February

Learning Through Storytelling

When it comes to language acquisition, hearing the language in its natural form is beneficial, so storytelling is one way to achieve this in the classroom. The A.R.P. team has selected a number of different stories and legends from our area to read to the students. These stories contain some of the words that the students have already learned. Some vocabulary might be unfamiliar, so these words are introduced at the beginning of the lesson. The new words are also incorporated into center-based activities to help with retention. 


For example: In the stories, the animals experience different emotions/states of being/actions: 

Gchinendam - s/he is happy
Maanaadendam - s/he is sad
Nshkaadzi - s/he is angry
Bkade - s/he is hungry
Biingeji - s/he is cold 
Baapi - s/he is laughing
Nokii - s/he is working
Nbaa - s/he is sleeping 
Damno - s/he is playing
Biziigwii - s/he is getting up
Debnaa - s/he is catching fish
Ndamtaa - s/he is busy
Yekzi - s/he is tired
Gtimi - s/he is lazy
Zgaknige - s/he is putting away...


While sharing our Anishinaabek Aansookaanan, the focus is also on:
• helping students develop active listening skills during storytelling
• giving students an opportunity to practice their storytelling skills in Anishinaabemowin
• helping students develop an understanding of transitive verbs, third person, and fourth person
• encouraging students to use Anishinaabemowin vocabulary and concepts orally