Schools

Salmon Girl
Study Guide

INTRODUCTION

This study guide was written by Education & Participation Intern Isabelle Siciliano and Community Engagement Facilitator Lindy Kinoshameg, with contributions from the Artistic Director of Raven Spirit Dance, Michelle Olson.

As you scroll through the guide you will find the usual sections included in all our guides: curriculum connections, discussion questions, units of study and more. You will also be able to click on templates, worksheets and graphic organizers. If you wish to create your own lesson plan from the study guide copy, we have created a lesson plan template for your use. We hope you will find this guide to be a useful resource. Should you have any questions or feedback or have inquiries about the use of this guide (which is copyright protected), please feel free to contact Karen Gilodo, Associate Artistic Director, Education at kgilodo@youngpeoplestheatre.org.

THEMATIC OVERVIEW

Through the discussion questions and activities in this study guide, students will explore the values and teachings of the Coast Salish People that are woven throughout the play. They will be encouraged to examine the environmental and cultural concerns of Indigenous peoples, and explore these on a local, national and global scale.

In the pre-show unit, students will create personal connections to ideas that are fundamental to Indigenous ways of knowing, with a particular focus on the importance of salmon and their positive contribution to the act of environmental stewardship.

In the post-show unit, students will establish connections between problems the characters experience throughout the play and the physical realities they encounter in today’s society. They will collectively brainstorm ways to give back to and protect the environment in their own communities. Through the explorations in this study guide, we hope students will be inspired and empowered to learn that even the smallest act can make a difference.

CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS

  • First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Connections
  • The Arts (Dance, Drama), Social Studies (Heritage and Identity; People and Environments; Cause and Consequence, Continuity and Change, Patterns and Trends)
  • Science and Technology (Understanding Life Systems, Understanding Matter and Energy, Understanding Earth and Space Systems)

CHARACTER EDUCATION CONNECTIONS

  • Teamwork
  • Respect
  • Responsibility

THEMES

  • Understanding Environmental Stewardship
  • Seeing Another Point of View
  • Completing and Cooperating
  • Learning from Elders

SYNOPSIS

The story follows a young girl, Margie, who has the magic power of catching fish with her hands. She catches as many as she can to impress the people of her community. One day, she reaches for too much and she slips down the river bank and into the water. She transforms into a salmon. Lost and scared, she befriends another fish, Staqwi, and they travel to the ocean. On their way to the ocean they meet up with Mink, Mandy and Moxy, three very opinionated minks who all have the latest dance moves and a flair for fashion. Together, this group helps Margie to become a stronger swimmer, so she can journey up river back to her village. Margie and her new friends start traveling upstream and stop at a village Margie does not recognize. She transforms back into a girl and spends a night with a family who reveal themselves as the Salmon People and Margie’s true family. Through them, she discovers the nature of her power and the importance of salmon to her people. Her journey instills respect for the salmon and their environment.

GLOSSARY

FIRST NATION
A term that came into common usage in the 1970s to replace the word “Indian”.
It has also been adopted by some First Nation communities to replace the term “band”.

COAST SALISH PEOPLE
Coast Salish peoples include a variety of First Nations living along the Northwest Pacific Coast in British Columbia, from the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island south to western Washington and northwestern Oregon in the United States.

PERSPECTIVE
A particular attitude toward or way of regarding something; a point of view.

ACCEPTANCE
General agreement that something is satisfactory or right, or that someone should be included in a group.

AGREEMENT
A harmony of opinion, action or character.

ENVIRONMENT
The complex physical, chemical and biotic factors (such as climate, soil and living things) that act upon an organism or an ecological community and ultimately determine its form and survival.

IMPACT
To have a direct effect on something.

STEWARDSHIP
The conducting, supervising or managing of something; especially the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care.

SEQUENCE
A particular order in which related events, movements or things follow each other.

ABOUT RAVEN SPIRIT DANCE

Raven Spirit Dance creates, develops and shares stories from an Aboriginal worldview through contemporary dance, incorporating other expressions such as traditional dance, theatre, multimedia, and puppetry. Raven Spirit Dance shares this work on local, national and international stages, reaffirming the vital importance of dance and the arts to the expression of human experience and to cultural reclamation.

PRE-SHOW DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  • What is a tradition?
  • What are some of your traditions? Is anyone else involved in your traditions?
  • Are traditions important, if so, why?
  • Does anyone in the room share the same tradition as you?
  • How can different artistic practices inform us about traditions in other cultures?
  • What are some traditions that are shared between cultures or nations?

PRE-SHOW UNIT OF STUDY

Warm Up: What Do You See?

Objective

Students will identify that there can be different perspectives on something, and understand the importance of accepting others’ ideas.

Materials

Directions

  1. Post Prompt A at the front of the class, where every student can see it.
  2. Ask them what they see, and, if they have an answer, to raise their hand – some will most likely answer that they see a woman, others may say an old lady.
  3. Ask a student who sees a woman to come up and outline to the class where the woman is in the photo.
  4. Ask another student who sees the old lady to come up and do the same as the previous student.
  5. Repeat the exercise with Prompt B, except this time students will most likely see either two faces or a vase.

Debriefing Questions

  1. Were you surprised when you heard another perspective of the image that wasn’t your own? If so, why?
  2. Were you able to accept someone else’s perspective of the image?
  3. What is the value in taking the time to hear someone else’s perspective that is unlike your own?
  4. What is the difference between agreeing versus accepting other people’s ideas?
  5. How can we learn to be more open-minded and accepting of other people’s perspectives?

Pre-show Exercise #1: My Heart Soars

Objective

This exercise is intended to encourage students to establish their own personal connections to the elements of land, water and animals. Using the poem written by Coast Salish artist Chief Dan George, students can identify how these connections can be applied to their daily life.

Materials

Directions

  1. Ask students to read the poem.
  2. After students read the poem, ask them to find a phrase or a word that resonates with them.
  3. Ask students to write their own poem that expands on the phrase or word they have chosen.

Note: Students should keep their poems as they will be used again in the post-show exercises.

Debriefing Questions

  1. What does Chief Dan George’s poem mean to you?
  2. What are some elements of nature you can identify from the poem?
  3. How do these elements make connections to the values of the Coast Salish People?
  4. Do you have any personal stories that connect with these elements? If so, what are they?
  5. What are some ways you can contribute in order to give back to the natural world?
  6. Is it important to make a personal relationship to the natural world?

Pre-Show Culminating Exercise: Exploring the Salmon Cycle

Objectives

To learn about the five stages of the salmon cycle and apply those teachings by communicating through movement and dance.

Materials

Directions

  1. Hand out the worksheet to each student.
  2. Together discuss the different life stages of the salmon.
    • Alevins – the salmon egg has been under gravel and now hatches.
    • Fry – the salmon grow into fish and swim around the river or lake in which they were born.
    • Smolt – the salmon moves downstream to the ocean to grow.
    • Adult – the salmon live and grow in the ocean for a few years.
    • Spawning Adult – the salmon move back upstream. They are fully grown and have changed colour. They lay their eggs and die shortly after.
  3. Divide students into small groups of four or five. They should then find a space in the room where they can move around.
  4. Ask students to use the information they were given to create a dance sequence that follows the life of a salmon. They will need to show the different stages by exploring their own movements, gestures and physicality. Encourage students to use their whole bodies.
  5. Once students have finished creating their dance sequences, have each group share with the rest of the class.

Extension

  1. After seeing all the groups present, ask students to now move individually around the space.
  2. Ask students to explore their own interpretation of the different life stages of the salmon as they move.
  3. Ask students to think about how they feel in each stage. How much space do they take up? How fast are they moving?
  4. Continue this for each stage of the salmon cycle, encouraging students to continue to think of how their bodies and movements change.

Debriefing Questions

  1. How does creating a sequence in a group differ from creating a sequence individually?
  2. What were some physical discoveries you experienced when moving from one life stage to another?
  3. How can we incorporate gestures and movement into our storytelling?
  4. What life experiences or events allow us to express ourselves through movement?
  5. Could a story be told solely through movement, without any dialogue?
  6. Many themes of traditional First Nations dances are based on animals. How does moving like an animal help us communicate a story?

POST-SHOW DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  • Who is Sisela Staulo? Why would the river be a Grandmother?
  • What contributes to the growth of the ‘Plastic Patch’ and how would that affect Grandmother River?
  • What are some actions we can take to avoid contributing to ‘The Plastic Patch’?
  • What are the teachings that Grandmother shares with Margie and Staqwi?
  • How can you follow these teachings in a modern day world?
  • What wise things have Grandparents or Elders shared with you?

POST-SHOW UNITS OF STUDY

Warm-Up: Heading Upstream

Objectives

To have students recognize the importance of only taking what you need and giving back to replenish resources for others, using the teachings surrounding the salmon bones.

Materials

  • Open Space
  • Writing Utensils

Directions

  1. Ask students to line up against the wall at one end of the space.
  2. Lay out the writing utensils on the floor in front of the students. Do not tell them that there are half as many utensils as students.
  3. Tell students they must get to the other side of the room, as if they were travelling upstream from Grandmother’s village.
  4. Explain that each writing utensil on the floor represents a fish bone, and in order to take five steps forward, a student must be holding two bones in their hands, just like Staqwi needed all his bones to swim. For every two bones, a student can take five steps.
  5. Since there are half as many bones as participants, the students must strategize how to advance. Give them a few minutes to do so and then begin.
  6. Once the first round is finished, assess the room to see if anyone was left behind and ask students to repeat the exercise again, until everyone reaches the village.

    7. Teacher Note: students could advance by passing the utensils back and forth, they could share the utensils by holding them and advancing together.

Debriefing Questions

  1. In working on your own, how easy was it to travel to the village?
  2. How did you feel seeing classmates left behind and what does this teach us about what we take and what we give?
  3. In working as a team, was it easy to get everyone to the village?
  4. How can we apply this to the way in which we treat the environment?
  5. What are some environmental resources we use on a daily basis?
  6. What are ways we can use these resources while also giving back to the environment?

Pre-Show Exercise #1: It Still Exists

Objective

This exercise is intended for students to identify the impact of the Plastic Patch, and will demonstrate that even if an item is thrown away, it still exists and does not disappear.

Materials

  • Open space

Directions

  1. Have the students spread out in the space.
  2. Students will then choose an item that they usually throw out (ie. water bottles, plastic cutlery, paper, juice box, etc.), and use their bodies to represent their item.
  3. Assign one student to be the “Plastic Patch,” who must try and tag as many students possible. All students must move around the room like their items.
  4. If they get tagged they must link arms and become part of the “Plastic Patch.”

Extension

  1. Explain to the students that the number of plastic patches in the water are rapidly increasing.
  2. Have the students spread out in the space.
  3. Students will participate in the activity again, but when the student who is “Plastic Patch” tags them, they must stay in their spot rather than link arms, and try and tag other students from there.

Debriefing Questions

  1. How easy was it for “Plastic Patch” to consume most items?
  2. How does this apply to our society today?
  3. When we throw something away, where does it go?
  4. What suffers as a result of the garbage we throw away?
  5. What are some ways we can reduce the amount of garbage we produce?

For more information about the Plastic Patch click here – We Were Drowning in Seas of Plastic by David Suzuki with contributions from Senior Editor Ian Hanington

Post-Show Culminating Exercise: Being a Steward

Objective

This exercise is intended to help students to become land, water or life protectors by connecting to their own environment and creating a pledge.

Materials

  • Poems from Pre-show exercise
  • An outdoor natural space, ideally a park (or close to it, ie. trees, plants, etc.)

Directions

  1. Identify the natural space with which students will be connected.
  2. Go to the outdoor space and ask students to bring the poems they wrote in the pre-show exercise.
  3. Create a connected circle around the outdoor space.
  4. Have each student read their poem with the intent of stating their stewardship for the environment that surrounds them.
  5. Present the pledge below and insert your class’ chosen piece of land:
    “We, the students of (insert school), acknowledge the land we are on, the water that we drink and the life of the (name of the outdoor space). We promise to protect and love all that surrounds us.”

Debriefing Questions

  1. Why did we go outside?
  2. Do you think you would have felt as connected to nature if you were inside?
  3. If everyone committed to protecting a piece of land connected to them, how could that impact the environment?
  4. How can you encourage others to protect and love the environment?
  5. How can we learn more about environments around Canada?
  6. What is our responsibility when it comes to protecting the environment?

SOURCES & RESOURCES

Resources

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOtkekP-sxk

Coast Salish People

Canadian Encyclopedia http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/coastal-salish/

https://theculturetrip.com/north-america/canada/articles/a-very-short-history-of-the-coast-salish-people/

Musqueam Nation

Musqueam. (2018, March 20th). Retrieved from http://www.musqueam.bc.ca/

Our Story. (2018, March 20th). Retrieved from http://www.musqueam.bc.ca/our-story

xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam). (2018, March 20th). Retrieved from http://maps.fphlcc.ca/musqueam

Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in Nation

Who We Are. (2018, March 20th). Retrieved from http://www.trondek.ca/aboutus.php

McFadyen Clark, Annette. (2011, January 31st). Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in (Han). Retrived from http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/han/

Sources

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/

http://www.123opticalillusions.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oN-o3kKAFs0&feature=player_embedded

APPENDICES

APPENDIX A: Prompt A

Click here to download.

APPENDIX B: Prompt B

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APPENDIX C: Poem

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APPENDIX D: 5 Stages of the Salmon Worksheet

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