This is part of the ANKN Logo This is part of the ANKN Banner
This is part of the ANKN Logo This is part of the ANKN Banner Home Page About ANKN Publications Academic Programs Curriculum Resources Calendar of Events Announcements Site Index This is part of the ANKN Banner
This is part of the ANKN Logo This is part of the ANKN Banner This is part of the ANKN Banner
This is part of the ANKN Logo This is part of the ANKN Banner This is part of the ANKN Banner
Native Pathways to Education
Alaska Native Cultural Resources
Indigenous Knowledge Systems
Indigenous Education Worldwide
 

Curriculum Resources for the Alaskan Environment

Subject Areas: shop, math, art, English

Timeline: open

Grade Levels: 9-12

Purpose: to develop the ingenuity necessary to live in an environment where you might never have the right tool or the right materials to do the job right at the right time

Box

T. Gillespie
Bush Shop or How to
Learn Carpentry
Without Wood

Box

 

Square bullet Activities

  • Renovate old abandoned buildings in the village. Have the students:

    work up drawings (blueprints) for renovation mock-up a scale model for replacements identify what has to be done and what to use to do the job

    try to use recycled materials as much as possible; recycled materials demand solutions that cannot be found in books

    try to build without nails and screws.

  • Build a structure as livable and functional as possible:

    build chairs, tables, beds, bookcases, cabinets, doors, windows, and chests of drawers

    make curtains for the windows, paintings for the walls, ceramic tableware; can and preserve food for the larder

    abandon the notion that it's wrong for someone to get something for free: while some may be willing to pay, others may not be able to pay.

  • Install alternative forms of energy: solar wind, seal oil, or wood (build a 55-gallon stove).

Square bullet Resources

  • anyone and everything
  • Kahn, Lloyd (Ed.). (1973). Shelter. Turtle Island Foundation
  • Pirsig, Robert. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
  • Rice, Eb. Building in the North
  • Cooperative Extension Service

Variations

  • Identify needs to test your ingenuity:

    what could one do with 20 rusted 55-gallon barrels?

    is there a use for 250 full honey-buckets every week?

 

Village Map and Directory

Land Selection

Local Weather Station

Star Mapping

6" Newtonian Reflecting Telescope Construction

Planetarium Construction

Investigation of Snow Melting

Insulation Experiments: Cardboard Boxes/Snow-Fenced Houses

Durable, Energy-Efficient Homes

Practical Application of Alternative Energy System

Solar Energy Uses

Construction of School/Community Facilities

Bush Shop or How to Learn Carpentry Without Wood

Basic Home Maintenance

Snowmachine Maintenance

Glider Construction (Aviation Shop)

Subsistence Tool Construction

Operating a Trapline, Subsistence Trapline, or Subsistence Net

Survival Skills

Heritage Campout

Netting Fish Efficiently

Natural History

Study of a Food Resource

Effects of Diet on Mice or Rats

Medicinal Plants

Farming the Sea

Summer Marine Science Program

Vegetable Gardening

Greenhouse Construction and Gardening

Chicken Farming

Water Usage Study

Garbage Disposal

Village Dogs

Fire Safety

 

 

Go to University of AlaskaThe University of Alaska Fairbanks is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity employer, educational institution, and provider is a part of the University of Alaska system. Learn more about UA's notice of nondiscrimination.

 


Alaska Native Knowledge Network
University of Alaska Fairbanks
PO Box 756730
Fairbanks  AK 99775-6730
Phone (907) 474.1902
Fax (907) 474.1957
Questions or comments?
Contact
ANKN
Last modified August 17, 2006