Elementary and middle school educators may want to check out this resource featuring classroom activities that integrate Ojibwe art and culture "to enhance interest, understanding, enthusiasm, and performance in standards-based subjects among American Indian and non-American Indian students in grades K-8." Here, visitors will find a large collection of standards-aligned, arts-integrated lesson plans developed by working teachers and organized by grade level, season, and primary content area. One example of a spring lesson that integrates art and science features birchbark birdhouses, which students make in class while learning about paper birch's significance to Native cultures in the Lake Superior region. This robust curriculum also includes tips for teachers, a list of additional resources, and a thorough explanation of its pedagogical philosophy, content standards, and intended learning outcomes. While these lessons are designed to be specific to Ojibwe culture, educators and tribal leaders in other regions may like to use this resource as a model for developing a similar curriculum that would be accurate and appropriate for their local Native cultures. Intersecting Ojibwe Art Curriculum is the result of Project Intersect and the Culture-Based Arts Integration Curriculum, two projects facilitated by the University of Minnesota and funded by the US Department of Education.
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