Lesson 1: Introducing Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer

Write-Pair-Share

Students write independently in response to the questions below. After they finish, transition them into small groups to share and discuss their written responses.

Say these Directions: Today, we begin a unit about the relationship between human beings and the earth. Read the following questions, and jot down your answers to them independently. When you finish, you will share your answers with fellow group members.

• How do you spend time in nature? What do you like to do outside that you cannot do inside?

  • (Student responses may vary.) I walk, play sports, and have BBQs with my family. I can’t go swimming or play football inside. I like to go camping with my family.

• What is your relationship with nature? How do you think about nature?

  • (Student response may vary.) My relationship with nature is mixed because sometimes I enjoy it and sometimes I forget about it. I usually think of nature as something people need, not just something pretty to look at, because it gives us food, air, water, and space. Honestly, there is not a lot of nature around where I live, so I don’t really have a relationship with nature.

After students write, have them share their responses with a small group. Ask these follow-up questions when the class reconvenes:

• Ask: What ideas from your group made you think about your relationship with nature in a different way? What ideas did several people have in common?

  • A lot of people in my group said nature helps them feel calmer and freer. We also had in common that being outside gives us things we cannot get from screens or indoor spaces.

Connection to Today’s Learning

• Say: Today, we’re beginning a new unit about our relationship with nature. We will meet Robin Wall Kimmerer, the author of the unit text, Braiding Sweetgrass, and notice how she talks about the relationship between human beings and the land.

Part A: Introducing Robin Wall Kimmerer and Her Work (RI.8.1) (20 minutes)

Find and display a video introducing Robin Wall Kimmerer, in either interview or presentation format, such as Gifts of the Land: Guided Nature Tour with Robin Wall Kimmerer.

Students will use the Notice, Wonder, Connect graphic organizer to record observations and questions they notice and wonder as they watch the video. Distribute the graphic organizers to each student.

Say these Directions: As you watch the video, record observations you notice in the first column and questions you wonder in the second column. Your notes should be based on something Kimmerer says or shows during the video.

Remind students that they need not record every single detail. In fact, they can abbreviate their notes in any way that makes it easy for them to both listen and respond while still being able to understand the meaning of the notes when they refer to them later after the video.

• Say: Instead of writing an entire sentence, you might jot a short note under the Noticings column to capture the key idea. Look at this example.

Model writing “Land gives gifts” in the Notice column.

Explain that students can add more details to their chart when they finish the video. They may jot down wonderings as they watch, or they may wait until they have watched the entire video before recording questions in the second column.

Instruct students to listen for repeated words and phrases that Kimmerer uses to describe the relationship between humans and the land.

Turn and Talk

After the video viewing, have students share what they have written in their graphic organizers with a partner.

Say these Directions: Turn and talk with a partner to share what you recorded in your graphic organizer.

After students have had time to share with a partner, reconvene as a class, and invite three or four students to share their responses. After students share, ask the following questions of the whole class.

• Ask: What is one observation you noticed about how Kimmerer describes the relationship between humans and the land?

  • I noticed that Kimmerer talks about the land as if it gives gifts and supports life. That made the relationship sound more personal and connected than just people being out in nature.

• Ask: What is one question or wonder you had while watching?

  • I wondered what people are supposed to give back if the land gives us food, water, and plants. I also wondered how different communities show gratitude to the land.

• Ask: Kimmerer uses a word more than once to describe the relationship between humans and the land. Did anyone catch it?

  • The word was reciprocity.

Part B: Exploring the Unit Essential Questions (SL.8.1.c) (10 minutes)

Display and read aloud the unit Essential Questions:

• Investigation 1: What does it mean to live responsibly within natural systems?

• Investigation 2: How do different disciplines and traditions, including scientific inquiry and cultural knowledge, help us understand our relationship to the natural world?

• Say: The unit’s Essential Questions help us think more deeply about the unit themes and inspire questions of our own. During this unit, we will be doing research, so we want to start this unit by tapping into our curiosity and approach the Essential Questions with an inquiry-based stance.

• Ask: What other questions do these Essential Questions bring to mind?

  • (Student responses may vary.) The first question makes me wonder how we can make technological progress but still take care of our planet. The second makes me wonder which of these kinds of knowledge is most important.

If students are unable to answer the question, model the process for them.

• Say: A question that comes to my mind when thinking about these overarching Essential Questions is: How do we make technological progress while still taking care of our planet?

Give One, Get One

• Say: Next, we are going to transition into an academic discussion in which you will pose questions about the Essential Questions. Then you will give your questions to a peer and make connections to the ideas of your peers by responding to their inquiry questions with ideas or more questions of your own.

Students should write several ideas or questions of their own based on the unit Essential Questions and what they are making them think about. Next, students will exchange their ideas with two classmates and record at least one new question they want to keep.

Say these Directions: Write down brief answers to the following questions.

Display the following questions.

• In your own words, what are the Essential Questions asking us to think about during this unit?

• • (Student responses may vary.) The first question is asking us to think about what living responsibly looks like, especially in the context of how our lives impact the earth. The second question is asking us to think about how science, culture, and beliefs can come together to help people understand nature better.

• What questions are you thinking about that connect to these Essential Questions?

• How can people make progress and still protect ecosystems? I also want to know how stories can teach something that data alone might not show.

When students finish recording their answers, have them share with each other using the Give One, Get One routine.

• Say: Now you will “give one” question or idea and will “get one” from a classmate in return. Share with at least two different people and write down your classmates’ questions that you find interesting or applicable.

Provide students with a confidence continuum (i.e., 1–5). As needed, model how to demonstrate a level of confidence using the continuum.

Students reflect on their initial learning about Robin Wall Kimmerer and the unit Essential Questions.

Quick Write

Say these Directions: Respond to the following question based on today’s learning:

Display the following question.

• What is one gift the land provides us?

  • (Student responses may vary.) Land provides the gift of food, like berries and vegetables. We don’t often think about the food the land gives us as a gift.

Instruct students to think about the video they watched during today’s lesson and think about the possible meaning of the word reciprocity. Instruct students to draft a possible definition of the word in their Journal for the following lesson.

• Based on the video you watched during today’s lesson, what do you think the word reciprocity means? Draft a possible definition in your Journal so you are ready to revisit and refine it in the next lesson.