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CELEBRATING OURCELTIC CULTURE

DRAFT

CELEBRATING OUR CELTIC

CULTURE:A TEACHING RESOURCE

Draft, October 2008

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

CELEBRATING OUR CELTIC CULTURE: A TEACHING RESOURCE, DRAFT, OCTOBER 2008 III

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The Nova Scotia Department of Education gratefully acknowledges the following peopleand organizations for their assistance and feedback in developing this draft resource:

Margaret Beaton, Strait Regional School BoardJackie Dunn MacIsaac, Strait Regional School BoardBrian MacDonald, Strait Regional School BoardDawn MacDonald-Gillis, Cape Breton–Victoria Regional School BoardFrances MacEachen, Office of Gaelic AffairsEric Favaro, Arts Education ConsultantJoe Murphy, St Mary’s University

CONTENTS

CELEBRATING OUR CELTIC CULTURE: A TEACHING RESOURCE, DRAFT, OCTOBER 2008 V

CONTENTS

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1How to Use This Resource . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Overview: The Gaels of Nova Scotia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5The Gaelic Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Celtic Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Design and Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Rationale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Making Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Achieving Outcomes in Other Subject Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Learning and Teaching in Multi-Grade Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Suggestions for Learning and Teaching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17Celtic Regions of the World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17Gaelic Nova Scotia Today . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35Folklore and Traditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46Language and Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63Music and Dance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Appendixes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77Appendix A: Celtic Colours International Festival . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79Appendix B: The Feis Movement in Nova Scotia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

INTRODUCTION

CELEBRATING OUR CELTIC CULTURE: A TEACHING RESOURCE, DRAFT, OCTOBER 2008 1

INTRODUCTION

Background

While the number of Gaelic speakers has decreased over the past 50 years, recently therehas been a revival in the interest to learn the Gaelic language and to understand Celticculture as it relates to contemporary life in Nova Scotia.

For the past number of years the Nova Scotia Department of Education has recognizedthe need to support Gaelic language and culture in the public school system. In 1997 thefirst Gaelic Studies curriculum was implemented, and since then courses in the Gaeliclanguage and culture have been available in schools. While these courses and programshave been implemented mostly in Eastern Nova Scotia and Cape Breton, there is agrowing interest in schools throughout the province to introduce students to the richheritage of Gaelic and to develop programs that meet the needs of all students.

Through many initiatives supported by the Nova Scotia Department of Education; theNova Scotia Department of Tourism, Culture and Heritage; and the Office of GaelicAffairs Nova Scotia students are deepening their awareness and understanding of theGaelic language and Celtic culture. This teaching resource, Celebrating Our CelticCulture: A Teaching Resource is intended to provide teachers with suggestions for learningand teaching as they link Celtic culture to other areas of curriculum, including languagearts, social studies, and the arts.

Purpose

This resource builds on connections between Celtic culture and other areas of thecurriculum described in Atlantic Canada Framework for Essential Graduation Learnings inSchools. It states the following:

Essential Graduation Learnings are statements describing the knowledge, skills, andattitudes expected of all students who graduate from high school. Achievement of theEssential Graduation Learnings will prepare students to continue to learn throughouttheir lives. These learnings describe the expectations not in terms of individual schoolsubjects but in terms of knowledge, skills, and attitudes developed throughout thecurriculum.

INTRODUCTION

2 CELEBRATING OUR CELTIC CULTURE: A TEACHING RESOURCE, DRAFT, OCTOBER 2008

The Essential Graduation Learnings are articulated as follows:

• Aesthetic Awareness• Citizenship• Communication• Personal Development • Problem Solving• Technological Competence

Celebrating Our Celtic Culture: A Teaching Resource was developed to provide teacherswith practical suggestions for integrating the Gaelic language and Celtic culture withother curriculums while providing students with opportunities to achieve the EssentialGraduation Learnings. In addition, it is intended to develop a deeper understanding ofand appreciation for an important aspect of Nova Scotia culture and heritage.

The activities presented in this resource are applicable at all grade levels, from primary tograde 12, and can be adapted to suit the age level of the students.

These experiences offer students opportunities to

• develop and apply their knowledge, skills, talents, and interests in the Gaeliclanguage and Celtic culture

• develop their awareness of the contributions of the Gaels to Nova Scotia cultureand heritage

• plan, implement, and evaluate a cultural celebration that recognizes and valuesthese contributions

• explore the connections between the Gaelic language and Celtic culture and otherareas of the curriculum, including language arts, social studies, and the arts

This resource will also provide ideas for teaching Gaelic 10, 11, and 12 and GaelicStudies 11. It presents action-oriented projects that students or groups of students mayuse to enrich their learning in other areas of the curriculum.

INTRODUCTION


How to Use This Resource

Teachers are invited to select activities from this resource to assist them in designinglearning experiences that

• encourage students to engage in the creative, expressive, and responsive processes oflanguage and culture studies

• extend students’ understanding of the relationship between the Gaelic language andCeltic culture and life in Nova Scotia today

While the first section of this resource provides a brief overview of the history of theGaels of Nova Scotia, teachers are encouraged to access additional resources to providetheir students with a solid understanding of the historical implications of the Gaeliclanguage and Celtic culture. A list of resources is provided at the back of this document.It includes printed materials, websites, multimedia, and Celtic cultural organizations inthe province.

There are five areas of focus in this resource, including

• Celtic regions of the world• Gaelic Nova Scotia today• Folklore and traditions• Language and communication• Music and dance

Within each area several topics have been identified, and activities to support each topicare presented. These are generally presented for grades primary–3, 4–6, 7–9, and 10–12.Teachers are invited to select those areas of focus and topics that interest them and theirstudents and to build on the learning that is happening in other areas of the curriculum.

While May is designated as Gaelic Awareness Month, the activities in this resource neednot be limited to events that take place during that time of the year. For example, manyschools plan sports days in June, and as a variation on this idea, they may wish toconsider a Highland Games event, combining it with other activities to celebrate Celticculture. Other schools plan festivities around cultural events. An example of this is theCeltic Colours International Festival, and teachers may wish to develop a unit of study tocoincide with these festivals and events. It is important, however, that teachers notconsider the ideas in this resource as limited to special events or times of the year. Theycan be woven throughout the learning during the entire school year.

OVERVIEW: THE GAELS OF NOVA SCOTIA


OVERVIEW: THE GAELS OF

NOVA SCOTIA

Introduction

(The following is adapted from Gaelic in Nova Scotia Schools: Questions and Answers,prepared by the Office of Gaelic Affairs, September 2007.)

The Gaels of Nova Scotia are a people whose language and culture is grounded in thetraditions originating in the peoples, languages, and cultures that span both GaelicScotland and Ireland. Having evolved through experiences of life in Canada, Gaels andGaelic make important contributions to the cultural mosaic of Nova Scotia and Canadaand continue to enrich our lives and culture, as evidenced in ongoing celebrations ofsong, music, dance, storytelling, foods, customs, and art and a renewed interest ingenealogy. Gaelic culture is sustained by native speakers of the language and an activelearner community, supported throughout the world by an abundance of texts,newspaper and magazine articles, videos and recordings, countless websites, Gaelic-language schools, and international Gaelic celebrations. Strong educational links arebeing forged between Scotland and “New Scotland,” and links are being forged withGaelic Ireland. Gaelic’s presence continues to provide significant material culture to themusic and tourism industries in Nova Scotia and the rest of Canada.

The Gaelic Language

Gaelic has been spoken for more than 200 years on Cape Breton Island and in regions ofmainland Nova Scotia. As no formal census specific to the Gaelic community has everbeen done in Nova Scotia, it is difficult to determine the total number of Gaelic speakerscurrently in the province. What is known for sure is that the number of Gaelic speakersis in decline, and some historians claim that the language is nearly extinct. The recentefforts to revive an interest in Gaelic are supported strongly by the Nova ScotiaDepartment of Education. Through co-operative initiatives with the Nova ScotiaDepartment of Tourism, Culture and Heritage and the Office of Gaelic Affairs thenumber of schools offering Gaelic-language classes is growing. These efforts have been



augmented by several community groups in the province who are providing eveningclasses for the young and old alike.

Currently, about 227 000 Nova Scotians claim descent from Gaelic-speaking settlers anda much larger number of Nova Scotians are involved in cultural activities, such as eventsin music, song, and dance, that stem directly or indirectly from the Gaelic language. Arecent Gaelic Nova Scotia study linked a $23-million economy with Gaelic and Gaelic-related events, businesses, and activities in the province. These include

• 28 Gaelic-related societies, organizations, and institutions throughout Nova Scotia• the Gaelic language being offered in nine schools at varying levels and in three

universities• Gaelic studies being offered in 15 schools• adult immersion learning programs in 12 communities in Nova Scotia

Along with aboriginal, Acadian, and African-Nova Scotian heritage, Gaelic in NovaScotia is part of the unique linguistic and cultural diversity of the province, offering adifferent viewpoint for students on the history, culture, and future of their own area.Nova Scotia Gaelic speakers are supported by many international Gaelic speakers andlearners in countries as far afield as Scotland, Ireland, Germany, and the United States aswell as in other parts of Canada. Students learning Gaelic can become part of thisvibrant, creative community.

Gaelic is a member of the Celtic family of languages. The Celtic family has two survivingbranches: the P-Celtic languages of Welsh, Breton, and Cornish, and the Q-Celticlanguages of Irish Gaelic, Scottish Gaelic, Manx Gaelic, and the variants of ScottishGaelic as they have developed in Nova Scotia.

Settlers from Ireland began to colonize Argyll, Scotland, around AD 200, and theirkingdom gradually expanded to take in much of the west coast. These settlers werereferred to by the Romans as the “Scotti,” from the small knife, or “scotha,” that theycarried. As they established their new kingdom their language began to diverge from theIrish spoken in their original homeland and eventually developed into the language weknow today as Scottish Gaelic.

Around AD 800, fear of Viking raiders drove the Scotti into the lands of the Picts, the P-Celtic tribe of northern and eastern Scotland. Eventually the two tribes united underKenneth MacAlpine, the first ruler of the Gaelic-speaking kingdom of “Alba”—Scotland.



Over the centuries influences from the south and continental Europe gradually oustedGaelic as the language of the royal court in southern Scotland. In the twelfth century thewarlord Somerled wrested control of the west coast from the Vikings and established theLordship of the Isles. At its pinnacle the Lordship’s territory included the Western Isles(the Hebrides), Lochaber, and the Earldom of Ross. The lands of the Lordship becamethe stronghold of the Gaelic language and culture for the next 500 years.

The eventual collapse of the Lordship (1493), the various failed Jacobite risings (the lastrising culminating in the battle of Culloden in 1746), and the mass clearances of theeighteenth and nineteenth centuries all took a heavy toll on the Gaelic language andculture.

In the 1770s Gaelic-speaking immigrants from the Highlands and Islands of Scotlandbegan settling in Nova Scotia’s eastern region (eastern Colchester, Pictou, Antigonish,and northern Guysborough counties) and later on the Island of Cape Breton.

In the early stages of settlement Gaelic culture was passed on from generation togeneration through the institution of the taigh céilidh or “visiting house.” It was here thatlocal news, songs, stories, music, and dance were disseminated. Major socio-economicchanges in the late nineteenth century and throughout the twentieth century saw thecollapse of this societal structure that had organically supported the transmission oflanguage and associated traditions that were generally aural in nature. Institutionally, theGaelic language was not reflected in concrete or meaningful ways that resonated withGaelic-speaking communities. A major language shift and cultural decline were theensuing results.

Celtic Culture

In 1939 A.W.R. MacKenzie founded the Gaelic College of Celtic Arts and Celtic Craftsat St. Ann’s, the site of the island’s earliest Scottish settlements. This school of Celtic artsand crafts was founded for the study and preservation of the Gaelic language, arts, andculture. Students of all ages and abilities from around the world participate in classes,both on campus and online.

More recently St. Francis Xavier University (St FX) created a Celtic Studies departmentand became the only institution outside of Scotland to offer four years of Gaelicinstruction, although Gaelic has been taught at St FX for over 100 years. With anextensive collection in its Angus L. MacDonald Library, the university has provided, over



the years, a solid base of academics and teachers who play a key role in the preservationand study of the Gaelic language and culture.

The Beaton Institute at Cape Breton University is an archive and research centremandated to collect and preserve the social, economic, political, and cultural history ofCape Breton Island. Its founder, Sister Margaret Beaton, began collecting materials in1957 that pertained to the Gaelic language and culture. That mandate was expanded toincorporate all aspects of the island’s life and history. Relevant materials are organizedand made available for the use of students, academics, researchers, the media, and thegeneral public. The Beaton’s holdings include over 3000 manuscript groups, 50 000photographs, 3500 audiotapes and videotapes, 1500 maps and plans, and 1500 books.(www.beaton.uccb.ns.ca).

Since the mid-1800s, publications in Gaelic have been produced in Nova Scotia,including An Cuairtear Òg Gaelach (1851), Mac-Talla (1892), and, later, Cape Breton’sMagazine (published for more than 27 years). In addition, The Inverness Oran (InvernessCounty), Victoria Standard (Victoria County), and The Casket (Antigonish County)continue to promote and preserve the Gaelic language and culture.

The publication industry, through Breton Books and Cape Breton University Press, hasprinted more than 100 titles, many celebrating the culture and heritage of the Scottishsettlers in Nova Scotia. References to this legacy are also made in several internationalbestsellers, including No Great Mischief (Alistair MacLeod), Fall on Your Knees (Anne-Marie MacDonald), and Cape Breton Road (D. R. MacDonald).

Gaelic songs and fiddle and bagpipe music have been preserved through recordings,many of which are still available today. Recording artists such as Mary Jane Lamond,Natalie MacMaster, and Ashley MacIsaac have taken Celtic music to a new level, but thiswould not have been possible without the early recordings of the masters and countlessother musicians whose recordings are in the process of being digitized at the BeatonInstitute. One of the highlights each year in Cape Breton is the Celtic ColoursInternational Festival, which draws performers and audiences from around the world.Through the sharing of Celtic music Nova Scotians have been able to learn more aboutthe roots of the music and dance that they celebrate in communities around the provinceand have developed a deeper understanding of the techniques that have been preservedthroughout the past two centuries.

Theatre and film have also played a role in the preservation of the story of the earlyScottish settlers. In 2005 Bev Brett from the St. Ann’s Bay Players wrote and producedseveral plays that portray the life of the early settlers, including The Margaret,



Carolan—The Last of the Irish Bards, and Down North. In 2006 the first Gaelic-languagefilm to be made in North America, Faire Chaluim Mhic Leòid, was filmed in CapeBreton.

In the visual arts the crafts industry continues to preserve traditional crafts of the earlysettlers, and many artists and artisans, through the support of the Inverness CountyCentre for the Arts, the Cape Breton Centre for Craft and Design, the Nova ScotiaCentre for Craft and Design, and the Nova Scotia Designer Crafts Council are exhibitingand selling their works around the world. In addition to the traditional crafts, like rughooking, quilting, weaving, and basketry, the artists have expanded their ideas, takinginspiration from Celtic symbols and traditions and producing some of the finestjewellery, pottery, sculpture, and metalwork in the country.

DESIGN AND COMPONENTS



Rationale

We know from the literature and research on learning styles that students are less likelyto process new information unless there are links made to other areas that are of interestand have relevance to them. The learning of isolated facts is considered poor teaching,and teachers must make every effort to provide a “hook” for students as they introduceand develop new concepts and skills. Teachers are constantly challenged to resolve keyissues in the learning, teaching, and assessment process. How do students learn best?What do they need to know? How can we capitalize on their interests and build on theirstrengths as we introduce more content and skills?

Developing cross-curricular connections has become one of the most powerful teachingstrategies, supported by research on how students learn. There are many models thatexplain an approach to teaching and learning that capitalize on cross-curricularconnections, including interdisciplinary, cross-disciplinary, multidisciplinary, and trans-disciplinary units. Each approach can be defined to suit a particular context, based on the training and experience of the teacher. Regardless of the model used, it is imperative thatstudents are shown relevance to new content and that they discover connections to otherareas of learning as they process the new information.

Making Connections

Generally speaking, we use the term “integrated curriculum” to describe how one subjectinteracts or intersects with another in the same lesson or unit. Placed in a context of reallife, problems are not resolved or new ideas proposed in isolation. We draw upon all ofour learning and experiences to arrive at a solution to a problem. Yet, in school we dividethe day into subjects, isolating skills and providing little time for students to see theconnectedness of the myriad of things they are learning. Indeed, some curriculumtheorists would argue that for true integrated curriculum to be successful, the subjectbarriers must come down to the point where students are unsure if a particular lesson issocial studies, math, visual arts, language arts, science, of music.



Celebrating Our Celtic Culture: A Teaching Resource provides ideas for teachers to developconnections between topics, themes, content, and concepts. While the Gaelic languageand cultural studies may not be taught in every school as separate subjects, they haverelevance to students living in Nova Scotia, and because of this relevance, they should beaddressed in other areas of the curriculum. For example, a social studies unit on earlypioneer life requires an understanding of how the first Gaels adapted to the newenvironment and created a life that, while it had many similarities to living in Scotland,had many new challenges as well. Similarly, many aspects of the early life of these settlersrevolved around storytelling traditions that preserved language and culture. This is notunlike the processes used in language arts classes as we encourage students to develop anidea for a story or a reflection. Similarly, in music class students are invited to developtheir own songs, basing them on situations that have relevance and meaning to them.This idea is very evident in the songs of the Gaels; Many songs had a purpose thatallowed the immigrants to preserve their stories and to make life and work morebearable.

This teaching resource focusses on five areas of interest including,

• Celtic regions of the world• Gaelic Nova Scotia today• Folklore and traditions• Language and communication• Music and dance

The suggestions for learning and teaching in each focus area provide for teachers at allgrades a range of activities and experiences that they can create for their students. It issuggested that teachers not select the activities in isolation but rather create thematicunits that allow students to achieve outcomes in several subject disciplines. These unitsmay provide a central focus for one grade, a variety of classrooms, or the whole school.For example, a grade 4 teacher who is teaching pioneer life may select activities fromseveral focus areas to create a unit that has relevance and interest. A junior high schoolmay use a special occasion to create a school-wide program to celebrate a particularfestival or event, such as Gaelic Awareness Month or the Celtic Colours InternationalFestival. A high school with emerging Celtic music groups may use activities in thisresource to create a festival-like atmosphere in the school where these groups have anopportunity to perform for their classmates in an authentic Celtic celebration. Thepossibilities are endless.



Achieving Outcomes in Other Subject Areas

Celebrating Our Celtic Culture: A Teaching Resource is designed to help students applyand extend the knowledge, skills, and attitudes they have acquired in other subjects tomake connections among areas of knowledge and to extend their learning to the worldbeyond the classroom.

The strongest cross-curricular connection evident in this resource is to arts education,including dance, drama, music, and visual arts. Arts education is the key to developingthe culture sector in Nova Scotia. Our province is blessed with a rich and vibrant culturalcommunity. It is important that teachers recognize and value the contributions of theGaels to communities across the province, and the arts in particular open many doors forstudents to make those connections.

As teachers use this resource, they will be able to make links not only to arts educationbut also to other areas of the curriculum, particularly social studies and language arts.Curriculum outcomes in these subjects are attainable through the suggested activities foreach focus area. The following examples demonstrate this.

Focus Area: Celtic Regions of the World

Topic: Map Study

Grades Primary–3 Activity

Read to the students the book The MacCallum House, 1798 by Jim St. Clair. This tellsthe story of a young boy coming to a new world. Discuss how the boy felt and how headjusted to his new way of life. Ask them to describe how they would feel if they had tomove to a new place.

Curriculum Outcomes, Social Studies, Grade Primary

Students will be expected toE.1.2 identify needs and wants that are common to all childrenE.2.1 recognize that families have historic rootsE.3.1 begin developing mapping skills to identify, locate, and name familiar places

within the communityE.3.3 make connections between their community and other communities (local,

national, and global)



Focus Area: Folklore and Traditions

Topic: Poetry, Proverbs, and Riddles

Grades 4–6 Activity

Poets use the world around them and their own experiences as inspiration. Showstudents an example of a Gaelic poem which has been written based on the poet’s life.Have them write their own poems about something in their life, such as a familyvacation, a move, or something fun they did with a friend. Compile them in a classanthology.

Curriculum Outcomes, English Language Arts, Grade 4

Students will be expected to1.1 explore and discuss their thoughts, ideas, and experiences and consider those of

their peers3.3 show an awareness of the kinds of language appropriate to different situations and

audiences6.1 describe, share, and discuss their personal reactions to text8.1 use strategies in writing and other ways of representing8.3 experiment with language, appropriate to purpose, audience, and form, that

enhances meaning and demonstrates imagination in writing and other ways ofrepresenting

Focus Area: Celtic Regions of the World

Topic: Nova Scotia Gaels


The Gaels of Nova Scotia are still actively involved in many traditional art forms, such asstep-dancing, milling, and the kitchen ceilidh. At times, these activities are often open tothe general public in an effort to raise awareness of the culture in our communities. Havestudents create a mock organization for preserving and increasing awareness of Gaelicculture. Ask them to list their priorities and include relevant resources to help their cause.Have them, in groups, create promotional materials such as posters, infomercials,brochures, and web sites.



Curriculum Outcomes, Health/Personal Development and Relationships, Grade 7

Students will be expected toC2.1 define community and demonstrate an understanding of how communities

function as well as an appreciation of their own communityC5.1 demonstrate acceptance of, and appreciation for, their own and others’ cultural

backgroundsD3.3 demonstrate the ability to communicate and work effectively in a group

Focus Area: Folklore and Traditions

Topic: Storytelling


Host a Gaelic Arts night for friends and family to attend. Have students create skits,poems, tableaux, interpretive dance, or spoken word to illustrate a variety of Gaelicstories or poetry.

Curriculum Outcomes, Drama 10

Students will be expected to1.1 respond with sensitivity and respect to the ideas of others1.2 take greater learning risks within a dramatic context2.2 assume and sustain a role in a dramatic context2.3 use movement, gesture, and stillness to interpret and communicate meaning2.4 use speech to communicate meaning3.1 make informed judgments about their own work and the work of others3.2 reflect on their personal growth, using various forms of expression4.1 reflect on ways in which their work and the work of others reflect cultural

diversity5.1 use various dramatic forms to create text that gives meaning to cultural and

historical events5.2 make connections between their own life and the characters, ideas, and events in

a dramatic work



Learning and Teaching in Multi-GradeSettings

Studies indicate that many positive opportunities present themselves when learning takesplace in a multi-grade setting. Students of all ages and abilities work together in anenvironment that fosters collaboration, creativity, and respect. Often, schools will planan event that brings together all of the students in a school. This has benefits not only forthe socialization aspect of the learning that takes place in these settings but also for thecognitive skills that are nurtured as the older students work with the younger ones.

It is suggested earlier that the activities presented in this teaching resource culminate in acelebration. A school-wide event to celebrate Celtic culture can be planned and executedthrough the collaboration and co-operation of teachers across many grade levels.Individual classes can work on the activities in each focus area, as they buildunderstanding and confidence in various aspects of the culture, and the overallaccomplishments can be celebrated in a school-wide event that can also include parentsand other community members.

As a multi-grade event is planned, it is important that roles and responsibilities are clearlydefined and that a strict time line is maintained so that everyone is aware ofresponsibilities and deadlines. The plan should be shared with the students so they, too,are aware of the tasks that need to be done and so they can take an active role in thepreparation, depending on the grade level.

SUGGESTIONS FOR LEARNING AND TEACHING


SUGGESTIONS FOR LEARNING

AND TEACHING

Celtic Regions of the World

Historical Research

Celtic and Gaelic history has had an impressive influence on the history of Nova Scotiaand Canada. The Gaels have been significantly influential in shaping society and culturethrough their language, music, and rich heritage.

Libraries, museums, and online resources are effective aids to assist students as theyconduct their historical research. It is important that students have access to technologyto conduct their research, but caution must be used when referencing websites because oftheir varying reliability.

Grades 4–6

February is Heritage Month, and in all school districts across Nova Scotia Heritage Fairstake place each spring. It is effective to weave this theme month with Gaelic AwarenessMonth, which is held in May. Have students, in groups, select a theme or topic on Celticor Gaelic Nova Scotia and develop a plan to carry out the appropriate research.Encourage them to include the following resources: online sources, primary documentssuch as letters and photos, and multimedia resources. Have the students present theirplan to the class, and provide them with a timeline for completion of their project once ithas been discussed and approved. When the research is complete, have the studentscreate a display or a presentation that can become part of a Celtic Heritage Fair in theclassroom or the school.

Grades 7–9

As part of a web quest, have students individually find the answers to the questionsprovided on the Gaelic Trivia Q & A section on novascotia.com. Divide the class intotwo teams and organize a game of “Reach for the Top.”



As a class, watch the DVD The Celtic World: The Story of Civilization. Provide guidingquestions for reflection, and have the students write a response to the video.

Discuss with the students the significance and importance of primary documents whenthey do research. Have them visit the Nova Scotia Archives website and discoverpertaining to Gaelic Nova Scotia. What do these documents tell us about the life of theearly Gaels in Nova Scotia, and why are they so important?

Grades 10–12

Have students work in small groups to research Celtic events in Nova Scotia such as theAntigonish and Halifax Highland Games, the Halifax Celtic Feis, Christmas Island Feis,the Mabou Ceilidh, the Broad Cove Scottish Concert, and the Celtic ColoursInternational Festival. Do similar events take place in Scotland? If so, research theseevents and compare them to those that take place in Nova Scotia. What has changed?Have we remained “true” to the traditions? Do traditions change or grow over the years?Do you think these events will continue to thrive? Why or why not? Why do peoplewant to maintain or attend these events?

Have students create and design their own Celtic newspaper and include in it articles andinformation items on topics such as arts and literature, politics, and business. Allsubmissions must be authentic to the Celtic traditions.

Show students pictures of a variety of Celtic artifacts. Have them create an infomercialfor one of these articles and present it to the class. They can present their infomercial as alive skit or as a video.

Resources

Nova Scotia Archives & Records Management: A repository of Nova Scotia’sdocumentary heritage. This site contains many fascinating virtual exhibits. www.gov.ns.ca/nsarm

Highland Village Museum: A member of the Nova Scotia Museum system.museum.gov.ns.ca/hv

Celtic Colours International Festival: An annual music festival held at approximately 30venues around Cape Breton Island every October.www.celtic-colours.com



Shunpiking: An “alternative” free newspaper that annually issues an edition entitled Mac-talla, in support of Gaelic Nova Scotia and named for the Gaelic newspaper published atWycocomagh, Inverness County, NS in the nineteenth century. This site could provideideas for a student-created Celtic newspaper.www.shunpiking.com/shun0844

novascotia.com

The Celtic World: The Story of Civilization (DVD)

Celtic Spirits, James Littleton, National Film Board of Canada

Map Study

Map study can help students visualize immigration patterns and routes, such as thosetaken by the Gaels over the centuries. In addition, it allows students to discovergeographical connections between various places.

Using a detailed atlas or maps, students can examine land masses for vegetation, weatherpatterns, predominant animals, and much more. This geographical information canprovide valuable insight into the Gaels’ way of life in many different regions of theworld.

Grades Primary–3

Read to the students the book The MacCallum House, 1798 by Jim St. Clair that tells thestory of a young boy coming to a new world. Discuss how the boy felt and how headjusted to his new way of life. Ask them to describe how they would feel if they had tomove to a new place.

Show the students a world map that clearly displays where Nova Scotia and Scotland aresituated. Explain that the early Scottish immigrants had to travel across a body of waterto get to New Scotland. Brainstorm a list of challenges that the early immigrant childrenfaced as they travelled the Atlantic and then settled in their new land.



Grades 4–6

To familiarize students with using maps, photocopy a map of Nova Scotia and havethem highlight or colour the counties or regions where Gaels settled. Write the Gaelicname for each county or region on the map.

Have students research the immigration of one individual and illustrate the route he orshe took on the map.

Have the students make large bristolboard cut-outs of counties or regions in Nova Scotiawhere Gaels settled. Have them work together to decorate the pieces, based on what theyknow about the Gaels in that county or region. As part of an oral presentation, have thepairs introduce their buddies and, together, tell about the area they chose.

Display a large world map and have students research Celtic regions of the world. Whenthey have discovered a region that they would like to research further, have them workwith a partner and gather as much information as possible on that region. Ask them tolabel their region on the world map. When all of the groups have completed theirresearch, have them present their findings to the class.

Grades 7–12

Outline for the students what life would have been like for early Gaels living in variousregions of the world. Have them find these regions on a map and, based on theirknowledge of that region, write a journal entry, a letter to a friend, or any first-handaccount of what it would have been like if they had immigrated to that region.

Have students explore, through print resources, audiovisual recordings, or online, the lifeof Gaels as they live it today. Profile a well-known or lesser-known person of Gaelicheritage. Is that heritage important to him or her? How does he or she maintain thetraditions? How do these traditions impact their life in general?

Download the Celtic map from the National Geographic website. Have the studentswork in pairs and research a Celtic region of the world. Students may choose to presenttheir information orally, through a poster or PowerPoint presentation, a dramatic scene,or an other creative expression. Have them focus on the history of Celtic people in thatregion.



After a foundation lesson on map-reading (with basics such as elevation, vegetation, andwater masses), have students select one Celtic region of the world as the basis for ageographical study.

As a multimedia presentation, have students create an interactive map on the computerthat provides information about a place as you navigate over it.

As a class, view the National Geographic photo tour Celt Appeal, The Celtic Realm. Afterthey have watched the presentation, have the students work in groups to write triviaquestions about the areas that were shown. Use these questions as a basis for a boardgame that they can create.

Resources

Nova Scotia Archives & Records Management: A repository of Nova Scotia’sdocumentary heritage. This site contains many fascinating virtual exhibits. www.gov.ns.ca/nsarm

Nova Scotia Atlas, Service Nova Scotia.

Celt Appeal, The Celtic Realm: A multimedia website of the National GeographicSociety magazine, with many colourful features, including audiovisual presentations.Teachers should check that this site is age/content appropriate for their students.www.ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0603/feature3/index.html

The MacCallum House, 1798, Jim St. Clair.

Place Names

Gaelic place names traditionally follow a specific structure that features both a genericand a qualifying element (e.g., Gleann Dathair—Glendyer, a small vale near Mabouwhere there was a wool-dyeing mill). Through the translation of a Gaelic name studentscan often learn about the geographical characteristics of the area or a part of its history. A recent Gaelic initiative in Nova Scotia has been the introduction of Gaelic place nameson signs throughout the province.



Grades Primary–3

Have the students choose a name for their table or row. This should be a one-word namethat can be easily translated into Gaelic (e.g., colour words, animals, place names, clannames). Help them find the Gaelic translation, using a Gaelic-English dictionary oronline resources. Have the students refer to their area in the classroom by its Gaelic namefor a specified period of time. Use www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaidhlig/faclair/sbg/lorg.php toaccess the University of the Highlands and Islands online Gaelic to English and Englishto Gaelic dictionary.

Grades 4–6

Using the Gaelic Council website (www.gaelic.ca), provide students with a list ofcommon Gaelic place names and their translations. Have them visit the Gaelic Villagewebsite (www.ambaile.org.uk/en/item/item_interactive.jsp?item_id=23777) andcomplete the online interactive place-names quiz, using their translations as a guide.

Show the students a large map that contains the counties in Nova Scotia. Give themflash cards containing the Gaelic names of the counties. Have the students use theirintuition to place the flash cards where they think they fit.

Grades 7–9

Have the class research Celtic regions of the world and discuss the English names forthose places. Have them locate and label these places on a large map. On the labelinclude the place names and the corresponding Celtic language spoken there (e.g.,Ireland speaks Irish Gaelic, Scotland speaks Scottish Gaelic, Isle of Man speaks ManxGaelic).

Grades 10–12

Gaelic place names historically follow a specific structure (see the Gaelic Place NamesExplanation website). Based on what they now know about the structure of Gaelic placenames, have the students rename local geographical locations such as a lake, river, and/orinlet. For example, a large lake could be renamed Loch Mòr; a bare-topped hill could berenamed Beinn Mhaol.



In 2006 Nova Scotia began to include the Gaelic names of places on its road signs.Canada’s two official languages are English and French. Divide the students into twoteams and have them debate the following issue: Should road signs include a languageother than the official language(s) of the country?

Have students translate into Gaelic the name of their street, community, orneighbourhood. Be sure to show them the correct format and placement of words. Forreference, the students may find the Gaelic Council website (www.gaelic.ca) helpful.Provide them with materials so that they can create a welcome sign for their place ofchoice, preferably where they live (e.g., Failte Gu Mabu).

Resources

Dictionary of Canadian Place Names, Alan Rayburn

Place Names of Atlantic Canada, William B. Hamilton

Dictionary of Irish Place Names, Adrian Room

Uibhist Agus Barraidh (Gaelic map), Roy N. Pedersen

Cymru (map of Wales), Roy N. Pedersen

Alba (Gaelic map of Scotland), Roy N. Pedersen

Tir Chaluim Chille (Gaelic map of Scotland, Ireland, and Man in Irish, Manx andScottish Gaelic), Roy N. Pedersen

Website with a variety of maps of Nova Scotia, including one showing the counties.www.novascotia.com/en/home/planatrip/maps.aspx

Gaelic Place Names websitewww.ambaile.org.uk/en/sub_section.jsp?SectionID=1&currentid=209



Nova Scotia Gaels

Gaelic awareness in Nova Scotia is gaining increasing strength throughout the province.With recent initiatives by the Office of Gaelic Affairs and the Gaelic Council, amongother organizations, the preservation of the Gaelic language and the culture of the Gaelshas become a priority.

The Gaelic way of life is being shared and celebrated through language, music, dance,and story. Also important, Gaelic is being promoted in Nova Scotia schools withlanguage and cultural-studies instruction, and this rich way of life is being recognized as astrong cultural force in the shaping of our identity.

Grades Primary–3

Pose the following question to your students: What do you think a Nova Scotia Gaellooks like? Most likely you will hear answers that are stereotypical, such as, he or shewears a kilt, plays the bagpipes, etc. Ask students for additional symbols that representthe Gaelic community of Nova Scotia. Brainstorm a list of symbols and traits, and postthese on chart paper. Have students identify Gaels in their own community.

Grades 4–6

Ask students to create a poster illustrating a map of Nova Scotia and to indicate thedifferent regions of the province with a strong Gaelic history. Have them colour-codeeach region, and assign groups to research to see if there are legends that originate in orare associated with each region.

Invite a local Gael to the classroom for a question and answer session. Provide thestudents with some preliminary information on Nova Scotia Gaels before the visit, andhave them prepare questions in advance. As a follow-up, have the students write a storyabout the life of the visitor. This can be a true story or a fictional one, based on theinformation they received.

Arrange a field trip to the Natural History Museum, the Hector Heritage Quay, or theHighland Village Museum to learn more about the life of the early Gaels. Prepare aquestion sheet for the students to complete while viewing the displays at the venue. Somelocal museums may also be used (e.g., Miner’s Museum in Inverness or the AnDrochaidh Museum in Mabou).



Grades 7–9

Between 1773 and the mid-nineteenth century tens of thousands of Gaels immigrated toEastern Cape Breton and the eastern mainland of Nova Scotia. The Gaelic language andcustoms have been passed down for more than seven generations in this province. Askstudents to create a postcard, comic strip, storyboard, or PowerPoint digital/computer-based presentation consisting of both text and images illustrating the immigration of theGaels to Nova Scotia.

The Gaels of Nova Scotia are still actively involved in many traditional art forms, such asstep-dancing, milling, and Gaelic-language workshops. Events featuring these are oftenopen to the general public in an effort to raise awareness of the culture in ourcommunities. Have students create a mock organization for preserving and increasingawareness of Gaelic culture. Ask them to list their priorities, and include relevantresources to help their cause. Have them, in groups, create promotional materials such asposters, infomercials, brochures, and websites.

Grades 10–12

In communities across the province groups of Gaels gather weekly to talk about theGaelic language and culture and to learn more about the Gaelic heritage of Nova Scotia.For example, every Monday evening in Halifax Gael Donnie MacDonald hosts aninformal session called “Gaelic conversation with Donnie.” Check to see if a similarmeeting is happening in or near your community. If so, arrange to have your studentsparticipate. If there are no events like this that are accessible, create one in yourclassroom and invite a local Gael to talk to the students. Have the students writereflective papers discussing the importance of learning from Gaels themselves and notjust from formal educational materials.

Have students create a fictional Gaelic Nova Scotian from an era of their choice. Askthem to write a biography of this person, providing details such as his or her geographicallocation, the foods he or she eats, preferred activities, etc. Have the students share theircharacters with one another and make notes of what has changed for Gaels as the yearshave passed. Discuss their discoveries as a class.



Resources

Highland Village Museum: A member of the Nova Scotia Museum system.museum.gov.ns.ca/hv

Highland Settler, Charles W. Dunn

MacKinnon’s Brook Suite (CD), Scott MacMillan

Cape Breton: Origins of the Name

In 1497 John Cabot is believed to have visited what we now know as Cape BretonIsland.

In the early eighteenth century the island was settled by French and was known as IsleRoyale, but in 1763 its ownership changed over to Britain. From one of the Celticnations at the time, Brittany, fisherman came to fish the banks off the island. It isentirely plausible, then, that Cape Breton’s name was drawn partially from Brittany, theorigin of many of its early visitors.

The Natural Resources Canada (NRCAN) website suggests two possible theories for theorigin of the name “Cape Breton,” one being the aforementioned fishermen fromBrittany. The other theory suggests that its origins lie in the Basque region of Les Landes,where there was a fortress called Cap Breton.

Grades Primary–3

Ask students to share the names of their pets. How did they decide on names for theirpets? Did they name their rabbit Thumper because he was always thumping his feet? Didthey name their dog Spot because his fur was spotted in colour? Explain that place namesare often the same. (e.g., Broad Cove, which is a wide bay on the western shore ofInverness County). Look on a map and find other examples with the students.

Grades 4–6

Have the students ask their parents how their name was chosen. Were they named aftersomeone? Is there a special meaning behind their name? Have them share the history oftheir name with the class. Discuss with them the fact that place names have similar



origins. Hypothesize where the name Cape Breton came from. Then have them do someresearch to support or clarify their ideas.

Grades 7–9

As a class, brainstorm possible derivations for the words “Cape” and “Breton.” Allowstudents time to check dictionaries and other sources, and discuss with them individuallyor in groups what the meanings might be. Then have students browse the Internet forthe actual meaning of Cape Breton and share their findings with the rest of the class.

Show students how the name of Cape Breton Island changed as it changed hands fromthe French to the British. Have each student select a new country that could potentiallygain ownership of Cape Breton Island; choose a name for the island, based on what isknown about that country; and design a logo for the new name. The name should give aclue as to which country owns the land and should also reveal something about theisland itself.

Grades 10–12

The NRCAN website provides two possible origins for the name of Cape Breton Island.Divide the class into two groups and assign each with one of these origins. Have thestudents research independently, using the NRCAN website as a starting point. Allowtime for them to discuss their findings as a group, and then host a class debate on thetheory that they support.

Show students the Canadian Heritage Moment on Jacques Cartier that shows one theoryof how Canada got its name. Have students brainstorm in small groups for possible waysthat Cape Breton came to be named. Have them create short skits that depict their pointof view and present them to the class. Have the class vote on the one that is mostconvincing and encourage them to film it as their own heritage minute.

What’s in a name? Does the name of a place tell much about its ownership? Havestudents peruse the information available on www.wikipedia.org about Cape Breton’schanging name as its ownership changed hands. Ask them to write individual opinionpapers about the accuracy of information on a “wiki” and how that affects research whenit is the only source available for information on a specific topic such as the naming ofCape Breton.



Resources

Dictionary of Canadian Place Names, Alan Rayburn

Place Names of Atlantic Canada, William B. Hamilton

Scotland: An Encyclopedia of Places and Landscapes, David Munro and Bruce Gittings

Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations: A searchable gazetteer or database of placenames of Nova Scotia. www.gov.ns.ca/snsmr/land/new

Gazetteer for Scotland: A searchable database of Scottish place names that is maintainedby the University of Edinburgh and the Royal Scottish Geographical Society.www.geo.ed.ac.uk/scotgaz/gaztitle.html

Natural Resources Canadawww.nrcan-rncan.gc.ca/com

www.wikipedia.org

Canadian Heritage Moment on Jacques Cartierwww.youtube.com/watch?v=O1jG58nghRo

MacKinnon’s Brook Suite

Traditionally, Gaelic singing was either unaccompanied or done with the harp. With theintroduction of the violin from Continental Europe, dance music of the dominantculture and lingua franca’ (French) of the time brought French social dances includingthe gigue (jig) and the quadrille (reel) to popularity among the Gaels who adopted themas their own. In living memory the now-revered music of the late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century composer James Scott Skinner (“The Bonnie Lass of Bon Accord,King George IV Strathspey”) was reviled by traditional Cape Breton violinists(fidhlereau/fiddlers) raised on the music of the eighteenth-century Scottish composersNeil Gow and his son Nathaniel. Skinner’s complex variations on the old tune“Tullochgorm” were considered an abomination. Today, “King George IV” is the almost-compulsory first tune to accompany Cape Breton-style step dancers and any traditionalfiddler hoping to take a place in the front rank of his or her peers counts the many-varied“Tullochgorm” among his or her repertoire.



Like the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries did with the fiddle, the nineteenth centurysaw the introduction of the button and piano accordians to the Gaels of Scotland. InCape Breton and the rest of Nova Scotia many Gaelic music lovers still view the boscaciuil, literally “music box,” as just that—a gadget. But others like the Barra MacNeilsgive it pride of place with their fiddles, harp, bodhran, pipes, and others. Just as thepiano and guitar are now accepted accompaniment and solo instruments of Gaelicmusic, there is a generation growing up on Gaelic music who assume it has alwaysincluded the banjo, the mandolin, and the bass guitar.

No one time period can be definitively identified as the ne plus ultra in the continuum ofGaelic music, and the Gaels refuse to be pigeonholed by musicologists or relegated to thestatus of museum pieces. Older styles endure alongside new compositions andinstrumentations whose composers and performers feel just as true to their heritage as theGauls.

Scott MacMillan is a contemporary Canadian composer from Nova Scotia who divideshis year between Halifax and Brook Village in Inverness County. He is world-renownedas a composer, producer, performer, and conductor as well as for his work withSymphony Nova Scotia and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. One of his mostwell-known compositions is MacKinnon’s Brook Suite.

MacKinnon’s Brook Suite received an East Coast Music Award for Best ClassicalRecording in 2002. The orchestral piece uses the device of instrumental music to helpthe listener feel the emotions associated with the story of one family’s emigration fromScotland to Cape Breton in the early 1800s and their early life in their new home. BravoCanada has presented an accompanying production complete with footage ofMacKinnon’s Brook Suite being performed, shots of scenery on Cape Breton Island, andactors recreating the story.

Ian McKinnon is a Nova Scotia piper who excels in the freewheeling style of piping thata generation ago provided the driving tunes associated with Cape Breton-style squaredancing and step-dancing. He has also, like others, competed and won in the strictlyregulated style of piping found in competitions and made his living playing those samepipes and tunes with the Celtic rock band Rawlins Cross. He commissioned ScottMacMillan to compose MacKinnon’s Brook Suite to commemorate his ancestors whocame to that part of Cape Breton from the Isle of Barra in 1817.

When asked why he chose a symphonic suite with no lyrics to relate this history,McKinnon stated: “I wanted to tell this story myself. Not being a singer, I felt I couldbest, perhaps only, tell it through my pipes and my whistles. The symphonic setting was



one that I had fallen in love with during a number of collaborative ventures with RawlinsCross and several symphonies. Of course, Scott’s success with such major projects asCeltic Mass for the Sea and Puirt a Baroque told me that he was the man for the job.”

Grades Primary–3

Have the students listen to an excerpt from MacKinnon’s Brook Suite and invite them tocreate a visual image (e.g., a painting, drawing, collage) of how it makes them feel.

Have the students move while listening to selected parts of MacKinnon’s Brook Suite.Afterward, ask them: When the music was fast, how did you move? When it was slow,did you move slower or more gracefully?

Grades 4–6

Have the class research Celtic instruments. Give them audio examples of as many aspossible. As they listen to MacKinnon’s Brook Suite, have them list the Celtic instrumentsthat they hear in the music.

Tell the class the story of MacKinnon’s Brook Suite before they listen to it. As they listen,have them write about specific “scenes” that they are hearing. For example, when themusic sounds upbeat, quick, and happy, what might be taking place in the family’s story?

Grades 7–9

Demonstrate how to write a review. Show students examples of music reviews from localnewspapers, magazines, or websites. Have students listen to the entire album ofMacKinnon’s Brook Suite and write their own reviews.

MacKinnon’s Brook Suite tells an immigration story of one family. Have the class recreatethe story through their own dramatic interpretation. They will first need to create ascript, assigning specific roles to students. Begin each scene with a tableau. Later, havethem perform the tableaux while listening to the recording.

After listening to MacKinnon’s Brook Suite, have students write a poem inspired by whatthey were thinking about as they listened to the recording. Afterward, have them sharetheir poems if they like and then reveal the connections to the story in the music.



Grades 10–12

Play selections of global (culturally diverse) music for the class and include a track fromMacKinnon’s Brook Suite. Have the students write down the country from which theythink each selection originated. After they have shared their speculations with the class,tell them the country of origin for each song. Was there any distinguishing feature ofMacKinnon’s Brook Suite?

Have students listen to examples of traditional Gaelic music that evoke or reflectdifferent moods (e.g., joy, fear, melancholy, celebration). Have students identify howelements of those traditional tunes, or tunes written using traditional styles or devices,reflect the varying moods of the immigrant family in MacKinnon’s Brook Suite. Havestudents select traditional Gaelic music to represent a period in their own life, (e.g.,school reunion, celebration, work, play, challenges, holidays, sad event in the schoolcommunity, reflection, recovery, joy, parting).

Have students individually or in groups create an interpretive dance to an excerpt fromthe recording and present it to the class. Students who are taking Dance 11 may find thisactivity particularly appealing.

Have students create mimes to music based on an excerpt from MacKinnon’s Brook Suiteand present them to the class.

Have students host a Celtic Arts Night for parents and friends. Play MacKinnon’s BrookSuite in the background and, at specific times, present their interpretive dances or mimesto the music. Serve traditional Gaelic foods.

Resource

MacKinnon’s Brook Suite (CD), Scott MacMillan



Genealogy and Names

Genealogy is the study of a family’s lineage, providing insight into ancestry and history.Today the study of genealogy is greatly enhanced by online resources as well as bymaterials made available through Statistics Canada and other similar organizationsworldwide.

Gaels have traditionally set great store by knowing their family connections. Often thiswas for the purpose of protection in times of war or other threats. Some said, “If youcan’t give your family tree back seven generations, then you don’t know who you are.”Gaels identified themselves as being the son or daughter of such and such, the son of(their father), the son of (that person’s father), and so on. Genealogists call this apatronymic in Gaelic it is your sloinneadh: For example, a person might be called PeggyDonald Ranald Dan. She would be Peggy (Margaret), daughter of Donald, who was theson of Ranald, who was the son of Dan (Daniel and Donald are often interchanged intranslation, as are Peter and Patrick). Her brother might be James Donald Ranald Dan.In Gaelic he would be Seumas mac Dhòmhnaill, ’ic Raonuill, ’ic Dhòmhnaill, and shewould be Mairead nic Dhòmhnaill, ’ic Raonuill, ’ic Dhòmhnaill. Often, though, the first“mac” or “nic” might be omitted.

Websites such as Ancestry.com and RootsWeb.com—two of the best and most well-known genealogy websites—provide free basic memberships. They allow you to submityour family information and, in return, it will organize it as a family tree, thus providinguseful tools for students to explore their own genealogy.

Students should always be reminded that the best way to learn about their family’sgenealogy is through discussions with family members of older generations. Theserelatives can provide wonderful stories and information that would never be availablethrough other means.

Grades Primary–6

Note: Teachers are advised to be sensitive to variations in family units in this age group.

Have students draw pictures of their immediate family and then invite them to introducetheir family members to the class through their artwork. As they introduce their family,encourage them to tell about each member or to tell a story about something that thefamily has done together.



Many people move to new cities or countries or even to a new home in the samecommunity or town. Sometimes people are born in one place and then live in another.Have students make a list of all of the places in which they have lived. If they have alwayslived in the same place, do they think they will ever move? Ask students if they likehearing the stories of other students telling where they came from or where they havelived. Storytelling is a great way to get to know one another. Share your own story ofwhere you have lived. You should have a map handy so that students can point outplaces in which they might have lived.

Often, children are named after a well-loved relative. If you had a child, who would youname him or her after? Why? Would calling the child by this person’s name help you toremember that person?

Have the students create their own family tree, based on what they already know of thosein their family. Then have them show the tree to their parents or guardians and makenecessary revisions. Have them compile family information in a personal genealogybooklet including family stories, pictures, descriptions and/or drawings of importantfamily objects/heirlooms and anything that helps them learn about their family story.

Grades 7–9

Have the students interview an older family member. Ask them to focus on questionsabout his or her youth. What was it like for him or her growing up? What sorts of thingswere different from today? What does he or she remember about his or her parents,grandparents, or even their great-grandparents? Have the students share the results oftheir interviews with the rest of the class. Discuss how important these stories are toremembering people and places and how we can learn about our family history fromearlier generations. Have them research their family tree and see if they have Celticconnections.

Have you ever been to a family reunion? Family reunions are a great way to connect withrelatives you may not have known. Have students view the videos of family reunions onthe website www.celticgenealogy.org. Are physical or character traits passed downthrough generations? Does knowing about our ancestors help us to learn about ourselves?Have the students write a reflective piece on the ways in which they might show specifictraits of close or distant relatives.



Grades 10–12

Have students research their own genealogy back as far as 100 years. This will help themsee how much research goes into genealogy and why everyone’s contribution of whatthey know and remember is important.

Have each student choose a family name using local genealogy books such as All CallIona Home by S. MacNeil or Mabou Pioneers, Volume 1 by A.D. MacDonald, and havethem create a PowerPoint or poster presentation outlining the family tree, immigrationpatterns, and some interesting points about that family. Did learning about one familyfrom the area reveal information about the time and place?

Arrange a field trip to your local public library, university, or public archives. Havestudents select an aspect of genealogy for their research focus.

Arrange a visit to a local cemetery. Have students work in pairs to look for familial linksor places of origin among the headstones. If possible, have them create a family treebased on their findings.

Resources


MacKenzie’s History of Christmas Island Parish, Archibald A. MacKenzie

The Highland Heart in Nova Scotia, Neil MacNeil

www.ancestry.com

www.RootsWeb.com

www.celticgenealogy.org



Gaelic Nova Scotia Today

Gaelic Council of Nova Scotia

The Gaelic Council of Nova Scotia (www.gaelic.ca) strives to “develop a successfulenvironment for Gaelic in Nova Scotia.” It provides free Gaelic-language resources(online lessons) as well as a variety of articles on the history of step-dancing, piping, andGaelic singing. The council works with individuals, organizations, and the governmentto make the public aware of Gaelic and its place in Nova Scotia’s rich store of culture,language, and living traditions.

Grades 4–6

Have students pretend they are members of the Gaelic Council. Have them write theirown member biographies for the council website, and post them on a class web page. Asthe teacher, take on the role of Chair of the Gaelic Council, and ask your councilmembers to develop ideas to make Gaelic culture more popular. Have them brainstormas a group.

Grades 7–9

Develop a map entitled “What’s Going on in Gaelic Nova Scotia Today” and post it onthe classroom or school bulletin board.

Divide the class into groups. Have each group read a section of the “Language andCulture” section of the Gaelic Council website. One member of the group should narratethe story while the other members act it out and provide dialogue.

Grades 10–12

The Gaelic Council strives to increase awareness of all things Gaelic in Nova Scotia.What information do you think it should provide on its website that it does not alreadyinclude? Design a new layout for its website that you feel will appeal to youth, andinclude sections for what you think are relevant topics.

You are the fundraising co-ordinator for the Gaelic Council and are given the task ofcreating an event to promote Gaelic in Nova Scotia. Develop a budget and timeline foryour fundraiser, following the templates provided in Cultural Industries 11. What sort ofevent might draw a large audience while promoting awareness of the Gaelic Council?



Have each student present ideas to the class, and decide on one that they will do as a full-term project.

Resources

The Gaelic Council of Nova Scotiawww.gaelic.ca

Bòrd na Gàidhlig: A government-sponsored representative body in Scotland that worksto promote Gaelic and that has similar aims to the Nova Scotia Office of Gaelic Affairs.www.bord-na-gaidhlig.org.uk

The Office of Gaelic Affairs

The Office of Gaelic Affairs was established (in Antigonish) by the province of NovaScotia on December 7, 2006. Its conception came only four short months after thedesignation of Angus Mac Isaac as Minister of Gaelic Affairs, but to the Gaelic-speakingcommunity the event was long overdue.

The office strives to renew and promote the Gaelic language and culture in Nova Scotiathrough awareness, celebration, integration, and government funding and policy change.Through these initiatives it is hoped that the province, along with the Gaeliccommunity, can continue to promote a culture and language that set Nova Scotia apartfrom others, through its spirit and distinctive nature.

Grades 4–9

Imagine that you are among the last Gaelic-speaking people in Nova Scotia. Write aletter to the Office of Gaelic Affairs with suggestions for how it can save the Gaeliclanguage from extinction.

Since the Office of Gaelic Affairs plays such an important role in Gaelic AwarenessMonth, have the students brainstorm ways in which they can raise awareness of Gaelicthroughout the school during the month of May. Ask them to create slogans, posters,and announcements that can be played and displayed in the school during the month.



Grades 10–12

Show students Canada’s first Gaelic film, The Wake of Calum MacLeod. Have thestudents write reviews of the film and discuss the following question: What are someways in which the Office of Gaelic Affairs can promote the newborn Gaelic filmindustry?

You are a member of the staff of the Office of Gaelic Affairs. The government hasrequested that you send it a letter outlining the budget for the coming year. Whatpriorities will you establish for disbursing the money? How much will go to each cause?Describe why you have allocated more money to some causes than others.

Resources

Office of Gaelic Affairs: The Nova Scotia provincial agency that promotes therevitalization of the Gaelic language and culture in Nova Scotia.www.gov.ns.ca/oga


Foras na Gaeilge (Ireland): The government body in Ireland for the promotion of IrishGaelic throughout the island of Ireland.www.forasnagaeilge.ie

The Wake of Calum MacLeod (DVD)

Memorandum of Understanding: Exchanges with Scotland

A memorandum of understanding (MOU) is an agreement reached between two or moreparties to promote each other’s work and to collaborate on special projects. An MOUcurrently exists between the Government of Nova Scotia and the Highland Council ofScotland. It serves to recognize the connection between the two entities, based on sharedlanguage, culture, and genealogy, that has developed through migration. The two partieswork collectively to promote and facilitate travel and exchanges to either location, suchas the Craft Residency Exchange Project and special music initiatives.



The primary aim of this MOU is to facilitate mutually beneficial growth for each partywhile sharing, promoting, and implementing a variety of devices to keep Gaelic cultureand language alive. In building on the past and present, the parties continually work tocreate a more thriving future.

Grades 4–6

Explain to the students that, often, when you help someone, you benefit as well. Invitestudents to tell stories of times when they helped someone and benefited. Now, as theteacher, relate this to the idea of an MOU. Show the similarities. Discuss the MOUbetween the Government of Nova Scotia and the Highland Council of Scotland. Howdoes each group benefit from this partnership? Brainstorm ideas, and create a chart forfuture reference.

Grades 7–12

Have students write letters home as if they were Gaelic students on an exchange to NovaScotia or English-speaking Nova Scotians on an exchange to Scotland. Have them thinkabout the specific challenges they would face when fully immersed in a less familiarculture. If this is a French Immersion class, discuss how there are similarities to how theyfelt when they first began the program.

Nova Scotia and Scotland share many cultural similarities. Have students make a list oftraits that Scotland and Nova Scotia share (they may want to do some Internet/libraryresearch). Now imagine that Nova Scotia and Scotland are not two places but twopeople. Most people have similarities, but everyone has differences as well. When we aremaking friends, do we tend to look for people who are similar to or different fromourselves? What can we learn from people who are different from us culturally? Havestudents reflect on why it is important that Scotland and Nova Scotia continue to learnfrom each other.

Have the students create an MOU between the students and the teachers. How couldboth groups benefit from this partnership? What resources can be shared?

Have students create an advertisement or commercial promoting tourism to Gaelic NovaScotia to be used as part of the MOU between the Highland Council and the NovaScotia government.



Resources


Office of Gaelic Affairs: Nova Scotia provincial agency that promotes the revitalization ofthe Gaelic language and culture in Nova Scotia.www.gov.ns.ca/oga

The Highland Council (Comhairle na Gaidhealtachd): The regional government of thenortheastern and northwestern parts of mainland Scotland, the Isle of Skye, and some ofthe other islands close to the mainland but not including the outer islands such as fromBarra north to Lewis. www.highland.gov.uk

The Gael Stream (Sruth nan Gaidheal)

The Gael Stream is an online digital collection maintained by St. Francis XavierUniversity (St FX). It contains accessible online materials including invaluable fieldrecordings of native Gaelic speakers in Nova Scotia made in the 1970s and 1980s by theeminent Dr. John Shaw and Sister Margaret MacDonnell. Shaw collected hundreds ofstories, traditional songs, anecdotes, and other items of oral folklore. These taperecordings are now digitalized and available to all. There are also links at this site tooutside sources that provide information on Gaelic life in Nova Scotia.

St FX continues to work diligently to preserve the work of many folklorists andcollectors, both past and present in the Gael Stream. It strives to provide the highestquality digital representations of materials, to preserve them so that they may be availableto the public for many years to come.

Grades Primary–3

Play a selection of Gaelic songs and Celtic tunes from the Gael Stream website. Discussthe meter and tempo of each, and have the students speculate on which events eachwould be used for. Which of the selections would be used for work? Lullabies? Church?Special events like a wedding or dance? Have the students keep a steady beat in theirhands while listening to the musical selections. Now ask them to move around the room,



keeping time to the music. As a reflection, discuss with them how they felt and what theydiscovered while doing the exercise.

Grades 4–6

Have students, in groups of two to three, listen to a variety of Gaelic songs on the GaelStream website. Have them rate the songs in order of preference. As a class, decide on afavourite, and ask the music teacher to help teach it to the students. This can beperformed for other classes in the school or for the parents at a special event.

As the teacher, select a story from Gaelic folklore and tell it to the students. Have thestudents work in groups to create a script for the story. Encourage them to add a fewsurprises or twists to the story to make it personal for the group. Have each groupperform the story and discuss the effectiveness of the changes that were made to theoriginal. Ask the students if this story has a lesson or moral to teach. What does the storytell about the values of the Gaels and what is or isn’t important to them?

Grades 7–12

Using the Gael Stream website, ask students to read some of the Gaelic folkloreprovided. Have the students, in groups, select a story that they would like to adapt to ashort puppet play to give it a modern twist. Have students write a script based on theirchosen story, create puppets for the characters, and rehearse and perform it for the class,for classes of younger students in a neighbourhood school, or for their parents.

Literature circles are an excellent way to introduce Gaelic folklore and storytellingbecause they provide opportunities for students to read, interpret, and discuss storieswithout the activities being teacher centred. Using the Gael Stream website, have thestudents work in groups and complete literature circles, each group selecting a differentstory from Gaelic folklore.

Personal-object storytelling: Have each student bring in a family artifact (e.g., object,written story, photograph) that holds some importance to them. Many of the GaelStream artifacts once belonged to families as well. Tell the story of your object to theclass as though you were submitting it to the curator of a museum for use in a similarproject or exhibit.

Since Nova Scotia is the last remaining Gaelic-speaking region in North America, what isthe importance of keeping it alive? What can you do as a class to help it thrive? Havestudents brainstorm strategies of how they could promote the Gaelic language and



culture. Then have them assume the roles of politicians in an election campaign anddebate the issues.

Have students bring in family artifacts of their own (e.g., old pictures, photos ofheirlooms, small trinkets), and, as a project, have them digitize these items to put on aclass website so they can be shared with family and friends. Have each student write arationale for why he or she included the object and what importance it has to his or herfamily.

Have the students, in groups, review important Gaelic rituals as described on the GaelStream website. In preparation to recreate the ritual, have them gather costumes andprops and create what they cannot find. As they recreate the ritual, have themphotograph or record the procedures, and have each group prepare a poster presentationdescribing it in their own words. Display these around the room, and discuss them asthey are presented.

Resource

Gael Stream (Sruth nan Gaidheal) website of St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish,NS.www.gaelstream.stfx.ca

Gaelic Heritage Sites

Preservation of the Gaelic language and Celtic culture can be attributed to the manyorganizations and institutions that currently exist in Nova Scotia. The Nova ScotiaMuseum, Highland Village, and Gaelic College, to name a few, all house artifacts andprimary source materials to assist in the research of a time in Nova Scotia when Gaeliclife thrived and what goes on today to maintain and grow the language and culture ofNova Scotia Gaels. A visit to the Gaelic Council website will yield an extensive list ofother organizations throughout the province that provide a range of services both toGaels and to other groups and individuals interested in learning about Nova Scotia’sheritage.

Grades Primary–3

If you live in Cape Breton, take your class on a field trip to the Highland Village in Iona.Before going there, show photos (online or in texts) of what the students will see. Canthey imagine what life was like for those early settlers. As a class, create a list of things



they will look for while there, much like a treasure hunt. Upon returning to the school,discuss the field trip and talk about their feelings now that they have actually seen thevillage with its houses, farms, animals, school, and church. Did their feelings change orwere they reinforced? Have them write a reflection in their journal.

Grades 4–6

After the students have been introduced to Gaelic culture, have them create dioramas ofGaelic cultural artifacts that they might find in the Nova Scotia Museum, at the HectorHeritage Quay in Pictou, or in the Highland Village.

Invite to the class someone who works at the Highland Village, the Hector HeritageQuay, or the Gaelic College. Ask the guest if it is possible for his or her to take someartifacts from the site, either the actual items or photos. As the guest talks about his orher institution, encourage students to ask questions that will help them better understandthe way of life of the early Gaels in Nova Scotia. Following the presentation, havestudents select one of the artifacts discussed and do additional research on it. Then havethem write a story in which the artifact is personified and discuss its journey throughoutthe years.

Grades 7–9

Have students research the Gaelic programs offered at St. Ann’s Gaelic College and thendesign a brochure to promote them.

As a creative-writing exercise, have students imagine they are some of the first Gaelicsettlers in Nova Scotia. Ask them to write a first-hand account of their experiences. Thenhave them create a list of their precious belongings that might end up in the Nova ScotiaMuseum, Hector Heritage Quay, or Highland Village some day long after they are gone.

Grades 10–12

Have students create a fictional Gaelic settler. Have them research Celtic culture on theHighland Village website and then create an obituary for their fictional character anddesign a tombstone or grave marker for this person. As an intermediary step, you maywant to take them on a tour of a graveyard that contains headstones that are more than100 years old. These can serve as models for the one that they will design.



Ask students, in small groups, to create an infomercial for a Gaelic artifact and base itscontent on possible uses for the item. This will require research. Have them videotapetheir infomercials and play them in class. Resources

Hector Heritage Quay: A museum and interpretive centre in the town of Pictou thatincludes a full-scale floating replica of the ship Hector, one of the first ships to bringScottish settlers to Nova Scotia. www.townofpictou.com/the_experience.html

Highland Village Museum: A living-history museum of buildings depicting the life of theGaels of Nova Scotia from the days of their earliest arrival through to the first half of thetwentieth century. Many interactive displays are staffed by people in period costumes,most of whom can speak some basic Gaelic and some of whom are fluent, secondarybilinguals. There is a gift shop on-site, with many useful books and recordings available.The Highland Village is a member of the Nova Scotia government’s museum system. museum.gov.ns.ca/hv

The Nova Scotia Museum: A province-wide facility that includes typical artifact storageand display museums but also includes several living-history sites such as the HighlandVillage, Ross Farm Museum, Sutherland Steam Mill, and Balmoral Grist Mill, which arereconstructed sites of the operations built and run by the early Gaels of Nova Scotia. museum.gov.ns.ca

Revitalization of Language Development

The Office of Gaelic Affairs strives to promote Gaelic culture and to revitalize the Gaeliclanguage throughout Nova Scotia. A province-wide initiative was established in 2004 incollaboration with the Nova Scotia Gaelic Council, the Gaelic community, and theScottish organization Bòrd na Gàidhlig. It is now managed by the Office of GaelicAffairs and continues to work toward language renewal in the province.

The goal to preserve Gaelic culture and language has been identified, with a timelineestablished over the years. The chair of the Gaelic Development Steering Committee in2004 stated: “It is our intention that, with the realization of the objectives outlined inthis strategy document, we will see a revitalized Gaelic community. In this way, all NovaScotians will continue to benefit from the Gaelic presence in this province.”



To meet this goal, the Office of Gaelic Affairs works with the Nova Scotia GaelicCouncil and numerous provincial and local groups to provide opportunities to learn theGaelic language and experience the Gaelic culture as expressed through the language.Most events are participatory, but some, such as storytelling evenings or concerts, arepassive opportunities. Often, these events attract non-speakers or people who have noknowledge of Gaelic, and so interpretation into English or summary explanations areprovided to the audiences.

The production of learning materials, the development of language training courses, andthe training of Gaelic-language teachers are also among the activities of those working torevitalize Gaelic in Nova Scotia.

Grades Primary–6

Help students learn the Gaelic translation of their name by inviting to the class a Gaelicspeaker with a good command of the language. Have them create a name tag or placecard for their desk, and urge them to call one another only by their Gaelic names for anestablished period of time.

Create pen-pal opportunities for students with Gaelic-speaking students in anotherschool, community, or country.

Teach students a Gaelic song to perform for parents, guardians, and guests.

Grades 7–9

Have the students imagine that they are the only remaining people in North Americawho speak Gaelic. How would they feel? What could they do to save their language? Askthem the following questions to guide them in their planning: Would you carry out acampaign in local or national newspapers? Television or radio stations? The government?Have them, in groups, create a strategy for saving the language.

Grades 10–12

Have students use online and print resources to research the current state of Gaelic inNova Scotia today. Compare and contrast these with similar organizations and activitiesto revitalize Gaelic in Scotland and Ireland. Have them use their findings as the basis forwriting a persuasive essay or participating in a class debate on a particular aspect of thepreservation of the Gaelic language and culture.



Ask students to visit accurate websites that promote the Gaelic language in Nova Scotia.(It is important that you preview the sites to ensure that they are providing accurateinformation.) Then have the students write a letter to the premier, stating why theythink more funding needs to be put into Gaelic language arts.

Resources

Ainmean Chloinne: Scottish Gaelic Names for Children, Peadar Morgan

Office of Gaelic Affairs: Nova Scotia provincial agency that promotes the revitalization ofthe Gaelic language and culture in Nova Scotia.www.gov.ns.ca/oga

The Gaelic Council of Nova Scotia www.gaelic.ca


Foras na Gaeilge (Ireland): The government body in Ireland for the promotion of IrishGaelic throughout the island of Ireland.www.forasnagaeilge.ie



Folklore and Traditions

Traditions

The word “tradition”, is derived from the Latin word tradito, which means “to handdown.” Usually based on beliefs and customs, the traditions of any culture are passeddown from generation to generation, and most often this transmission is oral (beulaithris, in Gaelic) storytelling

Like all world cultures, the traditions of the Gaels are rooted in ancient times and play asignificant role in shaping their identity. Although many of the Celtic traditions havechanged or evolved over time, they remain true to the time when they were created. Inthe modern world, while we recognize and value the traditions of all cultures, we oftenexperience them in new forms, primarily because of their adaptations to suit the needs ofthe day.

While the traditions of the Gaels remain true to their origins, we know that they may notbe the same as they once were. This is particularly evident in Gaelic Nova Scotia todaywhere some traditions in Celtic art forms, for example, have remained consistent whileothers have taken on contemporary characteristics.

Grades Primary–6

Have students talk about traditions that they or their family might have. Some familiesof Gaelic heritage have traditions where they prepare special food for holidays. Forexample, many Gaelic families still make the traditional Christmas sausage, or is bean.Other families of many heritages maintain that every Friday night is spent playing boardgames as a family. Assign small groups of students one Gaelic tradition to explore. Havethem present their information to the class.

Show the class a short video of a Nova Scotia ceilidh. The word “cèilidh” originallymeant a visit during which the news of the day was shared, popular old tales were told,and music and dance often figured. Have the students then host their own ceilidh,complete with music, storytelling, and dancing.

Many Gaelic traditions are disappearing. After discussing some of the traditions andsome of the ways that current Gaels are keeping the traditions alive, have the stupentscreate their own list of ways to keep Gaelic traditions alive.



Grades 7–9

Have students write a letter to the editor of their local newspaper, stating which Gaelictradition they feel needs to be better preserved, how, and why. Students should beencouraged to send these letters upon their completion.

Many traditions have become accepted ways of life. Discuss how some cultural traditionshave been borrowed by society in general and absorbed into everyday life. Explore thequestion, “Will today’s traditions become tomorrow’s habits?” How is this even moresignificant as Nova Scotia becomes a more multicultural society?

There is an old Gaelic saying that says, “Thig crioch air an t-saoghal ach mairidh gaol agusceòl.” This translates into “The world will come to an end but music and love willendure.” Put the students in small groups and have them create a series of skits thatillustrate this point.

Grades 10–12

Host a traditional ceilidh and invite parents and/or guardians. Have the students practisetraditional dance, music, and song as well as traditional storytelling. The ultimate goal isthat if every person exposes another person to Gaelic culture, it will live on and bepreserved. An alternative to this activity is to organize a ceilidh for the local seniors homeand involve the residents as much as possible.

Arrange for a series of Celtic musicians to come to the class to discuss and perform theirgenre of music.

Arrange a field trip to the Highland Village in Cape Breton. This will show the Gaelicway of life and expose the students to Celtic traditions. Following this, have the studentswrite a response journal about their experience, focussing on Celtic culture.

Arrange for students to attend a local milling frolic to expose them to this unique form ofpersonal expression. Have the students interview the participants about the Gaelic way oflife and why they enjoy being a part of this unique form of cultural expression.

Resources

The Gaelic Council of Nova Scotia www.gaelic.ca



Nova Scotia’s Official Tourism Website www.novascotia.com

Tales Until Dawn: The World of a Cape Breton Gaelic Story-Teller, Joe Neil MacNeil

An Innis Aigh: My Life on Margaree Island, Duncan Hugh MacLellan

Superstitions

The early Gaelic settlers brought many superstitions with them from Scotland andIreland. Some of these superstitions survived through the years, while others did not. Anold saying by an unknown author says, “The peculiar superstitions of a people will oftenthrow a light upon their ancient faiths.”

The Scottish Highlands are known to be rich in superstitions, many of them originatingin Celtic myths and folklore, as with superstitions of world cultures. As they have withmany indigenous peoples, these superstitions found their way into daily life by helpingpeople deal with topics important to all humans (e.g., birth, marriage, death, animals,second sight, supernatural creatures or beings). In Nova Scotia these were carried on as inan Seann Duthaich (the Old Country) or adopted to the new homeland with its differentweather, wildlife, and lifestyles.

Grades 4–6

Have students ask their parents or grandparents about superstitions they believe orpractise. Then talk about whether superstitions in general have any historicalsignificance.

In the Gaelic superstitions found in Ireland and Scotland the Banshee and the Kelpie arecommon characters. In Nova Scotia stories of the bòcan (the bogeyman), am buidseachd(witchcraft), an dà shealladh (second sight), and others were used to instruct, to terrify,and sometimes just to entertain. For many, though, these beliefs were as solid and soundas the teachings of organized religions or any “book learning.” Read stories to thestudents that contain these beliefs or ideas. Then have the students create short skitsportraying beliefs about these elements or motifs.



Grades 7–12

Play the game Urban Myth. Discuss how many times truths are thought to be lies andlies truths. Do the same with Gaelic superstitions. How many of them are actually basedon fact? See if the students can come up with definitive answers online or with the aid oflibrary resources.

Ask the students to share their own superstitions or popular superstitions with whichthey are familiar. Have them speculate on how superstitions might have affected theGaels’ way of life.

Athletes are some of the most superstitious people in the world. Read some stories aboutfamous athletes and their superstitions and then talk about whether you think thosesuperstitions are grounded in science. (Examples include the NHL-playoff beard and thefamous “Don’t change your socks on a winning streak.”) Do these emulate the wayGaelic warriors might have lived their lives and gone into battle?

Resources


The Gaelic Otherworld: John Gregorson Campbell’s Superstitions of the Highlands andIslands of Scotland Witchcraft and Second Sight in the Highlands and Islands, JohnGregorson Campbell. Ronald Black (ed.)


The Elements of the Celtic Tradition, Caitlin Matthews

Urban Myth (Game)



Storytelling

There is an old Gaelic saying “A’ Chiad Sgeul air Fear an Taighe, agus Sgeul gu La air anAoigh,” which translates into, “The first story from the host, and tales until dawn fromthe guest.” The ceilidh, which now refers to a social gathering with traditional music anddance, was often held in the local taigh-Ceilidh, or “ceilidh-house.” This was a privatehome like any other in the community but one where traditional musicians orstorytellers would be more inclined to frequently gather. Each village had at least one,and much of the Gaels’ vast oral culture, traditions, and impressive storytelling waspassed on during these gatherings. In fact, a storyteller in one of these ceilidh-housescould draw quite a crowd, entertaining listeners with hours of storytelling at a time.Much of Gaelic storytelling has survived by being passed down as oral tradition, yet aspeople realize the importance of preservation, these stories have been more widelypreserved on paper or digitally.

Grades Primary–3

Invite storytellers to the class to tell their stories to the children. Plan in advance to havethe storyteller “create” a story with the children to which everyone is encouraged tocontribute ideas.

Have the students take turns telling a story to the class. Tell them in advance that thestory can be true or that it can be developed as they tell it.

Read a story to the class from Tales Until Dawn by Joe Neil MacNeil. Have the studentsdraw a picture representing an image from the story. An excellent example would be“Angus MacIsaac’s Trip to the Moon.”

Grades 4–6

After reading a variety of stories as a class, have the students pick a character from one ofthe stories and create a character sketch for the person they chose, including a biographyand visual representation.

The anthology of Gaelic stories The Blue Mountains and Other Gaelic Stories from CapeBreton has been distributed to all Nova Scotia schools by the Office of Gaelic Affairs. Asa class, read a variety of stories in the collection, and have the students create groupmurals to illustrate their favourites.



Grades 7–9

Have students, in groups, read a different Gaelic story. Have them write a sequel to thestory and share it with the class upon completion.

Discuss imagery with the students. Have them read a Gaelic story individually and createan illustration for an image that stood out for them. Share their examples with the class.

Grades 10–12

Much of Gaelic storytelling relies on oral tradition. What might happen to a story overtime if it is never written down? Have students illustrate how much a story can changeover time by playing a round of Telephone. Have the students sit in a circle or line andwhisper a short excerpt from a Gaelic story in the first person’s ear. Have them repeatwhat they heard to the next person and so on. Once the story reaches the final person,have that person say out loud what he or she heard. The story often loses parts and gainsothers. Based on their experiences with this exercise, ask the students if they think manyof the stories we hear today are truly authentic. Have the students write a short paper orjournal response about oral tradition and how we can better preserve it.

The Blue Mountains and Other Gaelic Stories from Cape Breton provides both Gaelic andEnglish versions of over 30 traditional stories. As part of a novel-study unit, read thisbook as a class. Provide students with a variety of final projects to choose from, based onstories from the book.

Host a Gaelic Arts night for friends and family to attend. Have students create skits,poems, tableaux, interpretive dance, or spoken word to illustrate a variety of Gaelicstories or poetry.

Resources

Tales Until Dawn: The World of a Cape Breton Gaelic Story-Teller, Joe Neil MacNeil,

Luirgean Eachainn Nill: A Collection of Folktales told by Hector Campbell, MargaretMacDonnell and John Shaw

The Blue Mountains and Other Gaelic Stories from Cape Breton, John Shaw (translator andeditor)



The Power of the Story: Proceedings of the First Annual UCCB Storytelling Symposium, CapeBreton University Press

Remedies

Traditionally, remedies within a range of cultures were rooted in what we currently knowas naturopathy. All commodities were utilized in the early days, be it for daily life ormedicine. Many herbs and readily available spices were used to create medicines andointments for day-to-day ailments. The remedies used by the Gaels were not exceptions,and beliefs in many of them still exist today.

Nowadays, scientists are crediting these early remedies as having some medical validity,and many of these remedies are currently being researched and drawn upon in modernmedicine. Naturopathy is becoming more recognized and respected, and this science hasits roots in the early remedies of various cultures.

Grades 4–6

Have students share their understanding of what a remedy is. What do you do when youare sick? Do you eat soup and crackers? Do you take vitamins? These are all remedies.Share some of the remedies the Gaels once used. For example, for an upset tummy, drinkscalded milk; for a cold sore, rub a slug on it. Ask the students if they would rather usethese remedies or take medicine.

Have students create a variety of brochures outlining the benefits of certain herbalremedies that could potentially be distributed to the sick.

Grades 7–9

Many Celtic remedies were accompanied by rituals that were considered a part of thehealing process. Invite students to share rituals they follow when they have a virus.Assign each student a modern-day ailment, and have he or she create his or her ownritual and cure for it (e.g., a toothache, a pulled muscle).

Have the students research naturopathy and discuss how it compares to the medicinepractised by the early Gaelic settlers. What do the two have in common? How are theydifferent? What current ailments can be treated using natural medicine rather thanWestern pharmaceuticals?



Grades 10–12

Have students research authentic Celtic remedies that are described on the ScottishArchives website (RootsWeb.com). This website has the remedies broken downaccording to their purpose (e.g., headaches, pimples, dizziness, diet). Have the studentsresearch common medicines for these same conditions and create a “for or against”herbal remedy argument. Use this as the basis for learning how to write a persuasiveessay.

Ask the students to interview elderly people about their traditional family remedies thathave been passed down through generations. Have them share their discoveries with theclass. Invite community elders to class to discuss old remedies for various ailments. Havethe students speculate on the “science” behind the remedies that have been discussed.

Resources


Folksongs and Folklore of South Uist, Margaret Fay Shaw

Oatmeal and Catechism: Scottish Gaelic Settlers in Quebec, Margaret Bennett

Carmina Gadelica: Alexander Carmichael’s multi-volume collection of Gaelicincantations, prayers, charms, etc. This collection is cited on many websites, mostlythose concerned with pagan religious practices. The entire first book is available online atthe website of Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, a constituent college of the (Scottish) University of theHighlands and Islands. www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaidhlig/corpus/Carmina



Poetry, Proverbs, and Riddles

While other areas of the Celtic culture have thrived, aspects of literature have barelysurvived. Gaelic culture traditionally set great store by a person’s ability to compose,learn, and recite poetry and songs from memory, with no reference to written material.Suppression of the traditional bardic schools and the forced English education furtherundermined this treasure trove.

Volumes such as the Annals of the Four Masters and Book of the Dean of Lismore give us aglimpse into a world where the place of the poet in society was only surpassed by theking. Gaels came to the New World well versed in the works of Rob Donn, Iain Lom,and Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair.

In Nova Scotia surviving threads of this great canon of work can be found in the poetryof the Bard John MacLean, a traditional, professional bard who immigrated toAntigonish County. His earlier works, such as A’ Choille Ghruamach (The GloomyForest), tell of his dissatisfaction with life in the New World. As his situation and that ofhis fellow immigrants began to improve through their own hard work, his poetrybrightened and became much more cheerful and optimistic. The MacDonald family ofpipers and poets who immigrated to Mabou Ridge and later moved to Lower SouthRiver, Antigonish County, produced a valuable chronicle of life in mid- and late-nineteenth-century Gaelic Nova Scotia. In the twentieth century the works of Dan AlexMacDonald of Framboise, Richmond County Malcolm Gillis of Southwest Margareeand Angus Y. MacLellan of Dunvegan show how life settled in for the Gaels of CapeBreton, with their poetry reflecting everything from pastoral themes, to love andcourting and some of the old “flyting” or poetic one-upmanship that is such anentertaining feature of Gaelic poetry. Today, professional Gaelic poets are few. With thedeath of Sorley MacLean, people such as Rody Gorman in Scotland and local works bysuch Nova Scotians as Jeff (Goiridh) MacDonald and Lewis MacKinnon continue tokeep the flame alive.

Proverbs and riddles provide an incisive tool into the mind of any people, and the Gaelsare good examples. Consult the resources listed to begin exploring this fascinating aspectof Gaelic culture.



Grades 4–6

Poets use the world around them and their own experiences as inspiration. Showstudents an example of a Gaelic poem that was written based on the poet’s life. Havethem write their own poems about something in their life such as a family vacation, amove, or something fun they did with a friend. Compile them in a class anthology.

Discuss proverbs as a form of literary expression with the students. Present some Gaelicproverbs, and apply the students’ understanding of proverbs in general to these samples.Based on their discussions and interpretations of the proverbs they have heard in class,have them work in groups to solve others examples. Then have them research theseexamples to discover how accurate their interpretations are.

Grades 7–9

Arrange the classroom into a series of “challenges” that will allow the students to find atreasure. Divide the class into groups of three or four and have them attempt to find andsolve each riddle that in turn has clues to the next one. The first group to get to thetreasure wins.

Have the students organize and implement a coffee house at which there will be a focuson poetry, both their own and that of Gaelic poets. Traditional music, including songsand instrumentals, can enhance the event and should be part of the program.

Grades 10–12

Assign each student a Gaelic proverb to interpret. Have him or her create a more modernversion of his or her proverb.

Assign each student a Gaelic poem. Have him or her create an artistic representation ofthat poem. Students may wish to consider the following media: collage, diorama,photograph, drawing, or multimedia presentation using Photoshop.

Divide the class into groups of four. Provide each group with a series of riddles, and havethe students work as a team to solve them as quickly as possible. Then provide them withan overview of Gaelic riddles and discuss how the riddles have been preserved orchanged.



Resources

Smeorach Nan Cnoc ’s Nan Gleann / The Songster of the Hills and the Glens. (TheCollected Works of Malcolm H. Gillis). Reprinted by Northside Printers

MacKenzie’s History of Christmas Island Parish, Archibald A. MacKenzie

As A’ Bhràighe: Beyond the Braes of Lochaber (The Gaelic Songs of Allan the RidgeMacDonald, 1794–1868). Effie Rankin

Folksongs and Folklore of South Uist, Margaret Fay Shaw

The Casket, a weekly newspaper published in Antigonish, NS. Vol. 1, No. 1 appeared onJune 24, 1852. It is still current and often contains locally composed Gaelic verse orverse written in English by Nova Scotia Gaels.

A Collection of Gaelic Proverbs and Familiar Phrases, Alexander Nicholson (ed.).

Songs from Framboise, Dan Alex MacDonald

Aithris is Oideas / Traditional Gaelic Rhymes and Games, Scottish Council for Research inEducation

Highland Games

Sport and games were often used to train and test young people in the skills they neededas warriors or in the management of a fishing boat or a home. As lifestyles and ways ofliving changed, many of these games became anachronistic. Still, they were popularenough that cultural groups set up (usually) annual local or regional events that today wecall Highland Games.

The Highland Games are events held throughout the year in Nova Scotia and manyother areas around the world. These games include athletics, feats of strength, Scottishdancing, food, vendors, literature readings, and music.

Locally, the Highland Games are held every summer in July in Antigonish and inHalifax. Competitors from around the world come to compete for glory, and vacationersfrom all over have continually been drawn to these intriguing and entertaining events.



No matter where they are held, the Highland Games celebrate Scottish and Celticheritage and continue to promote the culturally rich way of life of the Gaels. Given thenumber of participants versus the number of observers, some might view these games asspectator or even “tourist” events. To many, though, they have grown into a localtradition, and others use them as a “hook” to garner attention and draw in new followersto the revival of traditional Gaelic songs, dance, and stories.

Grades Primary–3

The Highland Games often include book readings for children to participate in. RecentNova Scotia books such as Heartsong / Ceòl Cridhe by Maxine Trottier are gateways tothe world of Gaelic writings. Stage a dramatic reading in the classroom of one of thesebooks for younger children.

Grades 4–6

Have students create a fictional brochure for the events of the Highland Games for theirhometown or community. For each event they should artistically create a logo and writea short description.

Have students hold their own Highland Games. Arrange for some students to runstations and for the other students to be the participants. Invite other classes to observeeach station at work. This might be a good alternative to track-and-field day held in mostschools in June.

Usually clans are recognizable during the Highland Games by a sash in their clan tartanthat they wear. Help students to find their tartan online, and if one doesn’t exist, havethem create one. They can also do this at home with the help of their parents. Havethem make their own tartan sashes to wear during the staging of their Highland Games.If a school-wide Highland Games is planned, have each class design a tartan and makesashes that will be worn by all members of the class.

Grades 7–12

Have students, in groups, research the Highland Games that take place in various regionsof Canada, including Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, and Ontario. Have themcreate two lists: one, a list of events/customs that occur in all four Highland Gameslocations, and list of events/customs that only take place in the Highland Games of aspecific region. Then have them speculate and explain the rationale for some events beingthe same while others are unique.



Dance is a regular component of most Highland Games around the world. As part of aphysical education class, have students learn steps to a simple dance like the HighlandFling or the Dashing White Sergeant.

As part of a design project, have students create a brochure advertising the Halifax orAntigonish Highland Games.

Pilot Guides is a travel television show that is very entertaining as well as incrediblyeducational. Its episode on Scotland outlines the Highland Games there and is a greatclassroom resource. As a creative-writing exercise, have the students watch the video andthen write a letter home to their parents as if they were a traveller who had just gone tosee the Highland Games.

Resources

Heartsong / Ceòl Cridhe, Maxine Trottier

Aithris is Oideas / Traditional Gaelic Rhymes and Games, Scottish Council for Research inEducation

Antigonish Highland Games www.antigonishhighlandgames.com

Halifax Highland Games and Scottish Festivalwww.halifaxhighlandgames.com

Pilot Guides (TV show)www.pilotguides.com

Dress

Historically, clothing has been functional in nature. What people wore was often basedon necessity. For the working class, warm, sturdy clothes that washed well wereimportant. Stylish dress was usually only worn by those who could afford it. Theavailability of fabrics and materials often determined the clothing that was worn, and thiswas usually dependent on the region where one lived. The history of clothing’s designand function evolved for all cultures as fabrics became less or more available and asindividual needs changed.



The Gaels of Nova Scotia today dress themselves like most other people in NorthAmerica. Similarly to other early immigrant groups, they found themselves far from anysupplies of finery or even the most basic, functional clothing for life in a climateconsiderably harsher in winter and warmer in summer than what they had left.

Wool from their own sheep was washed, carded, and spun to be knit into stockings,mittens, caps, and even a type of woollen boot called a mogan to wear when walking inwinter. Other wool was woven, milled (waulked or fulled) by hand, and then cut andstitched into shirts, dresses, coats, trousers, etc. Hides were tanned and cut and madeinto shoes and boots or repairs were cobbled onto old ones. If an article could not bemade at home, and as travelling peddlers or shops began to appear, barter was the usualmethod of payment before cash was readily available.

Grades Primary–3

Show the students examples of clothing worn by the early Scottish settlers. Discuss withthe students the fabrics that were used and where they came from. Show pictures ofpeople spinning, weaving, and working in a milling frolic. Explain how each procedurewas incorporated into daily life and served the purpose of providing clothing. Many ofthese traditions are still being passed down today and have become known as traditionalcrafts, sometimes done for recreation or for sale.

Discuss tartans and the significance of their colours and designs. Show examples oftartans and have the students speculate on how they were made. If students in the classare taking Highland dancing, ask them to bring in their costume to show the otherstudents. Give students a template of a tartan and have them colour it, using specificcolours to represent specific aspects of their family and life.

Have students create a drawing of a piece of clothing of their choice, using their familytartan. If their family does not have a tartan, have the students create their own. Thisactivity can be linked to the previous one.

Grades 4–6

Have the students research the various types of tartan (e.g., hunting tartan, dress orceremonial tartan, clan tartan). As they compile their research, have them includedescriptions for each. Using this as a springboard, have them design their own tartanusing ideas that are important to them and/or that represent their heritage, interests, life.Encourage them to use fabric, yarn, or other textile materials.



Have students look online for pictures of traditional Gaelic clothing. Give them ahandout with a black-and-white picture of a boy and a girl. Have them design clothes forthese children based on what they learned about Gaelic dress in books or online.

More important to the early settlers were the various patterns woven and developed inthe home. The colours were based on available plants from which dyes were extracted.Research and experiment with various plants and the dyes emitted by them (e.g., carrot).

Grades 7–9

How do styles change over the years? Have students bring to class photos of them takenover the years. Point out the differences in styles and preferences from photo to photo.Show the students some of your own pictures as a demonstration. Using this as a startingpoint, have the students work in groups to create a photo timeline of how Celtic dressevolved.

Collaborate with the art teacher to learn more about spinning and weaving techniques. Ifthere are craft makers in the community who work in this medium, invite them to theclass for a demonstration. If possible, teach the students simple weaving techniques.

Grades 10–12

Create a web quest so students can survey the evolution of clothing in Nova Scotia overthe past 150 years. Have them, in small groups, make a prediction of what the nextclothing trend will be, based on what they have seen.

Have the students view an excerpt of a current movie set in historical times in Scotland.In particular, you want them to focus on the costuming of the actors, taking intoconsideration various features, including colour, fabric weight, style, etc. Resources



Oatmeal and Catechism: Scottish Gaelic Settlers in Quebec, Margaret Bennett



Food

Although Scottish in origin, traditional Celtic recipes tend to vary slightly depending onwhere they are made and what is available locally. The Gaels were noted for their abilityto improvise while cooking, as they depended on what was seasonably available. Thetraditional foods are rooted in families, and many old recipes have been passed downfrom generation to generation.

Grades Primary–6

Bannock or “bonnach” is a traditional Celtic bread. Many variations of the recipe exist,depending on the specific area of origin. Ask the students if they have ever tastedbannock. Bring to class some samples of the bread, and after the students have tastedthem, ask them to consider the importance of such a staple in the daily diets of the earlysettlers.

One traditional Gaelic treat is called fuarag (pronounced foo-a-rack) and is served once ayear on Halloween. It is oatmeal poured slowly over cream as it is being whipped. Thecustom was to drop into the frothy mixture a ring, thimble, coin, button, or other smallobject. Whoever found each article in their dish of fuarag received a clue as to what thefuture would hold for them during the coming year. Have the students research thesymbolism behind some of the objects that might be found in fuarag. Make this dishwith the students, but use extra care to ensure that everything is sanitary by wrapping theobjects in plastic food wrap.

Grades 7–9

The Flashcard Exchange website allows you to print or view online a variety of flashcards with both Gaelic and English terms for common foods. As a trivia game, have thestudents guess the food before seeing the English name.

Provide students with a list of translations of common food names and have them keep arecord of the food (in Gaelic) that they ate for one day.

Have students research Gaelic recipes and note their origins as well as any specialingredients or directions for cooking and baking. Have the students create a visualrepresentation of what their dish would look like when made. Compile all of the recipesin a book for the students to keep.



Resources

Highland Folk Ways, Isabel F. Grant

An Innis Aigh: My Life on Margaree Island, Duncan Hugh MacLellan

Nancy’s Wedding Feast: and Other Tasty Tales, James O. St. Clair and Yvonne C. LeVert

Flashcard Exchangewww.flashcardexchange.com



Language and Communication

The Gaelic Alphabet

The Gaelic alphabet has 18 letters, 5 of which are vowels (a, e, i, o, u). The letter “h” isused as a helper for creating sounds and is seldom found at the beginning of a word.Occasionally“h” will be found at the beginning of a place name—e.g., Na Hearadh(Harris)—and with some borrowed words introduced from other languages. Historically,one way that the Gaelic alphabet was memorized was by associating the letters with trees:e.g., A—ailm (elm), B—beith (birch), C—coll (hazel).

Grades Primary–3

Have students create posters for display in the classroom, matching a letter in thealphabet with an object, animal, or person.

Grades 4–6

Have students create word-picture dictionaries, using Gaelic vocabulary.

Grades 7–9

Have students find like-sounding words and use a separate page in a notebook for eachlist of similar-sounding words.

Grades 10–12

Have students research and study the tree alphabet.

For independent reading, refer to the book, A Forest for Calum” by Frank MacDonald.

Have students create a simple message, using pictures of trees or leaves (e.g., Fàilte).

Resources

The Gaelic-English Dictionary, Colin B.D.

Scottish Gaelic in Three Months, Roibeard O. Maolalaigh



The Gaelic Language in Nova Scotia

Scottish Gaelic has been spoken for more than 200 years in Nova Scotia and continuesto be used on a daily basis. Gaelic is a member of the Celtic family of languages. TheCeltic family has two surviving branches: the P-Celtic languages of Welsh from Wales;Breton from Britanny, France; and Cornish from Cornwall and the Q-Celtic languagesof Irish Gaelic from Ireland, Scottish Gaelic from Scotland, and Manx from the Isle ofMan. Nova Scotia is the only area outside Europe where Scottish Gaelic has been passeddown generationally to the present day.

Currently, about 227,000 Nova Scotians claim descent from Gaelic-speaking settlers anda much larger number of Nova Scotians are involved in Gaelic cultural activities.Recently, the Nova Scotia government has invested in community and school programsto allow Nova Scotians of all ages to learn Gaelic.

Grades Primary–3

Ask students if they know any Gaelic words (e.g., personal names, surnames, placenames). Is your name Gaelic? Do you know anyone who speaks Gaelic? Invite a Gaelic-speaking guest to share expressions and/or read stories, (e.g., Spot Air Chuairt).

Grades 4–6

Ask students if they know the origin of their own name. Discuss the names, and ask ifthere is any Gaelic in them. Do you have the word “Mac” in your name? Tell them toask at home if there are any Gaelic names in their family. Discuss the word “nic” forgirls. Introduce and discuss the word “clan.”

Develop a sloinneadh (patronymic).

Discuss nicknames, such as Dòmhnall Bàn, Iain na Beinne, Calum Carr, and AlasdairShanntràigh.

Grades 7–9

Discuss the origin of the Gaels. Who were the Celts? What are the Celtic languages?Which ones are still spoken? Listen to online samples. Point out similarities. Discuss theNova Scotia connections. Where can you find examples of Gaelic in Nova Scotia?



Grades 10–12

Give an overview of the Gaelic language. Explain the word order. Discuss the Gaelicalphabet and its connection to nature. Demonstrate differences in dialect.

Resources


Da Mihi Manum (A Pan-Celtic phrase book of Irish, Scottish, and Manx Gaelics; Welsh;Breton and the three dominant dialects of Cornish). Marion Gunn

Càite bheil Spot?, Eric Hill (Where Is Spot?, a pop-up book in Gaelic for children)

Co-là Breith Spot, Eric Hill (Spot’s Birthday, a pop-up book in Gaelic for children)

Learning the Language

An increasing number of Nova Scotians are learning the Gaelic language throughcommunity courses, online courses, St. Ann’s Gaelic College, the Atlantic GaelicAcademy, university courses, Fèisean nan Gàidheal, and the public school programs.

Students in Nova Scotia schools have the opportunity to learn Gaelic as a secondlanguage from grade 3 to grade 12. They also have opportunities to study Gaelic culturethrough Gaelic Studies 11 (an option for the mandatory Canadian History 11 course)and through cross-curricular connections in courses such as music, drama, art, socialstudies, dance, and Canadian literature.

Grade Primary–3

Using online resources such as BBC Radio nan Gàidheal, have students participate inlearning the language through action songs.

Show videos such as Bob the Builder in Gaelic.



Grades 4–6

Use websites such as Gaelic Online to expose students to basic greetings, responses, anddirections as well as the identification of animals, clothing, body parts, etc.

Use and create games to facilitate language learning.

Learn simple Gaelic songs with actions.

Invite a Gaelic-speaking guest to teach a Gaelic lesson.

Grades 7–9

Involve students in online Gaelic lessons, such as those from St. Ann’s Gaelic Collegeand Sabhal Mòr Ostaig.

Use songs with repetitive choruses to help students learn the Gaelic language.

Create and perform skits, plays, and/or puppet shows based on the lessons.


Grades 10–12

Participate in online courses and videotaped lessons.


Listen to various Gaelic radio programs such as BBC Radio nan Gàidheal.

Expose students to Nova Scotia Gaelic songs.

Perform a skit or play in Gaelic for the public.

Resources

Gaelic College of Celtic Arts and Crafts, at St. Ann’s, Cape Breton: Includes manyresources such as beginners’ lessons in Gaelic. www.gaeliccollege.edu



BBC Radio nan Gàidheal: Includes many resources such as beginners’ lessons in Gaelicand two levels of Roddy MacLean’s weekly Letters to Learners, with explanatory notesand idiomatic phrases.www.bbc.co.uk/alba

Gaelic Songs in Nova Scotia, Helen Creighton and Calum MacLeod

Brìgh an Òrain: A Story in Every Song, The Songs and Tales of Lauchie MacLellan,Translated and edited by John Shaw

Songs Remembered in Exile: Traditional Gaelic Songs from Nova Scotia (recorded in CapeBreton and Antigonish County in 1937, with an account of the causes of the HebrideanEmigration 1790–1835); John Lorne Campbell

Bob the Builder (video in Gaelic)

Gaelic Onlinewww.gaeliconline.co.uk

Sabhal Mòr Ostaigwww.smo.uhi.ac.uk



Music and Dance

Celtic Music from Gaelic Regions

Just as language, traditions, and customs have adapted to suit specific regions, so, too,have music and other art forms taken on characteristic features in each Gaelic region ofthe world. In particular, instrumentation and form are distinctive features of the musicfrom different Gaelic-speaking regions, and often at international music festivals one canexperience first-hand various fiddle techniques, unique bagpipes, dance music, etc.

Grades Primary–3

Discuss with students Gaelic cultural events that they might have attended, such as theCeltic Colours International Festival concerts, Highland Games, Broad Cove Concert,and Pictou Gathering. Brainstorm a list of words that they may have heard. Look for keywords and phrases such as fiddle, bagpipes, people dancing alone and in groups, livelymusic, and songs (some of which they could not understand). Play excerpts from avariety of musical styles that are Celtic in nature, and discuss each one in relation to thestudents’ brainstormed list.

Play an excerpt from a Celtic CD and ask the students to identify the instruments theyare hearing as well as the tempo, changes in meter, beat, and rhythm.

Grades 4–9

Using the kit World Music: Cultural Legacy (distributed to all elementary schools in2004), play excerpts of music from other cultures and discuss them, taking intoconsideration the instrumentation, vocal technique, form, rhythm and beat, etc. Nowplay an excerpt of a Celtic selection that is typical of one students would hear in NovaScotia. Are there similarities to the selections from world cultures? Highlight the fact thatmusic of the Celts is part of world music.

Using a CD from a Celtic Colours compilation, play excerpts of music from variousCeltic regions of the world, such as Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Spain, Brittany, and NovaScotia. Identify similarities and differences in terms of tempo, melody, form, andinstrumentation.

Ask if any students in the class or the school play Celtic instruments. Invite those who doto bring their instrument to school to demonstrate it. Discuss the mechanics of the



instrument, the music they play, and how they learned to play it. As an extension,schools may wish to have a Celtic concert during Gaelic Awareness Month (May) inwhich students perform for the whole school.

Grades 10–12

Play a strathspey recorded by someone in Nova Scotia and, if possible, another versionrecorded by someone in Scotland. Discuss with the students the origins of theStrathspey. In Scotland it was more of a listening piece and had a slower tempo. Overtime, it became a step-dancing piece in Nova Scotia. Have students research to see ifthere are other forms of music that have similarly changed.

Divide the class into groups, each one representing a different Celtic region of the world.Have them research music from that region and learn a piece of music from there thatthey can perform for the class on an instrument of their choice, including the flute,saxophone, piano, etc.

Resources

The Cape Breton Fiddle: Making and Maintaining Tradition, Glenn Graham

Celtic Colours International Festival www.celtic-colours.com

CDs

Willie Kennedy: Cape Breton Violin (North American Traditions Series)

Joe Peter MacLean: Back of Boisdale (North American Traditions Series)

Celtic Colours International Festival: The Road Home / An Rathad Dhachaigh, StephenMacDonald Productions

Note: There is a new CD each year from the Celtic Colours International Festival. Thisexample is typical of these excellent and eclectic recordings.



Song

Gaelic songs can be divided into three groups: work songs, puirt-a-beul (mouth music),and free-style songs. In work songs (e.g., waulking songs, rowing songs, milking songs,churning songs, spinning songs) the main characteristics are the strong rhythm and theuse of short verses that alternate with a chorus that may have improvised parts. Puirt-a-beul are short tunes in dance rhythms, often with nonsense words. They are lively andmay remind the listener of an instrumental piece. Both waulking songs and puirt-a-beulare sung unaccompanied, although today they are sometimes arranged with instrumentalaccompaniment. Free-style songs usually celebrate a person, place, or politicalcommentary often on the Gaelic language and culture. Because of the songs’ nature, theGaelic language is very important, and care must be taken to pronounce the words inproper rhythm.

Grades Primary–6

Discuss milling songs, which were work songs sung by the Gaels in Scotland and NovaScotia. Using a resource such as museum.gov.ns.ca/hv, listen to a milling song. Have thestudents keep time to the music by tapping their hands on a table (as they would have ina milling frolic). Transfer the beat to other parts of the body, using clapping, patschen(slapping), tapping feet, etc. Try moving around the room keeping a steady beat.Recreate a milling frolic by having students sit around a table with a long piece of cloth,beating it to the music (up beat / down beat).

Explore the form of a milling song (ABCBDB). Note how the verses can be sung by anindividual or several people, with everyone joining in on the chorus. Think of otherfamiliar songs with the same form.

As a class, have the students make up their own verses to a milling song, and have eachstudent take a turn making up a verse even if it only has one line. Have the class join inon the chorus.

Grades 7–12

Gaelic songs were often written for a specific purpose, such as sailing, milling the cloth,churning butter, etc. Have students research various types of Gaelic songs, lookingparticularly for examples that have sound clips so they can hear the differences. (SeeCòmhla Cruínn, a CBC CD recorded on Christmas Island.)



Research the links between storytelling and Gaelic songs and how songs were oftencreated to portray a particular event. Find a Gaelic song in translation and describe theevent being portrayed, checking for its historical significance.

Mary Jane Lamond has taken Gaelic songs and showcased them in a contemporary way.Discuss how this is possible, and debate the pros and cons of bringing something sorooted in tradition to the contemporary forefront.

Resources

Gaelic Songs in Nova Scotia, Helen Creighton and Calum MacLeod

Fad Air Falloh as Innse Gall-leis Comh-cruinneachadh Cheap Breatuinn / Beyond theHebrides, Including The Cape Breton Collection, Donald S. Fergusson

Songs Remembered in Exile: Traditional Gaelic Songs from Nova Scotia (recorded in CapeBreton and Antigonish County in 1937, with an account of the causes of the HebrideanEmigration 1790–1835); John Lorne Campbell

Brìgh an Òrain: A Story in Every Song, The Songs and Tales of Lauchie MacLellan.Translated and edited by John Shaw

CDs

Òrain Ghàidhlig / Gaelic Songs of Cape Breton, Mary Jane Lamond

A’Seo/Here, Lewis MacKinnon

Còmla Cruinn / Gathered Together, Various artists

Òrain Luadhaidh: An Cliath Clis

Fhuair Mi Pog (I Got a Kiss of the King’s Hand), Margaret Stewart and AllanMacDonald

Ruith Na Gaoith (Chasing the Wind), Arthur Cormack

Òrain as an t-Sìthein (Songs from the Shean), Various artists

Or Cheap Breatuinn (Cape Breton Gold), Various artists



Dance

Just as the Gaelic language and music vary from region to region, so does Celtic dance. Ifwe explore Celtic dance forms such as local square “sets” in Nova Scotia, we seevariations from community to community and from county to county. When weconsider Celtic dance forms, we usually think of step-dancing, square sets, and Highlanddance. As with other forms of expression, giving these dances a contemporaryinterpretation has brought a whole new experience for dancers.

Grades Primary–3

Play a selection of Celtic music in a fast tempo and have the students move freely to it.As they move, observe to see if any students are trying to step-dance or Highland dance.This will tell you which students have been exposed to these types of dances. Do thesame for a slow piece of music. Discuss with the students how they feel while moving toeach piece of music.

If possible, play a DVD of people dancing to Celtic music, solo or in groups. Discusswith the students the tempo and meter and how these affect the way people move.

Find out if anyone in the school takes Highland-dancing or step-dancing lessons. Invitethose who do to talk about the dances they do and to perform them for the class.

Grades 4–6

There are two resources available through Learning Resources and Technology Servicesat the Department of Education: No Less No More ... Just Four on the Floor and A Jig ’n’ aReel. These contain easy-to-follow directions and music. Using No Less No More ... JustFour on the Floor, learn a figure or the entire dance of three figures.

If there are Highland dancers in the school, invite them to talk about their art from. Askthem to include the different types of dances they perform, the music that is played foreach, the costumes for each dance, etc. Have the students demonstrate their dances.

Grades 7–12

Use No Less No More ... Just Four on the Floor or A Jig ’n’ a Reel to introduce traditionaldance to the students. These come with a CD and easy-to-follow instructions. You maywant to invite a guest who is familiar with the dance to come to the class to help withinstruction.



Organize an afternoon where a class can teach all of the students how to square dance inthe gym. If possible, have live fiddle music and a person who has experience teachingsquare dance and calling the sets.

Using the resource No More No Less ... Just Four on the Floor, compare and contrast thecomponents of a square dance in Inverness, Cheticamp, and Sydney. These similaritiesand differences are explained in the resources.

Have the students create their own patterned social dance, taking into consideration theelements of square dance that they have already experienced.

Resources

Right to the Helm: Cape Breton Square Dances, Jorn Borggreen

Traditional Celtic Fiddle Music of Cape Breton, compiled and annotated by K. E. Dunlayand D. L. Reich

Folk Music and Dances of Ireland, Brendan Breathnach

Live, Natalie MacMaster

Instruments

From the thump of the bodhran to the rasp of the wooden flute, Celtic music is knownby its instruments. As with song and dance, the music of a particular Gaelic region of theworld can be identified by its instruments. Depending on the region, you may find anycombination of the following: fiddle, flute, tin whistle, bagpipes and uillean pipes,melodeon, button accordion, piano accordion, concertina, banjo, mandolin, guitar, harp,hammered dulcimer, bodhran, and other percussion instruments.

Grades Primary–6 Have students listen to several pieces of Celtic music and discuss the instrumentationthey hear. Have them create a picture dictionary of Celtic instruments.



Read A Fiddle for Angus or Heart Song / Ceòl Cridhe and discuss the idea of musicalinstruments or music being passed down from generation to generation. Invite studentsto discuss any musical instruments they may have at their home that were passed down,such as a family piano.

Grades 7–12

In relation to Celtic music of various regions of the world, have students research anddiscuss the role of bagpipes:

• from a historical point of view (e.g., entertainment, dance, a call to war, militaryconnections, ceremonial roles)

• from a technical point of view (e.g., those that are played by blowing, those that havebellows, Irish bagpipes, Lowland pipes, Highland bagpipes, border pipes, smallpipes). Consider whether their physical size and structure affect the sound

• from a musical point of view (e.g., chanter to bagpipe; Irish flute to pipes; tonality interms of chanter and pipes; types of tunes, such as marches, reels, hornpipes, andpiobroch, discussing the elements in bagpipe music, including meter, time signature,harmony, texture, tone, form, and ornamentation

Find a recording or a score of a piece of Celtic music written for a fiddle, bagpipes, or a harp. Transcribe it for another instrument, such as a piano or wind instrument.

Resources

Traditional Celtic Fiddle Music of Cape Breton, compiled and annotated by K. E. Dunlayand D. L. Reich

The Cape Breton Fiddle: Making and Maintaining Tradition, Glenn Graham

Co-Cruinneachadh MhicChoinnich: Pipe Music from Cape Breton and Away, Allan J.MacKenzie

Folk Music and Dances of Ireland, Brendan Breathnach

CDs

The Land of My Love, Dan Hughie MacEachern

Music from the Heart, Pius MacIsaac



The Piper’s Call, Liam O’Flynn (uillean pipes)

A Cape Breton Piper, Barry Shears

Profiles of Celtic Musicians

As evidenced by the East Coast Music Awards each year, Celtic music represents a strongaspect of the recognition that musicians from the Atlantic region receive nationally andinternationally. Recording artists from Nova Scotia are recognized worldwide for theircommitment to the preservation of Celtic music and their influence on other genres of music. Artists like Natalie MacMaster, Ashley MacIsaac, Mary Jane Lamond, and theBarra MacNeils continue to play a major role in bringing Celtic music to popularculture.

Grades Primary–3

Interview someone in your family or community who performs Celtic music, eitherinstrumental or vocal, and invite him or her to speak to the class.

Play excerpts from local Celtic performers such as Mary Jane Lamond, the BarraMacNeils, Natalie MacMaster, Kendra MacGillivray, and Ashley MacIsaac. For eachselection discuss with the students the performing artist, the style of music, theinstruments used, and the language in which it is being sung. Ask the students: Howdoes this music make you feel? What do you think about when you hear this music?

Grades 4–6

Over the course of a period of time have the students compile a list of all of the Celticmusic they hear on radio or television. They could also make a list of references to Celticmusic in the print media (e.g., newspapers, magazines). At the end of the designatedperiod of time have them discuss any trends they saw.

As an extension to the first activity for grades primary–3, have students create a profile ofthe Celtic performer interviewed, including, if possible, a photo, his or her backgroundand training, a description of the music he or she performs, and a list of venues where heor she has performed. Have the students then create a bulletin-board display entitled“Celtic Musicians in Our Community.”



As an alternative to the above activity, students can research a well-known Celticperformer and do a similar project.

Grades 7–9

Profile a Celtic musician or performer, including an in-depth study of the musician, themedium (instrumental or vocal), his or her training, the CDs recorded, the original tunescomposed, the awards received, significant performances, etc. Create a bulletin-boarddisplay to be exhibited for a specified period of time. An alternative could be to dividethe class into groups and have each group complete a profile of a Celtic musician orperformer. Compile these in an anthology.

Discuss award shows such as the East Coast Music Awards or the Junos and assign thestudents to take notes as these shows are being held. Consider the following questions:

• How much publicity surrounds Celtic musicians?• What forms of media coverage do they receive (e.g., print, radio, TV, the Internet)?• Into which categories do Celtic musicians fit (e.g., Roots, Traditional, Folk)?• How many awards do Celtic musicians win in a given year?

Grades 10–12

Several Nova Scotia Celtic performers have gained international recognition for theirmusic. One such musician known for his performances, composing, and orchestraldirecting is Scott MacMillan. His most famous work is Celtic Mass for the Sea. Havestudents research the life of MacMillan and create a profile that describes hiscontributions to Celtic music. Have students listen to Celtic Mass for the Sea and do adetailed analysis of the piece, based on the suggestions for listening in Music 10, 11, 12.

Using a variety of excerpts of Celtic music from well-known Celtic musicians, create apiece of music that profiles Celtic music in Nova Scotia.

Resources

Celtic Music Interpretive Sitewww.celticmusicsite.com

APPENDICES

APPENDICES


APPENDIX A: CELTIC COLOURS

INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL

While many wonderful Celtic festivals and events take place across Nova Scotiathroughout the year, the Celtic Colours International Festival brings recognitionworldwide to Nova Scotia’s Celtic traditions. First initiated in 1997, the festival takesplace annually in communities across Cape Breton Island for 10 days during October. Itsmission is stated simply: “To promote, celebrate, and develop Cape Breton’s living Celticculture and hospitality by producing an international festival during the fall colours thatbuilds cultural and economic relationships across Cape Breton and beyond.” Thefollowing information is taken from the festival’s 2007–2009 Strategic Plan and is usedwith permission. In addition, you may wish to visit the website for the festival:(www.celtic-colours.com).

Background

The festival’s mission is grounded in lived reality. It stresses the importance of protectingand celebrating our living Celtic culture that, while predominantly Scottish, reflectsmusical elements from across Gaeldom. Cape Breton is unique in its culture, and this iswell recognized both in Canada and internationally. According to several historical andmusicological sources, Cape Breton may be the only place in the world where nearlyevery European stream of Celtic culture is resident. Early Basque and Galician fishermensettled on the island (and some of their family names continue here), the Irish arrivedafter the Wexford rebellion, some Acadians (in the Isle Madame area) originated inBrittany, and the Scots immigrated at various stages throughout the eighteenth andnineteenth centuries. The distinctiveness of Cape Breton music and its interpretation isdue, in no small part, to this melding from across Gaeldom. According to the Mi’kmaqAssociation for Cultural Studies, Cape Breton is also the only area in Atlantic Canadawhere Celtic music has had a significant influence on the development of contemporaryaboriginal music traditions.

Celtic Colours has provided a focus for the locals to be proud of their culture and forvisitors to experience its uniqueness. The model of the festival allows for the culturalinvolvement of a great many people in communities throughout the island. They takepride in seeing our own artists and culture bearers by gaining new audiences and markets

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elsewhere and by linking with other artists around the world. Artists want to come hereto experience our culture.

Always at the forefront of the festival programming is the challenge to “do no harm” tothe existing culture of the area. Celtic Colours has become a major cultural force in theregion, and we must be ever vigilant that we protect, preserve, and accurately reflect ourliving traditional and contemporary Celtic culture.

Celtic Colours creates an economic impact of about $5 million annually. This happensbecause the festival attracts thousands of visitors to Cape Breton in the fall and hasextended the tourism season by more than six weeks. Prior to Celtic Colours nearly alltourism operations closed following the Labour Day weekend; only a very few stayedopen until the Thanksgiving weekend and virtually none beyond that date. The visitingaudience is largely dedicated music fans who stay for six to eight days in hotels, rent cars,eat in restaurants, and go to many events. Fifty percent of the audience comes from off-island. They are well educated, over 45, and financially comfortable. They come from 48US states, 12 provinces and territories, and 20–25 other countries.

Celtic Colours is the only major event or activity that is island-wide and has been so formore than a decade. Every October it brings the whole of Cape Breton Island together tocelebrate our culture, our hospitality, and the beauty of the environment. Communitygroups and nearly a thousand volunteers take on a pride and generosity of spirit that canbe felt in every corner of the island. Volunteers are provided with training, andcommunity venues gain valuable experience by presenting world-class concerts. CelticColours creates a positive story in the midst of the challenges that communities face onan ongoing basis. By serving as a platform for collaboration and development, CelticColours provides hope and inspiration and solid and measurable results. It createsinternational links—musically, socially, and economically—providing the island withcredibility around the world.

Themes That Emerge

• Promotion of a distinctive entertainment and cultural experience to visitors to NovaScotia and to a highly prized demographic segment of the tourism market

• Building skills and capacity in volunteers and organizations in both ruralcommunities and the Sydney and Port Hawkesbury areas in tourism, hospitality, andvisual and audio segments of the media and entertainment industries

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• International promotion of Cape Breton and Nova Scotia musicians, which hasresulted in increased sales, wider exposure in international markets throughperformances in home venues for foreign visitors (by invitation), and thedevelopment of a sustainable career choice by young musicians and alliedprofessionals

• Economic benefits and additional development activity in the tourism sector in CapeBreton

• Contributions to community pride and cultural validation by communities acrossCape Breton Island

Key Stakeholders and Partners

Celtic Cultures has many stakeholders, ranging from local ticket buyers to largegovernment organizations.

Communities: Individual communities and venues have a stake in both the economic andcultural impacts of the festival. Venues hosting events earn revenues from ticket sales.Cape Bretoners gain a sense of pride in their community and the hospitality they offer tovisitors.

Business: Tourism and cultural businesses throughout the island see a boost in sales andan extension of the tourism season.

Audiences: Ticket buyers, people who participate in educational programs andworkshops, and both locals and visitors are looking for an exciting cultural experience.

Artists: Over 400 performers are hired and paid each year. The majority (about 350) ofthem are from Cape Breton. They also benefit from longer-term opportunities resultingfrom interaction with international buyers and colleagues.

Cultural workers and advocates: Everyone working in the cultural sector and concernedabout the culture has a stake in the quality and success of the festival. This crossesdisciplines including music, dance, language, theatre, visual art, crafts, and since all ofthese disciplines benefit from the festival.

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Government: All three levels of government provide differentiated funding, includingseveral federal departments and agencies. They all have a stake because Celtic Colourshelps them achieve their goals.

Corporate sponsors: Celtic Colours helps corporate sponsors meet their goals by reachingnew markets, creating new sales opportunities, and associating with a positivecommunity event. The extensive data on festival clientele enables these sponsors to bettertarget their advertising and promotion to specific demographics.

Volunteers: Every year volunteers return and dedicate over 18 000 hours to the event.They know they are valued, and they are proud of their role.

Employees: Staff take pride in a job well done and seek out the opportunity to work in asector that is exciting and creates a positive story for Cape Breton and Nova Scotia. Thefounders of the festival are still the key managers of the event.

Schools: Educators and school boards partner with Celtic Colours to provide culturallearning opportunities for youth.

Core Activities and Programs

Production of the annual festival, which includes

• funding applications, fundraising, and sponsorship• budgeting and financial management• artist selection (approximately 450 annually) and contracting the design of shows• venue selection and contracting and working with community groups• marketing and public relations• ticket sales and ticket management• volunteer recruitment, co-ordination, and recognition (nearly 1000 volunteers

annually)• production of shows• co-ordination of artists’ needs, travel, accommodation, logistics related to the venues

and airports, and food (for about 450 annually, at multiple locations and concerts)

Visual-arts series, in partnership with visual-arts organizations. The series includes six toeight exhibits and six to eight workshops annually in locations throughout the island.

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These events are funded and organized by the visual-arts community. Attendance isapproximately 1,800.

Celtic Colours in the schools, in partnership with school boards. Annual presentations areattended by 5,000 to 10,000 students in 20 to 25 schools. The festival has co-operatedwith area school boards to enhance curriculum development related to cultural heritageand the festival.

Workshops and educational programs, in partnership with community groups. Thiselement has grown to 97 workshops in multiple locations. In 2005 the attendance ateducational workshops was 1,315.

Networking and marketing / promotion events, with local, regional, national, andinternational groups involved in music, culture, and tourism as well as festivals andpresenters in many countries. This involves membership in organizations and travel toattend events and participate in trade shows. The co-directors also often provideinformation and presentations to other developmental workshops and annual meetingshosted by other organizations or the government funders. Most often this is donewithout payment other than travel expenses.

Consultation, mostly unpaid, provided to other festivals, events, universities, schools, etc.

Staff and volunteer training, providing regularly scheduled volunteer training to variouscategories of volunteers. In addition, hundreds of hours of training and mentoring areprovided each year to key management positions.

APPENDICES


Celtic Colours International FestivalCustomer Survey

Dear Celtic-music fan:

We hope you are enjoying another great year of Celtic Colours! We are always interestedin hearing your feedback about programs, venues, and other parts of your experience.The young man or woman who has just passed you this short questionnaire is a CapeBreton university business management student, or a student at the Nova ScotiaCommunity College (NSCC) campus in Port Hawkesbury, who is helping us look at ourfuture marketing and festival strategy as part of his or her coursework (unless you are inMabou or Inverness, where he or she is likely a student at the local high school).

While you are waiting, we hope you’ll take time to complete this short questionnaire tohelp the students and us present you with an even better festival next year and following.This won’t take long—honest! And my fellow Board of Directors members join me inthanking you, in advance, for helping us out.

Please Circle the Correct Letter

1. Where do you live?a. Cape Breton Islandb. Elsewhere in Nova Scotiac. Atlantic Canadad. Rest of Canadae. USAf. Other country: ________________

2. You are attending Celtic Colours:a. For the first timeb. For the second timec. For the third time or more

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3. You first learned about Celtic Colours from (Circle only one):a. Magazine article or advertisementb. Newspaper article or advertisementc. Radio or television program or advertisementd. Internet: Celtic Colours websitee. Internet: another websitef. Friend or family member

4. How did you learn detailed information about Celtic Colours and its events?(Circle only one)a. Celtic Colours websiteb. Festival programc. Advertisements in the Cape Breton Post or another newspaper

IF YOU LIVE ON CAPE BRETON ISLAND, PLEASE SKIP TO QUESTION 11.OTHERS, PLEASE COMPLETE QUESTIONS 5–10 AS WELL AS 11 ANDFOLLOWING.

5. If you do not live on Cape Breton Island, what were the reasons you decided toattend this year’s Celtic Colours festival? (Circle the five most important factors foryou.)a. I came for the Celtic music concerts generally.b. I came to see specific advertised artists from Cape Breton.c. I came to see Celtic music artists from other parts of the world.d. I came for workshops on Celtic music and culture.e. I wanted to see the fall colours.f. The time of year is convenient for me to travel here.g. I came to visit family and friends in Cape Breton while here.h. I wanted to see other major attractions (e.g., Fortress of Louisbourg, Bell

Museum, Cabot Trail).i. I wanted to engage in outdoor activities while here (e.g., hiking, climbing, golf,

water sports).

6. How many nights will you spend in Cape Breton this visit? ___________

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7. What other attractions do you plan to see while here? (Circle all that apply.)a. Fortress of Louisbourg h. Cape Breton Highlands National Parkb. Bell Museum i. Other museumsc. Baddeck area j. Art galleriesd. Cabot Trail k. Craft shopse. Margaree Valley area l. Port Hawkesbury Areaf. Glenora Distillery m. St. Peter’s areag. Golf courses n. Sydney and area

8. How did you travel to Cape Breton? (CIRCLE ALL THAT APPLY)a. Passenger vehicle—self-owned e. Boat/ship/ferryb. Passenger vehicle—rental f. Commercial airline/private planec. Recreational vehicle g. Traind. Bus/charter tour/motor coach h. Motorcycle

9. In total, how much did you and those in your immediate travel party spend per dayin Canadian Dollars, including credit-card purchases, on each of the followingduring your visit to Cape Breton Island?a. Food and beverages $b. Lodging/accommodations $c. Entertainment/attractions $d. Merchandise/gifts/souvenirs $e. Transportation while in Cape Breton $f. Other expenditures $g. TOTAL daily spending $

10. Which of the following two sentences best expresses your decision to attend CelticColours?a. I came for Celtic Colours and, while here, am enjoying Cape Breton Island and

its sights.b. I came to see Cape Breton Island and, while here, am enjoying some Celtic

Colours events.

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11. In your experience of Celtic Colours this year, on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 = poor, 5 =excellent), how would you rate the following? (Circle one in each category.)

a. Overall festival offerings and arrangements:1 2 3 4 5

b. Information and ease of use of Celtic Colours website:1 2 3 4 5

c. Artistic quality of Celtic Colours performances:1 2 3 4 5

d. Quality and service at local accommodations:1 2 3 4 5

e. Quality, choice, and service at local restaurants:1 2 3 4 5

f. Quality of roads and highway signage:1 2 3 4 5

g. Overall impression of Cape Breton friendliness and hospitality:1 2 3 4 5

12. How highly would you recommend the Celtic Colours International Festival toyour friends? (Circle one.)Not at all Average Very highly

1 2 3 4 5

13. Excluding the Celtic Colours festival, how many music festivals (Celtic or othertypes) have you attended in the past five years?a. None (other than Celtic Colours) d. 3b. 1 e. 4 or morec. 2

Names or locations of festivals attended:

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14. How many Celtic Colours events will you attend this year?Concerts: a. 0 Workshops: a. 0

b. 1 b. 1c. 2 c. 2d. 3 or more d. 3 or more

15. How do you choose which Celtic Colours events to attend? (Circle the mostimportant one.)a. I choose the specific artists I want to see.b. I choose locations that fit in with my touring plans.c. I choose by the days of the week or specific times that I want to attend events.d. I choose by the size and type of venue.

16. The festival has many sponsors and supporters from both the private and publicsector. From the materials you have seen so far, please circle in the list below thosetypes of companies you particularly remember being listed as Celtic Colourssponsors (Circle all that apply.)a. Banking/financial-investment industry h. Government—all levelsb. Beverage industry i. Hotels and motelsc. Broadcast or print-media industry j. Insurance firmsd. Construction firms k. Local tourism attractionse. Educational institutions l. Music-related firmsf. Energy/oil companies m. Shopping malls and areasg. Food service and restaurants

17. Please tell us a little bit about yourself. (PLEASE PLACE A CHECK IN THE ___)a. Age: __Under 24 years __25–32 years __33–44 years __45–54 years

__55–64 years __65+

b. Gender: __Male __Female

c. Work status: __Working full-time __Working part-time __Not working but looking __Retired __Other

d. Highest level of schooling: __Grade 12 or less __Community college__University __Postgrad

e. Family income (optional): __Less than $25 000 __$25 000–$49 000__$50 000–$74 000 __$75 000+

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Who Attends Celtic Colours—and Why

The Celtic Colours International Festival held each October on Cape Breton Island. isthe premier Celtic music and culture event in Canada. During the past eight years it hasgrown significantly in size and influence with particular market demographics. Here aresome things you may not know about who attends and why!1

About typical Celtic Colours participants:

• Approximately 85% are 45 years of age or older.• Sixty percent are women, and 40% are men.• Forty percent work full-time, and 40% are retired.• More than 80% have graduated from college or university, and 32% have completed

a postgraduate professional or academic qualification.• Some 35% report a household income of $75 000/year or more, and 64% report an

annual income in excess of $50 000.• About 40% are from Cape Breton Island, 18% are from mainland Nova Scotia and

throughout Atlantic Canada, 22% are from the USA, 15% are from other parts ofCanada, and 5% are from other foreign countries.

If they “came from away,” they came for the music:

• Sixty-six percent of those not from Cape Breton say they come primarily for theCeltic music festival and are enjoying Cape Breton while here .2

• Almost 50% will attend three or more concerts, and another 15% will attend at leasttwo concerts.

• They love music—42% have attended four or more other music festivals (not CelticColours) in the past five years.

• Almost half are at Celtic Colours for the first time, but 38% are here for the thirdtime or more (all respondents, including Cape Breton).

• While here, 23% are coming to see Celtic music artists from all parts of the world,and 20% mention a desire to see specific advertised artists from Cape Breton as well.

How Celtic Colours participants learned about the festival :3

• Forty-five percent first heard about the festival from a friend or family member.• Twenty-one percent first learned about Celtic Colours from a newspaper article or

advertisement.• Fifteen percent got first knowledge from a radio or television program or

advertisement.

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• Eleven percent got first knowledge from a magazine article or advertisement.• Once they learned about the festival’s existence, 48% got their detailed information

about the festival, events, and planning their attendance from the Celtic Colourswebsite4.

And while they are here ...

• Nearly 60% plan their visit around specific artists they want to see, but 27% chooseconcert locations that fit in with their touring plans.

• Nearly 20% also want to see other major attractions while they are here. The toplisted are the Cabot Trail (34%), Baddeck area (29%), Cape Breton HighlandsNational Park (26%), Fortress of Louisbourg (22%), and craft shops (24%) .5

• On average they will spend more than eight nights in Cape Breton and will spendmore than $200 a day per person on non-festival activities and purchases.6

• Mostly, they travelled to Cape Breton in their own vehicle (29%) or by rental car(16%) or plane (14%).

• When asked to recall the types of companies that sponsor the festival or advertise inthe festival program, 31% recalled broadcast or print-media firms; 24%, banking andfinancial-investment firms; 21%, local tourism attractions; 18% hotels and motels,15%, food service and restaurants; 13%, music-related firms; and 11%, educationalinstitutions.

Celtic Colours participants come from a coveted niche market: They are financiallycomfortable; have generous disposable incomes; are highly educated; and enjoy moreleisurely travel, music, and cultural attractions along with good food and drink andexcellent accommodations. As longer-stay tourists, they represent a unique marketingtarget for Cape Breton businesses, particularly those involved in hospitality and culturalindustries.7

Members of this demographic are high purchasers of financial, investment, and insuranceservices; personal services of all kinds; and quality products with distinctive style and/ororigin. They understand cultural events and the importance of sponsorship anddemonstrate a high recall of sponsors and advertisers and tend to associate them withquality products and services.

___________________Based on an extensive market research survey conducted with 686 concert goers during the fall 2004 festival. Survey research supervised1

by Dr. Jacqueline Thayer Scott, O.C., LLD (Hon), professor and past president of Cape Breton University, and carried out by some 50+students in upper-level business courses at CBU. Statistical support was provided by Bob Pelley, CMRP, Senior Adviser, BusinessVentures for INNOVA Corp. Survey respondents roughly approximate residential patterns of total festival-ticket purchasers. Results areaccurate within 3.7%, at 19 out of 20 trials.Thirty-four percent say they came to see Cape Breton primarily and are enjoying some Celtic Colours events while here.2

All respondents, Cape Breton residents included.3

Thirty percent got more details from advertisements and 22% from the festival program.4

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Other specific attractions: Sydney and area (20%), Bell Museum (14%), Glenora Distillery (14%), other museums (14%), art galleries5

(11%), Port Hawkesbury area (10%), St. Peter’s area (9%), and golf courses (3%). Some 12% express a desire to engage in outdooractivities while here.Our car-rental sponsor, National, reports the average rental-car contracts for festivalgoers is nine days.6

By comparison, the average length of stay for tourists to Cape Breton is 3.7 nights (2001 ECBC Tourism & Advertising Conversion7

Study).

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APPENDIX B: THE FEIS MOVEMENT

IN NOVA SCOTIA

“Feis” (pronounced fayse and rhyming with beige) is literally translated as a banquet orfeast, but it has taken on the characteristics of a festival lasting from one afternoon to aweek. Usually it represents a range of activities involving the Gaelic language and song orother elements of the culture, including storytelling, dance, fiddle, and piping.Participants of all ages, from young to old, come together to enjoy sharing and buildingthe Celtic culture.

In ancient Ireland communities placed great importance on local festivals, where Gaelscould come together in song, dance, music, theatre, and sport. The feis was a richopportunity for storytellers to reach a large audience, and, often, warriors would recounttheir exploits in combat, clansmen would trace their family genealogies, and bards andballadeers would lead the groups in legends, stories, and song. These gatheringseventually gave rise to athletic and sporting competitions, including horse and chariotracing, as well as feats of strength and endurance.

Today the feis has experienced something of a rebirth, both for ethnic Gaels and forenthusiasts of the Gaelic culture in Ireland and Scotland as well as throughout the world.Typically, it is a community-based festival seeking to promote and maintain Gaeliclanguages, traditions, and pride.

In Nova Scotia there are three feiseanna (plural of feis) that continue to build greatinterest and enthusiasm in the communities where they are held.

Comunn Féis an Eilein, Christmas Island

The mandate of Comunn Féis an Eilein, the first feis held outside Scotland, is topromote and preserve traditional Gaelic culture through means that are commensuratewith the values of our community and that use the strengths of our community, with aparticular focus on youth and seniors. This feis has continuously been at the forefront ofthe movement for the rejuvenation of the Gaelic language and culture, advancing Gaeliccultural interests through programs, activities, promotions, and co-operation with otherGaelic-based organizations. It actively seeks to educate youth about their culture and to

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increase their pride in their heritage, and it has achieved a reputation as being committedto the presentation of activities that are firmly based in the Gaelic language and culture.

Comunn Féis an Eilein has been held annually since 1991 in an atmosphere of integrity,sound business practices, and inclusion of all who wish to participate in Gaelic culturalprogramming. The event has provided leadership in the preservation and promotion ofthe Gaelic language and culture through activities such as the provision of classes in theGaelic language, Scottish accompaniment, fiddle, dance, and piping and throughbilingual marketing and archival recordings. Furthermore, it raises awareness of Gaelicculture through interviews, participation in community outreach, and presentations ofGaelic culture as a socially and economically viable and desirable venture and has increasedthe profile of Gaelic in the community, in other cultural agencies, and in all levels ofgovernment.

For more information on Comunn Féis an Eilein, visit its website: (www.feisaneilein.ca).

Féis Mhàbu, Mabou

For more than 10 years Féis Mhàbu has presented feiseanna during the long weekends inMay, July, and October. This feis is a community-based Gaelic cultural festival designedto provide educational and social opportunities for interaction with the Gaelic languageand culture through workshops, classes, ceilidhs, concerts, and other events.

Féis Mhàbu has become integral in the promotion and development of Gaelic culture.The organizers recognize the importance of celebrating and sharing Cape Breton’sunique Gaelic culture. The feis allows individuals, especially young people, to developskills in the areas of the Gaelic language and performing arts. Féis Mhàbu provides anopportunity for the organizers to enhance the rich local culture with the talents andexperience of the traditional culture bearers from areas of the Celtic world.

For more information on Féis Mhàbu, visit its website at: (www.feismhabu.com).

Halifax Celtic Feis, Halifax

The rich Irish and Scottish ancestry, culture and traditions, mixed with contemporary,urban sensibility, provide the ingredients for a world-class Celtic celebration. TheHalifax Celtic Feis is recognized as one of Nova Scotia’s premier Celtic cultural festivals,

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celebrating the rich heritage of the arts, craftsmanship, cuisine, music, dance, and spiritof community and attracting tourists from across Canada, North America, and beyond.

The Halifax Celtic Feis is a melting pot where people from all over the world gather toindulge in the rich Celtic culture. The festival includes traditional music recitals, foodstalls, workshops, literary works, and arts and crafts.

For more information on the Halifax Celtic Feis, visit its website:(www.halifaxcelticfeis.com).

BIBLIOGRAPHY


BIBLIOGRAPHYMany excellent resources exist in support of the Gaelic language and culture. Physical andhuman resources extend beyond the classroom and into the community, and it is importantthat teachers and students have access to a wide variety of them. The range of resources must

• affirm the diversity of learners’ interests, needs, abilities, and experiences• support the awareness of and development of an understanding of Gaelic culture in

Nova Scotia

The following resource list is by no means complete, but it provides useful titles and sourcepossibilities for developing a collection for use by teachers and students in Nova Scotiaschools.

It should be noted that not all of the resources listed below appear on the AuthorizedLearning Resources list.

Printed Materials

Bennett, Margaret. Oatmeal and Catechism: Scottish Gaelic Settlers in Quebec. Montreal andKingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 1998. ISBN: 077351810X.

Borggreen, John. Right to the Helm: Cape Breton Square Dances. Jyllinge, Denmark: Self-published, 2002. ISBN: 8798887203.

Breathnach, Brendan. Folk Music and Dances of Ireland. Dublin: Mercier Press, 1971. ISBN:0853425094.

Brett, Bev. The Margaret [a play]. Contact: 902-929-2426; [email protected] Atlantic Resource Centre. (www.playwrightsatlantic.ca/CatalogueofPlays/LargePlaysCastsize7/tabid/770/Default.aspx)

Campbell, John Gregorson, and Ronald Black (ed.). The Gaelic Otherworld: John GregorsonCampbell’s Superstitions of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland and Witchcraft and SecondSight in the Highlands and Islands. Edinburgh: Birlinn, 2005. ISBN: 18415802077.

Campbell, John Lorne. Songs Remembered in Exile: Traditional Gaelic Songs from Nova Scotia(recorded in Cape Breton and Antigonish County in 1937, with an account of the causesof the Hebridean Emigration 1790–1835). Aberdeen: Aberdeen University Press, 1990.ISBN: 00837977X.

BIBLIOGRAPHY


Creighton, Helen, and Calum MacLeod. Gaelic Songs in Nova Scotia. Ottawa: NationalMuseum of Man, National Museums of Canada, 1979. ISBN: 0660001446.

Dunlay, K. E., and D. L. Reich. Traditional Celtic Fiddle Music of Cape Breton. East Alstead,NH: Fiddlecase Books, 1986. ISBN: 0961702400.

Dunn, Charles W. Highland Settler. Wreck Cove, NS: Breton Books, 1991. ISBN: 1895415063 (Out of print)

Fergusson, Donald S. Fad Air Falloh as Innse Gall-leis Comh-cruinneacheadh Cheap Bretuinn /Beyond the Henbrides, including the Cape Breton Collection. Halifax, NS: Self-published,1977. ISBN: 008037977X.

Graham, Glenn. The Cape Breton Fiddle: Making and Maintaining Tradition. Sydney, NS:Cape Breton University Press, 2006. ISBN: 18970097

Grant, Isabel F. Highland Folk Ways. Edinburgh: Birlinn, 1995. ISBN: 1874744424.

Gunn, Marion. Da Mihi Manum (A Pan-Celtic phrasebook of Irish, Scottish, and ManxGaelics; Welsh; Breton and the three dominants dialects of Cornish. Dublin: Everson-GunnTeoranta, 1994. ISBN: 189908200X.

Haddad, Bob. World Music: A Cultural Legacy. (ALR # 23970)

Hamilton, William B. Place Names of Atlantic Canada. Toronto: University of TorontoPress. ISBN: 0802075703 (paper), 0802004717 (cloth).

Hauser, Rita. Our Mountains and Glens

Hill, Eric. Càite bheil Spot? (Where Is Spot? A pop-up book in Gaelic for children).Stornaway: Acair Publications, 1989. ISBN: 0 86152 067X.

Hill, Eric. Co-la Breith Spot. (Spot’s Birthday. A pop-up book in Gaelic for children).Stornoway: Acair Publications, 1988. ISBN: 0861520823.

Hill, Eric, Iain Moireach, and J. Murray [translator]. Spot Air Chuairt (Leabhraichean Spot).Acair, Ltd., 1983. ISBN: 0861520629, 9870861520626.

MacDonald, A.D. (compiler). Mabou Pioneers Volume 1: A Genealogical Tracing of SomePioneer Families Who Settled in Mabou and District. Antigonish, NS: Formac, 1977.ISBNs: 0887800005X; 9780887800054.

BIBLIOGRAPHY


MacDonald, Dan Alex. Songs From Framboise. Sydney, NS: City Printers. 1986.

MacDonald, Malcolm. Down North. Toronto, ON: Oxford University Press, 1943. (out ofprint)

MacDonnell, Margaret, and John Shaw. Luirgean Eachainn Nill: A Collection of Folktales toldby Hector Campbell. Stornoway, Isle of Lewis: Acair Publications, 1981.

ISBN: 0861520866.

MacKenzie, Allan J. Co-Cruinneachadh MhicChoinnich: Pipe Music from Cape Breton andAway. Halifax: Self-published, 2000. ISBN: 0968778003.

MacKenzie, Archibald A. (1984). MacKenzie’s History of Christmas Island Parish. Sudbury,ON: MacKenzie-Rothe Publishing Partnership. ISBN: 0969164300 (hardcover),096916419 (paper).

MacLellan, Duncan Hugh. (2004). An Innis Aigh: My Life on Margaree Island. Margaree,NS: Margaree Island Publishing. ISBN: 0973731605.

MacNeil, Joe Neil. Tales Until Dawn: The World of Cape Breton Gaelic Story-Teller.Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 1987. ISBN: 0773505598(cloth, English and Gaelic), 0773505601 (paper, English only).

MacNeil, Neil. The Highland Heart in Nova Scotia. Antigonish, NS: Formac Publishing

Company Limited, 1980. ISBN: 0887800017.

MacNeil, S. All Call Iona Home, 1800 to 1950: The Genealogy of the Founders of Iona andTheir Descendents, 2 edition. Antigonish, NS: Formac, 2004. ISBNs: 0887806295;nd

9780887806292.

Maolalaigh, Roibeard. Scottish Gaelic in Three Months. Edinburgh: Hugo’s Language BooksLtd., 1997. ISBN: 0852852347.

Mark, Colin B. D. The Gaelic-English Dictionary. London: Routledge, 2004. ISBN: 0415297613.

Matthews, Caitlin. The Elements of the Celtic Tradition. Longmead, Shaftesbury, Dorset,UK: Element Books, 1989. ISBN: 1852300752.

BIBLIOGRAPHY


Munro, David, and Bruce Gittings. Scotland: An Encyclopedia of Places and Landscape.Edinburgh: Harper Collins UK, 2006.

Morgan, Peadar. Ainmean Chloinne: Scottish Gaelic Names for Children. Broadford, Isle ofSkye: Taigh na Teud Music Publishers, 1989. ISBN: 1871931401.

Nicholson, Alexander (ed.). A Collection of Gaelic Proverbs and Familiar Phrases. Edinburgh: Birlinn, 1996. ISBN: 1874744149.

Nova Scotia Department of Education. Cultural Industries 11. Halifax, NS: Province ofNova Scotia, 2000.

O’Donovan, John. Annals of the Four Masters. Dublin, UK: Hodges and Smith, 1851.

Office of Gaelic Affairs. Gaelic in Nova Scotia Schools: Questions and Answers. Halifax, NS: Province of Nova Scotia, 2007.

Pedersen, Roy N. Alba (Gaelic map of Scotland). Inverness, Scotland: Pedersen’s HighlandMaps, 1995.

Pedersen, Roy N. Cymru (map of Wales). Inverness, Scotland: Pedersen’s Highland Maps,1980.

Pedersen, Roy N. Tir Chaluim Chille (Gaelic map of Scotland, Ireland, and Man in Irish,Manx, and Scottish Gaelic). Inverness, Scotland: Pedersen’s Highland Maps, 1998.

Pedersen, Roy N. Uibhist Agus Barraidh (Gaelic map). Inverness, Scotland: Pedersen’sHighland Maps, 1979.

Rankin, Effie. As A’ Bhràighe: Beyond the Braes of Lochaber (The Gaelic Songs of Allan theRidge MacDonald, 1794–1868). Sydney, NS: University College of Cape Breton Press,2004. ISBN: 1897009062.

Rayburn, Alan. Dictionary of Canadian Place Names. Toronto: Oxford University Press,1997. ISBN: 0195410866.

Room, Adrian. Dictionary of Irish Place Names. Belfast: Appletree Press, 1986. ISBN: 0862811325.

Scottish Council for Research in Education. Aithris is Oideas: Traditional Gaelic Rhymes andGamesL. o.ndon: University of London Press, 1964.

BIBLIOGRAPHY


Service Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia Atlas. Antigonish, NS: Formac Publishing CompanyLimited, 2006. This is 144-page spiral-bound book of high-quality maps of theprovince. ISBN: 0887807070.

Shaw, John (translator and editor). Brìgh an Òrain: A Story in Every Song, The Songs andTales of Lauchie MacLellan. Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press,2000. ISBN: 0773520635.

Shaw, John (translator and editor). The Blue Mountains and Other Gaelic Stories from CapeBreton. Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2007. ISBN: 9780773532571 (paper).

Shaw, Margaret Fay. Folksongs and Folklore of South Uist. Edinburgh: Birlinn, 1999. ISBN: 1841580082.

Skene, Williams, Forbes, and Thomas Maclauchlan [editor and translator]. Book of the Deanof Lismore. Edinburgh, UK: Edmunston and Douglas, 1862.

Smeorach nan Cnoc ‘s Nan Gleann / The Songster of the Hills and the Glens (The CollectedWorks of Malcolm H. Gillis). Reprinted by Northside Printers, North Sydney, NS.2004.

St. Clair, James. The MacCallum House, 1798. Sydney, NS: Cape Breton University Press,1999. ISBN: 0920336752.

St. Clair, James, and Yvonne LeVert. Nancy’s Wedding Feast and Other Tasty Tales. Sydney,NS: Cape Breton University Press, 2007. ISBN: 9781897009222.

The Casket, a weekly newspaper published in Antigonish, NS. Vol. 1, No. 1 appeared onJune 24, 1852. It is still current and often contains locally composed Gaelic verse orverse written in English by Nova Scotia Gaels.

The Power of the Story: Proceedings of the First Annual UCCB Storytelling Symposium. Sydney,NS: Cape Breton University Press, 1998. ISBN: 9780920336632.

Trottier, Maxine. Heartsong / Ceòl Cridhe. Sydney, NS: Cape Breton University Press, 1996.ISBN: 0920336906, 9870920336908.

Urban Myth [Game]. Produced in Cape Breton.

Wilson, Budge, and Susan Tooke. A Fiddle for Angus. Toronto, ON: Tundra Books, 2001and 2005.

BIBLIOGRAPHY


Websites

Antigonish Highland Games(www.antigonishhighlandgames.com)

BBC Radio nan Gàidheal: This site includes many resources such as beginners’ lessons inGaelic and two levels of Roddy MacLean’s weekly Letters to Learners, with explanatorynotes (www.bbc.co.uk/alba)

Beaton Institute at Cape Breton University(beaton.uccb.ns.ca)

Canadian Heritage Moments: Jacques Cartier(www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1jG58nghRo)

Carmina Gadelica (Alexander Carmichael’s multi-volume collection of Gaelic incantations,prayers, charms, etc.): This collection is cited on many websites, mostly those concernedwith pagan religious practices. The entire first book is available online at the website ofSabhal Mòr Ostaig, a constituent college of the (Scottish) University of the Highlands andIslands.(www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaidhlig/corpus/Carmina)

Celt Appeal, The Celtic Realm: This is a multimedia website of the National GeographicSociety magazine, with many colourful features, including audiovisual presentations.Teachers should check that this site is age/content appropriate for their students.(www.ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0603/feature3/index.html)

Celtic Colours International Festival: The Celtic Colours International Festival is an annualevent held at approximately 30 venues around Cape Breton Island every October.(www.celtic-colours.com)

Flashcard Exchange:(www.flashcardexchange.com)

Gael Stream (Sruth non Gaidheal): This site, part of St. Francis Xavier University, presentsvaluable information for developing an understanding of the Gaelic language and culture inNova Scotia.(www.gaelstream.stfx.ca)

http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaidhlig/corpus/carmina.

http://www.gaelstream.stfx.ca/

BIBLIOGRAPHY


Gaelic College of Celtic Arts and Crafts (St. Ann’s, Cape Breton): This website includesmany resources such as beginners’ lessons in Gaelic.(www.gaeliccollege.edu)

Gaelic Council of Nova Scotia:(www.gaelic.ca)

Gaelic Online(www.gaeliconline.co.uk)

Gaelic Place Names(www.ambaile.org.uk/en/sub_section.jsp?SectionID=1&currentid=209)

Genealogy Sites(www.ancestry.com)(www.RootsWeb.com)(www.celticgenealogy.org)

Halifax Highland Games and Scottish Festival:(www.halifaxhighlandgames.com)

Hector Heritage Quay: This museum and interpretive centre in Pictou includes a full-scalefloating replica of the ship Hector, one of the first ships to bring Scottish settlers to NovaScotia.(www.townofpictou.com/the_experience.html)

Highland Village Genealogy WebsiteThis site outlines genealogy books mainly pertaining to Cape Breton(museum.gov.ns.ca/hv/research.html)

Highland Village Museum: This museum is part of the Nova Scotia Museum system.(www.museum.gov.ns.ca/hv)

Natural Resources Canada:(www.nrcan-rncan.gc.ca/com)

Nova Scotia Archives and Records Management: This repository of documentary heritagecontains fascinating virtual exhibits.(www.gov.ns.ca/nsarm)

Nova Scotia’s Official Tourism Website: (www.novascotia.com)

BIBLIOGRAPHY


Nova Scotia Maps: This site has a variety of maps of Nova Scotia, including one showing thecounties.(www.novascotia.com/en/home/planatrip/maps.aspx)

Nova Scotia Museum: This is a province-wide facility that includes typical artifact storageand display museums as well as several living-history sites such as the Highland Village, RossFarm Museum, Sutherland Steam Mill, and Balmoral Grist Mill, which are reconstructedsites of the operations built and run by the early Gaels of Nova Scotia.(www.museum.gov.ns.ca)

Sabhal Mòr Ostaig:(www.smo.uhi.ac.uk)

Service Nova Scotia: This is a searchable gazetteer or database of place names in Nova Scotia.(www.gov.ns.ca/snsmr/land/new)

shunpiking: This is an “alternative” free newspaper that annually issues an edition entitledMac-talla in support of Gaelic Nova Scotia and named for the Gaelic newspaper publishedat Wycocomagh, Cape Breton, in the nineteenth century. The site could provide ideas for astudent-created Celtic newspaper.(www.shunpiking.com/shun0844)

The Gaelic Village:(www.ambaile.org.uk/en/item/item_interactive.jsp?item_id=23777)

The Gazetteer of Scotland: This is a searchable database of Scottish place names that ismaintained by the University of Edinburgh and the Royal Scottish Geographical Society.(www.geo.ed.ac.uk/scotgaz/gaztitle.html)

University of the Highlands and Islands:(www.uhi.ac.uk)

Wikipedia:(www.wikipedia.org)

BIBLIOGRAPHY


Multimedia Resources

CDs

A Cape Breton Piper. (1999). Barry Shears. Halifax: Self-published. (902-423-5305).

A’Seo/Here. (2006). Lewis MacKinnon. Self-published.

Còmhla Croinn / Gathered Together. (2002). Various artists. CBC and Féis An Eilein.

Fhuair Mi Pog (I Got a Kiss of the King’s Hand). (1998). Margaret Stewart and AllanMacDonald. Greentrax Recordings.

Joe Peter MacLean: Book of Boisdale. (2005). Cambridge, MA: Rounder Select.

Live. (2002). Natalie MacMaster. Scarborough, ON: WEA and Warners Music Canada.

Òrain as an t-Sìthein (Songs from the Shean). (2004). Various artists. Inverness, NS: InvernessNova Scotia Development Association.

Òrain Ghàidhlig / Gaelic Songs of Cape Breton. (2000). Mary Jane Lamond. Turtlemusik.

Òrain Luadhaidh: An Cliath Clis. (2004). Self-published.

Or Cheap Breatuinn (Cape Breton Gold). (1997). Various artists. B&R Heritage Ent., Iona.

MacKinnon’s Brook Suite. (2001). Scott MacMillan. Toronto: Warner Music Canada.

Music From the Heart. Pius MacIsaac (Celtic guitar). Mabou, NS: Self-published. (902-945-2547)

Ruith Na Gaoith (Chasing the Wind). (2007). Arthur Cormack. Temple Records.

The Land of My Love. Dan Hughie MacEachern. Antigonish, NS.([email protected]).

The Piper’s Call. (1998). Liam O’Flynn (uillean pipes). Dublin: Tara Music Co. Ltd.

Willie Kennedy: Cape Breton Violin (2002). Cambridge, MA: Rounder Select.

Note: There is a new CD each year from the Celtic Colours International Festival.

BIBLIOGRAPHY


Video Recordings

A Jig ‘n’ a Reel (Learning Resources and Technology, Video, #V2364, 22 mins)

Celtic Spirits, James Littleton, National Film Board of Canada (video recording, 39 min.)

The Celtic World: The Story of Civilization (DVD) (50 minutes)

The Wake of Calum MacLeod (DVD) 2006 [publication pending]

Teaching resources, including CDs and teacher’s guide.

A Jig ‘n’ a Reel (Dept. of Education)

No Less No More ... Just Four on the Floor (Dept. of Education)

Pilot Guides (TV Show)www.pilotguides.com

Bob the Builder (video in Gaelic)

No Less No More ... Just Four on the Floor, 7 edition, (Learning Resources and Technology,th

Video, #A00007, 112 mins)

BIBLIOGRAPHY


Celtic Cultural Organizations

Bòrd na Gàidhlig: This is a government-sponsored representative body in Scotland thatworks to promote Gaelic.(www.bord-na-gaidhlig.org.uk)

Foras na Gaeilge (Ireland): This is the government body in Ireland responsible for thepromotion of Irish Gaelic throughout Ireland.(www.forasnagaeilge.ie)

The Gaelic Council of Nova Scotia:(www.gaelic.ca)

The Highland Council: This is the regional government of the northeastern andnorthwestern parts of mainland Scotland, the Isle of Skye, and some of the other islandsclose to the mainland but not including the outer islands such as from Barra north to Lewis.(www.highland.gov.uk)

Office of Gaelic Affairs: The Office of Gaelic Affairs is the Nova Scotia provincial agencythat promotes the revitalization of the Gaelic language and culture in Nova Scotia.(www.gov.ns.ca/oga)

e celebrating our ur r u celtic c o es s e g hin n hi c a e t

Documents