DOCUMENT RESUME RC 022 432 ED 465 473 Dick, Alan AUTHOR Village Science. Teacher's Edition [and Student Edition]. TITLE Alaska Univ., Fairbanks. Alaska Native Knowledge Network. INSTITUTION ISBN-1-877962-36-8; ISBN-1-877962-35-X ISBN 1997-00-00 PUB DATE NOTE 271p. For full text: http://www.ankn.uaf.edu/VS/index.html. For AVAILABLE FROM full text: http://www.ankn.uaf.edu/VS/toteacher.html. Classroom Guides Learner (051) Classroom -- Guides PUB TYPE Teacher (052) MF01/PC11 Plus Postage. EDRS PRICE *Alaska Natives; American Indian Education; Elementary DESCRIPTORS Secondary Education; Mechanical Skills; Outdoor Education; *Relevance (Education); Rural American Indians;-*Rural Education; School Community Relationship; *Science Curriculum; Science Instruction; Teaching Guides Alaska; Indigenous Knowledge Systems; *Place Based IDENTIFIERS Education; *Subsistence Lifestyle; Tools ABSTRACT This science curriculum was written to inspire rural Alaskans, primarily Alaska Natives, to find science in their local environment. The author lived a subsistence lifestyle in the Alaskan bush for over 30 years and claims that understanding science has often kept him from being stuck out in the woods. Section 1, Skills, Tools, and Craftsmanship, contains seven chapters covering cutting and drying fish; sharpening tools; nails, pegs, and lashings; falling trees and small-scale logging; guns; chainsaw clutch and chain; and ice picks. Section 2, Shelters, covers wood stoves, wall tents, steambaths, insulation and vapor barriers, and gas lamps and stoves. The final section, Ways and Means of Travel, presents 12 chapters that address piloting a boat, boat design, basic concepts of gasoline engines, dog sleds, snowmachine tracks, snowshoes, and winter trails. A notation at the beginning of each chapter explains which academic standards and scientific concepts are addressed. The information is explained as simply as possible and in a way that is relevant to life in the Alaskan bush, often referring to the way the "old timers" used to do things. Each chapter concludes with activities that take students out into the community to seek additional information from local experts and elders. Student questions and math problems are also included. A final section discusses the science concepts found in the book. The accompanying teacher's edition contains tips and hints for activities and answers to the student questions. (TD) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. Village Science. Teacher's Edition [and Student Edition]. Alan Dick U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND Office of Educational Research and Improvement DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION BEEN GRANTED BY CENTER (ERIC) This document has been reproduced as 0 received from the person or organization R. Barnhardt originating it. Minor changes have been made to improve O TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES reproduction quality INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. IEV con AVARRABLE a&A Teacher's Edition ) GOoin 3 OaM9G U09 03Tti:9cA% 3 Tectacer's EJITon rkelavi D'IA 4 Alaska Native Knowledge Network Center for Cross-Cultural Studies University of Alaska Fairbanks P.O. Box 756730 Fairbanks, Alaska 99775-6730 C1997 by Alan Dick All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America First Printing: December 1999 ISBN #1-877962-36-8 5 ConTenTs To the Teacher v Skill, Tools, & Craftsmanship 1 Cutting & Drying Fish 1 Shalpening 6 Nails, Pegs, & Lashings 10 Falling Trees & Small-Scale Logging 14 Guns 17 Chainsaw Clutch & Chain 21 Ice Pick 26 Shelters 29 Wood Stoves 29 Wall Tents 32 Steambaths 34 Insulation & Vapor Barriers 36 Gas Lamps & Gas Stoves 40 Travel 43 Piloting A Boat 43 Boat Design 47 Magnetos & Spark Plugs 51 Carburetors 55 Compression 58 Outboard Motor Lower Unit 61 Outboard Motor Cooling System 65 Dogsleds 67 Snowmachine Tracks 70 Snowmachine Clutch 74 Snowshoes 76 Winter Trails 79 6 To 'Ne Teactfer This book is written after the first edition worked it's way across Alaska and parts of Canada for over fifteen years. The first edition was primitive, written after my first year teaching. How- ever, I had lived a subsistence lifestyle in the Alaskan bush for fifteen years before that. I have rewritten almost every word, but the concepts and appli- cations remain the same. While this new effort reflects the best that I can currently offer, I hope many people receive it as inspiration and go on to surpass me in all regards. Text The textual materials are straightforward. I could have embellished more, explained more, included more verbage, but instead I chose to be concise. In that regard, I have sometimes oversimplified. My goal at this time is to inspire students to find science in their local environment. It is not to be the last step on the way to Harvard. You will find much information in the text that is nowhere else in print. Please feel free to validate or invalidate that informa- tion in your community as you interact with the knowledge base of that community. Activities My intention was to drive the students into the community with the ques- tions that will prompt meaningful discussion with the local experts and el- ders, stirring memories. This is where most of the learning will take place in each lesson. All of the activities have a specific purpose, a fact, a concept or principle behind the directive. I have included in this teacher's edition some tips and hints for the activities, but hopefully your local situation will create greater insights than I have to offer. Caution: There are few activities that do not have potential danger. They reflect village life which is full of hazards. Rather than avoid them, this book provides the teacher with the opportunity to stress safety. I haven't identified all the hazardous activities or this book would be quite a bit longer. Use caution in every regard, particularly with gasoline. 7 TEACHER'S MANUAL TE Student Responses These questions are basic recall and comprehension, straight out of the text. The teachers' answers are printed in a separate booklet. If you did not receive the booklet with this publication, contact the Alaska Native Knowl- edge Network, P.O. Box 756730, Fairbanks, Alaska 99775-6730. Math Some of these questions are quite hard. They are real-life questions that might have to be modeled on the board. Many will require higher-level math skills than the students have. Some might require higher level math skills than the teacher has. Most of these are real life problems I wrestled with in thirty-three years of living in the Alaskan bush. How to use this book It is possible to read a chapter and do the questions at the end just like any other text. However, I think the essence of this book lies in the activities. There is no particular order in which these lessons need to be done. However, I would recommend that you consider the seasons, saving out- board motors for the spring, and doing winter trails at the appropriate time. It would be good to do all the components of engine lessons at the same time, as they make up a whole. They aren't vod ed lessons. Each one is embedded with science concepts and locally relevent knowledge. Physical vs. Life science Physical sciences are not more important than the life sciences, but are a healthy prerequisite. It is easy to understand the burser in a caribou joint after studying friction on a larger scale. It is easy to understand why rabbits have long intestines when the concept of surface area is part of one's reality. Knowing physical science concepts takes life science efforts out of the realm of memorization and places it in the realm of understanding and application. Thematic teaching Science can be the core of a fun-filled day, month, or school year. Writ- ing, math, social studies, art, and other subjects are easily woven in and through the life process that is known as discovery, or more formally, sci- ence. Thank you for using this book. My hope is that your life and the lives of the students will be changed by it, opening up further the realm of using the local environment to explore science. Sincerely, Alan Dick PasnT Too 64 8, Craver svnairistflp (...uTTon a, Devon fis11 Activities 1. Look at and discuss the smokehouse locations in and around the vil- lage. What do they have in common? In what ways are they different? Find some of the older fishcamp sites in your area. Why were they located there? Nowadays many people have smokehouses located close to their homes where the fire can be tended easily. Smokehouses double as storage sheds in other seasons. Older fishcamp sites are located in dry windy locations with close access to the fish net or wheel. 2. What are the common materials for smokehouse roofing and siding? Are the roofs relatively flat or do they have a steep pitch? People now use steel, although it gets hot. Steel is durable and sheds smokehouse roofs snow. Bark is cool, but doesn't last long at all. Most are still rather fiat pitch. 3. Ask what local wood is used for smudge fire. What is that fire called in your village? Smudge wood is usually whatever is local and plentiful. Only in Kodiak have I seen spmce used. Other places use birch, willow, alder etc. 4. Ask people in your village what changes they make in their drying process when the weather turns bad. Cut the fish thinner so they can dry faster. TEg TEACHER'S MANUAL 5. Do people in your village usually bring the fish right into the smoke- house after cutting or do they leave them on poles outside for a few days to get a dry crust? Usually dogfeed is hung outside for several days to get a dry crust before being brought into the smokehouse. Eating fish is brought straight into the smokehouse, but this varies from area to area. 6. Make a trap for blowflies like a fishtrap. Use a jar with a screen for the funnel. Use a piece of sour fish for bait. Can you reduce the number of blowflies in your area? A large jar with a screen funnel works well. It is hard to reduce the number of bloflies. They keep coming and coming... 7. Cut a fish into three pieces. Put one in the freezer. Score the other and hang it to dry. Leave the third one, as it is, in a warm place. In a day or two, compare the three. What can you say about preserving fish? The frozen fish will not rot because the bacteria can't multiply when the temperature is so low. The dried fish will not rot because the water content of the fish is reduced so bacteria cannot multiply. The other fish will rot in a short time. 8. Leave a fish outside where blowflies can lay their eggs. Once the mag- gots start to crawl around, bring the fish into the smokehouse and put the flsh directly into the smoke. Does the smoke get rid of the maggots? Does the fish ever dry properly? What can you say about prevention being better than a cure? Once the maggots are on the fish, smoke will not get rid of them. The fish will not dry properly. The maggots seem to make their own moist pockets. Prevention of maggot infestation is the only solution. Some oldtimers used to scrape the maggots out with a spoon, but no one seems to have that kind of patience any more. 9. Get samples of different people's fish throughout the village. Being care- ful not to insult someone's cutting style, compare them. Compare dog fish and eating fish. Be careful no family is insulted. 10. Why do people cut king salmon in strips rather than flat like red salmon or other eating fish? King salmon are too big to cut like blanket fish. The each side would be too thick and would spoil, or too much meat would have to be left on the backbone. 11. Try to find some dry dog fish that has the evidence of maggots. Can you see and smell the difference from that part and other unspoiled parts? fj