Category: General

As November 11th approaches I’m sharing some Canadian resources I have used successfully with elementary students. Let’s note that 2025 marks the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.  Although we have not yet achieved world peace, there have been many examples of diplomacy in the decades since WWII ended. Our acts of Remembrance demonstrate the strong desire to build a war-free future and to honour the freedom granted to us by those who helped defeat facism.

A Bear in War by Stephanie Innes and Harry Endrulat, illustrated by Brian Deines 

(Silver Birch Express Honour Book 2010)

During World War One, a young girl slips her teddy bear into a care package for her father, a medic posted to the trenches of France. Although her father dies in the battle of Passchendaele, his belongings are shipped back to his family, along with the toy bear, which today sits in the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa. Source

I find this book can be used effectively in both primary and junior grades. The small stuffed bear featured in this book is on display at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa and there is a section of their website dedicated to the story of Teddy including a short video created in 2021. 

This touching story stresses the importance of mail to the soldiers. Our students can write letters today to veterans in their community. Our local branch of the Royal Canadian Legion is helpful in collecting and distributing letters. Giving students an authentic writing task will can be very motivating. I like to set up the lesson by reading the story A Bear in War and then offering writing prompts for students to write to those who have served in the armed forces.  Depending on the age and stage of the class, there could be some students who write in partners or small groups. For the youngest students I often model our shared writing on chart paper before they begin.

The Vimy Oaks by Linda Bailey, illustrated by Brian Dienes 

(Silver Birch Express Shortlist 2018)

Canadian Leslie Miller was at Vimy Ridge in World War I and he sent home acorns from some trees he admired there. The acorns that were planted grew into oak trees that are still alive in Scarborough, Ontario on the former site of Miller’s farm. This book helps us tie history and science together along with the poetic writing style from Miller’s journals and letters.  It is wonderful to study oak trees in the fall as the different varieties show their colours. I recommend this read aloud for grades 2 and up. There is also more information at this government of Canada link.

Government of Canada Resources for Veteran’s Week

It is best to order these resources well in advance of Remembrance Day.  There are materials including bookmarks, cards, posters, and publications with lesson plan ideas for elementary grades.

https://veterans.gc.ca/en/remembrance/classroom-materials

Books of Remembrance

The peace tower in Ottawa is an iconic Canadian symbol but my students are usually not aware of the special room that holds the Books of Remembrance. Each day a page is turned as Canadians remember those who have given the supreme sacrifice for their country.

Silver Cross Mothers

I find this particular topic very emotional and is suited to grade 7 and up. It is important to know your students before beginning a lesson.  Every year one mother is selected to represent all mothers and lay a wreath at the Remembrance Day service in Ottawa.  She is called the Silver Cross mother and she will have lost a son or daughter who died while in service in the Canadian Armed Forces. Learn more here.

Liberation 80

My mother had clear memories of the 1945 Victory in Europe celebrations and how people poured into the streets of Liverpool where she was a student, singing and all night. To commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of WWII there is information available from the government of Canada, including a selection of video clips where veterans recall the end of the war.

Lesson Plans from Veteran’s Affairs Canada

Here you can find over 130 lesson plans regarding Remembrance in Canada, provided by Veterans Affairs Canada.  There is a search tool that can help you find lessons by age and topic.  For example, here is a lesson for primary grades on Flowers of Friendship, explaining Canada’s role in the liberation of the Netherlands and the annual gift of tulips sent to Canada.

Thank you for helping your students understand Remembrance Day.

Brenda

How do I identify the reading levels of the students I teach? This is a question that remains at the fore of my mind as I begin the school year. I pose this question thinking about how in previous years in my role as a classroom teacher I would often hear my colleagues discuss their concerns about students reading below grade level and wondering what that meant. To clarify, I wanted to understand how they determined when a student was or was not reading at grade level to inform my knowledge and work with students because I found determining students reading levels a somewhat subjective and confusing practice.

At that time, I did understand that if a student had yet to consolidate the foundational reading skills needed to decode and comprehend texts when they were beyond the primary grades, they were likely to be reading below grade level. Yet I wondered once a student had acquired those foundational reading skills, how did I and other educators determine their reading level.

Also, while I understand that science-based reading assessments such as a MAZE (a reading comprehension assessment), a vocabulary screener, and an oral reading fluency test (ORF) are valid and reliable reading assessments that provide insight to students reading competencies particularly when they are beyond the primary grades, I think screeners are only one important but initial step in gaining insight to students reading abilities and reading levels.

Specific expectation C1.1, Using Foundational Knowledge and Skills to Comprehend Texts, calls educators to leverage the foundational language skills identified in Strand B to support students in practicing and further developing their reading comprehension skills. The skills and knowledge that students should use to read and comprehend texts listed in specific expectation C1.1 include using knowledge of words, grammar, cohesive ties, sentence structure, and background knowledge to read texts of various levels of complexity depending on the grade level. In fact, the only difference between the grade level expectations in specific expectation C1.1 is the complexity of texts that educators should use with students.

Therefore, because students need to read texts of various levels of complexity as they progress through the elementary grades and their ability to read increasingly complex texts to a certain degree informs their reading level, I think I need to better understand some scientific measures of text complexity so I can better select texts that align with students reading level and further support their reading development.

To better understand the relationship between text complexity and students reading levels, I read the first chapter in the book, Text Complexity: Stretching Readers with Texts and Tasks (2020), by Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, and Diane Loop. From reading the first chapter, I learned that when thinking about text complexity I should consider three overall facets that include:

1. The qualitative measures of the text. This includes the levels of meaning, clarity, structures of language, and knowledge demands placed on the reader.
2. The quantitative measures of the text. This includes sentence length, syntax, and vocabulary.
3. The reader and task. This includes the qualities of the reader utilizing the text, meaning their cognitive capabilities, motivation for reading, background knowledge, and what the reader is tasked to do with the text.

Beyond learning about the three overall facets of text complexity, two additional ideas continue to resonate with me and will inform my practice going forward. The first idea was contained in the comments regarding the relationship between the reader and the task. Meaning, identifying and understanding the purpose for reading is a critical component of text selection. This further translate to mean, when I select a text to use with students, both they and I must understand my purpose for selecting the text and what I want students to gain from engaging with it.

For example, is my goal to support students in further practicing or developing certain reading skills or strategies? Do they need to build background knowledge or further develop their knowledge in general on a certain topic? Is my intention to promote a joy of reading by sharing an engaging story or help them recognize the value of reading by sharing what I believe to be vital information or is my purpose a combination of these items? The first insight I gained from reading this chapter is that I need to be more intentional and transparent with myself and students regarding the texts I use to teach and what I want them to gain from engaging with them.

The second idea that continues to resonate with me is that when students are motivated to read, they can far exceed educator expectations of what they should be capable of reading; and instructional practices can contribute to or detract from a student’s motivation to read. In the chapter the authors cite research that identifies five teaching practices that foster motivation and five that destroy it. The five instructional practices that positively impact reading motivation include:

1. Relevance
2. Choice
3. Success
4. Collaboration
5. Thematic units

While the five instructional practices that demotivate students to read include:

1. Nonrelevance
2. Excessive teacher control
3. Difficult lessons
4. Frequent individual work
5. Disconnected units

Providing the right amount of motivation while remaining mindful of the practices that can demotivate students to read is another insight that I gained from reading the chapter.

I still think that determining students reading levels is a somewhat subjective and confusing practices but from learning about the three facets that determine a texts level of complexity, the reader and task being one of them, I’m now less focused on determining students reading levels and more on determining their reading abilities then using texts that support them in becoming more confident competent critical readers of various texts.

As educators, we understand the importance of representation in the books we offer our students. Many of our classroom libraries have stories that reflect diverse cultures, identities, and experiences, however, one area that continues to be underrepresented is people with disabilities.

Books that portray characters with visible and invisible disabilities are not only valuable for students who share those experiences, but also for building empathy, awareness, and inclusion among all readers.

Think about it. Have you ever seen a student’s eyes light up because a character in a story uses a wheelchair, just like them? Or because the main character uses an AAC (augmentative and alternative communication) device to speak, just like their sibling? That moment of recognition can mean everything.

When students see characters who move through the world in a similar way, whether navigating hallways in a wheelchair, facing anxiety in a noisy classroom, or interpreting social cues through the lens of autism, it can validate their experiences. It tells them, You belong here. Your story matters. On the flip side, when these characters are missing, it can send an unintended message: You don’t belong in stories.

Books about disability are for everyone. Why? Because inclusive literature builds empathy, challenges stereotypes, and opens the door to meaningful conversations around inclusion, fairness, and everyday kindness.

But here’s the thing, even with a growing awareness of diversity in publishing, books that accurately and respectfully depict characters with disabilities remain limited.

So what can educators do? Evaluate and choose your books accordingly. The resource by Chloë Myers and Hank Bersani Jr. offers practical ways for evaluating whether children’s books challenge or reinforce ableist thinking. Consider the following questions to determine if the book is a good fit for your library.

Does the book promote ableism by ignoring people with disabilities? Does the book address a diverse range of characters, including children of various ethnicities, abilities, and backgrounds? For example, do the images show children in wheelchairs, wearing hearing aids or using portable oxygen tanks?

Do the illustrations promote ableism by addressing disability in stereotyped ways? For example, does the book show children with various abilities, taking on roles like playing basketball, playing on swings, climbing, singing, making choices using pictures and assistive devices?

Who in the story has agency? Are people with disabilities always the recipients of the efforts of others or are they portrayed with value? For example, are the characters depicted as engaging and contributing to their community? Does it show their abilities and strengths rather than focusing only on their limitations?

These questions are not about canceling books. They are about becoming more intentional with our choices. Every book you choose has the power to shift thinking, shape self-concept, and build understanding. Begin by exploring a title a month. Consider involving your students. It is okay to say, “I’m trying to find books that do a better job of representing all kinds of people. Let’s explore together.”

I’ve been reading “Tacky the Penguin” at the beginning of the school year for decades. This story goes from uproarious laughter to fear and tension and ends with our unlikely hero, Tacky, saving the day. This picture book can be read over and over with the same results, children will ask for it again and again.  It’s perfect for early in the year when students are trying to fit in with a new crowd of classmates and need the reminder that it is not just ok to be yourself, we need you to be yourself, not a copy of someone else. The writing style of Helen Lester and the playful illustrations by Lynn Munsinger allow for plenty of dramatic gestures, voices and rhythms. Readers immediately identify with Tacky, who is constantly left out by his snooty companions. He is different, an odd bird. Don’t we all feel that way at times?

Dramatic Gestures

As the story opens, the companions (Goodly, Lovely, Neatly, Angel, and Perfect) greet each other quietly and politely. At this point I pause, put the book down and reach out to shake the hands of  a few of the students and calmly say things like, “Good Day”,  “Lovely to see you”, “How good of you to be here”. Then I slap my own leg to imitate Tacky’s greeting which is a loud “What’s Happening”.

We might also take time to imitate the penguins marching neatly in a row compared to Tacky’s random movements, followed by graceful dives and splashy cannonballs. These actions come into play later in the story as Tacky uses his actions to defeat the hunters.

Rhythm

When the hunters arrive they have stomping feet and on one of my readings I realized that if I kept stomping at the right tempo I could read the entire hunter section to the beat. Genius! Students join in and stomp along with me as we meet and defeat the terrifying hunters.

Voices

It is key to get Tacky’s singing in an off-key, dreadful voice.  I add in sound effects to imitate his accordion and then blare out “How many toes does a fish have?”. In contrast, the companions need to sing “Sunrise on the Iceberg” in a refined, melodic way. The Hunters have a growling, mean voice since they are talking about catching the penguins and want to “march ‘em with a switch”. Students join in with a “Grrrrrr”.

Each time the story is read, the students become more familiar with the ideas of inclusion and acceptance.  They see the importance of owning your individuality and using your strengths to help others. Plus Tacky the Penguin brings joy to the faces of children who have just come in from a recess where they felt alone.

Follow Up Activities

-a little research on penguins for science class;

-creating new lyrics for the songs in the book for your writing period;

-adding rhythm instruments for music time;

-act out the story for drama or create the illustrations as tableaux;

-add some math and learn about the fraction in Tacky’s marching sequence;

-vocabulary to discuss:  odd, companion, graceful, tacky, switch (as a noun), clasped:

-have a Tacky day and encourage students to wear something they love.

Tacky the Penguin was first published in 1988 and is still going strong with several follow up stories that feature this funny and lovable character. I hope you get a copy and have as much fun as I do!

Happy Reading!

Brenda

A couple of weeks into summer I woke up with the morning light. My dog was waiting expectantly by the door and so I threw on my sandals, put on his leash, and stepped into the steamy July morning. The sun was already strong, radiating over the grass as we walked across the lawn. 

We were out there only a minute or so when I felt a sharp pain on the inside of my ankle. At first I thought I must have brushed by a thistle or some other prickly plant, but when I looked down I saw a flurry of wings, familiar black and yellow stripes.

Yes, I had been stung. I must have gotten too close to flower or nest. And now the wasp was hovering over my bare skin, getting ready for the next strike, the burning from the first one already starting to spread outwards. With a panicked gasp, I reached down and tried to gently brush at the wasp with the back of my hand, my care and restraint born more of a desire not to get stung again than anything else. After a couple of hand waves, the wasp flew off.

Back inside, I hobbled over to the couch to google “wasp sting remedies”, and sat down with an unimpressed flop – right next to the book I had been reading.

The book is called Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants, written by botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer. Recommended to our ESL team last year, it is in the author’s words, “a braid of stories … woven from three strands: Indigenous ways of knowing, scientific knowledge, and the story of an Anishinabekwe scientist … old stories and new ones that can be medicine for our broken relationship with the Earth … in which people and the land are good medicine for each other,” (Wall Kimmerer, preface, x).

The stories within this book’s pages, though different, are nonetheless intertwined and connected to the point it is almost impossible to discuss one without reference to another. The following is just one of many that shifted my thinking. In it, Wall Kimmerer speaks about the “grammar of animacy”, and the ways in which we use language to describe the living world in hierarchical terms:

“In English, you are either a human or a thing. Our grammar boxes us in by the choice of reducing a non-human being to it … Where are words for the simple existence of another living being? My friend Michael Nelson, an ethicist who thinks a great deal about moral inclusion, told me about a woman he knows, a field biologist whose work is among other-than-humans. Most of her companions are not two-legged, and so her language has shifted to accommodate her relationships. She kneels along the trail to inspect a set of moose tracks, saying, ‘Someone’s already been this way this morning.’ ‘Someone’s in my hat,’ she says, shaking out a deer fly. Someone, not something,” (Wall Kimmerer, p 56). 

Language is not neutral. It reflects the core beliefs and assumptions of the society that speaks it, reinforcing them at every utterance. Language has power. And in our classrooms, some of the lessons we teach may be unintentional, conveyed only through the words we choose. 

All my life I have referred to wasps (and a significant number of other animals and plants for that matter) as “it”. And that language, inherently distancing, probably did not help me to see my interconnectedness with the world I was describing.

Our science curriculum is full of sustainability and environmental impact expectations. And we hope that by teaching students about these critical issues, we empower and inspire them to care for the world (an all-too-relevant need, as the string of environmental catastrophes this summer alone has shown us). But – even unintentionally – does the language we use to teach, to describe the living world, run antithetical to these lofty curricular goals? Are we trying to swim one way, with the current of our words pulling us in another? Can someone truly care about and for trees, waterways, and pollinating insects when we ascribe language that reduces them to an “it”? It is a question worth exploring, and Wall Kimmerer offers some observations:

“Our toddlers speak of plants and animals as if they were people, extending to them self and intention and compassion – until we teach them not to. We quickly retrain them and make them forget. When we tell them the tree is not a who, but an it, we make that maple an object; we put a barrier between us, absolving ourselves of moral responsibility and opening the door to exploitation. Saying it makes a living land into ‘natural resources’. If a maple is an it we can take up the chainsaw. If a maple is a her, we think twice,” (Wall Kimmerer p 57).

I sat on the couch a while longer and reflected that while being stung remains a very unpleasant way of waking up in the morning, wasps do have an important place in our world. They consume insects and control populations that would otherwise ravage vegetable gardens. And even though they are not as efficient as bees, they do have the ability to pollinate flowers, adding to our source of fruit. And that seems like a pretty good thing for everyone. 

So, perhaps language can shift thinking. Perhaps it might move me from indifference at batting away a wasp, to seeing connection, and being more careful the next time I walk across our shared home. 

There are countless applications to teaching and learning (and unlearning) in the pages of this wise and beautiful book. If you have the chance to read it, I wish you joyful discoveries. But for now, I think I’ll go have a salad for lunch. I have some fresh cucumbers someone helped make for me. 

My second year as an ISSP teacher feels very different from the first. The fog of uncertainty has lifted. This year, I know more about what the role entails and what is expected of me. There’s more of a sense of calm because the work feels clearer and more structured. But even with that clarity, one large mountain stands in front of me: confidence.

For me, finding my confidence again has proven to be one of the hardest parts of this journey. In our bi-weekly meetings, I often feel like I’m running a marathon before I even begin to speak. Instead of focusing on the conversation in the moment, my mind starts racing as I overthink what I’ll say next. And when I finally do share, I worry that my nerves are louder than my words. It instantly takes me back to my time in school and my fear of speaking in front of large groups.

In moments like this, I would often engage in self-talk, reminding myself to breathe and that in many other situations, I am confident.

After a recent meeting, I reflected on why I felt so unsettled and how I might approach it differently next time. That reflection brought me back to my teaching practice in my classroom, where I often guided my students through their own nerves, helping them manage stress and anxiety before presentations.

I know that building confidence applies to us all. As adults, we can find ourselves in new roles or situations that challenge us and bring out our insecurities. It’s something our students experience too. Just like me, they worry about saying the wrong thing, stumbling over words, or being judged. If I want to climb my own mountain of confidence, I also want to help my students climb theirs.

Here are a few strategies I’ve leaned on in my personal journey and in the classroom, even more so recently for myself, to boost confidence and presentation skills.

Firstly, Normalize Nerves

I remind myself and my students that nerves are normal and even useful. They mean you care about what you are sharing. To help normalize this, I talk about it openly with my students. I sometimes even admit that I still get nervous speaking in front of others. When students see that everyone gets nervous, it removes some of the stigma and pressure to be “perfect.”

Remember to Practice in Small Steps

Instead of jumping straight into a full presentation, I often present to my colleagues or record myself. I then use my reflections or feedback to improve myself. In the classroom, I would create small group opportunities. A chance to turn-and-talk or read a single sentence aloud. Gradually, these small, low-pressure moments help us get comfortable with speaking in front of others.

Use Preparation as a Confidence Tool

This tip has been the most helpful to me. I like to write out what I want to say before meetings. I create a script from the moment I know I have to speak to the last sentence I will have to say. Ninety-nine percent of the time, I don’t use it. Why? Because I know nothing goes as scripted, and by that time, I am more confident that I know what I want to say. However, in the nervous moments leading up to the event, it reminds me that I am prepared, and if I get so nervous, I just have to look at my paper and find my thoughts. I encourage students to script or outline their thoughts as well. Some need cue cards, others prefer mind maps. Simply knowing there is a plan to fall back on helps ground my confidence.

Celebrate Every Attempt

I make it a point to celebrate effort over polish. My shaky voice or mispronunciation is still progress worth acknowledging. Confidence grows when we feel safe to try again, not when we feel judged for not being perfect the first time. After my presentations, I truly value the moments my colleagues recognize my efforts and support me by praising what I have done well. That recognition motivates me to keep trying and to continue facing my nerves.

Honestly, nerves might always be part of my story, but so is growth. By preparing, staying present, practicing, and celebrating progress, I know I can keep moving forward. And maybe confidence isn’t a single mountain to conquer, but a path I keep walking, not running, one steady step at a time.

 

The arts are a way of knowing that provides ways of perceiving, interpreting, organizing, and questioning various aspects of our world through exploration and experimentation.

• Ontario Arts Curriculum

Am I an artist? 

I asked myself this question more than once when I signed up for a workshop with a local author and spoken word artist.  The workshop focus was on the International Decade of People of African Descent here in Canada and, as consolidation of our thinking and learning, we were to create a visual representation.  This would be used to create a collaborative quilt – so I was feeling the pressure. 

Am I an artist? 

What did an artist do?  Words are my most comfortable form of artistic expression – but is that considered being an artist?  I could include some words on my quilt square, that was allowed as part of our consolidation.  It seemed so risky to push myself out of my comfort zone and into visual artistic interpretation that was going to go on display…

Am I an artist? 

I decided that I was going to try my hand at sketching and drawing.  After listening to the presentation and thinking about the history of the lands in Niagara, I was going to honour the generations of people of African Descent.  It was important to me to do right by this assignment.  I bought some pencil crayons and markers and took my papers ready to try my best.  The whole time, I was questioning and wondering whether I was the right person for this job. 

Am I an artist? 

I started thinking about lines from the poem and from the learning that was shared with us.  Brainstorming a visual or a person or a place that brought those words to life really helped me to develop a plan.  Next came the sketching part – shape, size, colouring.  

Using bright colours, deep colours, and shading to emphasize different ways to make my thinking come to life took time and patience.  During this time creating, I was thinking intensely about what I learned and what the most important messaging was for me – I recognized that I was fully engaged in communicating my thoughts and ideas about the session. 

Am I an artist? 

My drawing weren’t perfect, but after the first quilt square, I enjoyed the process so much I completed a few more.  Each time, I took a little more ‘risk’ and created more complicated drawings even attempting a portrait of Chloe Cooley for one.  

The whole experience started out being uncomfortable, but as I few in confidence, thinking, and learning I began to really have fun.  My drawings became more meaningful to me with each expression and I sought new and different ideas to try out.

I thought a lot about the moments when we ask students to engage in artistic expression.  It’s about noticing, being creative, and thinking critically.  And it’s challenging!  Like all great learning experiences, it takes time and effort.  There were some parts where I didn’t know how to fill those blank spaces and I had to look up suggestions for colours and shapes online.  I reflected back in those moments teaching art classes and wondered how I helped students to move through this process from uncomfortable to confident.  I hope I gave them time to enjoy the challenge of learning deeply enough to feel proud of their work.     

Am I an artist? 

I think the answer to this question just might be yes.  

 

Some time ago, I received a book of quotes and poetry by Maya Angelou.  It’s a lovely, little green display book that stands on its own like a flip chart and each page has a quote or idea inspired by Maya Angelou.  This book has sat on my desk and followed me around from school to school and classroom to classroom as an inspirational grounding for me; in quiet moments of reflection I’ll read a few pages that apply to both personal and professional significance.  My most favourite page has the quote, “You may not think you can change things. Try anyway.”  Inspired by this, I’ve thought about some of the lessons I learned last year and will take forward with me to this year….

You may plan the perfect unit, lesson, or assignment. It might be a subject that you love and you’re certain that it will be the spark that helps the children to love it, too.  Then, your teaching assignment changes.  Plan anyway. 

You may have prepared your lesson plans.  They may be meticulously detailed and you believe you’ve thought of everything.  You may have to shift because the students need more time, there’s a last minute change in the day or a fire drill.  Prepare anyway. 

You may start your year building community in your classroom and you may work at these relationships for a long time together.  It may take many attempts and experiences or it may be a series of small, undefinable moments together. And still, it may not be perfect.  Build it anyway. 

You may learn new and exciting teaching strategies.  You may want to try out some of these lessons with students and see how it makes a difference for them – and it might be messy the first or second or third time.  Be messy anyway. 

You might have days when you are thinking through a problem together as a class or with your colleagues.  Maybe you don’t have an answer right away, maybe the solution isn’t quite what you anticipated.  Think together anyway. 

You will have overwhelming days when everything feels heavy.  It might feel uncomfortable to ask for an extension, some help, or grace from others, but there are friends who want to help you.  So ask anyway. 

I hope we all find courage and inspiration to continue planning, prepping, inspiring, learning, and supporting students and each other. For now, take a breath, be in the moment, find inspiration and joy in the hard work that we do.

Our classrooms today have a strong emphasis on feeling safe and welcome in September.  I remember feeling intimidated and overwhelmed on the first day of school. However, when I compare my childhood experience to the stories told by residential school survivors I am deeply saddened and want to support Indigenous Peoples by sharing the truth about residential schools. I am an Irish-Canadian so I read books written by Indigenous authors to give authentic voice to this topic.  Here are some suggestions of books that can be read in September to prepare students for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30th, also known as Orange Shirt Day.

Phyllis Webstad

There are several excellent books by Phyllis Webstad, who is the founder of the Orange Shirt movement. Her 2018 book, “The Orange Shirt Story” has details about her experiences in residential school and the painful separation from her grandmother. This book is better suited to students who are in grade 3 and up. Her 2019 version of this story is intended for younger readers and is entitled “Phyllis’s Orange Shirt”. 

In 2022 Phyllis created “With Our Orange Hearts” with illustrator Emily Kewageshig. Written in rhyming couplets this book explains why September 30th is known as Orange Shirt Day and the meaning behind the phrase, “Every Child Matters”. It is appropriate for all ages and has familiar symbols in the artwork that create interesting discussions in class.  There are many hearts and butterflies throughout the story as well as an eagle, feathers, stars, the sun, a rainbow and children in a circle. The art supports the story beautifully. Teachers using this book could then integrate this read aloud with art appreciation and explore other work by Emily Kewageshig on her website.  

“Every Child Matters” was published in 2023 with illustrations by Karlene Harvey. It reviews Phyllis’s experience as a child at residential school in more detail than the 2022 book and has an afterward which can help teachers develop a better understanding of the history. The artist has included Indigenous cultural symbols such as medicine wheels, smudging, lacrosse and fishing. I love rich illustrations which go beyond the words to help readers better understand the story. 

“I am Not a Number” by Jenny Kay Dupuis and Kathy Kacer

I would only use this book with students in junior or intermediate grades. When sharing stories like this one, it is important to be aware of our students.  There may be students in the class who are related to residential school survivors. There may be students who have been through traumatic experiences that could be triggered by the situations described in residential schools.

For suggestions on how to use this book check out the review in ETFO Voice https://etfovoice.ca/node/1347 .

“Stolen Words” by Melanie Florence

The grandfather in this book was forbidden to use his first language when he went to residential school. It is a moving story as the granddaughter listens to what happened to him and then brings home a dictionary so they can learn the Cree language together.   I use this book annually in my primary classes but can be used with any age group. There is an underlying message of hope, as there is in Phyllis Webstad’s books.  It promotes the idea that by listening and understanding we can make positive change for the future.  

ETFO Resources

https://etfovoice.ca/feature/teaching-and-learning-about-truth-and-reconciliation-our-youngest-learners

https://etfofnmi.ca/

https://etfofnmi.ca/truth-and-reconciliation/

https://etfofnmi.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/EWS_Healing-Conversations_Final_2024.pdf