HOMEWORK: Cardinal Directions & The Medicine Wheel

SS: I can value the traditions of Indigenous cultures; I can develop my mapping skills and use cardinal directions.
LA: I can speak loudly and clearly when presenting for the class.

Over the past two weeks, we have been learning about different teachings of the Medicine Wheel. Here are some things that we learned: 

"I learned that there are a lot of different versions of the Medicine Wheel such as North, East, South and West." ~ Leo
"I learned that different cultures use the Medicine Wheel in different ways. Some, like the Blackfoot, might use the white section for Wolf. Different Indigenous people might use different animals." ~ Sebastian K
"The Medicine Wheel can show many elements." ~ Maria
"I learned that when Indigenous people catch animals for food or take plants for crops, they dig a hole and put tobacco in it to say thanks to the Earth." ~ O
"Each version of the Medicine Wheel has many other versions, like different animals." ~ Vance

We discovered that when we went outside, we weren't sure which way was North! So, we talked about some local landmarks to help orient ourselves. Now, we know:

"From the school, the Calgary Tower is West." ~ Callie
"From the school, the Bow River is North." ~ Sebastian C
"My favourite tree that's near my house is East." ~ S
"The Saddledome is to the West." ~ Lillian
"The sun rises in the East and sets in the West. The mountains are in the West." ~ Seb K
"The Compound is East." ~ Lawrence
"The Elbow River is to the West." ~ Hudson
"The Stampede Grounds are to the West." ~ Vance

Then, Ms Elder suggested that we bring in photos from home to help create a map of Calgary using places that are meaningful to us. Here is our map so far: 



We arranged the pictures using a Medicine Wheel because that was one of the teachings we learned about. Ramsay School is the middle, and these are the places around the city and their directions. 

Photos are due Thursday, September 23 for students who have not brought/sent theirs in yet. 


Next week, we will be using the Medicine Wheel to plan and write our Land Acknowledgements. 





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