Go Show the Word: A Celebration of Indigenous Heroes written by Wab Kinew is an amazing book full of hope and pride and is an appropriate way for teachers to share Indigenous history and perspectives with their students. Wab Kinew has done a great job highlighting the achievements of Indigenous People of Turtle Island. This book has a really positive message for all students: go show the world what people who matter can do.
This book challenges stereotypes and calls people to action to go out and show the world how Indigenous people matter.
Where to next?
This is a fantastic book to use in your classroom as a read-aloud or shared reading experience. Feel free to take several days to experience this book. Allow time for student questions and wonderings.
Each page includes a beautiful illustration of a historical or present-day Indigenous hero including Tecumseh, Jim Thorpe, Waneek Horn-Miller and Dr. Evan Adams. These short glimpses into what makes these Indigenous people heroes can lead to some excellent inquiries.
Joe Morse, the illustrator of the book, has done a fantastic job capturing the strength and resilience of the people highlighted in the book. When you do your picture walk through this book have students come up with questions that arise when they look at the pictures.
There are lots of ways to connect this book to social studies expectations.
The above picture can be connected to expectations that focus on perspective, land and resource use. For example:
Grade 4 Overall Expectation B.2 Inquiry: Use the Social Studies inquiry process to investigate some issues and challenges associated with balancing human needs/wants and activities with environmental stewardship in one or more of the political and/or physical regions of Canada.
Grade 5 overall expectation B1: Application: Governments and Citizens Working Together
Grade 6 Overall Expectation A2. Inquiry: Use the social studies inquiry process to investigate different perspectives on the historical and/or contemporary experiences of a few distinct communities, including First Nations, Metis, and/or Inuit communities in Canada.
By including books written by Indigenous authors in your classroom and school libraries you are providing your students with perspectives that might not be present in your classroom otherwise. Including these perspectives in your classroom not only allows your students to experience diverse perspectives, but they also challenge stereotypes and help students to gain empathy and understanding.
The publisher of this book has provided a class discussion guide for teachers to use when reading this book in their class as well. It can be found here:
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