Connection to Land: Observing Practice Activity
Total Time: Approx. 60 minutes
Participants describe a place that was special to them when they were younger. After viewing a 25-minute video on the meaning of place to Inuit, Métis and First Nation peoples, participants use a think-pair-share strategy to consider the relationship of place and identity.
The strategies in this activity can be adapted for Observing Practice activities in other topic areas.
Activity 1: Describing a Place from Childhood
Provide each participant with paper and coloured pens or pencils. Create a very relaxing environment, perhaps with music.
Ask participants to relax and think back to when they were very young. Ask them to go back to a place that was very special to them. Next, ask them to record their answers to the following questions:
- Where are you? How does it look? Sound? Smell?
- How does it make you feel to be here?
- What does this place mean to you?
- How do you connect to this place?
- What meaning does this place have for your identity?
Activity 2: View the Video A Sense of Place
Overview of video: A Kainai Elder in Residence at Olds High School, the late Narcisse Blood shares his perspective on globalization with social studies teachers and students. This video, which was recorded and produced by students, documents preparation for a field trip to view pictographs. (24:54 minutes)
While Narcisse Blood passed in 2015, we are privileged and honoured to still have his words to share.
Activity 3: Think-Pair-Share
In a think-pair-share activity, participants individually write about a topic. After forming pairs, participants share what they wrote. Finally the participants form a large group and discuss the topic.
To begin the activity, ask participants to use these questions to write about where they now live:
- Where are you? How does it look? Sound? Smell?
- How does it make you feel to be here?
- What does this place mean to you?
- How do you connect to this place?
- What meaning does this place have for your identity?
Form pairs and ask participants to share their understanding about identity and place based on their writing about a place from childhood and about their current residence. Form a large group and ask participants to share significant insights.
If there is time, discuss these questions:
- How has your view of place changed over time?
- Is globalization responsible for this change? How so?
- What impact has globalization had on your identity?
