Featured Resource: Tools and Materials Colored paper Black markers Pencils/pens Scotch tape/glue sticks LEAPtop/iPad Books about climates & ecosystems in North America Prepare ahead of time 1. Read the ecosystems flow chart so you understand how to explain ecosystems and the interrelated functions of members of an ecosystem. 2. Print or trace the folding cube template. You will need 10. You should use a different colored paper for each. 3. Label the cubes according to the directions in the section “Setting up the cubes”. 4. Put out books about American Indians, environmental activism, and ecosystems. 5. Read The Water Walker or go to the YouTube playlist about the Water Walkers. Discuss human effects on the environment and the consequences of those effects. Just Cube It. Difficulty Grade levels Estimated time 3-12 30 mins. Brief Description of Activity. Skills Checklist Every Child Ready to Read ☒ Talking ☐ Singing ☒Reading ☒Writing ☐Playing 21 st Century Skills ☐ Flexibility and adaptability ☐ Initiative and self- direction ☒ Teamwork and collaboration ☒ Critical thinking and problem solving ☒ Diversity ☒ Creativity and innovation STEM ☒ Science ☒ Technology ☒ Engineering ☐ Math We’ve checked off skills incorporated in the curriculum. If your version of the activity utilizes more skills, check those off as well! The Water Walker by Joanne Robertson This is the story of a determined Ojibwe Grandmother (Nokomis) Josephine Mandamin and her great love for Nibi (Water). Nokomis walks to raise awareness of our need to protect Nibi for future generations, and for all life on the planet. Call Number: JE J304.2097 R547W Copies: 1
Transcript
Featured Resource:
Tools and Materials Colored paper Black markers Pencils/pens
Scotch tape/glue sticks LEAPtop/iPad
Books about climates & ecosystems in North America
Prepare ahead of time
1. Read the ecosystems flow chart so you understand how to explain ecosystems and the interrelated functions of members of an ecosystem.
2. Print or trace the folding cube template. You will need 10. You should use a different colored paper for each.
3. Label the cubes according to the directions in the section “Setting up the cubes”.
4. Put out books about American Indians, environmental activism, and ecosystems.
5. Read The Water Walker or go to the YouTube playlist about the Water Walkers. Discuss human effects on the environment and the consequences of those effects.
Just Cube It.
Difficulty Grade levels Estimated time
3-12 30 mins.
Brief Description of Activity.
Skills Checklist Every Child Ready to Read
☒ Talking
☐ Singing
☒Reading
☒Writing
☐Playing 21st Century Skills
☐ Flexibility and adaptability
☐ Initiative and self-direction
☒ Teamwork and collaboration
☒ Critical thinking and problem solving
☒ Diversity
☒ Creativity and innovation
STEM ☒ Science
☒ Technology
☒ Engineering
☐ Math
We’ve checked off skills
incorporated in the curriculum.
If your version of the activity
utilizes more skills, check those
off as well!
The Water Walker by Joanne Robertson
This is the story of a determined Ojibwe
Grandmother (Nokomis) Josephine
Mandamin and her great love for Nibi
(Water). Nokomis walks to raise
awareness of our need to protect Nibi for
future generations, and for all life on the
planet.
Call Number: JE J304.2097 R547W
Copies: 1
Setting up the cubes:
Print 10 cube templates, or copy 10 onto different colored pieces of paper.
Each cube has a theme: Climate, Water, Plants, Carnivores, Herbivores, Decomposers, Human Impact,
Energy Sources, Environmental Consequences, Disasters. Label each side of each cube as follows:
o Climate: Desert, Mountain, Plains, Canyon, Tundra, Forest
o Water: Ocean, River, Spring, Rain, Snow, Lake
o Plants: Deciduous, Coniferous, Cactus, Grasses, Bushes, Flowers
o Carnivores: Bears, Foxes, Coyotes, Eagles, Pumas, Alligators
o Herbivores: Rabbits, Beavers, Deer, Sparrows, Turtles, Mice
o Decomposers: Worms, Snails, Fungi, Natural Chemicals, Fire, Bacteria
o Energy Sources: Wind, Solar, Nuclear, Fossil Fuels, Methane, Water
o Human Impact: Farming, Cities, Irrigation, Drilling, Dams, Waste Disposal
o Environmental Consequences: Deforestation, Habitat Destruction, Soil Contamination, Overuse
of Fresh Water, Air Pollution, Water Pollution
o Disasters: Flood, Drought, Mudslides, Sickness, Extinction, Famine
You can choose to brainstorm different ones, just make sure there are clear cause-effect connections
and you stick to habitats, animals, and events that actually occur in North America.
Cut out the cube templates and have the participants draw pictures for each label. Fold along the lines
and tape or glue closed.
Discuss the parts of an ecosystem and how they interact with one another. For a basic eco-system you
will need water, plants, decomposers, herbivores, and carnivores.
1. To play, begin by rolling the climate cube.
2. Build a climate based on the result (whichever picture is facing up). There can be more than one way to
put it together. For example, if you roll plains on the climate cube, you might use grasses for your
plant, rain for your water source, worms as your decomposers, rabbits as your herbivores, and foxes as
your carnivores. The only cube you’re rolling is the climate cube. That will determine the different
elements of your pyramid.
3. Build a pyramid with water, plants, and decomposers at the bottom, herbivores in the middle, and
carnivores on top. This represents a kind of food chain. In this example, the bears eat the deer, the
deer eat the bushes, the natural chemicals decompose dead plants and animals, and the plants and
animals get their water from the snow.
4. Discuss what would happen if you took one of the elements away. For example, it might seem okay if
you take away the bears, but with no natural predators, the deer could overpopulate, eat all the
bushes, and run out of food. Encourage the participants to think through the consequences of
removing different parts of the pyramid and its effect on the system as a whole.
5. When they understand the interrelatedness of an ecosystem, you can introduce human elements.
Choose a human impact and an energy source. If we use the tundra ecosystem we set up, we could add
drilling/mining as the human element and natural gas as the energy source. Ask the children what the
environmental consequences of these choices might be. For example, the use of drilling to extract natural gas
can result in soil contamination. If there is a lot of soil contamination a resulting disaster might be sickness.
6. Talk about mitigating effects and damaging effects of different energy sources and human impact. It might be
that you can make choices that don’t necessarily lead to a disaster, or you may find ways that mitigate
environmental consequences. Remember to talk through the effects it would have on all parts of the
ecosystem, like how air pollution can create acid rain that gets into the water and makes it dangerous for
animals and plants to consume.
7. If you want to create other cubes, you could consider things like cleanup efforts and recycling that could take
away some of the environmental consequences.
Younger participants might need help understanding ecosystems, and this activity can end with the creation of
an ecoysystem to make it simpler. Encourage advanced participants to research and find out what human
interaction in the environment is doing right now in different parts of North America, and what indigenous
activist groups are doing to prevent negative environmental consequences or to restore the natural balance to
different areas.
Related Library Resources:
Wild berries = Pikaci-Minisa by Julie Flett
Clarence and his grandmother pick wild blueberries
and meet ant, spider, and fox in a beautiful
woodland landscape.
Call Number: JE
Copies: 4
You Hold Me Up by Monique Gray Smith & Danielle Daniel
This is a foundational book about building relationships,
fostering empathy and encouraging respect between peers,
starting with our littlest citizens.
Call Number: JE
Copies: 20
My Heart Fills with Happiness by Monique Gray
Smith & Julie Flett
Call Number: JE
Copies: 25
Jingle Dancer by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Jenna, a member of the Muscogee, or Creek, Nation,
borrows jingles from the dresses of several friends
and relatives so that she can perform the jingle
dance at the powwow. Includes a note about the
jingle dance tradition and its regalia.
Call Number: JE
Copies: 18
The Christmas Coat by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve
Virginia and her brother are never allowed to pick
first from the donation boxes at church because
their father is the priest, and she is heartbroken
when another girl gets the beautiful coat that she
covets. Based on the author's memories of life on
the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota.
Call Number: JE 978.0049 SN28C
Copies: 8
Fall in Line, Holden! by Daniel W. Vandever
At a very strict school in Indigenous Nation,
everyone but Holden stays in line until they reach
the door at the end of the school day.
Call Number: JE
Copies: 1
Online Resources:
LEAP Wiki:
Check the LEAP wiki for related activities! http://leap.freelibrary.wikispaces.net/
American Indians in Children’s Literature: https://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com/ National Coalition Against Racism in Sports and Media: http://www.coalitionagainstracism.org/ Indigenous Action Media: http://www.indigenousaction.org/ Indian Country Media Network: https://indiancountrymedianetwork.com/ Indigenous Environmental Network: http://www.ienearth.org/ Grand Canyon Trust: https://www.grandcanyontrust.org/native-america https://www.grandcanyontrust.org/blog/2017-accomplishment-roundup Grand Canyon Ecosystem Packet https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/education/learning/upload/Canyon-Connections-Student-Article_Jan16.pdf Free Library’s Games & Apps for Kids:
Always check out the Free Library’s resources for children https://libwww.freelibrary.org/kids/games.cfm
