IGT Classroom Activities
Classroom activities relating to Intergenerational Trauma and Indigenous culture can be found on this page. Most of these activities are original to the authors of this website. A few of the activities have been adapted from other sources. Please feel free to use these activities as is or tailor them to the unique needs of your classroom.
Finding All We Have in Common
Objectives
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To give students an opportunity to introduce themselves
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To give students an opportunity to work in pairs and find commonalities
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To build inclusion
Instructions
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State that we are a unique group about to start an exciting school year together, and we need to learn about each other.
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Have each student find a partner he or she does not know at all or does not know very well. Students will be given five minutes to find out all the things they have in common with their partner.
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Have the students sit in a community circle. Have each partner introduce him or herself and tell what he or she discovered.
Suggested Reflection Questions
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What are things you may have in common
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Why is finding out what you have in common a good way to get to know someone?
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How did you and your partner make this activity successful?
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What do you appreciate about this community?
Adapted from:
Gibbs, J., & Ushijima, T. (2008). Engaging all by creating high school learning communities. Windsor, Calif.:
CenterSource Systems.
Mini Trauma Activity
Classroom Activities - TeachTrauma. Adapted, from http://www.teachtrauma.com/educational-tools/classroom-activities/
This is a simple activity to help students understand what it is like to experience a traumatic event. This will also help those impacted by trauma become more aware of their feelings and reactions.
Pre Activity:
Speak to students about their reactions to doing this exercise.
Give students the right to pass (i.e. option not to participate if they feel this activity might be distressing to them).
Let students know that they do not need to share any information that they feel uncomfortable discussing.
INSTRUCTIONS:
Provide each student with four small post-it notes.
On paper one, ask students to write down the name of a very close loved one.
On paper two, ask students to write down their favourite activity.
On paper three, ask them to write down their favourite place to go.
On paper four, ask them to write down (or think about) a secret that is embarrassing or do not wish to share (they can use a symbol if they don’t want to write it down or think of it without writing anything). Assure students that the papers will not be collected.
READ PROMPT:
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Imagine you have now become a victim of the crime. Take paper one and rip it up, because this person doesn’t exist to you: you learned that they have been a victim to a homicide and are deceased.
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Now rip up paper two because you just learned the homicide occurred during the time you were involved in your favourite activity. You no longer enjoy this activity because it reminds you of the loss of your loved one; this activity doesn’t exist anymore.
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Now rip up paper 3. Your favourite place is gone now too because this is where the murder occurred. You cannot go to this place anymore without thinking of losing your loved one and how they died.
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Now what you have left is a secret. Something that makes you feel ashamed and blaming yourself and helpless. This is similar to the feelings you might have for not being able to save your loved one. This is what you have left. Everyone will have their personal experience and reaction. As a supporter and loved one of a victim, the closer you are, the more real it becomes.
Discussion: Discuss with students what they have learned about how it would feel to lose someone they love to a violent crime.
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What reactions did they have that surprised them?
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What do they think would help victims of violent crime recover from such a powerful and painful experience?
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What would be unhelpful for people to say to them?
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What would be helpful for people to say to them?
Indigenous Infographic Activity
This is a classroom activity to help all students learn about Indigenous culture. Students will learn about Indigenous culture, values and lifestyle. This activity can have a positive effect on students because it will educate them about other cultures or if they are Indigenous, possibly explore their culture, in a safe space.
Pre-Activity:
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Explain to the students about residential schooling and the 60s scoop and how their culture and identity was forcefully stripped away at the hands of government officials.
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Facilitators can use any infographic or artistic program they wish to use for this activity. The authors of this recommend Canva.
Instructions:
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Students pair up with another peer (to facilitate teamwork skills and for discussion)
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Students are assigned up to 45 minutes to browse different Indigenous tribes
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they then sign up for a particular tribe that is of most interest to them (this gives Intergenerational trauma students the opportunity to sign up for their own tribe to learn more about), no other pair can further research that tribe for this activity
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Students research language, lifestyle, values and much more components of the culture based on a rubric at the discretion of the facilitator
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Example questions:
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What is the name of the tribe? What is the language of this tribe called?
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What region of Canada are they primarily located in? Were they nomadic? Were there patterns or reasons for their nomadic or non-nomadic lifestyle?
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What were the roles of women and men in this tribe? What did children do in this tribe?
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Were there tribe colours? What belief system did this tribe have?
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Interesting facts (open to what students wish to include on their infographic that may not be on the rubric)
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They then create an infographic based on the information they have researched
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Each infographic is put up in the classroom and showcased
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For up to 45 minutes (depending on how many students are in the class), students can quietly roam the room to read the other infographics
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When time is up, the class can have a discussion about the cultures, which tribe they found fascinating and for what reasons
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possibly compare and contrast the differences amongst tribe cultures
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Consolidation
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facilitate more discussion about culture, which can lead to another potential activity of 60’s scoop and residential schooling
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infographics are then put up in the school for the rest of the population to read
Trauma and Creativity Activity: Digital Artifact Expression
The purpose of this activity is to encourage self-expression. This activity may be triggering, so facilitators are encouraged to warn students about this and execute this activity in a safe space. The goal of this activity is to allow students to express themselves, whether it may be their trauma, mood or stress, using Indigenous art techniques.
Pre-activity:
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facilitators are strongly encouraged to warn students about potential triggering of this activity
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Examples of Indigenous art should be shown to students prior to this activity
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A discussion about Indigenous techniques can be facilitated
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Discussion of comparing, finding similarities, enriched colours and techniques can occur
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Instructions:
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Provide students with options for programs that they are comfortable using on the computer (could be PhotoShop, Paint or more)
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encourage them to express their mood or traumas (using colours and shapes)
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Accommodation: if students are triggered by expressing their traumas on this activity, offer them comfort and the opportunity to leave for a walk if they need to be alone.
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if the student finds it too difficult to resume this activity or illustrate their trauma, they may draw a generic art that they are interested in using Indigenous techniques
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Once they are complete, students have the option to share it with a peer of their choice but they have the right to pass on this
Consolidation:
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students can choose whether or not they wish to print their digital artifact and display it in the classroom
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students learn about the importance of expressing their emotions in a healthy manner
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students are reminded that this is a non-judgemental and safe space and in order to heal, healthy expression must occur
Some examples of digital Indigenous art:
(the authors of this website do not own any of the images portrayed on this page, all images were retrieved from Google Image Indigenous digital art)
Resilience Building Activity
Adapted from https://positivepsychology.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Building-Resiliency-in-Young-people-Resource-2013.pdf
Learning Goals:
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Students will learn that being resilient means showing your emotions. They will understand that when going through a tough time, you may feel sad or scared or anxious, but this is a normal part of life.
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Students will be able to understand that being resilient is not about keeping things inside, but expressing how you feel and moving forward.
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Communicating and understanding their own emotions is a key ingredient to resilience.
Success Criteria:
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Recording how you feel in different situations can assist in keeping a check on your emotions and assisting in developing the skills to move forward.
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Students will record their feelings in their personal learning journal.
Resources Required: Feelings journal, post-it notes, coloured pens, soft small ball
Instructions:
1. Activity (15-20 minutes)
I. Students are required to stand in a circle.
II. Ask students to think about emotions. What do they know about them? What are they?
III. One student starts with the ball and throws the ball to another student, sharing what their thought has been
IV. This is continued until all students have received the ball, and shared an idea.
2. What are emotions? (15 minutes)
Remind students what resiliency is
I. Each student writes down an example of an emotion on post-it notes
II. Students present their examples and place the post-it note on the board, under the headings positive/negative
III. Discuss why the emotions are under each heading
IV. Add an extra column. How does this make someone feel?
3. As a whole group, student's suggestions are written up. (10 minutes)
I. Explain to students that keeping a check on their emotions assists in knowing how we respond in certain situations and how best to move forward and learn about how situations make us feel
4. Feelings/Learning Journal (5 mins)
This is a journal that can be used throughout a student's school day, lesson, or personal life.
Recording our feelings allows us to understand how we feel and helps to develop our resilience.
III. Students may choose to share with a trusted friend
Who Am I? Exploring Identity
Instructional Expectations and Opportunities
The purpose of the activity is for students to create a representation of their own identity. In this lesson, students will describe aspects of their identities such as race, gender, ability, religion and more.
Learning Goals: To enhance a student's sense of identity
Success Criteria: Students will be able to describe their various group identities.
Enduring Understandings:
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Everyone has multiple identities.
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Peoples' identities are similar in some ways and different in others.
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It is important to see my identity and the identities of others in the school community.
Warm-up Discussion
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Write "identity" on the board and ask the students to brainstorm their meanings.
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Please talk with your students about their identities and what makes them who they are. List words that help describe a person's identity, such as gender, race, religion and ability.
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Pick a well-known character from a book that you have read recently or a historical or famous figure. Brainstorm words that identify this person. Briefly highlight stereotypes and caution against making assumptions or judging people based on a single characteristic. Students should be encouraged to work in groups of 4-5 for this portion of the activity.
Essential Questions
What three words would you choose to describe yourself best?
Why do those words accurately describe you?
What three words would your family or friends use to describe you?
How accurate are other's descriptions of you?
What three words do you want to describe yourself as ten years from now?
How are other people similar to and different from me?
Ask for volunteers from the small groups to share their insights with the class.
Consolidation:
Ask the students to create a representation of themselves. Before they begin, they need to review what they wrote about themselves in the Introductory Activity. At some point in the creative process, students should record what they are trying to communicate about themselves and how they plan to do this.
Once students complete the project, there is a class exhibition of the work. Each student should explain their rationale behind the project.