Math – Indigenous Education

Numeracy

Math First Peoples FNESC

The Math First Peoples Teacher Resource Guide is designed for teachers of Mathematics in British Columbia . It has been developed by the First Nations Education Steering Committee (FNESC), supported by the BC Ministry of Education and it is grounded in the view that increased student success can be achieved through adjustments in pedagogy and approach that make mathematics feel more inclusive and engaging.

$Math First Peoples (2020) – First Nations Education Steering Committee FNESC$

Mini-Unit: Bentwood Boxes pages 43-48

Mini-Unit Weaving pages 54-64

Mini-Unit Button Blankets pages 49-53

Math Catcher: Mathematics through Aboriginal Storytelling

Math Catcher: Mathematics Through Aboriginal Storytelling

The main purpose of the short films, which are 3-4 minutes in length, is to relate stories about the adventures of animated characters. The scenarios take place in Aboriginal cultural and physical environments. The resolution of a particular plot always requires some mathematical knowledge.

Plots in our stories are a mixture of adventures and math puzzles with the aim of catching a viewer’s attention and interest (thus the title of our project).

Each story closes with an open-ended question that should spark discussions and lead to further activities. The question at the end of each story is purposefully not answered in the story.

Stories: *Click here to see all of the stories

One example of the stories…

Small Number Counts to 100

The story was inspired by narration from Ms. Rina Sinclair of the Siksika Nation. The story can be shown to elementary school students as a counting practice/puzzle or as a pattern recognition problem. For high school students it could be a way to introduce arithmetic progressions, modular addition, or an idea of number systems with a base different than 10.

RESOURCE LEVEL: