Lesson 11: Braiding Sweetgrass, “Mishkos Kenomagwen: The Teachings of Grass”

Turn-and-Talk

Have students take out their annotations from their homework reading in Braiding Sweetgrass. The homework from Lesson 10 was the following:

• Say: As you read the chapter “Mishkos Kenomagwen: The Teachings of Grass” in Braiding Sweetgrass (pp. 133–145), annotate the text in your Journal for the following: How does Kimmerer combine scientific research and traditional Indigenous knowledge in this chapter?

• Say: In the previous lesson, we saw Kimmerer turn the process of basket making into central ideas about gratitude, limits, and reciprocity. For homework, you read the “Mishkos Kenomagwen: The Teachings of Grass” chapter, which borrows the structure of a research paper. Today, we are going to figure out why Kimmerer uses technical writing on purpose and how that choice helps her compare scientific and Indigenous ways of knowing.

• Ask: What is technical writing?

  • Technical writing is clear, precise writing that explains research, a process, or information. It is more formal and organized than a story or even a literary analysis. Technical writing might be like directions for using an appliance or technology. Or it may be more like directions in a manual or consumer-facing guidance, like the written guidance you receive from the pharmacy when you pick up your medicine.

• Ask: Why do you think technical writing is often used when explaining research?

  • Technical writing is used for research because readers need the information to be organized and exact. It helps people follow the question, method, and findings without getting confused. For example, if a scientist uses the scientific method for their research, they can write up their findings using the steps of the scientific method, which is an example of technical writing.

Say these Directions: Turn and talk about the following question with a partner.

• Ask: How does Kimmerer’s chapter feel different from technical writing, which clearly and precisely explains research or a process?

  • Technical writing is precise and focused on clearly explaining research or a process, while Kimmerer’s chapter also feels more personal and reflective. She uses research-style headings, but she also brings in story, relationship, and cultural knowledge within her research structure.

After students have had an opportunity to talk with a partner, lead a whole-group discussion about the question, inviting students to volunteer their ideas.

Connection to Today's Learning

• Say: Now that you have defined what technical writing does, next, you will study how Kimmerer borrows that kind of writing but reshapes it to make a different point.

Word Associations

Target Words: thrive, vigorous

• Say: Today, we are going to compare two words that are close in meaning but not exactly the same: thrive and vigorous. Good readers do more than learn a definition. They notice the pictures, feelings, and situations a word brings to mind because that helps us understand why an author chose one word instead of another.

Display the following target sentences.

Say these Directions: Read the following target sentences.

• “The surprise was that the sweetgrass that had not been picked or disturbed in any way had dead stems, while the harvested plots were thriving” (p. 141).

Return to the sentence from the previous lesson’s reading where Kimmerer uses the word vigorous so students can compare how both words work in context.

• “A good tree is about a handbreadth across, the crown full and vigorous, a healthy tree” (p. 120).

• Say: Think about the following questions:

• Ask: When you hear the word thrive, what images or examples come to mind?

  • I picture something growing well because the conditions support it, like a garden with enough sun and water, or a person doing better when they feel supported.

• Ask: Last lesson we learned vigorous, which means full of life and active. How is thrive similar to vigorous?

  • They are similar because both words suggest life, health, and strength. Both words make me think of something doing well instead of being weak or struggling.

• Ask: How are the connotations of these words similar or different?

  • Both words have positive connotations, but vigorous sounds more active and forceful in the moment. Thrive sounds more like long-term success and healthy growth because the conditions are right.

Provide the definition of thrive if necessary.

Connection to Today's Learning

• Say: Now that you have sharpened the meaning of these words, you are ready to use precise language as you analyze how Kimmerer builds ideas through the structure of a research paper.

Part A: Using the Research Journey to Combine Science and Traditional Knowledge (RI.8.3, RI.8.5) (20 minutes)

Close Read & Annotation Protocol

[FLAG: non-standard routine — tagging inferred]

Introduce and explain the research process as outlined in “Mishkos Kenomagwen: The Teachings of Grass.”

• Say: Kimmerer uses the structure of a research project to organize her ideas in this chapter. Typically, a research project is written up using the following structure.

  • Introduction: This section provides background information and context on the research project, including the research question.

  • Literature Review: This section is a synthesis of existing published research on the topic. It usually identifies gaps in research, providing a reason for this study.

  • Hypothesis: This section describes a testable explanation for the research question. It’s what the researcher is predicting as the answer to the research question, so it’s an explanation that the researcher is testing.

  • Methods: This section describes a detailed account of how the research was conducted. It usually describes research design, materials used, and data collection methods.

  • Results: This section describes the objective findings of the research. Sometimes tables, graphs, and data are presented to support the findings.

  • Discussion: This section interprets and explains the research findings and discusses their significance.

  • Conclusion: This section synthesizes the study's key findings, interprets their significance, and answers the research question, ultimately showing why the work matters.

Explain to students that research papers are an example of technical writing, and they use this structure to explain their research clearly and precisely.

Transition students into partners. Instruct the partners to reread the Introduction, Literature Review, Hypothesis, Methods, and Results sections in the chapter (pp. 133–141) and annotate in their journals under the four headings: Introduction, Literature, Methods, and Results. Under each heading, students should jot down the following:

• The typical function of this part of the research paper.

• The description and ideas Kimmerer includes in this part of her research paper.

Say these Directions: Reread the Introduction, Literature Review, Methods, and Results sections in the chapter with your partner. As you reread, ask yourself these two questions:

• What does a traditional research paper do in a section like this, based on the heading?

• What is Kimmerer including in her description in these sections of her “research project”?

Jot your ideas under these headings in your journal: Introduction, Literature, Methods, and Results.

Provide students with time to reread and annotate with their partners.

Say these Directions: When you are finished reading and annotating, discuss the following questions with your partner.

Display the following questions.

• In the section labeled Introduction, how is Kimmerer’s opening different from a more traditional research introduction?

  • In the Introduction, Kimmerer writes more poetically, introducing sweetgrass and its scent as dancing “on the breeze” (p. 133). She does not present technical information about her research; instead, she sounds like she is in a field coming upon one of her favorite plants. The writing is not formal and does not present a scientific background and context.

• How does Kimmerer use traditional Indigenous knowledge as her “literature” in the part of the chapter where a research paper would usually review published scientific sources?

  • In the section where a research paper would usually summarize published studies, Kimmerer draws on teachings from elders like “Lena” (p. 134). She is relying on long-term observation and knowledge passed down through the Indigenous community rather than published scientific research. Instead, her literature is going out into the “meadow” with Lena to observe the “sweetgrass” in its natural habitat and to hear Lena speak about it (p. 134–135).

• What ideas about scientific knowledge and Indigenous knowledge is Kimmerer developing in the Methods section?

  • In the Methods section, Kimmerer explains how they design experiments using the “harvesting methods the basket makers” had suggested (p. 136). This evidence demonstrates that she is relying on Indigenous knowledge to help design research using scientific methods. She continues to use the “basket makers” ideas to flesh out the “criteria of the scientific method,” demonstrating that she is combining Indigenous knowledge with scientific experimentation (p. 138).

• How are the Results different from what science often expects?

  • Science expected that “harvesting a plant will damage the population,” but instead, the harvested plots were “thriving” (pp. 140–141). Kimmerer is pointing out that science had “dismissed” Laurie’s ideas because of what they had “been taught,” but the “basket makers,” or Indigenous community, had been right because of their long-term observations and understanding of sweetgrass (p. 141).

Part B: Determining Central Ideas (RI.8.2, RI.8.5) (10 minutes)

Group Accountability Share

Place students in groups of three to four. Groups should craft one central idea statement and be ready for any group member to share it. Display the questions below to support students as they develop their central idea statement.

Say these Directions: In your group, respond to the following prompts. Note that any member of your group may be called on to share, so make sure you have a consensus before the whole group shares out.

• What central idea does Kimmerer develop in this sentence?

  • “Science and traditional knowledge may ask different questions and speak different languages, but they converge because they both truly listen to the plants.” (p. 143)

    • Kimmerer develops the central idea that scientific knowledge and Indigenous knowledge do not have to compete. Instead, both ways of knowing can help people understand the living world when they listen carefully and respectfully to living entities.

• How does the chapter’s research paper structure help develop that central idea?

  • The research-paper structure helps because it puts Indigenous knowledge into conversation with the scientific process and scientific writing. For example, Laurie and Kimmerer used the “basket makers” “theory” to create a scientific experiment that upheld Indigenous ways of thinking (p. 141). This experiment signifies that both systems are valid ways of learning, and it supports Kimmerer’s idea that both Indigenous knowledge and science can help communities and ecosystems thrive.

Transition students into reflecting on their learning from the lesson by completing a Quick Write response.

Quick Write

Say these Directions: Answer the Quick Write in three to four sentences. Use at least two specific details from the chapter, including at least one reference to a section heading such as Introduction, Methods, or Results.

• How does Kimmerer make use of scientific research writing to further develop her ideas about reciprocity?

  • Kimmerer uses the structure of technical research writing to show that knowledge does not belong to only one system. In the Introduction, she does more than set up a research topic because she acknowledges the beauty of “sweetgrass,” and in the Literature Review section, she treats observation and listening to an “elder” as valid ways of learning (pp. 133–134). Then, in the Results, she moves beyond narrow findings and shows that science and Indigenous knowledge can work together in their unique ways. For example, “graphs and tables” can demonstrate the research, while also listening and observing the “grasses themselves” can show results (p. 141). Using technical structure this way helps her argue that science and traditional knowledge can converge instead of competing, which further underpins her ideas about reciprocity.

Instruct students to complete the following homework in preparation for the next lesson.

• Read the chapter “Maple Nation: A Citizenship Guide” in Braiding Sweetgrass (pp. 147–152). In your Journal, annotate one or two places where Kimmerer gives advice, warning, or guidance about how humans should act toward the natural world.