Ravens & Foxes

By Lea Lamoureux, Kaw Tay Whee School, Dettah, NT

"We're a small community school in Dettah. Most of our students are Dene, so cultural identity is important.

We went to the library to look at different legends. We have foxes and ravens around Dettah, so students gravitated to those stories.

The younger students chose to illustrate "The Man Who Turned into a Raven".

The only tools they used were cardboard and plasticine to create their images. Later, they could use forks and knives to create detail.

Afterwards, students explained which part of the story they chose and why it stood out for them. They were very engaged.

For middle school students, two talented staff members, Hillary Tapper and Neil Penney, designed a stop-motion animation programme.

The middle school students told the legend "How the Fox got his Crossed Legs". They built characters of plasticine, tinfoil and cardboard.

It's multidisciplinary. They come up with ideas to create a storyboard and a timeline. They use cameras, lighting and sound equipment.

After creating the characters, the children moved each animal a tiny bit and then took a photo. Then they edited their photos together. This encouraged co- operation.

Our skilled Dene language teacher, Sally Drygeese, worked with the young narrator on the script: practising intonation and fluency.

The students' confidence grew throughout the project. They were embracing their language by choice, not just 30 minutes a day.”