TOOLS. ASSETS. TIPS. STRATEGIES.
Welcome to First Voices Educator Resources!
These resources are designed to help you 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 and there's also a section called Teaching Suggestions which offers helpful advice on how to get started, and potential strategies to use in the classroom.
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No matter where you're located in the country (or even overseas) we hope you find our resources useful and engaging for your students. Because while First Voices began as a Montana-based project, our lesson plans and other resources are designed for teachers and educators both within the state of Montana and beyond.
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 menu to access First Voices educator resources, or click here to jump directly to our list of available lesson plans!