DRAFT Birch Bark Biting 61

Birch Bark Biting

Grade 6

Integrated Inquiry Project

Grade Six Mathematics will be the main focus of the Inquiry Project.

Inquiry Project Focus:Historical Birch Bark bitings and the process of creating Birch Bark bitings.

Essential Questions:Can Birch Bark biting be brought back into today’s culture and society or is it a lost cultural art form?

Encompassing Essential Question:

Mathematics Essential Question:What shapes are possible or impossible to bite into the birch bark?

Social Studies Essential Question:Could Birch Bark bitings be used today as a source of economy?
Science Essential Question:Do we have the natural resources today to support Birch Bark biting?
Visual Arts Essential Question:Is there more than one way to create Birch Bark bitings?

Inquiry Into:

The mathematics within Birch Bark biting
Angles within 2-D shapes
2-D shape transformations
The history of Birch Bark biting and it’s connection to the economy
The process of creating Birch Bark biting and dyes for Birch Bark biting creations
How Birch Bark biting influences/is influenced by Mi’kmaw culture
The properties of the Birch trees and Birch bark
If the art of Birch Bark biting is relevant/present in today’s art culture or if it could be brought back
The geographic locations of Birch Bark bitings in Canada and why biting existed there

Rationale for the Inquiry Project:

While growing up, Josephine Peck’s mother would hand her a piece of birch bark and ask her what shapes she could bite into it. As a past time, Josephine would bite different shapes and designs into the bark and, when she could, would make dyes and use her birch bark bitings as stamps.

To be able to bite shapes into the birch bark, Josephine was required to have an intrinsic understanding of the properties of shapes. For example, she knew that if the edges of the circle were not exactly equidistant from the centre, she would get a flower shape rather than a circle.

With Birch Bark biting being a nearly lost art form, along with the Aboriginal cultural connections, learning about how to create Birch Bark bitings and the mathematical, scientific, social and artistic aspects behind these artworks may be very interesting and relevant to the students in your classroom. By addressing the essential questions (listed above) throughout the subjects, your students will be able to have a better understanding of the Mi’kmaw culture as well as the different cultural understandings and approaches to Science, Art and Mathematics.

It is very important that this unit of study is completed with care and respect, drawing upon the knowledge of Elders who have completed Birch Bark bitings previously. Furthermore, the lessons should not be designed to implement Western European understandings on Aboriginal understandings, but should be focused on learning the understandings of the Aboriginal peoples through their culture and then find connections between the two cultural viewpoints. Students can also be required to research other cultural understandings as well. It is also highly suggested that students are required to look for bias in the texts that they read, so that misinformation does not lead to students having a skewed understanding of the Mi’kmaw culture and way of life.

Each subject has its own individual essential question, which lead to the encompassing essential question, which will be answered through the completion of the RAFT Assessment Task. Within each subject, students can be required to complete mini projects to answer the question provided and show their understanding and engagement with the topic. The learning should be highly hands-on and student directed. There are times in which Teacher directed lessons (or follow up lessons) will be required, and some of these lessons are suggested later on in the Inquiry Unit Lesson Plan; however, students should be held responsible for the majority of the researching and finding answers to the questions posed throughout their study of Birch Bark biting.

Below is a suggestion of the way to structure the subjects to answer the Essential Questions and support student learning.

Mathematics

By having students participate in this tradition of birch bark biting, students will have the opportunity to engage with mathematics in a non-Western-European viewpoint. Students will be able to learn about shapes and the properties of shapes through discovering how to bite shapes into the bark, requiring them to not only create the shape but also imagine the shape and its features while biting the bark. The tactile properties of this activity may also prove beneficial for students. Students should be allowed to explore and experiment with different ways to bite shapes into the bark, allowing them to find what works, what does not work and why.

By creating dyes, students can take their birch bark biting shapes and use them as stamps, allowing them to see how shapes are translated, rotated and/or reflected about a point. The students’ understandings of the properties of shapes can be further supported through teacher-directed lessons and other activities. Students should also be able to, after creating their birch bark biting, measure the angles and sides within their shapes and connect it to their understanding of how to bite the shapes into the birch bark (e.g., squares need to have four sides of equal lengths and equal internal angles). The sum of internal angles can also be seen and measured (either measuring each angle or by seeing the triangles created from the folds and finding the formula to measure the internal angles using the interior angles of the triangles).

When creating their dyes, students can observe what the ratio is between the volume of water and plant matter to create the different colours. Students can record the ratios on a chart for the different colours and create a graph/table to represent these differences/similarities.

Visual Arts

Since, traditionally, Birch Bark bitings were used like a stencil for the creation of designs on other items, these Birch Bark bitings lend themselves well to Visual Arts. Students should be given time to create designs through Birch Bark bitings and be allowed to use dyes (using the dyes created within the mathematics section) to make these designs into stamps. These can be extended into student-chosen artwork.

Students should also research different cultural art forms (past and present) and find if there are other cultures that have art similar to Birch Bark biting. Students should also be allowed to spend time researching to see if there are other ways in which these Birch Bark biting designs could be created (different materials? different techniques?) Students can share their different techniques/styles with their class and discuss why they think it did or did not work.

Within their research and experimentation with Birch Bark biting, students should also be required to research the history of Birch Bark biting within Canada or their region (in-person interviews, on-line research, books, etc.), who would be making these bitings, why and how they have evolved or if they have evolved.

Students can present an artwork of their own that is based upon the Birch Bark bitings being discussed within the unit of study, showing their own techniques and use of the bitings.

Social Studies

To answer the Social Studies’ essential question, students should be required to research where Birch Bark biting existed, how Birch Bark biting has influenced the Mi’kmaw culture (or Aboriginal culture being studied) and Canadian culture.Students should be required to find out the purposes behind Birch Bark biting, whether it existed within only an artistic purpose, or if it also existed as an economic purpose as well.

When students have an understanding of the value, purpose, and place of Birch Bark biting, students should be required to look at Birch Bark biting today, how it has been affected, and whether it still exists, or can exist again, as a cultural tradition and economic tool.

Science

Students should be required to look at the Birch tree as well as the plants used for the dyes and analyze their features, determining why they exist within the areas they do, what features make them useful and how humans have affected (negatively or positively) the existence of plants in the specified area. Students should relate these plant features and availability to the requirements of Birch Bark biting to determine if Birch Bark biting is a sustainable activity. Students could also research to see if there are other plants in the region that have features that would be able to be used for Bark biting/dyes.

Outcomes:

Mathematics

SP1: Create, label and interpret line graphs to draw conclusions
SP2: Select, justify and use appropriate methods of collecting data, including
Questionnaires
Experiments
Databases
Electronic media
SP3: Graph collected data and analyze the graph to solve problems
SS6: Perform a combination of translations, rotations and/or reflections on a single 2-D shape, with and without technology, and draw and describe the image
SS7: Perform a combination of successive transformations of 2-D shapes to create a design and identify and describe the transformations
SS9: Perform and describe single transformations of a 2-D shape in the first quadrant of a Cartesian plane (limited to whole number vertices)
N5: Demonstrate an understanding of ratio, concretely, pictorially and symbolically
SS1: Demonstrate an understanding of angles by:
Identifying examples of angles in the environment
Classifying angles according to their measure
Estimating the measure of angles, using 450, 900, and 1800 as reference angles
Determining angle measures in degrees
SS2: Demonstrate that the sum of interior angles is:
1800 in a triangle
3600 in a quadrilateral
SS4: Construct and compare triangles, including
Scalene
Isosceles
Equilateral
Right
Obtuse
Acute

in different orientations

SS5: Describe and compare the sides and angles of regular and irregular polygons

English Language Arts

1.1: Contribute thoughts, ideas and questions to discussions and compare their own ideas with those of peers and others
1.3: Defend and/or support their opinions with evidence
2.1: Contribute to and respond constructively in conversation, small-group and whole-group discussions
3.2: Detect examples of prejudice, stereotyping or bias in oral language; recognize their negative effect on individuals and cultures; and attempt to use bias-free language
5.1: Answer, with increasing independence, their own questions and those of others by selecting relevant information from a variety of texts
Demonstrate understanding of the purpose of classification systems and basic reference materials
Use a range of reference texts and a database or an electronic search to facilitate the selection process
7.4: Respond critically to texts by:
Applying a growing range of strategies to analyze and evaluate a text
Demonstrate growing awareness that all texts reflect a purpose and a perspective
Recognizing when language is being used to manipulate, persuade or control them
Detecting prejudice, stereotyping and bias

Visual Arts

1.2: Demonstrate ability and initiative in the use of techniques, technologies, materials and equipment
3.1: Compare works of art across time and culture
3.3: Use technology to locate and explore works of art
4.1: Discuss ideas and approaches with sensitivity and respect
4.4: Discover art as a way of expressing ideas
5.3: Demonstrate an understanding of the lives of artists within cultural/historical/social contexts

Social Studies

6.1.1: Explore the concept of culture and demonstrate an understanding of its role in their lives
Classify elements of culture as material or non-material
Investigate how cultures are transmitted from generation to generation
Identify factors that shape culture
6.1.2: Identify, locate and map major cultural regions of the world
Recognize that there are various criteria for defining a cultural region, such as language, religion, location and place, shared traditions and history
6.3.1: Examine how traditions relate to culture in a selected cultural region
Describe how customs and rituals are reflected in the region’s culture
Analyze how change factors affect cultural traditions
6.3.3: Explain how economic systems relate to cultures
Identify different economic systems
Examine the differences among different economic systems
Explain how the economic programs and services of a country influence its culture
Identify current economic trends that are influencing culture
6.4.1: Analyze how the arts reflect beliefs and values in a selected cultural region
Identify visual arts, crafts, dance and music practiced in the region
Analyze how crafts and visual art reflect the beliefs and values of the culture
6.6.1: Illustrate an understanding of how cultures from around the world have contributed to the development of Canada’s multicultural mosaic

Science

Propose questions and gather information about the relationship among the structural features of plants and animals in their environments and identify the positive and negative impacts of humans on these resources (204-1, 108-8)

Teacher-Directed / Follow-Up Lessons:

Mathematics

Review bar and double bar graphs and introduce the line graph and their attributes
Purposes of different types of graphs and how to choose the appropriate graph for your data
How to formulate a good question when collecting data
Discrete vs. Continuous data
Different ways to collect data
How to use databases to collect data
How to read and understand different graphs
Combining transformations (reflection followed by a translation, two translations, two reflections, a translation followed by a rotation, two rotations)
How to plot points and perform transformations in a Cartesian plane
Rotations of shapes about a centre of rotation on a vertex, outside the shape and within the shape
How ratios and percents can be represented by decimals and fractions
Ratios as a comparison between two numbers
Equivalent ratios and Equivalent fractions
Measuring angles in degrees and using a protractor to measure angles
Angle names (right, straight, acute, obtuse, reflex)
Benchmarks of 1800, 900 and 450
Naming and identifying properties of different triangles (scalene, isosceles, equilateral, right, acute, obtuse)
Review of polygons (regular, irregular)

English Language Arts

How to use sources within your writing/presentations (citations, using quotations to defend and support the opinion)
How to read for bias/stereotyping/racism
How to use databases for research
How to generate good questions
How to respond to peers’ statements in a positively constructive manner

Visual Arts

How to find works of art (databases, books, on-line museums)
How to use techniques/technologies/tools
How to agree/disagree with ideas appropriately and constructively
How to respond to and analyze artwork with respect to the artist and others

Social Studies

What culture is
Difference between material/non-material culture
How to create maps, different types of maps (geographic, cultural, environmental, traditions, etc.)
Different kinds of economy in existence; what is economy?
Today’s Canadian Identity (multiculturalism—who is involved in this multicultural identity and why)

Science

How to gather information to answer questions (research, experiments, etc.)
How to create good questions, hypotheses
Human impacts on the earth
How plants/animals adapt to their environment (features of plants/animals)

Skill Development:

Organizational and Self-Management

Students will be expected to complete research tasks, research, the RAFT, and other tasks independently
Students will be expected to complete activities by a pre-determined time and have check-up interviews with the teacher
Students will be required to do individual/small group research with minimal teacher support
Students will need to create, organize, invite and run the RAFT Part 1 task as a class (can be broken into smaller presentation groups), with teacher support.

Use competencies expected in high performance work organizations (e.g. Team work, problem solving, communications, decision making, project management)

Students should be allowed time to discuss ideas and findings with each other in class
Students should be required to have their RAFT completed in stages with multiple due dates to keep them on track and provide feedback/support for problems
Students will be required to complete the RAFT Part 2 individually and complete the research required to support their argument
Smaller projects can be completed in pairs/small groups or independently
Students should try to use different tactics for creating the birch bark biting in mathematics and art
Students should be allowed to explore different ways to mix water and plant matter for creating dyes without large teacher support
When completing RAFT part 1, students should be required to designate roles and responsibilities, keep notes as to what their plan will be, work as a group to solve problems, and keep a set of due dates to prepare and complete the task in steps
Students should create and send invitations to the community to attend the Birch Bark biting workshop

Conduct research, share information, make decisions, solve problems

Students should have experience in folding and biting Birch Bark
Students can brainstorm areas of interest in Birch Bark biting to research more in-depth
Students will choose their own method of presenting their RAFT part 2
Students will answer their RAFT using research they have collected from books, interviews, online articles and their own personal opinions created through their learning

Use technology in a purposeful manner

Students can photograph their Birch Bark bitings to record the process of how to create a Birch Bark biting
Students can use cameras/video cameras to film the process of making Birch Bark bitings
Students can (with permission) record interviews with elders/experts
Students can use technology in the production and/or presentation of their RAFT
Students can use the internet as a source of information

Engage in authentic investigations using a variety of media, methods and sources