Is this curriculum flexible?
Yes! The American Abenaki Curriculum offers a choice of adaptable inquiry-based questions, formative tasks, and summative tasks suitable for grades 3 to 5. It also includes activities and resources for grades 6 to 12. Additionally, the curriculum encourages interdisciplinary integration, providing opportunities for educators and parents to customize activities based on available resources and content areas.
What curriculum standards does this curriculum address?
You may refer to the Standards Alignment section of this curriculum to see how it aligns with standards from the College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework. It also includes potential alignments with:
- Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts (CCSS ELA)
- National Core Arts Standards (NCAS)
- International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Standards, formerly known as the National Educational Technology Standards
- National School Library Standards for Learners, School Librarians, and School Libraries (AASL Standards)
How long will it take to complete this curriculum with my students?
The curriculum offers a menu of choices, so the length of time needed will depend on the activities you choose. You can complete one activity in one or two class sessions or explore the entire curriculum package during the school year. As a general guideline, the time needed to complete all of the activities in the American Abenaki Curriculum is approximately four to six weeks, factoring in a typical school schedule with daily or near-daily class sessions.
Your approach, student engagement, and available resources may also affect the duration of the experience. We encourage you to adapt the pacing and selection of activities to ensure a comprehensive and enriching learning experience for your students.
Is this curriculum scalable?
Yes, the activities in the American Abenaki Curriculum are scalable for different grade levels, both up and down. It can be adapted to meet a variety of learning objectives and activities.
Teachers can modify the content for lower elementary and kindergarten classes, simplifying language, utilizing visual aids, and focusing on hands-on activities. Educators can adjust the curriculum for diverse abilities by providing differentiated activities, scaffolded learning, individualized support, and extension activities for gifted students. Flexibility and adaptability ensure that all students can engage meaningfully with Abenaki culture.
Can this curriculum be taught collaboratively among teachers in different content areas?
Absolutely. The American Abenaki Curriculum may be taught collaboratively by teachers from different content areas, for example by social studies and reading/language arts specialists. Communication and planning will enhance collaborative teaching and maximize students’ learning outcomes.
Did Abenaki people develop this curriculum?
Yes! This curriculum was designed by an intertribal group of American Abenaki educators, culture bearers, and allies who work in education and museum fields. Every curriculum component was vetted for accuracy and to ensure its relevance to the learning experience.
Are Abenaki people a primary source?
Yes. A primary source is “first-hand” information, sources as close as possible to the origin of the information or idea under study. Primary sources are contrasted with secondary sources, which are works that compile information from others and may provide analysis, commentary, or criticism of the primary source. While some people think that written accounts are the only primary sources, some of the best primary sources of traditional cultural knowledge are Native Elders and Culture Bearers who have long experience of ancestral knowledge and traditional lifeways and pass them on to the next generation.
Is there one guardian for all Abenaki culture?
No tribe, family, or person is the sole guardian of all Abenaki culture. Each tribe, family, or person carries pieces of the puzzle that must be connected. In fact, each tribe has sovereignty from all of the others.
How does this curriculum relate to the Inquiry Design Model?
The American Abenaki Curriculum has adapted the Inquiry Design Model from C3 Teachers, differing in intentionally offering teachers a menu of formative and summative performance tasks from which to choose based on the needs of their students. The Creative Commons license for the Inquiry Design Model may be found at https://web.archive.org/web/20220819003115/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/.