My Street Remembers

Book Genre:

Picture Books

Audience:

ages 3 to 6 / grades K to 1

Written by

Karen Krossing

Illustrated by

Cathie Jamieson

Book Description
Peel back the history of one city street in North America to reveal the greater story of the land on which we live — from 14,000 years ago, when mammoths roamed the icefields; to the lives of the First Peoples over thousands of years; to the 1600s, when Europeans arrived with settlers in their wake; to unfair treaties that brought conflict and suffering; to the arrival of waves of immigrants; and, more recently, Canada’s apology to Indigenous Peoples and efforts toward Truth and Reconciliation.

This rich collaboration between author Karen Krossing, of White settler descent, and Anishinaabe artist Cathie Jamieson ends with a question that readers anywhere can ask — what does your street remember?

The Better Paths series looks at our relationship and reconciliation with the natural world. My Street Remembers will be followed by My Creek Speaks and The Tree That Owns Itself, also written by Karen Krossing.
Pre-Reading Activities/ Key Ideas & Details
Time Traveler’s Map
Ask students what they know about the history of their own neighbourhoods. On a large map, ask students to mark where their street is and hypothesize who might have lived there before. Discuss early settlers and Indigenous communities.
Pre-Reading Activities/ Comprehension Strategies, Visual Elements
Picture Walk & Prediction
Conduct a picture walk through the book. Encourage students to look at illustrations and predict what the story might be about, focusing on clues like animals, clothing, homes and land changes.
Pre-Reading Activities/ Oral Language
Land Acknowledgment Discussion
Introduce the concept of land acknowledgment. Share the local land acknowledgment of your region and discuss what it means. Invite students to express thoughts or questions.
Pre-Reading Activities/ Vocabulary Acquisition
Vocabulary Exploration
Introduce words like “settlers,” “territory,” “treaty” and “reconciliation.” Use picture card or gestures and create a class word-wall.
Pre-Reading Activities/ Critical Thinking in Literacy, Integrated Learning
Who Lived Here Before?
Ask students to write or draw who they think lived on the land before them. This can include animals, people or nature. Share ideas in a circle.
During Reading Activities/ Key Ideas & Details
Timeline Tracker
As you read, pause and create a classroom timeline with visuals. Mark major historical moments such as mammoths, First Peoples, settlers, treaties and reconciliation.
During Reading Activities/ Comprehension Strategies, Oral Language
Turn and Talk
Have students pair up and “turn and talk” after each page spread. Prompt them to reflect on who the street remembers and how they feel about it.
During Reading Activities/ Oral Language, Visual Elements
Soundscapes of the Street
Play ambient nature and street sounds as students listen to sections of the book. Invite them to draw what they visualize based on sound and story.
During Reading Activities/ Text Forms & Genres, Vocabulary Acquisition
Vocabulary in Context
Pause during key terms like “treaty” or “territory” and ask students to explain them using picture clues or context.
During Reading Activities/ Text Forms & Genres, Visual Elements
Illustration Detective
Assign groups to analyze illustrations for specific time periods. What clues show change over time? What emotions do the images convey?
Post-Reading Activities/ Developing & Creating Texts
My Street Remembers Poem
Students write their own version of My Street Remembers focusing on personal or local history.
Post-Reading Activities/ Critical Thinking in Literacy, Oral Language
Reconciliation Circle
Have a circle discussion on what reconciliation means. Encourage students to share oneaction or thought they have to honor past stories.
Post-Reading Activities/ Developing & Creating Texts, Visual Elements
Street Story Collage
Students create a collage of what their street remembers, using magazine cutouts, drawings, or digital tools.
Post-Reading Activities/ Comprehension Strategies
Question the Past
Students write questions they still have about the past of their land. These can guide research project or class inquiry.
Post-Reading Activities/ Critical Thinking in Literacy
Street Name Debate
Discuss the significance of street names. Should streets be renamed to reflect historymore fairly? Let students vote and support their reasoning.
Post-Reading Activities/ Just for Fun!
Street Mural
Students draw and paint their street based on how they think it looked in the past and how it looks now. Encourage them to draw who they imagine lived there long ago.
Post-Reading Activities/ Just for Fun!
History Puzzle
Ask students to create a cut-and-paste timeline puzzle with scenes from the book. They can match the image to the time period.
Post-Reading Activities/ Just for Fun!
Street Explorer Badge
Give out ‘Street Historian’ badges after students share what they learned about their own street or land.
Post-Reading Activities/ Just for Fun!
Act It Out
Have students act out scenes from the book using props or puppets, from mammoths to modern day.
Post-Reading Activities/ Just for Fun!
Soundtrack of a Street
Students select or create music or sound effects that represent each time period in the story.