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A Journey to Understanding

Culturally based curriculum in Washington focuses on the canoe

Spring 2004

Once a mode of transport, allowing our people to fish, gather food, trade and travel, (the canoe) has evolved today into a healing vessel, deeply affecting all of those who come in contact with it.
—David Neel in The Great Canoes: Reviving a Northwest Coast Tradition

For Nan McNutt, the canoe is a vehicle that can transport youngsters on a rich educational journey. Working with teachers and students in King County (Washington) schools, McNutt developed a curriculum that uses the canoe to explore math, science, history, and language arts. Now, with funding from Washington MESA, she's refining the lessons and conducting pilot tests among Native students.

At Chief Leschi Elementary, teacher William Gilstrap emphasizes the historical and cultural aspects of the curriculum (see Nets and Paddles). In the classroom next door, instructor Katie Grosz uses canoes as a springboard for math exercises and science experiments. "The canoe is something the kids can identify with easily," she says. "It gets their interest going and it's so hands-on."

The fourth- through sixth-graders in Grosz's after-school program are molding clay canoes, shaping the material so it floats, then adding paper clips to test how much weight the crafts will bear. Once they've hit upon the best shape, they'll use coordinate systems and graphing techniques to make templates for carving wooden canoes.

The fact that the lessons in Gilstrap and Grosz's classrooms are so different is part of the beauty of the canoe curriculum. "It's not something you just pull off the shelf with a step-by-step manual," says McNutt. "It's guided by the kids' questions. As the kids move the flow of the study, the teacher has to examine what she ultimately wants students to know, so the two systems move together. That takes a high level of sophistication and allowing time for student reflection."

Right now, the canoe curriculum is available only to Washington teachers at tribal schools or public schools with a high enrollment of Native students. Eventually, McNutt hopes to secure funding to train teachers throughout the region. In the meantime, educators are welcome to contact McNutt (nmcnutt@attbi.com) or Chenoa Egawa (egawa@engr.washington.edu) of Washington MESA (Math, Engineering, Science Achievement) at University of Washington. A Web site for students participating in the curriculum will be available as a link from www.washingtonmesa.org in spring 2004.