Animals in A New Way
This incredible story written by Danielle Daniel gives us an insight to the Anishinaabe tradition of totem animals. Many of us love animals and take great interest in learning about them but may not always think about how their personalities may be similar to ours. There is great importance of totem animals in Anishinaabe culture and how they can also act as animal guides for young children seeking to understand themselves because each animal has its’ own meaning.
Activity: First, click on the link to listen to this amazing story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzYufpCO1U4
In this story, it shows us how young children explain why they identify with different creatures such as a deer, beaver or moose. Take a minute to brainstorm some animals that you think you are like you and choose the best one that suits you and your personality. Now, you are going to create a puppet or mask for that animal. There are many ways that you can do this, take a look at some ideas:
Paper bag puppet
Finger puppet (cardboard, construction paper, felt, etc)
Paper plate mask (or cardboard, construction paper)
Use any materials you have at home such as paint, stickers, crayons, construction paper, feathers, straws, etc.
Extension Activity: Can you make up a story using your puppet or mask? You can either do this orally: practice your story a couple times before telling it to a family member. Or you can write a story about your animal. Here are some sentence fragments to help.
This ______(animal)’s name is ________.
He/She is very _______.
He/She went into the _______________.
___ (name) did some ________.
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