"Teachers will recognize that these expected outcomes from Alberta Education's Program of Studies are only some of the links my presentations make."

Recycling a Folk Tale 
Students will be able to:

• Listen and respond critically to oral and printed texts (Rita tells the original folktale and then reads the picture book, which is also displayed by PowerPoint so students can follow along and see the pictures). Students are given a chance to compare and contrast the oral and printed texts.
• Relate text to culture, as Rita explains how the traditional Central European folktale is told in different cultures.
• Learn about collaborative writing, as Rita explains how she and co-author Debby Waldman worked together.
• Construct meaning from texts by connecting the thoughts and actions of the portrayed characters to their own experiences.

A Novel Tour Through Alberta History
Linkages to literature and the continued development of historical thinking will be reinforced through the stories of Fort Edmonton’s Chief Factor John Rowand, Famous Fiver Emily Murphy and fighter pilot Wop May.
Students will be presented with:

• A sense of Canada’s and Alberta’s physical geography 
  
• The movements of the people within Canada's borders
  
• Pre- and post-Confederation views of everyday life
  
• The influence of Indigenous Peoples as inherent to Alberta’s culture and identity
  
• How European immigration contributed to the establishment of communities in Alberta in late 19th and early 20th century
  
• How British institutions provided the structure for the settlement of newcomers to Alberta
  

Barriers, Borders and Bridges​
Students will:

• see how creative writing can incorporate creative, critical, historical and geographic dimensions of thinking
• appreciate and respect how multiple perspectives, including Indigenous and immigrant, shape Canada’s political, socioeconomic, linguistic and cultural realities
• examine impacts of cultural contact between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples (depopulation, influences on government and social institutions)
• understand how knowledge of the history of Alberta, of Canada and of the world, contributes to a better comprehension of contemporary realities

• understand historic and contemporary issues, including controversial issues, from multiple perspectives
• understand the diversity of Indigenous traditions, values and attitudes
• understand the challenges and opportunities that immigration presents to newcomers and to Canada
• understand how political and economic distribution of power affects individuals, communities and nations
• appreciate how the forces of nationalism have shaped, and continue to shape, Canada and the world

Follow your Passion

• Students will discover and explore how a variety of experiences can be developed into text.
• Students will experience various texts as Rita describes how newspaper stories, books and a bike museum fuelled her novel.
• Students will see an example of generating an idea by generalizing from one’s own experience (Rita’s family had six bikes stolen) to create text.
• Students will observe an example of how a writer managed ideas and information to create text. 
• Students will hear how a main character develops and changes as a result of actions and events.