Earlier in the school year we talked about how examining artifacts (objects created or modified by humans) can tell us about the society in which they were made and about who used them. Today, students had the opportunity to explore a variety of traditional Inuit artifacts, borrowed from the UBC Museum of Anthropology.

Students made observations and sketched the objects. They were also tasked with hypothesizing what the objects may have been used for and what materials were used. We have have been developing our understanding of how Inuit have traditionally used resources available to them, especially how the Inuit use(d) seal and caribou. This background knowledge helped us when examining the artifacts.

Once our hypothesizing was done, students received cards that provided more information about the artifacts and the students responded to some reflective or critical questions. The information included the name of the object in Inukitut, including the syllabic representation.

Division 3–What was something that surprised you when looking at the artifacts today? What is something you are still curious about or need to know more about?