Discovering Me

LISTEN, I READ
BOOK: ANCIENT THUNDER
ILLUSTRATED BY LEO YERXA

The young children in my class will experience the book Ancient Thunder through a process of inquiry and self discovery. Experiencing the book through language and the arts will allow the children to learn and discover the beauty of their culture. Students will see the beauty that is also within themselves and reach out to find out more about their culture, traditions, legends and sacred teachings. Students will create their own art and writing inspired by the book. We will have a traditional oral share with their family and community. We will document the process in our Early Learning Kindergarten Program and upload a final video tape of our celebration in June.

Update (June 13, 2013)

The kindergarten students in our early learning program have been thrilled discovering the messages for them inspired by Mr. Leo Yerxa's award winning book, Ancient Thunder. They began exploring the book and instantly had many "I wonder" questions. Student questions led to many small projects and a larger inquiry into forms of art and an exploration into culture.

Culture based inquiries focused on "what is special about me", including student's ideas around "loving the Earth and nature", "our family", "celebrations", "food", "having fun" and language. Mr. Yerxa's images and writing inspired conversations around "regelia" and "drumming". Two senior students from the school came into our classroom to share their knowledge about drums and drumming as well as the traditions surrounding the instrument. A short video of this is included.

Student art inquiries inspired by Mr. Yerxa's art led to the use of form and colour in art. The students experimented with lines, pencil sketching (free form using toy horses as models ), collage materials and different media including acrylic and water colour paint. They were intrigued by the different effects that these materials created. Some students wanted to further explore this experimentation at our 'art creation station' and were inspired to create art using their very own canvas and techniques.

The students are so very excited to visit with Mr. Yerxa through Skype and to share what they have learned. They have many more "I wonder" questions to ask!