Introducing free teaching guides for the Qinuisaarniq Series
Inhabit Education Books is proud to announce that we are now offering free, downloadable teaching guides to accompany each of the three titles in our Qinuisaarniq Series. We hope these resources provide support and guidance to educators wanting to incorporate these important, unique books into their classrooms.
Each teaching guide includes:
- General information about the residential school system, with a special focus on residential schools in the North
- Advice for how to respectfully teach disturbing content in the classroom
- Tips and resources for informing parents and guardians about the content their children will be learning
- Step-by-step guidance for reading the book with students
- Comprehensive discussion guides and activities
- Reproducible resources
To download these free guides, visit inhabiteducationbooks.com/pages/teaching-guides.
What is the Qinuisaarniq series?
Qinuisaarniq (“resiliency”) is a program created to educate Nunavummiut and all Canadians about the history and impacts of residential schools, policies of assimilation, and other colonial acts that have affected the Canadian Arctic.
Each resource has been carefully written and reviewed to include level-appropriate opportunities for students to learn about colonial acts and policies that have affected Inuit. These acts and policies created long-lasting impacts on Inuit individuals and communities, which are still being felt today.
Explore the books
Making a Whole Person: Traditional Inuit Education
Written by Monica Ittusardjuat
Illustrated by Yong Ling Kang
Hardcover | Ages: 7–9
"Before schools were introduced to the Inuit, we were taught by our relatives.”
In this picture book, Monica Ittusardjuat shares how she learned knowledge and skills in a time before being taken to residential school. She describes how children learned through playing games, imitating grown-ups, and observing adults around them.
On the Side of the Angels
Written by Jose Amaujaq Kusugak
Illustrated by Hwei Lim
Paperback | Ages: 12–15
“Then one day a ‘flyable’ took me away from our world through the sky to a dark and desolate place.”
Jose Kusugak had a typical Arctic childhood, growing up playing games, enjoying food caught by hunters, and watching his mother preparing skins. But he was one of the first generation of Inuit children who were taken from their homes and communities and sent to live in residential schools. In this moving and candid memoir, Jose tells of his experiences at residential school and the lifelong effects it had on him.
Reflections from Them Days: A Residential School Memoir from Nunatsiavut
As told by Nellie Winters
Transcribed and edited by Erica Oberndorfer
Illustrated by Nellie Winters
Paperback | Ages: 11–14
When Nellie Winters was 11 years old, she was sent to attend the Nain Boarding School, a residential school 400 kilometres from her home. In this memoir, she recalls life before residential school, her experiences at the school, and what it was like to come home.
Accompanied by the author’s original illustrations, this moving, often funny memoir sheds light on the experiences of Inuit residential school survivors in Labrador.
Inhabit Education Books acknowledges the following organizations who participated in the development of the Qinuisaarniq program and this teaching guide:
Government of Nunavut Department of Education
Legacy of Hope Foundation
Nunavut Arctic College
Qikiqtani Inuit Association