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New help for Nunavut teachers

New junior high school teaching manuals bridge big gap in teaching materials

JANE GEORGE

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Iqaluit elders and officials with the Royal Canadian Legion attended a lengthy unveiling ceremony at Iqaluit's elder centre this Monday for a new set of Nunavut-specific teaching materials. (PHOTO BY JANE GEORGE)

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Nunavut's Grade 7, 8 and 9 teachers will soon have access to 10 made-in-Nunavut resource manuals to help them cope with the shortage of Nunavut-specific teaching materials.

Nick Newbery, a long-time Nunavut teacher, compiled the manuals with the help of a $250,000 grant from the Royal Canadian Legion. Newbery says it's important for teachers to use teaching materials drawn from a world that students are familiar with.

"We must reflect the community in our teaching," he said.

Newbery designed the 10 manuals so that teachers can easily find suggested exercises, activities and related materials that tie into the standard junior high school curriculum.

The manuals cover subjects such as Nunavut, Teenagers and their Relationships, Language Arts and Themes, Math and Careers.

They explore northern stories, grammar, writing, research, Canadian and Nunavut history, geography, land claims, the territorial government, career planning and life skills.

The manuals are self-contained, illustrated, and include a variety of exercises and activities that can be photocopied.

A major attraction of these manuals is that they will save teachers time. For example, the manuals suggest word lists for objects used on the land, such as "ammunition," "shovel" or "tarpaulin," to teach spelling, and northern-type subjects for math exercises.

"If a tourist ship brought 35 parkas when it was in Pond Inlet last August at a cost of $380 each, what did the bill come to?" asks one question.

A section on teenagers and their relationships recommends showing the popular television series "Degrassi Jr. High" to raise various discussion topics.

Each manual includes a resource kit that contains a selection of videos and other materials.

The manual on Nunavut includes several videos in English and Inuktitut, a map of Inuit-owned lands and a copy of the Nunavut land claim agreement - all of which will prove useful in Nunavut's smaller communities, where materials like these are more difficult to come by.

The manuals, available in English only, will be sent to every school in the territory, free-of-charge, along with a CD of the materials.

The entire series of manuals was introduced this week at the Iqaluit's elders center by the Royal Canadian Legion, which underwrote the $250,000 cost of project.

Nunavut Commissioner Peter Irniq drum-danced at the lengthy unveiling ceremony and talked about the importance of traditional knowledge for Nunavut's youth.

Victor Barnes, president of the Nova Scotia-Nunavut Command of the Royal Canadian Legion, said the project reflects the Legion's commitment to remembrance and community service.

"Every time they pick up a book they will be touched by the Legion," he told the gathering of elders and legion members.

In Iqaluit, the Legion branch operates a revenue-producing bar and social club for its members and their guests.

"I think the Legion often gets a bum rap," Newbery commented. "The Legion does an awful lot for its community, and here it's going a long way."

Ed Picco, Nunavut's new minister of education, said his department accepted the Legion-sponsored project with open arms because it had no strings attached.

"We won't look a gift horse in the mouth," Picco said.

Picco said the manuals have already been reviewed by teachers for content, and have been tested in classrooms, and said he would make sure teachers have access to these resources.

The department has produced many curriculum materials and continues to work on curriculum materials, particularly in Inuktitut, Picco said.

"This complements the material that's already out there," he said.

Picco said, as minister, he plans to make curriculum development a priority, as well as the development of pre-vocational training programs, an adult learning strategy, and an education act for Nunavut.

Newbery will visit every school in Nunavut this spring to introduce teachers to the manuals.

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