Refugee Awareness Week 2019

Posted on February 20, 2019 by Chelsea Humphries

Refugee Awareness Week is back at the OISE Library! RAW is an initiative led by OISE graduate student Henry Ssali and the African Alumni Association as part of Black History Month. The event began in 2018, bringing the plight of refugees to the fore as tents, pamphlets, and book displays were set up in the OISE Library, Robarts Library, and the John W. Graham Library at U of T. This year, the event returns, running from February 25 to 28, 2019. A tent will be pitched again in each of these U of T libraries to illustrate the living conditions of many displaced individuals, and a RAW panel discussion will be held at Massey College on Wednesday, February 27, from 4:30-7:00 PM.

In support of the event, the OISE Library is curating a book display related to the experiences of refugees. The display includes titles pulled from academic pedagogical literature, children’s literature, and the library’s curriculum resources for the use of teachers in classrooms. Themes explored in these resources range from issues of disrupted education due to displacement, to how best to support refugee populations in new educational settings. Best practices for fostering inclusive and supportive classroom learning environments for refugee students in both K-12 and post-secondary classrooms can be found in titles like Supporting Refugee Children in Canada: Strategies for Educators, and The Newcomer Student: An Educator’s Guide to Aid Transitions, among others.

Beyond academia, the OISE Library’s wide selection of children’s literature includes titles that recount the refugee experience and render it relatable for all ages and reading levels. These include picture books, like Refugees and Migrants, and novels, like The Red Pencil, and Refugee. Curriculum resources like Lost Boy, Lost Girl: Escaping Civil War in Sudan and Refugee Education: Mapping the Field can also help teachers to address the plight of refugees in the classroom.

The Refugee Awareness Week tent and book display can be found on the ground floor of the OISE Library next to the entrance for the duration of the event. The tent will be pitched the afternoon of Sunday February 24th, 2019 and will remain up until the afternoon of February 28th.

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2019 International Year of Indigenous Languages

Posted on February 15, 2019 by Jenna Mlynaryk

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has officially declared 2019 as the International Year of Indigenous Languages! Across the world, UNESCO is calling for the celebration of Indigenous languages to raise awareness and appreciation for the integral role that they have in shaping cultural diversity. This month, the Indigenous Ground Floor Display features books written in several Indigenous languages spoken throughout Canada, including Anishinaabemowin, Nēhiyawēwin, Michif, Inuktitut, and Dakhótiyapi.

Nipêhon (I Wait) by Caitlin Dale Nicholson with Leona Morin-Neilson

This beautiful picture book tells the story of a young girl who is eager to pick wild yarrow for tea – but first, she must wait for her mother and grandmother. This story teaches the virtue of patience and the importance of loving your family, no matter what age you are! Nipêhon is written in both Nēhiyawēwin and English, and its colourful pages and calming pace make it a captivating choice for a young story-time audience. The book uses variations of simple sentences that reinforce Nēhiyawēwin vocabulary and sentence structure. A recipe for yarrow tea can also be found in the final pages.

Kalla by Kelly Ward, Navarana Beveridge, Isabelle Dingemans, Gerdhardt Egede & Rosemary Meyok

Inspired by the Artcirq Inuit Circus, Kalla is all about fun and games! At the circus, Kalla has one eye on the acrobats, and another on the emerging patterns and numbers that come from each new trick. Using interactive narration, Kalla will encourage readers to search, count, and move along with him! This book is written in five different Inuktitut variations – South Baffin Inuktitut, Innuinnaqtun, North Baffin Inuktitut, Greenlandic, and Kivaliq – with translations provided in both English and French. Colour-coded text and a corresponding map will help readers distinguish the form of each variation, and the areas of Nunavut and Greenland that they are spoken. Kalla’s story is best suited for an early elementary audience, but older readers will appreciate a chance to explore the different language variations.

Wiijikiiwending by Rosemarie DeBungie [et al.] and Naadamaading : dibaajimowinan ji-nisidotaadingby Nancy Jones [et al.] – Birchbark Books

Written entirely in Anishinaabemowin,  Wiijikiiwending is a series of stories about the culture of the Anishinanaabe. Friendship, sharing, and respect are at the heart of these stories, whose main characters are all animals. With a playful balance between artwork and text and its striking black gutters, Wiijikiwending has a sleek appearance reminiscent of a graphic novel and is suitable for older elementary or early middle school readers. Naadamaading: dibaajimowinan ji-nisidotaadin is about Makoons and Nigigoons, two friends that learn about their Anishinanaabe culture through a combination of listening to their elders and embarking on their own adventures. This story is geared towards slightly younger readers, who will enjoy how its abundance of illustrations tie in with the narration. Both stories are written by Anishinanaabe first-language speakers and scholars, and Wiijikiiwending has been transcribed by second-language speakers.

This month’s display also has selections for readers interested in second language acquisition and Indigenous language research. For students looking to learn Anishinaabemowin, Learning Ojibwe : Anishinaabemowin maajaamigad, is a wonderful resource concentrating on vocabulary and syntax; telling the story of the construction of a hockey arena on Manitoulin Island, English translations are segmented vertically underneath Anishinaabemowin text and accompanied by an audio CD. For those interested in Indigenous language pedagogy, Indigenous youth and multilingualism : language identity, ideology, and practice in dynamic cultural worlds and Children’s language and multilingualism : indigenous language use at home and school are relevant reads, while Revitalizing Indigenous Languages: How to Recreate a Lost Generation is an encouraging research study about how revitalization efforts surrounding the Aanar Saami language in Finland can inspire similar efforts in other countries.

To borrow these selections and many more, please visit the Indigenous Display on the ground floor of OISE Library by the circulation desk. You are welcome to open the sliding case doors and browse, or ask a librarian for assistance!

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Featured Activity Kit: What Stands Between Us: Diversity Conversation Flashcards

Posted on February 7, 2019 by Chelsea Humphries

These conversation cards are designed to ask difficult and uncomfortable questions. What Stands Between Us: Diversity Conversation Flashcards probe into the experiences of racialized and non-racialized individuals by asking questions that many might be afraid to ask or acknowledge in relation to race, discrimination, and privilege. They spark important and timely conversations, expanding students’ engagement with issues that are often addressed during Black History Month by fostering meaningful reflection on these issues as they manifest in students’ own lives.

The flashcards are divided into four categories: Questions by EuroAmericans for People of Colour, Questions by People of Colour for EuroAmericans, Questions that EuroAmericans Would Like to be Asked, and Questions that People of Colour Would Like to be Asked.

A classroom activity involving these flashcards might divide the class into two groups; as these groups face each other, they take turns drawing cards and posing the questions on the cards to the other group. Members of that other group then try to answer, with individuals identifying as either a Person of Colour or a EuroAmerican answering the questions as respectively directed. The class can then share their thoughts and feelings more broadly in response to these questions and answers, generating a greater awareness of the issues and emotions that are faced and experienced by individuals within these differently racialized groups.

Sample questions for individuals identifying as a Person of Colour include:

  • “What have you been through?”
  • “Have you ever felt uncomfortable because of your colour or ethnicity?”
  • “What are you most proud of about your ethnicity?”

Questions for EuroAmerican-identifying individuals include:

  • “What does it mean to you when you hear the word ‘racist’?”
  • “How do you feel about being with people who are different from you?”
  • “Do you realize the power you have and what you are doing with it?”

The conversations sparked by these cards will be deep and emotionally impactful; as such, this activity is recommended for older students. Many questions in this set are provocative and responses may be emotionally charged. Recognizing the inability for issues of race to be treated with neutrality is a part of this challenging learning activity, and care should be taken to exercise this activity with mindfulness and sensitivity. Teaching support can be found in many related academic and pedagogical books found in the OISE Library, including Deconstructing Privilege: Teaching and Learning as Allies in the Classroom edited by Kim A. Case, and  Promoting Diversity and Social Justice [electronic resource], by Diane J. Goodman. More research into these issues can be found in titles like Educators on Diversity, Social Justice, and Schooling: A Reader, edited by Sonya E. Singer and Mary Jane Harkins.

The What Stands Between Us: Diversity Conversation Flashcards kit comes with one guide and 338 question cards. It is currently on display on the third floor Display and Play area of the OISE Library. For more diversity-based activities, look through the OISE K-12 Manipulative Database or browse the third floor of the library.

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Featured Activity Kit: Emotion Stones

Posted on January 31, 2019 by Jenna Mlynaryk

Everyone has emotions, but how do we express them? If you’re looking for a healthy way to help young students communicate their emotions, try using Emotion Stones! Emotion Stones can help children process their own emotions through the recognition of facial expressions, and can also be used to help them recognize the emotions of others. There are 12 Emotion Stones in a set: Happy (pleased), sad (upset), angry, surprised, frightened, worried, proud, confused, calm, bored, shy, and embarrassed.

There are many ways to use Emotion Stones in your classroom! To teach emotions through games, you can lay the stones face down and ask students to turn them over one at a time, having them identify each emotion and make their own face to match. Or, you can choose a stone and have students act out emotions for their classmates to guess. To help students to engage with emotions in a thoughtful manner, you can pass the stones around your classroom and ask students to reflect on when they’ve felt each emotion. If students are experiencing conflict or crisis, you can ask them to select the stone that matches their or their classmate’s emotions and reflect on why they are feeling that way. Students may also find that the flat, smooth stones are soothing to hold.

Emotion Stones can also be a great reinforcement tool for introducing students to other types of self-expression. For teachers looking to incorporate nonverbal communication in their classrooms, Emotion Stones can be paired with ASL (sign language) cards. For older students, Emotion Stones can also be paired with conversation cubes.

To try out the Emotion Stones, or to consult the instructions for even more activities, stop by the Play and Display area on the 3rd floor of the Library. For more activities on oral communication, you can search the OISE Library K-12 Manipulative Database or visit the 3rd floor of the Library.

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Wellness Resources at the OISE Library

Posted on January 29, 2019 by Navroop Gill

 

The OISE Library has many resources to support teaching and learning about wellness; whatever the word may mean to you. In addition to new books on the topic, below you’ll find a selected list of resources from our collection including research about wellness to practical curriculum resources to use in your classes.

For a list of wellness  resources at the OISE Library, please click OISELibraryWellnessResources. 

You can also check out upcoming events at OISE to support wellness.

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