Ele m en tary Less on
Grade 3: Language
ORAL TRADITION
Purpose: Students will learn Canada’s First Nations, Métis and
Inuit People value a legacy of oral tradition. They will hear a
traditional oral story and discuss the lessons in it intended for
future generations. Students then apply their learnings to create
their own family myth.
Estimated time: 60 minutes
Resources required:
o Chart paper
Resources included:
o Blackline master 1 and 2
Activity:
1. Ask students to explain how they have learned about their family
history. Discuss this as a class.
2. In many cases, students will have learned about their family
through oral stories told by their parents, guardians and other
members of their family. Ask if any students in the class want to
share a story about their family history.
3. Once sharing is complete, explain to students that in First
Nations, Métis and Inuit culture, the oral tradition of storytelling
is valued as a means to pass on accounts of history and
spirituality, as well as lessons on morals, values and life skills,
to future generations. These stories connect Aboriginal People
with their past and future.
4. Today students are going to hear an Aboriginal story that has
been passed down orally through generations.
5. Choose one of the following stories to read to the students:
a.
b.
c.
Blackfoot First Nations, “Earth Diver”, adapted for Grade
1, 2 and 3 students from Origins Canadian History to
Confederation. 3rd edition. R.D. Francis, R. Jones, D.B.
Smith, Harcourt Brace & Co. Toronto, 1996.
Metis-Cree, “How the People Hunted the Moose”, adapted
for Grade 1, 2 and 3 students from The Native Stories
from Keepers of the Animals, by Joseph Bruchac
Inuit, “The Wolf and the Caribou”, adapted for Grade 1, 2
and 3 students from Never Cry Wolf by F. Mowat (1963)
6. Pre-reading steps:
o Read the title of the story and identify where it came
from. Ask students to predict what the story is about
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o Introduce vocabulary in the story students may not have
encountered before. Define these words together.
o Assess students’ prior knowledge by discussing what
they already know about these topics.
7.
Read students the story.
8.
Have students provide a summary of the story. Ensure students
understand the series of events.
9. Ask the following questions about the text to judge
comprehension:
o What is the setting of the story?
o Who are the characters in the story?
o What events take place in the story?
o What do the characters learn in the story?
10. Divide the class into small groups and provide each group with
a piece of chart paper.
11. In their groups ask students to brainstorm and discuss
the meaning of the story. Together, ask them to determine
what valuable lesson they feel the story passes on to future
generations. Encourage students to express this information
through point form notes and pictures drawn on the chart
paper.
Educator’s Note: You may wish to provide groups with a
print-out of the story for reference.
12. When students have finished their discussions and filled out
their chart paper, bring the class back together.
13. Ask groups to stand and present their chart paper to the class.
14. When presentations are complete, explain to students that
they are now going to create individual myths, similar to the
Aboriginal story they heard, about an event in their family’s
past.
15. Before writing, brainstorm ideas for a family myth as a class.
Discuss possible characters, events, settings, etc. Encourage
students to be creative.
16. When this discussion is complete, ask students to return to
their desks to create their myth.
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Ele m e n tary Less on
17. Distribute blackline master 3 to each student. Ask them to
organize their myth by creating point form notes in the graphic
organizer.
18. When students have completed their graphic organizers, ask
them to create a good copy of their story in paragraph form.
19. Completed myths will be handed in.
Educator’s Note: You may choose to have students
write their myth in paragraph form or draw a picture to
represent the events in their myth.
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I n pa r t n e r s h i p w it h
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Ele m en tary Less on
Blackline Master 1
AbORIGINAL MYTHS & LEGENDS
How the People Hunted the Moose:
A story adapted from the Métis – Cree.
A family of Moose People was sitting in a house in a forest. Suddenly, a pipe came floating in through the door. This pipe passed close to each
of the Moose People until it reached the youngest Bull Moose. The youngest Bull Moose took the pipe and started to smoke it.
The old moose told his family that this was a pipe the human beings used to ask for success in their hunt. He said, “Now, tomorrow, they
will find us.” But the young moose was not afraid, because he was a fast runner.
The next day, the Moose People travelled to the edge of the forest. When they arrived, they smelled the hunters.
There was snow on the ground and this made it hard for the moose to move quickly. The young moose was still sure he was faster than the
hunters, but the hunters were wearing snowshoes.
The hunters followed the young Bull Moose until he was too tired and then they killed him. The hunters thanked him, because his meat
would allow them to live.
When the young Bull Moose woke up in his bed that night, he said to his family, “The hunters treated me with respect. We should let them
catch us.”
To this day, hunters that show respect to the moose will always be able to catch the moose.
The Wolf and the Caribou:
A story adapted from the Inuit of Canada.
Long ago, there was a man and a woman. There were no other animals on earth.
The woman dug a big hole in the ground. In this hole, she started fishing in it. With her fishing pole, she pulled out all the animals of the
earth.
The last animal she pulled out of the hole was the caribou. The woman set the caribou free but asked for more caribou to come to earth.
Soon the land was full of them. The people were happy.
Hunters only killed caribou that were big and strong. Soon, all that was left were caribou that were weak and the sick. And the people
began to starve.
The woman had to make magic again. This time she called Amorak, the spirit of the wolf. She asked Amorak to kill the weak and the sick
caribou, so that the herd would once again be strong.
The people realized that the caribou and the wolf helped each other. Although the wolf eats the caribou, it is the wolf that keeps the caribou
strong.
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Ele m en tary Less on
Blackline Master 2
MY FAMILY MYTH
Name: _____________________________________
Who
What
Where
When
Why
How
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