TOOLS. ASSETS. TIPS. STRATEGIES.
Welcome to First Voices Educator Resources!
These resources are designed to integrate First Voices Indigenous digital stories into engaging lessons for students in grades 8 through 12 and college. They can be used in schools, homeschooling, after-school programs, summer programs, community centers, colleges, and universities.
The Power of Stories
Stories can play a powerful role in helping students understand Indigenous culture. This is explored In the video below by Dr. Sweeney Windchief, Associate Professor of Education at Montana State University. Stories, he says, can help students move from a theoretical (even superficial) understanding towards a more authentic and “intuitive” awareness of Indigenous culture.
Our Approach
First Voices educator resources are endorsed by Montana’s Indian Education for All office and linked to the Essential Understandings Regarding Montana Indians. Like the stories, resources are developed as a partnership with Native educators, members of the tribe whose story has been told, and Native and non-Native First Voices educators.
Our approach is student-centered. Our goal is to help you share First Voices digital stories in ways that prompt discussion and interpretation of storytelling. We have developed lessons and other resources for each story as well as Teaching Suggestions.
First Voices began as a Montana-based project, but our resources are designed for teachers and educators in Montana and beyond.
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You can link to lesson plans and other resources from the menu, or the buttons further down the page.
Hear from First Voices collaborators
As you consider how to use First Voices stories in your classroom, here’s a short video from two of our key collaborators. First we hear from Sammy Jo Bird, a young Blackfeet artist and First Voices teaching artist. Later in the video we hear from Northern Cheyenne Knowledge-Keeper (and First Voices storyteller) Ruthie Shoulderblade.
Use the buttons below, or the menu above to access First Voices educator resources.
