One of the units Manitoba students
study in grade 2 Social Studies, is Canadian Communities. It is here that students learn about the
first Canadians and people who immigrated to Canada. One of the outcomes from this unit states that
“students will recognize that many
people came to Canada from other parts of the world to establish communities.” For me this is the ideal opportunity to give
my students their first introduction to Hutterite immigration!
Following are activities I’ve
used to teach this outcome:
Introduction
I have
several picture books on immigration which I’ve listed at the end of this post. My favourite one however, is When Jessie
Came Across the Sea by Amy Hest. I use
this as a spin-off to discuss the concept of immigration and Hutterites coming to
America.
Mapping
To trace
back from where their local colony originated, I use the Hutterite Members App
or a Hutterite phone book. The Members
App has a “Colony Tree” feature where we traced Elm River’s origin all the way back
to Alvinz, Transylvania. I created cards
where I recorded each colony’s name, country, flag and years of existence. Some of these communities are extinct, while
others continue to thrive.
On a world map mounted on a
bulletin board, the students used string to connect the cards, which are
stapled above the map, to the places on the map.
Next, they complete the BLM: Hutterite
Immigration, recording the country names and drew and coloured the flags.
Suitcase Project
Discussion:
What would Hutterites have brought along when they came to America.
What would they not be able to bring
along?
Brainstorm what students would
pack in their own suitcases if they had to move to a different country.
Send home a copy of the letter explaining the
project to their parents.
At home, they
make a display of their chosen items and email the photo to their teacher to
print.
Create a suitcase out of
construction paper.
Fill in BLM: Traveling to a New Land
by listing
the items they would take along. Draw
the items or glue the photo inside the “suitcase.” Attach a name tag with students’ full name
and address. Students can decorate their suitcase with travel related stickers.
Hutterite Soup Beans
One item
that someone, perhaps a gardener, had the foresight of bringing to America are
Hutterite Soup Beans. These can be
purchased / ordered from the Heirloom section of seed stores / catalogs. To tie in science, (parts of plants, needs
of plants, etc.) plant them with the students and have them take care of them.
If
possible, make bean soup. An article about
beans can be found at Manitoba Co-operator website: An Heirloom Harvest Spurs
memories by Linda Maendel. To read it click here.
Story Telling
Invite
Dora Maendel from Fairholme to come (or on ITV) tell the Maendel Story and/or Sonn Ankela Story
Music
Connection
A song is currently being composed by Butch Wipf and Dora Maendel about
Hutterite immigration. Once it’s
completed, a recording of it will be added here.
Books
- A Light Kindled by Tracy M Leininger (a pilgrim story of home)
- Anna’s Goats by Janice Kulyk Keefer (a story of hope and memories)
- Spoken memories by Aliki (immigration memories)
- Thank You Canada by Andrea Lynn Beck (celebrating
our country’s strengths)
- Hutterites in Canada by Frances Purslow (history of Hutterite
communities in Canada)
- The Whispering Cloth by Pegi Deitz Shea (a refugee story)
- Gleam and Glow by Eve Bunting (finding hope)
- When Jessie came across the sea by Amy Hest (immigration memories)
