Bringing Balance Hozho to the Classroom through “Three Sisters” TEK

Abstract

This culturally responsive unit will emphasize how “Three Sisters Planting” is related to the academic relationships of learning and growing together. The Three Sisters planting is an easy first grade level concept of TEK that will allow students to translate that concept of companionship, and reciprocity to the community in the classroom. I have also tied this concept to our school’s values of friendship, integrity, respect and empathy and they will bring a structure that will support many of our students’ traditional values and personal learning growth into the classroom. As a teacher I will emphasize my own pedagogical knowledge to incorporate experiences in the garden by applying the concepts of preparing, planting, producing and preserving as it relates to the concepts of pedagogical lesson deliveries. Preparing students with prior knowledge, planting the seed of a new concept, producing something with a learning objective and preserving that knowledge for future applications in new learning.