TeachingMathinFirstPeoples
Context
Grades8and9
Teaching Mathematics
in a First Peoples Context
Grades 8 and 9
First Nations Education Steering Committee
113 - 100 Park Royal South
West Vancouver, BC V7T 1A2
Toll Free: 1-877-422-3672
Tel: 604-925-6087
info@fnesc.ca | www.fnesc.ca
ShawnDesaulniers
shawn@math.ubc.ca
Who am I?
•  ShawnDesaulniers
•  I’maMé8sCanadianfromNorthwesternOntario
•  IteachmathattheUniversityofBri8shColumbia
Outline:
Learningul8matelysupportsthewell-beingoftheself,the
family,thecommunity,theland,thespirits,andtheancestors.
Learningisholis8c,reflexive,reflec8ve,experien8al,and
rela8onal(focusedonconnectedness,onreciprocal
rela8onships,andasenseofplace).
Learninginvolvesrecognizingtheconsequencesofone’sac8ons.
Learninginvolvesgenera8onalrolesandresponsibili8es.
Learningrecognizestheroleofindigenousknowledge.
Learningisembeddedinmemory,history,andstory.
Learninginvolvespa8enceand8me.
Learningrequiresexplora8onofone’siden8ty.
Learninginvolvesrecognizingthatsomeknowledgeissacredand
onlysharedwithpermissionand/orincertainsitua8ons.
Fosteringthedevelopment
ofposi8veaQtudes.
Pg11
•
•
•
•
withmembersoflocalcommuni8es
betweenmathandIK
withstudents
withAboriginalcultures
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Figure 1
pg16
JerryWhitehead–FineArtPainter
hZp://www.jerrywhitehead.com
DaveRobinson–Boxer,Carver,FutureTeacher
hZp://nitep.educ.ubc.ca/dave-robinson-boxer-carver-future-teacher/
JamesMichels–musician–ar8st.
hZp://www.bentcedarbox.com
hZp://artsquest.ca/2012/05/07/bent-cedar-boxes-handcraced-by-james-michels/
Equipment:
•  13s8cks
•  2setsofbones
Thes8cksarenormallypaintedindifferentcolorsormadeof
differenttypesofwood.Thebonesarenotnotbeno8ceably
differentexceptincolour.Thebonesareeitherwhiteormarked
withastripe.Theyarenormallymadeofantlersorbone.
Rules:
EachteamhaswhatiscalledaDoctor.Hecallstheshots.
Forexample,hedecideswhowillbethe"shooter"-theplayer
whoguesseswherethewhitebonesare.Doctorsofthetwo
teamsplayofffortheKickS8ck(ExtraS8ck).
hZp://twinkleshappyplace.blogspot.ca/
Rules:
Oneteam(TeamA)startswiththetwopairsofbones.Twoplayerson
TeamAhidethebonesintheirhandsandholdthemouttoTeamB.The
shooteronTeamB,usingspecialhandsignals,guesseswherethewhite
bonesare.
S8cks,andtherighttoholdthebones,arewonorlostdependingifthe
shooter'sguessisrightorwrong.Thegameendswhenoneteamhas
wonallthes8cksfromtheotherteam.TheKicks8ckisthelasttogo.
Theteamthathascontrolofthebonesistheteamthatsingstheirs8ck
gamesonginanaZempttodistracttheopposingteam.
hZps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slahal
•  It’sapreZycomplicatedgame.
•  Agoodcalculusstudentwouldstruggleto
understandtheprobabilityfully!
•  It’smaybebesttoapproachitasanintroduc8onto
empiricalprobabilityorsta8s8calinference.
•  SeeUnit4oftheResourceGuideformoredetails.
•  CollectandDisplayData
•  piegraphs,bargraphs,…
•  Listoutcomes
•  TallySheets,TreeDiagrams,etc.
•  Discussprobabilityandterminology
•  Independenteventsandmul8plica8on
•  Discussplayertendenciesor“gives”
Origin:BlackfootNa8oninMontana
Equipment:
•  4buffalobones
•  12Coun8ngs8cks
hZp://mathcentral.uregina.ca/
Rules:Thegoalistogetall12s8cks.
Tossallfors8cksintotheair.Ifyouget:
Onlythechief–that’s6points.
TheChief,thefour,andbothzags–4points.
TheChiefandtheFour,butnothingelse–2points.
Allotherscoresareequalto0.
Aplayerkeepsgoingaslongastheyscoredapoint.
Thes8cksbegininthecenter,butcanthenbetakenfromeachother.
•  ThisisamuchsimplergamethanLahal
•  Manydifferentworksheetcanbecreated.
•  Discussatyoutablewhatwouldbeagood
follow-uptothegameplay.
•  Whattypeofmathcanyoulinkthisgameto?
Rules:Thegoalistobethefirsttogetto50.
Tossallfors8cksintotheair.Ifyouget:
Allfouruporallfourdown–5points.
Any3upandonedownorany3downand1up–2points.
2upand2down–1point.
Fillintheprovidedhandoutstakenfromtheresourceguide.
•  WeatherForecas8ng
•  Fishing
•  Timeofday
•  Loca8on
•  Typeoffish
•  Healthoftheecosystem
•  Decisionmaking(poli8cs,whentoharvest,travel,
etc.)
•  Discusswithyourlocalcommunity
Following up:
hZp://www.bentcedarbox.com
Imaginehowmucheasieritwouldbe
tobuildaboxifyoulaidoutallthe
piecesintheorderthatyouwould
jointhemtogetherin,ratherthan
stackingupalltheparts.
Colourfourcubesasabove.
Thesolu8onliesinarrangingthecubesina
4x1x1columnsothateachcolorappearsexactly
onceoneach4x1side.
Deceivinglysimpleatfirstglance,thereareover
41,000possiblesolu8ons,whichcanprovoke
insanityinsome.
Insidearectangularroom,measuring30feetinlengthand12feetinwidthandheight,
aspiderisatapointonthemiddleofoneoftheendwalls,1footfromtheceiling,asatA;
andaflyisontheoppositewall,1footfromthefloorinthecentre,asshownatB.
Whatistheshortestdistancethatthespidermustcrawlinordertoreachthefly,which
remainssta8onary?
Ofcoursethespiderneverdropsorusesitsweb,butcrawlsfairly.
hZp://www.pleacher.com/mp/mlessons/calculus/spider.html
Solu8on
Builda3Dofaboxwhichmeasures
30cx12cx12c
Openitandexplorethedifferent
op8malpaths.
Whatother3Dnetscanyoubuild?
Youactuallyneedtobuildit!
Therearecompassesandrulersavailable.