Bdote Learning Center Curriculum Development Project

Bdote's vision is that students will develop a love of lifelong learning, language, and cultural fluency, the skills and education to determine their own future, and a commitment to give back to family, community, and Nation.The short-term goal of the project is to complete development of a K-3rd grade Ojibwe and Dakota Core Curriculum Unit designed for use in immersion settings. The project has three objectives that flow from the goals: (1) To produce and field test eight Ojibwe and eight Dakota interdisciplinary curriculum units that are aligned with Minnesota State Academic Standards for literacy and reading, numeracy, science, and math to complete the language Core curriculum for K-3rd grade by the end of the second year of the project; (2) To involve Ojibwe and Dakota first speakers in all facets of curriculum development including ongoing advice and consultation, and review of curriculum products to insure integrity of the language use and cultural content; (3) to engage a minimum of ten Dakota Elder first speakers and Second Language Speakers in a three-day session designed to produce and reach consensus on Dakota words that can be sued to capture and describe state mandated academic concepts not indigenous to Dakota. The proposed curriculum development project will utilize four primary strategies to achieve its goals; (1) hiring two qualified Dakota and Ojibwe consultants to produce immersion curriculum; (2) place elders and culture at the center of all development activity; and (3) field test the curriculum with Bdote teachers and students.