The Tikkun Project
Lesson
12
Teaching Others to be Shomrei Adamah (Presentations)
Concept
Inspired by Indigenous Water Protectors like Josephine Mandamin and Autumn Peltier, Shomrei Adamah use art, media, and advocacy to teach their school community how to protect and conserve water and hold their own finished work to the same standard they used to judge everyone else's.
Focus Question
How can we teach others to be Shomrei Adamah? [Note: the source's Inquiry Questions field also contained a large block of stray, duplicate leftover content — an earlier draft of both this lesson's and Lesson 11's outlines. Removed in this pass, since both lessons already have complete, non-duplicated Lesson Outline content.]
Knowledge & Understanding Goals
Social Studies, People and Environments: Global Communities, Strand B / Heritage & Identity: Recognize the contributions of Indigenous water protectors and apply their leadership lessons to local advocacy.
Language, Media Literacy / Expressive Arts: Create a clear, persuasive media poster designed to inform and influence a target audience.
Thinking & Learning Skills
Communication Skills (Persuasive Media): Designing a visual message combining a call to action with a supporting reason.
Thinking Skills (Self-Assessment): Evaluating one's own completed work against pre-established criteria, honestly.
Learner Profile Connection (Communicators / Principled): Taking on the role of educator and advocate.
Context
Now that students have personally tested and measured effective water strategies (Lesson 11), they step into the role of educators, drawing inspiration from Indigenous water walkers but first check their own finished plan against the same three criteria (measurable, long-lasting, feasible) that have shaped every decision since Lesson 3.
Lesson Outline
MEETING JOSEPHINE AND AUTUMN
Read The Water Walker / Nibi Emosaawdang (Joanne Robertson) or share the story of Josephine Mandamin and Autumn Peltier. Highlight their thousands of miles walked around the Great Lakes to raise awareness.
DESIGNING OUR OWN MESSAGE
Provide bristol board paper (16x20). Students design posters with: a clear visual of water/nature/action; a specific, proven action from the unit; a compelling, unit-supported reason to conserve water.
CHECKING OUR PLAN AGAINST OUR CRITERIA
Before presenting, groups return to the unit's three Challenge Criteria — measurable, long-lasting, feasible — and answer each one specifically for their own completed action: What did we measure, and what did it show? Is this something that could keep happening after our class moves on, or was it a one-time event? Was this actually realistic for us to do with our own time and resources? Groups add their answers directly onto their poster or as a short spoken addition to their presentation.
SHARING OUR MESSAGE
Students present posters and action results, choosing one of three formats: Poster Installation (mounted near high-water-use areas); Community Walk (carried to a local body of water); Special Presentation (at an Earth Day or World Water Day assembly).
Notes for Teaching and Evaluation
Offering three distinct presentation formats lets the culminating activity match what's feasible for a given class or school calendar.
Requiring each poster to include both a specific action and a supporting reason keeps the final product tied to the unit's actual evidence, not a generic slogan.
Requiring students to answer all three criteria specifically — not just assume the project succeeded because it's finished — is what prevents the culminating lesson from becoming a celebration lap; a student should be able to say "this wasn't very long-lasting, because..." and have that count as a legitimate, honest answer.