Teacher Resources

To print any of the following lesson plans, click on the small arrow in the top right-hand corner to be taken to the full Google Docs site. You can then print from there by clicking the printer icon on the left.

To download, click on the small arrow in the top right-hand corner to be taken to the full Google Docs site. From there, click "File" on the left, and then "Download".

All lessons were developed using the Alberta Curriculum.

For more information on teaching Indigenous students, please read Our Words, Our Ways

Biology 20

• Classification and Nomenclature

• Cellular Respiration and Photosynthesis

Career and Technology Studies

• COM 2215: Photography Communication

• FOD 1060: Canadian Heritage Foods

Science 7

• Relationships and Flow

Website Resources

• University of Alberta's Center for Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education (CMASTE)

  • This is a great place to find sample lesson plans and classroom resources that portray the possibilities of Aboriginal infusion in the Alberta Biology 20 curriculum.

• The Edible Schoolyard Project

  • A page dedicated to sharing resources from teachers across North America, all centering on the use of gardening within classroom curriculum. Mostly science based, but includes many cross-curricular lessons and activities. Various grade levels are targeted.

• Nitsitapiisinni - Stories and Spaces Exploring Kainai Plants and Culture

  • Website created following a Grade 4 classroom's experience working with Kainai plants and culture within curriculum. Includes a PDF file of sample cross-curricular lesson plans, and instructional videos for how to use the site within existing teaching practices.

• Visual Thesaurus Scientific Nomenclature Lesson Plan

  • A great lesson plan idea that can be incorporated to use with or without the garden. Payment required for an account with Visual Thesaurus. Although it is not absolutely necessary, the site is highly interective and research based for students to use.

• School Garden Network

  • New site launched in Canada, connecting schools across the country by allowing them to build a profile for their gardens. Some teaching resources are also available, and are expected to grow as the site matures.

• Wonderville

  • Website containing lesson plans ideas, games, videos, and interactive activities that can easily be implemented in the classroom. Science Alberta Foundation award winner, linked directly to Alberta curriculum.

• School Garden Wizard: Children's Garden Themes

  • List of themed gardens that apply across the curriculum, regardless of what you decide to plant. Ideas of how to incorporate various plants into learning.

Classroom Materials

• Biological Classification Questionnaire

  • Handout that could be used in conjunction with an activity in the gardens relating to nomenclature and classification systems, Biology 20. Adapted from http://www.ecoknow.ca/documents/TEKUnit1.pdf .

• Photosynthesis Activity

  • Interactive video activity describing photosynthesis, plant structure, and environmental effects on plants.

• What is Carbon Dioxide? Video

  • Video about carbon dioxide formation, capture, and stprage as it relates to the environment.

• Entomology Video

  • Video about entomology, and how insects can work as pollinators and decomposers.

• Biodiversity Video

  • Video about how organisms co-exist, and how humans can impact other organisms.

Reference Materials

• Protocarnivorous Capabilities in Geranium viscosissimum

  • Research proving that Geranium viscosissimum (Sticky Geraniums) found in the Indigenous teaching gardens use their glandular surfaces to trap insects, digest them with enzymes, and use resulting nitrogen to supplement what they obtain from the soil. Can be used in conjunction with teaching about nitrogen cycles and relationships between organisms.

• Ojibway Plant Taxonomy

  • Examples of Ojibway plant taxonomy that can be used in the classroom as a resource for Indigenous classification systems.

• Inuit Taxonomy

  • Site describing Inuit Taxonomy, can be used in the classroom as a reference for Indigenous classification systems

• Naming Nature: The clash between instinct and science

  • Book describing classification, taxonomy, and the interesting connections between all patterns that exist within different systems. Excellent for understanding how people have derived classification systems independently, while still creating similar systems.

• Our Words, Our Ways

  • Publication by Alberta Education, describing Indigenous perspectives and how they exist in the classroom. Many great examples of acknoledging Indigenous perspectives in the classroom, and how to teach students of Indigenous culture.

Other Lesson Plan Ideas

• Soil pH Lab

  • Utilizes pH strips and pH probes to determine the pH of soil in various locations and conditions. This can be used with the Indigenous teaching gardens by having students test different ares of the gardens, and comparing the soil pH levels of both the gardens. Can also discuss traditional and modern techniques for adjusting soil pH. Retrieved from the Edible Schoolyard Project site.

• Temperature Basics in the Garden

  • Students use various methods to record temperature in different locations in the garden. Helps gain knowledge of the environment in the garden, as well skills involved in measuring and recording temperature. Can be adapted to include a closer relationship with the Alberta curriculum by tying to more specific objectives in the Program of Studies. Retrieved from the Edible Schoolyard Project site.

• Wildlife What Am I?

  • Students look at different native Alberta species as they relate to biodiversity and food chains. Could easily be adapted to include species found in the garden, or Aboriginal consumption of native species. Retrieved from http://www.alpac.ca/index.cfm?id=lesson_plans.

• My Community - Ecological Design

  • Students analyze their community as it has impacted native species, then redesign it to allow reduced impact on the natural environment without decreasing the quality of life of humans. In place of choosing a native animal species, students could choose one of the native plant species found in the gardens. Retrieved from http://www.alpac.ca/index.cfm?id=lesson_plans.

• Pulse Crops and Seed Production

  • Students use math to determine the planting map for a pulse garden, as well as weight conversions. Could easily be adapted to use the Indigenous teaching gardens in place of pulses. Retrieved from http://www.pulse.ab.ca/ForEducators/Grade4LessonPlans/tabid/217/Default.aspx.

Web

ALBERTA NATIVE PLANT COUNCIL

An organization which promotes knowledge and conservation of the native plants and vegetation of Alberta

EDMONTON NATURALIZATION GROUP

Site with information on native Alberta plants, and also a source of seeds for growing your own Indigenous garden. Also a place to find out about gardening and native plant and wildflower events in and around Edmonton!

GLACIER NATIONAL PARK TRAVEL GUIDE

National park travel and wildlife information, written by Perry Rosenbloom after spending time working at the glacier.

JASPER PLACE PERMACULTURE

High school permaculture club run through Jasper Place High School by Dustin Bajer in Edmonton, Alberta.

MONTANA PLANT LIFE

Website with lots of identification and use information for native Montana plant species, many of which are the same in Alberta.

NATIVE PEOPLES' GARDEN AT DEVONIAN BOTANIC GARDENS

Native plant species garden located in the University of Alberta's Devonian Botanical Gardens. Some plants in this garden are the same as in our gardens, and some further information can be found here.

NITSITAPIISINNI - STORIES AND SPACES: EXPLORING KAINAI PLANTS AND CULTURE

This is the web site that Alvine did with her students in Kainai. Lots of information here about plants and their uses, all put together by elementary school students! On the site you can find lots of information about the plants the students studied, many of which will grow in our garden.

NORTH AMERICAN NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY

A not-for-profit, charitable organization dedicated to providing information and inspiring an appreciation of native plants with an aim to restoring healthy ecosystems across the continent.

PLANTS FOR A FUTURE

Database website containing information on edible, medicinal, and other uses of numerous plant species.

PRAIRIE FLORA

Website dedicated to identifying and growing prairie plants in Manitoba.

RICHTERS

Website from which we purchased our Wild Tobacco and Wild Strawberries.

SUSTAIN S.U., UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA

Student's Union initiative, promoting everything sustainable on campus. They currently tend to a naturalization site outside the doors near the Education cafeteria, containing many native species to Alberta. Many of these plants are also similar/identical to those found in the Indigenous teaching gardens.

WILD ABOUT FLOWERS

Located in Turner Valley, AB, Wild about Flowers is a supplier of wildflowers and grasses native to Alberta. They collect our wildflower seed from natural spaces in Alberta and grow plants outdoors, in-tune with the growing season to produce the hardiest of plants. Most of the seeds and plant plugs for our garden were purchased from Wild about Flowers. They provide great information about the plants they supply. Check it out under “Plants and Seeds” and “Browse by Common Name”.

Books

INDIGENOUS METHODOLOGIES: CHARACTERISTICS, CONVERSATIONS AND CONTEXTS - Kovach, M. (2009). Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

INDIGENOUS STORYWORK: EDUCATING THE HEART, MIND, BODY, AND SPIRIT - Archibald, J.-A. (2008). Vancouver, BC: UBC Press.

HERBS OF LONG AGO-KAYA MUSKEKEYA - Anne Anderson, 1982

Available at Rutherford or JW Scott Libraries, University of Alberta, RS 164 A545 1982

LIVING WITH THE LAND: USE OF PLANTS BY THE NATIVE PEOPLE OF ALBERTA - Alberta Culture, Provincial Museum of Alberta, Various editions

Available at the University of Alberta:

Cameron Library (Oversize), E98 B7 A33 1985

JW Scott Library, E98 B7 A33 1982

Rutherford Library, E98 B7 A33 1975

Coutts Library (Curriculum), E98 B7 A33 1975

PLANTS OF KANANASKIS COUNTRY: IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS OF ALBERTA - B. Hallworth & C.C. Chinnappa

PLANTS OF THE WESTERN BOREAL FOREST & ASPEN PARKLAND - Johnson, Kershaw, MacKinnon, & Pojar

RESEARCH IS CEREMONY: INDIGENOUS RESEARCH METHODS - Wilson, S. (2008). Halifax, NS: Fernwood Publishing.

Journal Articles

HARVESTING CULTURAL KNOWLEDGE - Keating, J. F. (1997). Harvesting cultural knowledge: Using ethnobotany to reap the benefits of ethnic diversity in the classroom. The Science Teacher, 64(2), 22-25.