Inuit Language week Activity Ideas

  1. Terminology workshop

Put pictures of any items on chart paper on a theme you want to do. Post the pictures on chart paper and display them and have students write down what they call them. Example: If you put a picture of a vegetable on chart paper and you have people write down what they call it at home or what they know it as and encourage everyone to use the best term in Inuktitut. You can put as many pictures you want to how many terms you want to cover. This can start on the first day and end on the last day or in couple days; it is up to the teacher.

Once there are terms written, you can go over the terms in a group and decide which term was the best and post the term selected and everyone has to agree on that one term.

Tip: Having elders or language specialist to be part of the workshop is a resource to advise when needed.

For high school level:

Have the students create a glossary of the terms. Using the pictures and then the term selected to be identified as the term for the picture, then write the definition (describe the item and define the term). Use a glossary or a dictionary for example and explain that they are making a resource that can be used in their classroom like a glossary or dictionary.

After the workshop, give out Certificate of appreciation to each student for contributing towards terminology development in Inuit language in your community.

Take pictures of the process. We would love pictures to share with us here at CLEY.

  1. Learn a traditional song

A classroom can learn a song that is already written and sing that song each day as a group and practice it at home with a parent or an elder. Have a show end of the week with the students singing the song and include drum dancing or throat singers.

For high school level: Students can select a traditional song that is not written and have it transcribed by couple students. The song can be broken down and split into parts and have students transcribed the song and put into one and practice the song. Or the students can create a song or do a poem writing in Inuktitut on language.

  1. Inuit Language Word of the day

Get the students to collect terms from the Inuktitut dictionary. Select 5 terms they want to use then create small poster of each terms with definition of each term.

Post the poster of one term selected each day around the school.

For classroom: Each class can use the word of the day in a sentence and post the sentences or they can draw a picture of what it means.

Have a word of the day contest: Post a term in Inuktitut using syllabic and Roman Orthography with no definition. Provide strips of paper and a box with a slot. Students can participate in writing down the meaning, definition of that word and put it in the slot. Students can look it up in the dictionary or ask someone or ask an elder but the student has to write it down.

End of the week the teacher will go over the definitions and the ones that were correct can be put back in the box. End of the week draw a name and that person can win a small prize. On the strips of paper have a section for their name and the term section then the space for the definition. If your doing a different term each day make sure the students writes down the term that day.

Example: Name:______Term:______

Definition: ______

  1. Cultural day during Inuit language week

Whole school can plan a cultural day during the Inuit language week. Plan the event with activities like:

  1. Have a hunter to skin an animal and butchering the animal and explaining the process only in Inuktitut using the terminology used for instructions in Inuktitut.
  2. Have qulliq lighting lessons with an elder and outline the tools used. After the activities have students do a slide show illustration of the process. For high school students they can video record the event and post it on YouTube as a learning tool how to light a qulliq.
  3. Traditional storytelling, invite an elder to tell a story using a string and do string games call ajaraq.
  4. During gym class, do Inuit games (see attached)
  5. Throat singing lessons, invite or use a talented throat singer student to teach throat singing.
  6. Drum dancing lesson, invite someone who can teach drum dancing and learn to drum dance.
  7. Have a traditional Inuit feast with the whole school including making bannock.
  1. Invite a public servant that works in Inuit Language

Invite a public servant that works in an Inuit Language and have that person do a presentation. It could be an interpreter, translator or an educator. Or have someone who creates Inuit language material like an author. There is also a reporter who deals with the news or media using Inuit language informing Nunavummiut of current events. Have the presenter to do an activity with the students. Example: If you invite a reporter have the students do a role play with the reporter. If you invite a translator then have the students translate a sentence and so on.

  1. Book making in Inuit Language

Have students do a book making workshop. Brainstorm what kind of book is needed in Inuktitut. It could be about the Nunavut Flag or on hunting and or the community (community guide).

It could be one book or each student can create a book. There are a variety of different ways of book making (Google different book making).

Write down the stages of book making of each step.

  1. Decide what topic
  2. Brainstorm of the topic
  3. Research on the topic and list the facts and information
  4. Start organizing the information
  5. Create the book
  6. Start inserting the material on to the book
  7. Illustrate each page
  8. Design the cover
  9. Create a title for the book
  10. Put their biographies on the back including their picture

Do a little showcase of their books.

  1. Internet Scavenger Hunt on videos that are in Inuktitut

Have students look for material on the internet that are in Inuktitut and write down the list using the title, resource and the link. Each student will present their findings. (This can be homework)

  1. Using Tusaalanga.ca Inuit language learning tool online

Learn Inuktitut tool is free for anyone. During computer time have students try it out and talk about the dialect used on Tusaalanga.com and get students involved and share their own dialect.

  1. Inuit Language has two writing Systems –Syllabic and Roman Orthography

Do art using the students name in Syllabics and Roman Orthography and post them around the school. (make sure they don’t put their name in English) They can write their name in Syllabics then use the Syllabic chart to change their name to Roman Orthography. They can write it down on scrap paper first then design it on computer using word art or they can draw it using any art tools.

  1. Inuktitut quilt

Have cut up square coloured construction paper in different colours and hand out two to each student and have each student draw a picture (using selected theme) and the term underneath.

Example: If you were doing a theme on traditional clothing: have a student draw a picture of an amauti then have amauti written under it in Roman Orthography and in Syllabic.

When the students finish the illustrations and the terms, put the quilt together. They can also do their names in both Roman or Syllabic if they didn’t want to do illustrations.

  1. Inuit Language Art

Using a mural or individual large paper, have students put syllabics all over the paper in a creative way using colours and different sizes and including the finals.

They can use paint, crayons or chalk, anything they want and put stations if you want different tools. Have a station for painting, using chalk, crayons or pastel and split up the student and each students can be in small group.

  1. Commercials in Inuit Language (High school)

Select a commercial that is well known to the students. Record the commercial selected. Watch the recording and write down the lines and the characters. Have all the lines transcribed then translate the lines into Inuktitut.

Once all the material is translated, outline the characters then select students to the characters. They can do the play just like the commercial using Inuktitut. Have someone video tape the play.

This can be a fun activity with high school students and brainstorm on the terminology that will be used because they are pretending to do advertising so their terminology used have to be understanding to audience also catchy and fun!