Learn about an Indigenous girl’s home life with her family, living in a birchbark house on the shores of Lake Superior. In this class, we will follow the main character through the four seasons as they migrate from their village where they live in the winter to summer camp.

This is an exciting book that describes:
- the main character and her Anishinnaabe family as they work together to survive on their island home in Lake Superior. 
- Starting in summer, her family moves to their summer birchbark house along the lake shore. 
- Each season describes the activities of the gathering of seasonal foods: hunting, fishing, and gathering plants. 
- Learn about family and community life, as the main character grows up, learns new things and takes on new responsibilities. 
- The themes are transformation, learning about nature and facing fears. 

This is an adventure stories for children from an Indigenous perspective.  Students learn about nature throughout this book.
The cultural differences will help students learn about another culture as they enter another world. Enjoy! 

Week 1) Week of Sept 11th  Introduction 
Introduction to the author, Louise Erdrich and the book, Birchbark House. Birchbark house is divided into 4 seasons, Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring. 

Unit One: Summer
Week 2) Week of Sept 18th:   Read and discuss chapters 1 & 2. Discuss the main character’s siblings.
Week 3) Week of Sept 25th: Read and discuss chapter 3. Discuss characters in the book, Deydey, Yellow Knife, Nokomis, and Old Tallow.
Week 4) Week of Oct 2nd:  Read and discuss chapter 4, and discuss Anishinaabeg culture. 

Unit Two: Fall
Week 5) Week of Oct 16th: Read and discuss chapter 5. Discuss the 4 cardinal directions and geography of Lake Superior area.
Week 6) Week of Oct 23rd: Read and discuss chapters 6 & 7. Discuss the plants and animals of the Northern Midwest 
Week 7) Week of Oct 30th:  Read and discuss chapter 8 and learn about the geography of the Great Lakes area.

Unit Three: Winter 
Week 8) Week of Nov 6th: Read and discuss chapter 9. Discuss beadwork and quill work. 
Week 9) Week of Nov 13th: Read and discuss chapter 10 Discuss visitors and settlers in the area.
Week 10) Week of Nov 20th: Read and discuss chapters 11. Discuss a traditional Anishnaabeg story, which is described in the chapter. 

Unit 4: Spring
Week 11) Week of Nov 27: Read and discuss chapter 12. Collecting sap from maple trees and maple sugaring,
Week 12) Week of Dec 4th: Read and discuss chapters 13 and 14. Spirit Island and the circle of life
Week 13) Week of Dec 11: Final Summary of book. Learners will discuss what they have learned and what their favorite parts of the book are.