S2 E3: The Structured Literacy Shift in a First Nation School with Catherine Shawana

Kate welcomes Catherine Shawana, a member of Wiikwemkoong unceded territory, for a candid discussion about her First Nation school's journey from balanced literacy to structured literacy, as well as a broader conversation about First Nations education. Catherine's passions are rooted in the foundation of building Anishnawbek identity and establishing a connection to Indigenous ways of knowing, doing and being. She believes this strength-based identity work is necessary for all students to develop a positive sense of identity and to understand. We all have a community of stories waiting to be told and heard.

 

Show Notes:

Catherine mentioned that the Right to Read report contains not only recommendations for improving practice in Ontario, but also a historical context of First Nations, Métis and Inuit experiences. Read more here. 

 

Throughout the episode, Catherine referenced several past IDA Ontario webinars and workshops:

• Kareem Weaver joined IDA Ontario's Right to Read Symposium, discussing barriers to educational equity
• Kate, along with Nellie Caruso and Leigh Fettes, unpacked universal screening in their classrooms in the Becoming a Literacy Leader series
• Dr. Stephanie Stollar joined IDA Ontario for a day-long workshop on the foundations of MTSS
• All past recordings of webinars and workshops can be found on our YouTube channel!

 

Catherine "binge listened" to the Amplify Science of Reading podcast, hosted by Susan Lambert.

 

Kate mentioned Dr. Rudine Sims Bishops' metaphor of 'mirrors, windows and sliding doors' - see the paper where she originally coined the phrase, as well as a more recent video of her discussing diversity in books and the authors who write them

 

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