Educational Kits for Classrooms

Indigenous Theme Kits – Delta Media Library

The Delta Media Library has many Indigenous Theme Kits that you can borrow and use in your classroom.

Click here to see the many kits available.

Click here for instructions on how to borrow kits.

The series of Indigenous Theme Kits have been assembled to assist teachers in weaving Indigenous culture into various subject areas. These kits contain quality resources and materials to enable teachers to embark on a joint learning journey with their students.

The kits are not meant to be prescriptive but rather open-ended and inquiry-based. Many of the kits will lead to questions of inquiry such as “How can I care for the environment?”, “How can I care for my family?”, “How can I care for others?” They are intended to create an awareness of other ways of understanding our world and our place in it. They may foster a sense of wonder amongst the students. They can help all learners discover ways to preserve the natural environment, embrace their identity and to live in harmony.

Most importantly, the Indigenous Theme Kits help students with Indigenous ancestry feel a sense of belonging because their unique heritage is valued and shared. We acknowledge the time you are taking to familiarize yourself with these kits and their applications within your classrooms.

Teachers who have used these kits have given very positive reviews and say that, having used them, they are more confident in including Indigenous content into their practice. We hope they will help you too.

Indigenous Theme Kits – At Your School

Primary Indigenous Theme Starter Kit

The kit contains puppets, books, and teacher guides for educators to use as a starting point for integrating Indigenous perspectives into their classroom teaching.

Intermediate Indigenous Theme Starter Kit

The kit contains books and teacher guides that will help teachers navigate the subject of Residential Schools (mandated to be taught in grade 5 in the redesigned curriculum) and other subject areas with confidence.

Sqwiqw’l Centres

Each Elementary school (Kindergarten) has received this classroom oral language development resource. It was originally designed as a supplement to Talking Tables units.

The contents of the kit (pictures, poems, stories, animals, plants, natural materials) can be used for oral language development activities and/or as a starting point for incorporating Indigenous culture in the primary classes.

Turtle Island Voices Literature Circle Kit

Each Elementary school has received a Turtle Island Voices Literature Circle Kit for one grade level (either grade 4-7 in both French and English). Each kit contains a Teacher Guide with 10 titles of fiction and non-fiction books (6 copies of each title). Grand Conversations, Thoughtful Responses: A Unique Approach to Literature Circles by Faye Brownlie is also included as a teacher resource.

The titles in this series honour the histories, cultures, world views, and knowledges of Canada’s Indigenous communities. Exciting stories, information, and graphics will pique students’ interest in learning about Indigenous peoples and cultures.

Suggestions for Using the Kits

The materials in the Indigenous Theme Kits cover a variety of topics and contain books, puppets, stuffed animals, puzzles, games, natural and the other materials. The kits will help you to incorporate role-playing, storytelling, art projects, writing and more. They can be used in many ways to help children learn about Indigenous peoples and their cultures.

As you start to use the kits, you should establish with the students appropriate handling of the puppets, books and fragile items contained in the kits. Often the children become very excited the first time they see the contents and these early discussions will set class guidelines for respectful and enjoyable long-term use of the kits.

You might invite the children to gather in a circle and watch while you slowly unpack the materials. Lay out the materials on the burlap, and as you carefully pass the materials around the circle, you can ask the children what they think the object is and how it might be used.

The kits contain many wonderful stories that draw adults and children alike into rich conversations and pique their curiosity. You might begin by reading one of the books and encouraging the children to talk about what they wondered about, if they made a personal connection to the story, or even with what animals they are familiar.

If you teach an intermediate grade and the kit has materials that appear to be more primary focused, let your students find ways to elevate the stories and activities to grade level. It is our hope that they will help you inspire your students to want to know and learn more.

We encourage you to share ways in which you are using the kits by writing a post on our Delta Learns website. This will enhance not only our learning but enable us to share our practices with many colleagues in the district. We look forward to your feedback.

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