that demonstrate personal
experiences. Every time the story is recited, it reveals a new message.
Storytellers inform listeners of occurrences which they wish to avoid
happening again. Ideally, stories are used to prevent episodes that caused
contention within the universe. Just as each individual experiences a
different life, the message within a story speaks differently.

Storytellers paint an abstract picture. Messages and sub-messages are

passed down and encouraged to continue down each generation. The
progression of the stories as they are passed down can be seen as an
ongoing spiral where new meanings can be found each time a lesson is
repeated. Although certain elements of the stories may change and
develop over time, the most important teachings of the story carry on
through history as they are passed down from generation to generation.

A key symbol in the First Nations, Metis and Inuit culture is the river, which
captures the effect of a story perfectly. The river continuously flows. Over
time, the river collects and deposits new elements. Like water, we are all

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Ideology assignment EDUC 3501 C & I, Section LM, Marcella Etherington St Georges
interconnected and continue to flow and grow from a river into a sea. Water
can be both slow as a turtle or strong as an ox, embodying a multi-
dimensional force. Water reaches all edges of the earth, resembling the
relationships between storyteller, listeners and experiential occurrences.

LESSON PLAN

Grade:__Six__ POS ___English Language Arts______ Lesson Title:__Story work - Oral traditions

Overview of lesson
100 – 150 words – Concise and clear description

Using the story work ideology, our lesson plan addresses the skills of listening, interpreting, and
speaking. Students will begin sitting in a circle. Our lesson starts with an excerpt from a story being
read aloud. The students will be asked to remember one word from the story that stands out to
them. Following the story, students will use their word to play telephone. Next, students will play
the one-word cumulative story. They will be provided with a theme. The story will expand and
develop until every student has spoken. We will continue going around the circle until we decide the
activity should end. Students are encouraged to help each other during the activity. We will
conclude by explaining the relationships between our games and how you build your own life
stories.
Alberta Program of Study
General Learning Objectives (Maximum 1 ) Specific Learning Objectives (Maximum 2)

GLO 5.1 Respect others and strengthen Share and discuss ideas and experiences that
community. contribute to different responses to oral, print and
other media texts.

Curriculum Ideology

Identity and give a brief description of ideology lens this lesson is designed through. Indicate how
your lesson is designed to have students experience this ideology.
100 – 150 words – Concise and clear description

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Ideology assignment EDUC 3501 C & I, Section LM, Marcella Etherington St Georges

Specifically, we focus on oral tradition, and the impact on lives, as the stories are passed down
through the generations. The students get to select a word of their choosing. Through choice, they
get to decide the way they interpret the story. Even though stories share similar values, listeners get
to interpret the stories with relevance to their own lives. We also wanted to address, through the
game of telephone, how certain aspects are lost as we pass down our stories. During telephone,
students will work alone. During our cumulative story, students can help each other out. We want
them to address two aspects: the importance of community support in their lives, and how they can
alter a story in accordance with their own choices. Each choice represents how listeners can change
their own paths. Not anyone life will be played out the same.

Learning Resources / Material & Equipment used

Book - As Long as the River Flows (Larry Loyie)

Lesson Procedures (Steps)

Introduction (_5_min.):
This can be done in point form.

•Direct students to sit in a circle on the floor.

•Guided visualization
•“Everyone get comfortable, close your eyes, and clear your mind.”
•“I want you to focus on your body and how your feet and hands feel.”
•“I want you to focus on the sounds around you. What do you hear?”
•“I want you to focus on how you’re feeling in this moment.”
•“Now I want you to take a deep breath.”
•Introduction of book excerpt.
•“With your eyes closed, I want you to listen to what I’m about to read. I want you to find a
word or two from the story that stands out to you, and hold onto it.”
•“This is an excerpt from a traditional Cree story called ‘As Long as the Rivers Flow’ by Larry
Loyie.”

Body (_10_min.): Indicate the steps/scaffolding and transitions in lesson. Indicate timing of each
section.. Since you have only 10 minutes the timing must be precise. Identify teaching strategies

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Ideology assignment EDUC 3501 C & I, Section LM, Marcella Etherington St Georges

•Reading of the book excerpt.

•Following the reading, instructions will be given for follow up oral activity.
•“Now open your eyes. Keeping that chosen word in your mind, we’re going to use it to play a
game called cumulative telephone.”
• Explanation of the cumulative telephone game.
•“Some of you may have heard of this game, but for those who haven’t, one person starts by
whispering a word to the person next to them. The next person will then repeat that word,
and add the connector “and” plus the addition of their word. For example ‘school and
students and…’ You’ll then whisper those words to the person on your right. The words will
be spoken quietly and softly. The pattern will continue until it goes all around the circle,
ending at the person who started. The person that started the game will then repeat out
loud all the words that were said.”
• Organization of groups.
•“I’m going to split you into groups of 6* and you’re going to sit in a circle on the floor, knee
to knee, with your eyes closed. The speaker opens their eyes, lightly taps the person next to
them and whispers the words.”
•*depending on group size and grade level, you can adjust group sizes accordingly.
•Split students into groups of six and direct them to a spot in the classroom.
•Commence telephone game
•Since the students have only chosen one word, the game only goes around once - this
should only take one to two minutes.
•After the round, assessment of the activity.
•“Was everyone's word remembered? Was there any repetition of words that you
noticed?”
•Organization of group circle.
•Bring all the students back together in a large circle, seated as they were prior to the
telephone activity.
•Explanation of oral story time activity.
•“A story will be told using one word from each of you as we travel around the circle. The first
student will say the first word; the student next to them will follow by saying the first word
while adding their own additional word. This pattern will continue around the circle until we
decide that the story should end. We will give you a theme for the topic of the story. You are
also encouraged to work together in this activity and help each other if any parts of the
sequence are forgotten.”
•Conclusion
•“Through the use of the one-word story, we hope to instill in you that through word of
mouth we pass down our beliefs. But each of these beliefs is modified depending on our
personal experiences.”
•Begin critical group discussion and reflection on the lesson.

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Ideology assignment EDUC 3501 C & I, Section LM, Marcella Etherington St Georges
Closure/ Reflection ( _5_min.) Develop at least two important questions to
begin a critical group discussion

1. How do personal life experiences impact the words you chose and the words which were easier to
remember during telephone?

2. Did the tone of another person’s voice encourage or discourage memory?

3. Which was more impactful: working together as a unit or memorizing on an individual basis?

4. Did you feel any form of pressure or dependence when you were obligated to pass down others’
words?

Professional Reflections: (of the lesson) What went well? What needs modification? This is not the final
reflective essay, however contents of this reflection could be used in your reflective essay.

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Ideology assignment EDUC 3501 C & I, Section LM, Marcella Etherington St Georges

We were quite happy with how our lesson plan played out. We had a few things we thought went
well. Our meditative aspect resonated well with our colleagues. They found they were more focused
as the lesson went on. Using the interactive telephone game and story time circle, we were able to
address an intense topic in a playful, yet respectful manner. The overall concept of community and
oral tradition came across strongly within our lesson. We all agreed we could see ourselves using our
lesson in multiple grade levels.

Some things we would change in our lesson was our timing. It is difficult to efficiently address a
topic in 15 minutes. We understand that, with younger grade levels, 15-20 minutes is all students
can handle at times. We decided, with practice we will learn to effectively pull out the important
material. With our lesson we would like to have put more time into our introduction and meditation.
We felt rushed. In the end, we could have elongated the meditation by a minute or two. Another
aspect we want to change is the way we explained our two activities. Our instructions on paper
were explicit, but we needed more practise verbally. We found a few times that we added too many
words. We would need to make them more concise and explicit for a better understanding.
Regarding the telephone activity, we would play a few more rounds of the game, starting at different
individuals in the circle. One round was a bit confusing for the students. The point of the activity
didn’t come across as strong as we intended. Our last modification would be having more discussion
from the students’ perspective. We found having the teacher tell them the importance, does not
allow them their individual understandings that we tried to promote. We as teachers know the
importance behind what is being taught, but it is important to make sure the students also
understand.

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Ideology assignment EDUC 3501 C & I, Section LM, Marcella Etherington St Georges

Book Excerpt - As Long as the River Flows (Larry Loyie) Chapter 4, page 2

“Once there was a man who walked in the four directions. He went north, south, east and west. He
was a brave and seeking person who went from village to village learning all there was to know. He
learned about new foods and how to cook them. In the prairies, he lived in tepees. In the cold lands,
he lived in igloos. He saw waves of grass where the buffalo roamed. He tasted salty water where the
sun rises and the sun sets. He came to dry lands where the sands were hot.”

“This land has always given us what we need to live. Like they told us long ago, as long as the rivers
flow, this land is ours. It is up to all of us to care for it. Now it’s your turn, grandchildren. The future is
in your hands.”

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Ideology assignment EDUC 3501 C & I, Section LM, Marcella Etherington St Georges

Reflective Essay

We wanted to instill the importance of oral traditions through storytelling and I believe we were able
to covey its importance in a meaningful way. By having the students keep their eyes closed it allowed
them to clear their minds of visual distractions and focus solely on listening to the story. The
cumulative telephone game gave the students the opportunity to draw from their own experiences to
share their word with the group. Each person has a unique set of experiences and perspectives. In
contrast, the one-word story telling activity gave students the opportunity to each make a
contribution to the story and by working together they each played a part in its creation. Both
activities show how some words are passed down while others are forgotten. Although not every
word was remember in the story, the most important elements were passed on from student to
student. When certain students struggled with remembering the sequences other students were
encouraged to help them. This demonstrates the idea of interconnectedness within the ideology to
show that we can all be connected through community.

Among all the group lessons, I found the Grade 1 science activity done by RJ and Casey to be the most
engaging. I may be a little bias because I’ve always loved hands-on, performance tasks but the shelter-
building lesson with blocks definitely peaked my interest. The activity was very well explained and
executed, and it tied into their Social Efficiency ideology nicely. The ideology focuses on the needs of
society and how to meet those needs. Students are trained in skills that are needed in the workplace
in order to be a contributing member of society. The shelter-building lesson focused on the
construction of real world structures and how it could be implemented in real life. For instance, the
purpose of the activity was to work with a partner to build a home with blocks however we saw fit. It
is important to draw connections between what is taught in school and how it can be utilized in the
real world because eventually students will go out on their own and need to know how to be self-
sufficient in society. A limitation of the ideology would be that students are taught a set of specific,
specialized skills that can be implemented in society rather than getting a well-rounded education. If
students are only taught what is deemed as ‘necessary’ in the real world they could be missing out on
knowledge that could help them to grow and thrive as individuals who have a unique set of needs and
desires. This same activity could be done through the Learner Centered lens if it was modified slightly.
I would suggest that each student work individually to construct their own shelter using the blocks
instead of working in groups of two. The Learner Centered ideology focuses on the needs of the
individual. Each person is unique and has their own experiences and interactions with the
environment that shape their learning. The activity allows students to draw from their strengths and
explore their individually. No one shelter will be identity because each student is drawing on their
own unique interests and life experiences.

The lesson that resonated with me the most since that day was Deidre’s and Brooke’s Grade 10 social
studies activity on residential schools and the displacement of aboriginal families in Alberta and
Montana. They began the activity by giving us puzzle pieces of the provinces of Alberta and Montana
and telling us to work together to put the map together. Then they took various puzzle pieces and
ripped them into even smaller ones. We were then told to put the pieces back together again. It was
explained that it was a representation of the aboriginal children that were taken from their families
and placed in residential schools far from their homes. The pieces of paper that were ripped into

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smaller puzzle pieces were very difficult to piece back together. This demonstration was a meaningful
reminder of how

difficult it was for these aboriginal children to find their way home and how hard it was for them to be
accepted back into their culture after such long absences. It was also very impactful to physically see
them rip the paper into small pieces to show us that the pieces will never be the same no matter how
well you try to put them back together. It illustrates that even when these aboriginal children find
their way back home, the sad reality is that it will never be the same for them. I truly believe that
when you are given the opportunity to teach children in a meaningful and engaging way they are
more likely to get a deeper understanding of the material.

I do not believe that there is only one correct ideology that should be implemented for student
learning. I strongly believe that all five of the ideologies, Scholar Academic, Social Efficiency, Learner
Centered, Social Reconstruction and Indigenous World Views, have certain philosophies that can
benefit students in one way or another. They all have advantages and down falls and it is up to the
teacher to decide which ideology, or ideologies, will benefit the students the most. The ideology that
resonate the most with me is the Learner Centered philosophy. I believe that each students learns and
develops in their own way. Everyone has their own set of strengths and it is up to the teacher to draw
on each individuals abilities to make learning enjoyable in order to maximize their learning potential.
If teachers can relate the school subject matter to the students real life experiences I believe that
students will be more engaged and more likely to retain the information.

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