I am very excited to share with you a book for elementary students written by Lindsay Christina King. King is a member of Pikangikum First Nation in Northwestern Ontario. Pikangikum is a community that is accessible by plane and by boat in the summer. Her book, Storyteller Skye: teachings from my Ojibway Grandfather, was part of TD summer reads and is widely available to purchase or borrow.
The story introduces us to Skye, a young girl who loves telling stories. She invites readers to listen closely as the stories she tells have important messages within them. She then goes on to relate stories about animals like skunk, beaver, rabbit, raccoon and wolf. I greatly appreciate that the animals are introduced with their names given in Ojibway, the language of Pikangikum. Each story is told with humour that will appeal to all readers.
Each animal in the story is featured because of one of their unique traits and Skye has a story behind how they got that trait. For example, why does the skunk have a foul smell? Why does a raccoon have a mask? The lessons taught to each animal tie in to the Seven Grandfather Teachings. This book leads seamlessly into an oral language lesson and there is an activity outlined in the back of the book on how to get storytelling started in our classes. Beyond oral language I have some cross curricular connections for this read aloud.
Social Studies:
This book gives us an opportunity to learn about a fly-in First Nation community of Northwestern Ontario. Millions of Ontarians have never been to a community in Treaty 5 territory, like Pikangikum, so it is important to share the photographs at the end of the book showing Lindsay King’s family and community. The author’s daughter, Maddy King, had her photography of Pikangikum featured in a CBC News article in 2020. Maddy King’s photos show the beautiful boreal forest of the Canadian Shield and promote an understanding of the interconnectedness of all.
Both Lindsay Christina King and Maddy King were interviewed for a video series called Portraits – Pikangikum First Nation, available on YouTube. The YouTube channel highlights community members and some of their challenges. For older students, we can examine ongoing impacts of colonialism. In particular, the video about Maddy King has beautiful photography and demonstrates her connection to the land. There are community leaders interviewed in the Portraits series and they outline the ways they are promoting traditional values to counteract the challenges being faced in Pikangikum. Some of the initiatives include promoting youth connection to the land, support for young mothers, and working toward more modern infrastructure. The school there has 1700 students and its own teacher education program in partnership with Queen’s University. I highly recommend learning more about this community!
Science
Storyteller Skye connects language and science in the several grades:
Grade 1: Needs and Characteristics of Living Things;
Grade 2: Growth and Changes in Animals;
Grade 4: Habitats;
Grade 6: Biodiversity.
Reading this book during a science unit or as a review of the concepts gives our students a different perspective filled with humour and enjoyment. This story allows students to respond to discussion and comprehension questions and to review the characteristics, growth, habitats and biodiversity of our science curriculum.
Visual Art
Each of Skye’s animal stories can be an inspiration for art as well. Whether it is drawing, painting, or creating a 3 D model, our students enjoy making changes to animals, using their imagination. The art they create can lead to an oral storytelling activity which allows them to share what characteristics they have changed and how the change could teach the animal an important lesson. Animals do not have to be the only subject of this art. It could be about making changes to a certain environment or building as well.
Drama
I envision students working in groups to create skits about the different animal stories that Skye has in this book. Creating or finding some simple props for students to use in their dramatization will add another level of creativity to this lesson.
This is definitely a book I will carry from class to class and use for my supply teaching assignments!
Storyteller Skye: teachings from my Ojibway Grandfather by Lindsay Christina King and Carolyn Frank; Medicine Wheel Publishing, 2022.
Happy Reading!
Brenda
