Grade 7s, Blankets & Smelly Socks

By Lindsay Kate Anderson

Over the past week I had the privilege of facilitating the Kairos Blanket Exercise with grade 7 students at both Ecole Senator Riley Middle School, and have started with the same age group at Ecole Okotoks Junior High School. With the breadth of Canadian history required to be covered within the grade 7 curriculum, the simulation brings big ideas and policies to students in an experiential manner. With four exercises complete and seven more to go, here are some thoughts and insights for schools considering doing the Blanket Exercise with their students.

1. Do not hesitate! Just do it!
2. They are more prepared than you think- students will behave better than you think they will.
3. Remind students to wear clean socks- it’s worth it for everyone involved.
4. Find a facilitator- as a teacher, if you have not been through the simulation before, take the opportunity to see how students react and behave while someone else takes charge.
5. Find a space- if possible run the simulation somewhere other than your classroom. This gives students a feeling of the activity being something special.
6. Listen- at the beginning and end of the simulation give students a chance to share questions and insights they may have.
7. Planning- facilitating can be exhausting. While a typical simulation takes just under an hour and a half, remember the energy your facilitator is putting into the event. Avoid scheduling more than two simulations per day.
8. Reach out- with three speaking roles; narrator, European, and nun, reach out to administration, learning coaches, and library staff to help with facilitation.
9. Include videos- over 200 years worth of history is being presented incorporating videos into the simulation provides students a chance to land someplace safe, breathe, and move forward.
10. Reflect- talk to your students and other participating teachers to see how the exercise has impacted your student learning and how it will impact your teaching.

Looking forward there are seven more exercises to go and I look forward to continuing to hear what students are learning and how their impressions of Indigenous experiences in Canada have changed and grown.