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Curriculum Resources for the Alaskan Environment
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Subject Areas:
[missing text], language arts,
communications, Alaska history, Native
studies
Timeline: four weeks or
more
Grade Levels:
7-12
Purpose: to encourage
cultural preservation; to teach interviewing and
research techniques; to involve students in writing
projects that will be a source of pride for the
community
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J. Bacon, J.
Boyle, Nancy Stringham Buck, T.
Cochran,
K. Fredericks,
E. Gillett, B. Harrison, J. and V. Lewis, and T.
Wagner
Literature
from Life History and Village Lore
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 Activities
Have students:
- Select community elder to be interviewed:
working individually or in small groups, write
down everything already known about the person
compose questions (e.g., where and
how the person has lived, genealogy, what he or she thinks
about changes that have taken place; social, hunting, domestic
practices, etc.)
- Conduct the interview:
practice first on each other
tape record and photograph or sketch the event
if possible, accompany the person to old village
or camp sites.
- Transcribe the tape(s).
- Write a biography from the material:
give a draft to other students for review,
comments, and questions
get comments from the teacher
if necessary, return to the interviewee for
more information
rewrite the biography
repeat the review process
- Prepare final version for publication:
select accompanying photos and sketches
typeset, lay out, and print in journalism
class, or send to a printer to typeset and lay out
design a cover.
- Make good use of the product:
use in Native Studies class or for an elementary
reader
publish as a booklet or send to a magazine
publish regularly as a periodical in magazine
or newsprint format
use in a larger publication that includes
legends, stories, other biographies, interviews, and historical
essays about the community
use in a larger publication that includes
profiles of younger people and stories about contemporary experiences.
Resources
- old photographs and historical documents
- tape recorders, cameras, printing facilities,
state and national magazines
- You and Aunt Arie, by Pamela Wood
- Foxfire books
- Chamai: A Curriculum Guide to Community and
Culturally Based Communications Skill Development, Department
of Education
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Variations
- Produce bilingually.
- Market the product.
- Use another medium: video- or
audiotape or a programmed slide show.
- Decide on a type of publication
first, and compose for a particular audience.
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