The Storytelling and Science lesson is designed to introduce learners to another dimension of science: Indigenous oral tradition and traditional cultural knowledge. This dimension enhances Western perspectives of science, especially its importance for studying the past. Storytelling is a traditional Indigenous way of relating knowledge to multiple future generations of learners. An Indigenous storyteller will present traditional stories that address a different worldview about Indigenous knowledge and the relationship between humans and the environment.
Grade Level: 6-8
Objective: The goal of this lesson is for learners to understand that there are alternative ways to understand science in today’s world. In particular, they will learn how knowledge was passed on in a culture that had no written form of communication and how it is important and respectful to include traditional knowledge today when studying the past.
Learning Outcomes: Learners will understand what is meant by the term oral tradition and how it has allowed people to maintain knowledge today from periods when their culture did not have a written form of record keeping.
STEM: Science, ecology
Materials: An oral tradition presentation or an oral tradition from a culture you are studying
Time: 60 minutes
Overview: Oral tradition is found in all cultures around the world. In oral tradition, knowledge is shared orally (speech or song) from one generation to another. It includes folktales, ballads, chants, prose or verse and includes information about laws, literature, history, science, rituals, and other knowledge. Indigenous North Americans did not have a writing system before contact with Europeans. Knowledge was transmitted orally. Some oral traditions were for entertainment, but most taught important lessons about social practices, history, and ecological or scientific knowledge.
Vocabulary: Oral tradition
Procedure: Discuss with learners what is meant by oral tradition and how information can be passed down using this form of communication. Find examples of oral traditions from your region. Discuss with learners the knowledge being communicated in the story or stories they heard. We will have Perry Ground, Haudenosaunee Storyteller and Cultural Educator, a member of the Onondaga Nation, present a story based on oral tradition to the learners (his stories can also be found on his Facebook page: Perry Ground – Talking Turtle Stories). Learners will experience a traditional perspective about how people interacted with nature and the importance of aspects of ecology in their way of life. Learners will listen to the storyteller and ask questions at the end that focus on how the story enhances our understanding of Indigenous people and their relationship with the natural world. Discuss with learners the knowledge being communicated in the story they heard.
Wrap up: Learners will be asked what is an oral tradition and why these traditions are important. They will state in their own words the knowledge from the oral tradition(s) they heard.