Lesson Plan Critique: The Secret Path
Natalie Roberts
University of British Columbia
ETEC 512
Dr. Sunah Cho
August 13, 2017
Introduction
This assignment aims to critique a 3-day lesson plan developed for Grade 7 students using three different theoretical perspectives: constructivist, Vygotsky, and situated learning. While there are many strengths to this lesson, there are also some limitations that I will speak to through the lenses of these three theories. The lesson, “The Secret Path”, explores students’ understanding of residential schools from an individual’s perspective and as represented through a graphic novel and accompanying music by Gord Downie. Students build understanding of one boy’s experiences, his journey, and ultimately his death, through several different lenses particularly psychology and sociology. They will experience others’ reaction to real-life events through visual arts and music of artists who want to share their understanding and express their feelings on a global scale. Using this knowledge and their knowledge of reconciliation, students will examine additional pieces of Indigenous art and will work in group to discuss, describe, relate, and interpret contemporary Indigenous artwork related to reconciliation. Through discussions, visuals, story and song, students will make meaning culminating in the creation of an artifact to represent their knowledge and understanding.
Constructivist Approach
From a constructivist approach individual students develop knowledge as they experience, and reflect on these experiences, with the teacher as a facilitator and not the keeper of all knowledge. This lesson plan often follows a constructivist approach throughout and “rests on the assumption that knowledge is constructed by learners as they attempt to make sense of their experiences,” (Driscoll, 2005).
By initially accessing students’ background knowledge around residential schools and by piecing together the true Macleans’s article from the 1960s, students work collaboratively taking the information that they know and discussing it with their peers. They then put together the story and develop an understanding of residential schools through the lens of a young Aboriginal boy. This modified “jigsaw” activity is a constructivist technique often used in classrooms. As students put the story together, they are making their own meaning. Their meaning is influenced by the conversations they have with their “clock partners”, prior education on the subject, as well as whole class discussions. However, they have not been told specifically what they are will be learning about, or about the graphic novel that they will be reading and listening to. Day 2 continues in a similar thread, although instead of text based material, students are looking at the pages from the graphic novel and are building on their knowledge from the previous lesson. They are also using their prior knowledge of graphic novels to piece together the story with each student bringing something a little different to the experience. The lesson is not “lecture-based” but very hands-on and student centered; there are no textbooks. Students are coming up with with their own questions and responding to the What I Wonder, Observe and Infer prompts. The teacher is involved in the discussions, furthering student conversations and helping to flesh out big ideas. The concluding assignment of the 7 word summary and waterfall booklet allows students to express the meaning they received from the graphic novel via text and their own graphics. Students are free to add their own design elements (colour, texture, fonts, etc.) to really own their work and display emotion and understanding. I would like to add a conversation component (ideally individually) where students have the opportunity to share their thinking. This did not happen with this project, but would be something I would like to include in the future. I also believe that students should have more options as to how they wish to represent their knowledge and their learning – perhaps utilizing technology in creative ways. This would allow for more individualized opportunities to demonstrate their learning. I also would include more formative assessment pieces throughout to ensure student understanding and address and misconceptions early on.
Vyotsky
Students are working in pairs and small groups which is important from Vygotsky’s sociocultural perspective. The social interactions allow students to learn from each other, from Indigenous people themselves (through their videos, musics, and stories) and from me. Students will be accessing and using their previous knowledge regarding residential schools, even though they, at first, do not know that this is what the lesson is specifically about. The scaffolding of knowledge is important (John-Steiner & Mahn, 1996) and I think that many of the activities need more support for many students to be successful. Some of the activities may lie outside of student’s zone of proximal development (ZPD), defined as “the distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance, or in collaboration with more capable peers” (Vygotsky, 1978) or the “more knowledgeable other” (MKO). The proper structuring of groups is important in order to provide those peers who are able to help others and so that the lesson activities are in the ZPD. This lesson could also be improved by giving each student their own role when looking at either the article text or the graphic novel visuals. They could become the “expert” and then bring it back to their group. Giving the students the opportunity for reciprocal teaching will assist students as they progress in their learning. Vygotsky believed that these social interactions further facilitated the internalizing of information and refined their understanding of concepts.
Understanding that the topic is a sensitive one, I need make sure to address the sensitive nature of the lesson so that an individuals who needed extra support knew they were welcome to it.
Situated Learning
Situated learning is learning that is embedded within activity, culture, and context (Brown, J. S., Collins, A. & Duguid, S., 1998). This lesson plan, in it’s original form, does not really fit with situated learning, although students are actively involved in their learning and the creation of a the waterfall book is a cultural artifact of their experience, there lacks an authenticity to it. Students are not made aware of the goal of the lessons prior to undertaking them; this is something that they discover afterwards – a component of situated learning theory. This lesson does not occur in a natural environment where students are situated and immersed in the culture beyond their school. Students are, however, developing real-word knowledge about the past and are using it to inform their thinking about the present and future. This is being done through a graphic novel depiction of a real-world event. There was no field trip or role playing as the content of this lesson did not suit these particular activities. However, I think having students share out their artifact would be incredibly powerful, whether through blog posts, mini-conferences, or speaking to other classes. I think that inviting a First Nations community member to visit our class and having a conversation around residential schools and our understanding of the impact on past/present/future, would be powerful. We have previously had First Nations speakers come and talk to the students about residential schools, but this would be an incredible opportunity to have a conversation. I’m not sure that students could ever become “practitioners” (Brown et al, 1989) in the way that situated learning theory depicts with this lesson plan due to the sensitive nature of the content. They can however, bring knowledge, understanding, and the desire to be part of the change. Adding an inquiry project based around residential schools or reconciliation would only add to students’ experience and understanding.
Conclusion
It was enlightening to critique this lesson plan from three different learning theories, and something I have never done before. I naturally gravitate towards a constructivist approach to teaching and learning, but can see how the incorporation of other learning theories would enhance and strengthen the learning experience for learners and address some of the individual differences in our learners.
*Changes to the lesson plan have been made in blue*
The Lesson Plan
I have chosen a 3-day lesson plan (plus extension activities) developed for Grade 7 students using the graphic novel “The Secret Path” written by Gord Downie. This graphic novel contains the lyrics of 10 songs from Gord Downie’s album of the same name and features illustrations by Jeff Lemire. The songs tell the true story of Chanie “Charlie” Wenjack, a 12 year old boy who died in 1966 while escaping the Cecilia Jeffrey Indian Residential School in Kenora, Ontario. The story, and original Macleans’ article, explore some extremely sensitive issues.
Learning Outcome: Using their knowledge of what reconciliation means and practice interpreting artwork students will work in group to discuss, describe, relate, and interpret contemporary Indigenous artwork related to reconciliation.
First People’s Principles of Learning: Learning recognizes the role of Indigenous Knowledge
Core Competencies: Critical Thinking, Personal and Social Values
Curricular Competency Objectives:
- Think critically, creatively, and reflectively to explore ideas within, between, and beyond texts (ELA 7)
- Exchange ideas and viewpoints to build shared understanding and extend thinking (ELA 7)
- Interpret works of art using knowledge and skills from various areas of learning (Art 7)
- Describe, interpret and respond to works of art (Art 7)
- Examine relationships between the arts and the wider world (Art 7)
Content Objectives:
- Symbolism and metaphor to explore ideas and perspective (Art 7)
- Traditional and contemporary Aboriginal arts and arts-making processes (Art 7)
Assessment:
- Waterfall booklet and completed activity reflection sheets will demonstrate students have critically engaged with artwork through discussion, by describing it, relating it to something else, and interpreting meaning From all perspectives there needs to be more assessment throughout. Also needed is the opportunity to display their knowledge and their learning a variety of ways – perhaps through the use of technology, instead of paper booklets. This single assessment may be difficult for some students and does not allow it to be as individualized as it should be. The addition of an inquiry project related to residential schools or reconciliation would give students more opportunities to develop knowledge in this area.
| Lesson One: Piecing The Story Together |
| As this is such a heavy topic, it is important to incorporate as many movements and conversational strategies as possible to keep it accessible and as a way to make students feel affected but not weighed down. Acknowledge that individual students may have different reactions to the lesson. Offer support to those students who need it. Perhaps notifying the school counsellor prior to the lesson in case there are students who need to talk or debrief later.
Create a hook by showing students the only image of Chanie Wenjack and have them examine the image, trying to figure out why you have shown this picture, what they notice about the picture (clothing, black and white, wood background, etc). Who is this young person? Get students curious and interested in what we are going to do.
Create a web on the whiteboard with a bubble in the middle and a who, what, when, where, why. Have students use “Clock Partners” to create appointments with members of the class. After they have their clock partners sorted out, explain to them that they will be piecing together an article that was originally published in MacLeans in the 1960s (http://www.macleans.ca/society/the-lonely-death-of-chanie-wenjack/). (The article has been typed out and cut and laminated into chunks). Model for students how clock partners are done as this can be confusing. Explain the rationale behind clock partners (working with people that you don’t normally work with, bringing in new perspectives, keeping all students accountable, easy way to partner up, etc). They will read their sections of the article and then go to one of their clock partners to talk about what, and who this article may be about. Support students the first few times this is done to make sure all students have a partner and are working respectfully. Give students the time to become “experts” and then have them bring back their expertise to the group. After each partner conversation, have students come back to their seats. Use the popsicle sticks with names to take different responses from students about what the article is about. Record their responses on the web.Students need to be given the time to reflect on what they have learned. Continue to do this a few times while fleshing out the conversation. The web generally comes together clearly. You may at the end, do a summary of the article and read the entire article out loud with the class in another block. I would not read out the story in its entirety. It is lengthy and would not add anything new to the lesson. |
| Lesson Two: |
| Tell students that they will be doing a gallery walk of the images from a graphic novel (http://secretpath.ca) which tell the story of Chanie Wenjack and his experience. It is a fiction novel, therefore the illustrator took liberties and also included some suggestions about some of the horrible things that happened at residential schools.
Access students’ background knowledge about residential schools to make sure there are no misconceptions moving forward. Gallery walk to the images in the story. (The images have been taken out of the book, laminated, and placed around the room – not in order). Use the OWI strategy. Students go around to the different images and record their “What I Observe, What I Wonder, What I Infer”.Be prepared to offer prompts verbal or visual clues to some students who may need the support. Discussion Questions: Did anything shock you about the pictures? What do you think the artist is trying to say with the different perspectives? Birds eye view for example? What is happening in the pictures? Colour? Texture? Again provide support for students who need it. Show students the Jeff Lemire clip (http://www.cbc.ca/books/2016/09/secret-path.html#video) about his process in creating the images. Give students the opportunity to examine the pages of the book again without time limits to consolidate what they have now heard about creating the images and the images themselves. Take the time to check in with individual students for formative assessment using their Wonder/Infer/Observe. Discuss how this was a collaboration between Jeff Lemire and the lead singer of the Tragically Hip, Gord Downie. Ask students if they know who the Tragically Hip are and who Gord Downie is using a THINK, PAIR, SHARE strategy. A few of them will have some ideas. Discuss some of Gord Downie’s ideas around why he wanted to do this. It is his `swan song’ to speak as he has a terminal illness. These are all a bit too teacher-directed. Perhaps having students come up with their own questions would be more appropriate. Give students the opportunity to make comments or to share stories. All the profits of his book go the the TRC. This may be a good time to read Stephen Harper’s apology to the Aboriginal People of Canada and what the role of the TRC is. http://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/DAM/DAM-INTER-HQ/STAGING/texte-text/rqpi_apo_pdf_1322167347706_eng.pdf Allow time to answer questions or concerns that students may have. |
| Lesson Three |
| Create the waterfall booklets. Use 6 pieces of (11 x 8) paper to do this. Write the names of the ten songs from the documentary on the board. Give all students the opportunity to decide how they would like to demonstrate their understanding. Some examples could be through video design, blog posts, art, and/or poetry. This would become their artifact of their learning. Students would also have the opportunity to make this a collaborative piece where they would have the opportunity to build upon the knowledge of others if they choose.
For each song, students will create a seven word summary/story of what is happening in the documentary. Their waterfall summary should capture the images, mood, and feeling of each musical selection. This “booklet” or other representation should become an artifact of their understanding of the experiences of Chanie Wenjack, and others who lived through residential schools in Canada. Students will have the opportunity to converse with their teacher regarding their waterfall booklet (or other project medium) and reflect on their learning experience. Give students the opportunity to take ownership of their work and demonstrate their learning in meaningful ways. Continue the conversation and reflect on their experiences by speaking with a member of an Aboriginal community or inquire about an opportunity to meet at a site with historical significance and witness stories firsthand. Students could also create a blog post, contribute to the online learning community conversation on Twitter #secretpath, or speak to other classes and share their artifacts. Students could also create an action plan or inquiry project for something they would like to explore related to residential schools and/or reconciliation. This would be extremely powerful if it was in embarked upon in consultation with members of the Aboriginal community to really situated the learning. |
The original lesson/unit plan was developed by Nimi Sidhu, a colleague at my Middle School.
*** I did not change this portion of the lesson plan as it was an extension that I added to the original lesson plan. That being said, I think that I would create a LMS – possibly using Moodle as the platform to hold all of the content located below. This LMS would allow for interactivity, group work, easy multimedia access, and the ability for students to respond to the material in a number of ways and from a variety of perspectives ***
| Extension: Have students participate in the stations activities created by Elyse Williams (a student teacher at my school) as a follow up to The Secret Path.
Station Activities: |
1. “The Yellow Knife Throat Singers” by Kayley Inuksuk MacKay and Hovak Johnston
Describe: Inuit throat singing. Pretend you are writing to someone who has never heard of throat-singing before. How does it work? What does it sound like? Interpret: Why do you think Hovak Johnston cried the first time she heard a girl throat singing? |
2. Prototypes of New Understanding by Brian Jungen
Interpret: What message do you think Brian Jungen is sending with his artwork? Relate: Does this artwork remind you of something else? Can you think of any other logos or names that may be cultural appropriation? |
| 3. “Suplex” by A Tribe Called Red
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vq1RcKhiQLU
Describe: In your own words, retell the story that you watched in the music video. Relate: How do you think this music video relates to the word “resilience”? (Resilience means that even when you are “knocked down” by life, you come back even stronger. People who are resilient “bounce back” from negative experiences because of their optimistic attitude and positive emotions. Resilience can be learned and developed by anyone. |
4. “On the Land” by Pat Kane
Describe: What is the purpose of the “On The Land” project? What are the artist’s goals? Describe: Choose your favourite photo and write about it (not everyone in the same group has to choose the same photo). What is the name of the gallery? What is happening in the image? Why is it your favourite? |
| 5. ‘Legends of the Shuswap” by CBC and Elder Mary Thomas
http://www.cbc.ca/radio/ideas/legends-of-the-shuswap-mar-2010-encore-1.693831
Describe: What happened to the bear? Interpret: What is the lesson of the story? |
| 6. “The Raven’s Call” by Bill Reid
http://theravenscall.ca/en/unfinished_story
Write your own ending to the unfinished story, “The Raven’s Call”. |
Activity:
- Before the lesson, set up the six stations
- As a class, discuss the goals of the lesson:
- Explore and interpret contemporary Indigenous artwork using the skills we practicd last lesson: discussing, describing, interpreting, and relating
- In some way, all of this artwork can be tied to the theme of “reconciliation”. Keep that in mind as you are rotating through the stations, and we will be discussing this in the end.
- Walk through what happens at each station, and remind students that the instructions are laid out step-by-step in their handouts.
- Remind students that they are to work on these tasks as a collaborative group. Talk about what that means (sharing ideas, listening, asking questions for clarification, helping each other, respect, time management). Remind students that while they should be discussing the questions as a group, they should be responding on their sheets in their own words.
- Divide students into 6 groups.
- Give students 10-15 minutes per station (gauge progress and adjust as needed).
- Allow time for whole class discussion.
References
Brown, J. S., Collins, A. & Duguid, S. (1989). Situated cognition and the culture of learning.
Educational Researcher, 18, 32-42.
Downie, G., & Lemire, J. (2016). Secret path. Toronto. Simon & Schuster Canada.
Driscoll. M.P. (2005). Psychology of Learning for Instruction (pp. 384-407; Ch. 11 –
Constructivism). Toronto, ON: Pearson.
John-Steiner, V., & Mahn, H. (1996). Sociocultural approaches to learning and development:
A Vygotskian framework. Educational Psychologist, 31(3), 191-206.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Introduction
This assignment aims to critique a 3-day lesson plan developed for Grade 7 students using three different theoretical perspectives: constructivist, Vygotsky, and situated learning. While there are many strengths to this lesson, there are also some limitations that I will speak to through the lenses of these three theories. The lesson, “The Secret Path”, explores students’ understanding of residential schools from an individual’s perspective and as represented through a graphic novel and accompanying music by Gord Downie. Students build understanding of one boy’s experiences, his journey, and ultimately his death, through several different lenses particularly psychology and sociology. They will experience others’ reaction to real-life events through visual arts and music of artists who want to share their understanding and express their feelings on a global scale. Using this knowledge and their knowledge of reconciliation, students will examine additional pieces of Indigenous art and will work in group to discuss, describe, relate, and interpret contemporary Indigenous artwork related to reconciliation. Through discussions, visuals, story and song, students will make meaning culminating in the creation of an artifact to represent their knowledge and understanding.
Constructivist Approach
From a constructivist approach individual students develop knowledge as they experience, and reflect on these experiences, with the teacher as a facilitator and not the keeper of all knowledge. This lesson plan often follows a constructivist approach throughout and “rests on the assumption that knowledge is constructed by learners as they attempt to make sense of their experiences,” (Driscoll, 2005).
By initially accessing students’ background knowledge around residential schools and by piecing together the true Macleans’s article from the 1960s, students work collaboratively taking the information that they know and discussing it with their peers. They then put together the story and develop an understanding of residential schools through the lens of a young Aboriginal boy. This modified “jigsaw” activity is a constructivist technique often used in classrooms. As students put the story together, they are making their own meaning. Their meaning is influenced by the conversations they have with their “clock partners”, prior education on the subject, as well as whole class discussions. However, they have not been told specifically what they are will be learning about, or about the graphic novel that they will be reading and listening to. Day 2 continues in a similar thread, although instead of text based material, students are looking at the pages from the graphic novel and are building on their knowledge from the previous lesson. They are also using their prior knowledge of graphic novels to piece together the story with each student bringing something a little different to the experience. The lesson is not “lecture-based” but very hands-on and student centered; there are no textbooks. Students are coming up with with their own questions and responding to the What I Wonder, Observe and Infer prompts. The teacher is involved in the discussions, furthering student conversations and helping to flesh out big ideas. The concluding assignment of the 7 word summary and waterfall booklet allows students to express the meaning they received from the graphic novel via text and their own graphics. Students are free to add their own design elements (colour, texture, fonts, etc.) to really own their work and display emotion and understanding. I would like to add a conversation component (ideally individually) where students have the opportunity to share their thinking. This did not happen with this project, but would be something I would like to include in the future. I also believe that students should have more options as to how they wish to represent their knowledge and their learning – perhaps utilizing technology in creative ways. This would allow for more individualized opportunities to demonstrate their learning. I also would include more formative assessment pieces throughout to ensure student understanding and address and misconceptions early on.
Vyotsky
Students are working in pairs and small groups which is important from Vygotsky’s sociocultural perspective. The social interactions allow students to learn from each other, from Indigenous people themselves (through their videos, musics, and stories) and from me. Students will be accessing and using their previous knowledge regarding residential schools, even though they, at first, do not know that this is what the lesson is specifically about. The scaffolding of knowledge is important (John-Steiner & Mahn, 1996) and I think that many of the activities need more support for many students to be successful. Some of the activities may lie outside of student’s zone of proximal development (ZPD), defined as “the distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance, or in collaboration with more capable peers” (Vygotsky, 1978) or the “more knowledgeable other” (MKO). The proper structuring of groups is important in order to provide those peers who are able to help others and so that the lesson activities are in the ZPD. This lesson could also be improved by giving each student their own role when looking at either the article text or the graphic novel visuals. They could become the “expert” and then bring it back to their group. Giving the students the opportunity for reciprocal teaching will assist students as they progress in their learning. Vygotsky believed that these social interactions further facilitated the internalizing of information and refined their understanding of concepts.
Understanding that the topic is a sensitive one, I need make sure to address the sensitive nature of the lesson so that an individuals who needed extra support knew they were welcome to it.
Situated Learning
Situated learning is learning that is embedded within activity, culture, and context (Brown, J. S., Collins, A. & Duguid, S., 1998). This lesson plan, in it’s original form, does not really fit with situated learning, although students are actively involved in their learning and the creation of a the waterfall book is a cultural artifact of their experience, there lacks an authenticity to it. Students are not made aware of the goal of the lessons prior to undertaking them; this is something that they discover afterwards – a component of situated learning theory. This lesson does not occur in a natural environment where students are situated and immersed in the culture beyond their school. Students are, however, developing real-word knowledge about the past and are using it to inform their thinking about the present and future. This is being done through a graphic novel depiction of a real-world event. There was no field trip or role playing as the content of this lesson did not suit these particular activities. However, I think having students share out their artifact would be incredibly powerful, whether through blog posts, mini-conferences, or speaking to other classes. I think that inviting a First Nations community member to visit our class and having a conversation around residential schools and our understanding of the impact on past/present/future, would be powerful. We have previously had First Nations speakers come and talk to the students about residential schools, but this would be an incredible opportunity to have a conversation. I’m not sure that students could ever become “practitioners” (Brown et al, 1989) in the way that situated learning theory depicts with this lesson plan due to the sensitive nature of the content. They can however, bring knowledge, understanding, and the desire to be part of the change. Adding an inquiry project based around residential schools or reconciliation would only add to students’ experience and understanding.
Conclusion
It was enlightening to critique this lesson plan from three different learning theories, and something I have never done before. I naturally gravitate towards a constructivist approach to teaching and learning, but can see how the incorporation of other learning theories would enhance and strengthen the learning experience for learners and address some of the individual differences in our learners.
The Lesson Plan
I have chosen a 3-day lesson plan (plus extension activities) developed for Grade 7 students using the graphic novel “The Secret Path” written by Gord Downie. This graphic novel contains the lyrics of 10 songs from Gord Downie’s album of the same name and features illustrations by Jeff Lemire. The songs tell the true story of Chanie “Charlie” Wenjack, a 12 year old boy who died in 1966 while escaping the Cecilia Jeffrey Indian Residential School in Kenora, Ontario. The story, and original Macleans’ article, explore some extremely sensitive issues.
Learning Outcome: Using their knowledge of what reconciliation means and practice interpreting artwork students will work in group to discuss, describe, relate, and interpret contemporary Indigenous artwork related to reconciliation.
First People’s Principles of Learning: Learning recognizes the role of Indigenous Knowledge
Core Competencies: Critical Thinking, Personal and Social Values
Curricular Competency Objectives:
- Think critically, creatively, and reflectively to explore ideas within, between, and beyond texts (ELA 7)
- Exchange ideas and viewpoints to build shared understanding and extend thinking (ELA 7)
- Interpret works of art using knowledge and skills from various areas of learning (Art 7)
- Describe, interpret and respond to works of art (Art 7)
- Examine relationships between the arts and the wider world (Art 7)
Content Objectives:
- Symbolism and metaphor to explore ideas and perspective (Art 7)
- Traditional and contemporary Aboriginal arts and arts-making processes (Art 7)
Assessment:
- Waterfall booklet and completed activity reflection sheets will demonstrate students have critically engaged with artwork through discussion, by describing it, relating it to something else, and interpreting meaning From all perspectives there needs to be more assessment throughout. Also needed is the opportunity to display their knowledge and their learning a variety of ways – perhaps through the use of technology, instead of paper booklets. This single assessment may be difficult for some students and does not allow it to be as individualized as it should be. The addition of an inquiry project related to residential schools or reconciliation would give students more opportunities to develop knowledge in this area.
| Lesson One: Piecing The Story Together |
| As this is such a heavy topic, it is important to incorporate as many movements and conversational strategies as possible to keep it accessible and as a way to make students feel affected but not weighed down. Acknowledge that individual students may have different reactions to the lesson. Offer support to those students who need it. Perhaps notifying the school counsellor prior to the lesson in case there are students who need to talk or debrief later.
Create a hook by showing students the only image of Chanie Wenjack and have them examine the image, trying to figure out why you have shown this picture, what they notice about the picture (clothing, black and white, wood background, etc). Who is this young person? Get students curious and interested in what we are going to do. Create a web on the whiteboard with a bubble in the middle and a who, what, when, where, why. Have students use “Clock Partners” to create appointments with members of the class. After they have their clock partners sorted out, explain to them that they will be piecing together an article that was originally published in MacLeans in the 1960s (http://www.macleans.ca/society/the-lonely-death-of-chanie-wenjack/). (The article has been typed out and cut and laminated into chunks). Model for students how clock partners are done as this can be confusing. Explain the rationale behind clock partners (working with people that you don’t normally work with, bringing in new perspectives, keeping all students accountable, easy way to partner up, etc). They will read their sections of the article and then go to one of their clock partners to talk about what, and who this article may be about. Support students the first few times this is done to make sure all students have a partner and are working respectfully. Give students the time to become “experts” and then have them bring back their expertise to the group. After each partner conversation, have students come back to their seats. Use the popsicle sticks with names to take different responses from students about what the article is about. Record their responses on the web.Students need to be given the time to reflect on what they have learned. Continue to do this a few times while fleshing out the conversation. The web generally comes together clearly. You may at the end, do a summary of the article and read the entire article out loud with the class in another block. I would not read out the story in its entirety. It is lengthy and would not add anything new to the lesson. |
| Lesson Two: |
| Tell students that they will be doing a gallery walk of the images from a graphic novel (http://secretpath.ca) which tell the story of Chanie Wenjack and his experience. It is a fiction novel, therefore the illustrator took liberties and also included some suggestions about some of the horrible things that happened at residential schools.
Access students’ background knowledge about residential schools to make sure there are no misconceptions moving forward. Gallery walk to the images in the story. (The images have been taken out of the book, laminated, and placed around the room – not in order). Use the OWI strategy. Students go around to the different images and record their “What I Observe, What I Wonder, What I Infer”.Be prepared to offer prompts verbal or visual clues to some students who may need the support. Discussion Questions: Did anything shock you about the pictures? What do you think the artist is trying to say with the different perspectives? Birds eye view for example? What is happening in the pictures? Colour? Texture? Again provide support for students who need it. Show students the Jeff Lemire clip (http://www.cbc.ca/books/2016/09/secret-path.html#video) about his process in creating the images. Give students the opportunity to examine the pages of the book again without time limits to consolidate what they have now heard about creating the images and the images themselves. Take the time to check in with individual students for formative assessment using their Wonder/Infer/Observe. Discuss how this was a collaboration between Jeff Lemire and the lead singer of the Tragically Hip, Gord Downie. Ask students if they know who the Tragically Hip are and who Gord Downie is using a THINK, PAIR, SHARE strategy. A few of them will have some ideas. Discuss some of Gord Downie’s ideas around why he wanted to do this. It is his `swan song’ to speak as he has a terminal illness. These are all a bit too teacher-directed. Perhaps having students come up with their own questions would be more appropriate. Give students the opportunity to make comments or to share stories. All the profits of his book go the the TRC. This may be a good time to read Stephen Harper’s apology to the Aboriginal People of Canada and what the role of the TRC is. http://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/DAM/DAM-INTER-HQ/STAGING/texte-text/rqpi_apo_pdf_1322167347706_eng.pdf Allow time to answer questions or concerns that students may have. |
| Lesson Three |
| Create the waterfall booklets. Use 6 pieces of (11 x 8) paper to do this. Write the names of the ten songs from the documentary on the board. Give all students the opportunity to decide how they would like to demonstrate their understanding. Some examples could be through video design, blog posts, art, and/or poetry. This would become their artifact of their learning. Students would also have the opportunity to make this a collaborative piece where they would have the opportunity to build upon the knowledge of others if they choose.
For each song, students will create a seven word summary/story of what is happening in the documentary. Their waterfall summary should capture the images, mood, and feeling of each musical selection. This “booklet” or other representation should become an artifact of their understanding of the experiences of Chanie Wenjack, and others who lived through residential schools in Canada. Students will have the opportunity to converse with their teacher regarding their waterfall booklet (or other project medium) and reflect on their learning experience. Give students the opportunity to take ownership of their work and demonstrate their learning in meaningful ways. Continue the conversation and reflect on their experiences by speaking with a member of an Aboriginal community or inquire about an opportunity to meet at a site with historical significance and witness stories firsthand. Students could also create a blog post, contribute to the online learning community conversation on Twitter #secretpath, or speak to other classes and share their artifacts. Students could also create an action plan or inquiry project for something they would like to explore related to residential schools and/or reconciliation. This would be extremely powerful if it was in embarked upon in consultation with members of the Aboriginal community to really situated the learning. |
The original lesson/unit plan was developed by Ms. N. Sidhu, a colleague at my school.
*** I did not change this portion of the lesson plan as it was an extension that I added to the original lesson plan. That being said, I think that I would create a LMS – possibly using Moodle as the platform to hold all of the content located below. This LMS would allow for interactivity, group work, easy multimedia access, and the ability for students to respond to the material in a number of ways and from a variety of perspectives ***
| Extension: Have students participate in the stations activities created by Ms. E. Williams (a student teacher at my school) as a follow up to The Secret Path.
Station Activities: |
1. “The Yellow Knife Throat Singers” by Kayley Inuksuk MacKay and Hovak Johnston
Describe: Inuit throat singing. Pretend you are writing to someone who has never heard of throat-singing before. How does it work? What does it sound like? Interpret: Why do you think Hovak Johnston cried the first time she heard a girl throat singing? |
2. Prototypes of New Understanding by Brian Jungen
Interpret: What message do you think Brian Jungen is sending with his artwork? Relate: Does this artwork remind you of something else? Can you think of any other logos or names that may be cultural appropriation? |
| 3. “Suplex” by A Tribe Called Red
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vq1RcKhiQLU
Describe: In your own words, retell the story that you watched in the music video. Relate: How do you think this music video relates to the word “resilience”? (Resilience means that even when you are “knocked down” by life, you come back even stronger. People who are resilient “bounce back” from negative experiences because of their optimistic attitude and positive emotions. Resilience can be learned and developed by anyone. |
4. “On the Land” by Pat Kane
Describe: What is the purpose of the “On The Land” project? What are the artist’s goals? Describe: Choose your favourite photo and write about it (not everyone in the same group has to choose the same photo). What is the name of the gallery? What is happening in the image? Why is it your favourite? |
| 5. ‘Legends of the Shuswap” by CBC and Elder Mary Thomas
http://www.cbc.ca/radio/ideas/legends-of-the-shuswap-mar-2010-encore-1.693831
Describe: What happened to the bear? Interpret: What is the lesson of the story? |
| 6. “The Raven’s Call” by Bill Reid
http://theravenscall.ca/en/unfinished_story
Write your own ending to the unfinished story, “The Raven’s Call”. |
Activity:
- Before the lesson, set up the six stations
- As a class, discuss the goals of the lesson:
a) Explore and interpret contemporary Indigenous artwork using the skills we practicd last lesson: discussing, describing, interpreting, and relating
b) In some way, all of this artwork can be tied to the theme of “reconciliation”. Keep that in mind as you are rotating through the stations, and we will be discussing this in the end.
- Walk through what happens at each station, and remind students that the instructions are laid out step-by-step in their handouts.
- Remind students that they are to work on these tasks as a collaborative group. Talk about what that means (sharing ideas, listening, asking questions for clarification, helping each other, respect, time management). Remind students that while they should be discussing the questions as a group, they should be responding on their sheets in their own words.
- Divide students into 6 groups.
- Give students 10-15 minutes per station (gauge progress and adjust as needed).
- Allow time for whole class discussion.
References
Brown, J. S., Collins, A. & Duguid, S. (1989). Situated cognition and the culture of learning.
Educational Researcher, 18, 32-42.
Downie, G., & Lemire, J. (2016). Secret path. Toronto. Simon & Schuster Canada.
Driscoll. M.P. (2005). Psychology of Learning for Instruction (pp. 384-407; Ch. 11 –
Constructivism). Toronto, ON: Pearson.
John-Steiner, V., & Mahn, H. (1996). Sociocultural approaches to learning and development:
A Vygotskian framework. Educational Psychologist, 31(3), 191-206.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.