Uqautchim Uglua is based on partnerships, community involvement and getting our young people involved with what we are doing. Every Friday local high school Iñupiaq students come into the classroom to read Iñupiat-language books of their own composition to our early childhood learners. These books then become classroom resources to use on a daily basis.
The books that the high school students leave behind have become very popular with our Language Nest learners. They have proven to be an effective method of engaging our ECE students in active acquisition of new Iñupiaq vocabulary and grammatical structures. This has the potential to be a valuable tool in any Native early childhood setting, and we want to share it with you today.