Seminar: Patterns, Relations, and Functions
Program: DINÉ
Subject Area: Math
Grade Level: 2nd
Year of Publication: 2021
Abstract
Tonalea Day School students come from families that own livestock. Most of my students participate in rodeos, grow cattle or sheep, and raise farm animals. With all this prior knowledge, I hope to use it to my advantage, by creating scenarios such as using the number of legs, arms, eyes, ears or other body parts in a pin, corral, shack, or house. Students already know how the animals look, feel, sound, smell, and taste. Native kids need to build self-esteem in solving math problems, and they are unique problem solvers. Integrating Indigenous culture will enhance selfworth, self-identity, and self-assurance. Culturally relevant resources in math will engage and peak the interest of students because it is something they live or have experience with. Culturally Responsive Mathematics Teaching allows students to enhance children’s mathematical thinking, build bridges upon prior knowledge, assists bilingualism and build academic language so students can analyze and solve problems (Mark Ellis, 2019).