Alaska

Perhaps my favorite piece of our learning about Alaska was learning about native rights advocate Elizabeth Peratrovich who managed to successfully lobby for civil rights legislation for Native Alaskans while Alaska was still a territory. As a fun bonus, she was the subject of a Google Doodle a little while later and the kids were super excited to see that. 

Books:

• The Blizzard’s Robe by Robert Sabuda
• Raven: A trickster tale from the Pacific Northwest by Gerald McDermott
• Storm Run: The Story of the First Woman to Win the Iditarod Sled Dog Race by Libby Riddles
• Alaska by Shelley Gill
• L is for Last Frontier: An Alaska Alphabet
• Fighter in Velvet Gloves: Alaska Civil Rights Hero Elizabeth Peratrovich by Annie Boochever

• This book is advanced for young kids but it has some interesting info and some pics so it is still be worth checking out at as resource.

• The Inuit by Kevin Cunningham (Scholastic Book)
• Whale Snow by Debby Dahl Edwardson
• Akiak by Robert J. Blake
• How the Raven Got His Crooked Nose by Atwater et al
• How Raven Stole the Sun (Tales of the People) by Maria Williams

Art Project:

Northern Lights

Our Alaska art project was inspired by the Northern Lights / Aurora Borealis. We watched a video that both showed the lights and explained the science and we also read about it. Then we made our art. A google search led me to this project https://thecraftyclassroom.com/crafts/arctic-art-projects-for-kids/northern-lights-igloo-art-project/. It has an explanation for how to do the project and a template for the igloo shape. We also used a polar bear template from another project on the same site but applied it to this one. In overview: we printed the template on card stock and taped it onto 9x12 art paper, then the kids cut up, layered and "painted" (with a wet paint brush) art tissue paper which bleeds color when wet. Once it's dry you remove the tissue paper and template to reveal the white foreground and colored background. You can then add details to the foreground as desired. Visit the original site for all the detailed instructions including step-by-step pictures. The kids the *loved* this project and are eager to experiment with the medium again.