Lesson 2: Cultural Music Lessons (45 min.)
Key Teaching Strategies:
- Holistic approach to language learning: image,sound, movement, story, song, game = multiple repetitions and multi-sensory
- Brain-compatible: tasks have familiar process paired with novel content OR novel process with familiar content = ideal learning context. Otherwise familiar process and content = boredom resulting in negative behaviors or novel process and content = stress resulting in negative behaviors.
Lesson Plan 2: Review of Haa Ḵusteeyí Chorus & Intro to Voiceless "L" Sound
Ritual & Priming (5 Minutes):
Review (5 minutes): Tribal Values by mixing them up (for 2nd -5th grades). No mixing up (for K/1 no mixing)
Hook for New Learning tied to Review (5-7 minutes):
Language Practice (5 minutes): Short Vowel Sounds and Voiceless “L”
Language Learning Game (5 minutes): Voiceless “L” (only for 45-minute classes)
Familiar Process with New Content (5 minutes): Retelling of Yéil Ḵa G̱anook Heení
Questions, Comments and Connections (3 minutes):
Closing Ritual (2 minutes): (
- Music Teacher plays Haa Ḵusteeyí SUNG Chorus in the background (play at least several times) as students enter Zoom. Ask students to copy gestures modeled by the cultural specialist. Acknowledge students who are gesturing and helping others. Lesson 2 Powerpoint is ready to go.
- Show slide of Glacier Valley and announce that last night our name officially changed to Sítʼ Eetí Shaanáx̱! Have the students practice it and share the story behind it.
- Hans Chester who created the name shared this, "I wanted my school I went to as a child to have even more of a reflection of our culture and language than what my sisters and I experienced as students.The name of our school is the same construct as the name for Glacier Bay, ____ in place of _____ - Valley in Place of the Glacier (Glacier Valley); Bay in Place of the Glacier (Glacier Bay). The valley was carved out by the Mendenhall, just as the bay was carved as the glaciers receded in Glacier Bay. As more time passes, more change happens and new things come from what was once there. As more of our students come through the school system they need to feel more sense of belonging and pride in being a student at any school. We need our identity to be everywhere on our lands as it once was."
- Introduce the idea of collecting place-based digital badges. The first badge represents mastery of students pronouncing Sítʼ Eetí Shaanáx̱ correctly using Flipgrid or Seesaw.
- Show slide of Wáa Sá iyatee: cultural specialist leads and music teacher echoes, while students are muted and practicing along with the music teacher.
Review (5 minutes): Tribal Values by mixing them up (for 2nd -5th grades). No mixing up (for K/1 no mixing)
- Priming: before singing the tribal values from last week, ask students "How many visited the Virtual Classroom since we last met? Who played the Memory Game?"
- Review: Sing the chorus with students muted. Scan for leaders who are demonstrating both mouthing/singing and gesturing. Cultural specialist mixes the order of the values to test comprehension.
Hook for New Learning tied to Review (5-7 minutes):
- Prime for Why Do We Tell Stories? video: Ask students "Why Do We Tell Stories?"
- Stories like Yéil Ḵa G̱anook Heení (Raven and Petrelʼs Water) teach important lessons and traditions, which is why they were retold many times.
- Connect to Della Cheney (elder): Weaving is a traditional practice - Della stated that "we wove with the environment that is around us...because thatʼs how I connect my life with our community."
- For K/1: share the yarn bundling activity that they can practice at home.
- For 2nd - 5th: share the finger knitting activity and invite them to finger knit while listening to the story
- Before we hear the story again, we need to know how to pronounce Raven in Lingít - "yéil."
Language Practice (5 minutes): Short Vowel Sounds and Voiceless “L”
- Vowel Warm-Up: Students repeat after the cultural specialist models tongue placement (same place as where the "L" is sounded - roof of mouth, but pushing air out sides of mouth - each word on the Language Practice slide.
- New Vocabulary Words: (K/1 only practice Yéil).
- Yéil (raven)
- Lingít (Tlingít)
- Gunalchéesh (thank you - “You Made it Possible”
- Likoodzí (amazing).
Language Learning Game (5 minutes): Voiceless “L” (only for 45-minute classes)
- Motivation: Ask for student help as you work through the Voiceless "L" Memory Game. The Challenge game is a combination of words from both games: voiceless "L" and tribal values. Can we beat last weekʼs record?
- Engagement: the teacher canʼt flip the 2nd card until at least one student makes the gesture that accompanies the 1st card. This builds leadership within the class and reinforces learning.
- Beyond the Classroom: Remind students that they can play these games at home and teach their families.
Familiar Process with New Content (5 minutes): Retelling of Yéil Ḵa G̱anook Heení
- Cultural Specialist: for this reading, all reference to Raven are replaced and read with the word, "yéil" (25 references)
- Active Listening: Kindergarten - 5th grades
- When you hear the traditional values from our chorus, echo them back with the gestures (review)
- When you hear the new word "yéil" (raven), echo the word. Challenge: count how many times you hear this word? (new content)
- Active Listening: 2nd - 5th grades
- If you have your yarn bundle, try your hand at finger knitting and use the Haa Ḵusteeyí chorus to help you remember each step.
Questions, Comments and Connections (3 minutes):
- Ask the students if they have anything that theyʼd like to share with the group as way to connect, reflect and build relationships.
Closing Ritual (2 minutes): (
- Before closing, end with the Haat Yee Aadéi dléigu.
- If time share a teachable moment about Lingít music: cultural specialist talks about the dance movements for males and females by showing the Mendenhall River Community School (MRCS) video. End dancing to the lullaby.