<p>In this collection, Educator Ramsey Weeks (Assiniboine, Lenape, and Hidatsa), from the National Museum of the American Indian, talks about Native American Ledger Art, and shares ideas for family and classroom "winter count" activities. The activities are suitable for English, art, history, and social studies classrooms.</p> <p>The collection also includes information and resources about Winter Counts from the National Museum of the American Indian, the National Museum of Natural History, the National Anthropological Archives, the Smithsonian Institution Archives, the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, Smithsonian Libraries, and the Smithsonian Office of Educational Technology</p>

<p>This collection includes activities to enable critical conversations in the classroom in an atmosphere of mutual trust and respect. The collection supports the "Identity and Narrative" first section and the "Transformation and Change" fourth section of the District of Columbia Public Schools course, "Critical Conversations," and can also be used in a variety of courses, including Ethnic and Area Studies, Social Studies, English/Composition, Media and Technology, and History. It addresses the following content standards: </p> <ul><li>Understand the importance of one’s identity as it relates to their place in history and influence in transforming today’s society.</li><li>Examine and identify master narratives and counter-narratives relating to individual and other affinity groups.</li><li>Evaluate the complexities and factors that influence and dictate identity formation.</li><li>Identify and analyze their social, ethnic, racial, and cultural identities and examine societal perceptions and behaviors related to their own identities.</li><li>Identify and analyze the issues and root causes that currently affect the DC community. </li><li>Create solutions that combat injustices within the DC community. </li><li>Understand how critical consciousness can lead to action.</li></ul> <p>The collection is split into seven sections of activities and resources that build on each other but can also be used modularly. It includes a range of suggested activities aimed to develop in students visual literacy skills, empathy, confidence, and self-expression, and introduces users to the five-step Digital Storytelling process: briefing and story-circle (here these are the "close-looking" and "considering representation" activities); writing; recording; editing; and sharing. The final suggested activity asks students to reflect on their own lives and how they can be agents for change in their own communities. These suggested activities are detailed on the left side panel of each section heading tile. They should open up directly so that you see the descriptions, but if not, click on the paper clips to open them.</p> <p>The materials and methodology for this collection reflect my work in heritage education and community engagement at the Smithsonian Office of Educational Technology (OET) and as a college instructor in Russian culture and folklore, as well as work specifically in Digital Storytelling, which I have been practicing since having had the pleasure and good fortune of being introduced to it by <a href="https://learninglab.si.edu/profile/24977" target="_blank">Dr. Antonia Liguori </a>(Loughborough University, UK) when she was a Smithsonian Fellow at OET in 2018. Dr. Liguori's research project, "Storying the Cultural Heritage: Digital Storytelling as a tool to enhance the 4Cs in formal and informal learning," explored the use of Digital Storytelling in combination with the digital resources of the Smithsonian Learning Lab. (You can read more about that project <a href="https://repository.lboro.ac.uk/articles/conference_contribution/Digital_storytelling_in_cultural_and_heritage_education_Reflecting_on_storytelling_practices_applied_with_the_Smithsonian_Learning_Lab_to_enhance_21st-century_learning/9319391" target="_blank">here</a>, and click on "Conference Proceedings, pages 63-75.) Also reflected here is work from two multi-year, ongoing, inspiring program partnerships: in Family Literacy Engagement with Micheline Lavalle of the Fairfax County Public School Family Literacy Program and Beth Evans of the National Portrait Galery, and in Educator Professional Development and Digital Storytelling with Professors Sara Ducey, Jamie Gillan, and Matthew Decker of Montgomery College.</p> <p>Digital storytelling is very special. I hope you can experience the magic of it in your classroom. Please do share your experiences on the Padlet at the end of the collection.</p> <p>#EthnicStudies #MexicanAmericanStudies</p> <p><br></p> <p><br></p>

<p>This collection includes digital museum resources and replicable activities that will serve as a springboard for discussion during the <em>Ethnic Studies Exploration: </em><em>Resources and Strategies</em> workshop, held online with the <strong>City of Austin Parks & Recreation Department (includes the </strong>Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center, the Asian American Resource Center, and the George Washington Carver Museum), Texas State University,  <em>Academia</em> <em>Cuauhtli, </em>and the Smithsonian Office of Educational Technology on March 27 and April 17, 2021.<em> </em>The collection models how digital museum resources can be leveraged to support critical thinking and deeper learning for high school Ethnic Studies curricula. The collection can be copied and adapted for use in your own classroom. </p> <p>For an archived collection of recordings from these training sessions, please see this Learning Lab collection from the City of Austin Parks and Recreation: <em><a href="https://learninglab.si.edu/collections/ethnic-studies-exploration-resources-and-strategies/gxwYMlDZeahfuQI7">Ethnic Studies Exploration: Resources and Strategies</a>. </em></p> <p>This program received Federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center.</p> <p>#EthnicStudies </p> <p>Keywords: TEKS</p> <p><br></p> <p></p>