To demonstrate my understanding and care for this standard, I have included a unit plan overview for 3 lessons that go over Indigenous cultures from different climates and regions of the globe will help students understand the cultural and climatic diversity that exists in our world.
This was a group unit that I worked on with Maddie Web, Melia Olson, and myself.
Social Studies Grade 3 – Global Indigenous Peoples Inquiry-Based Project
| Unit Topic: A Look at Local and Global Indigenous Cultures Guiding Question: What experiences do we share and what cultural diversity is there to celebrate? | |||||||
| Rationale: Learning about Indigenous cultures from different climates and regions of the globe will help students understand the cultural and climatic diversity that exists in our world. Additionally, by learning about various Indigenous peoples, students will be exposed to a range of diverse ways of being which nurtures multicultural awareness and respect for diversity. By reflecting on the similarities between their own lives and the lives of those from the cultures we will investigate, students will come to recognize that people from all walks of life share some common experiences. In this unit, three Indigenous cultures from different areas of the globe will be explored. To end this unit, students will work in small groups to investigate an Indigenous culture of their choice and work together to develop an informational poster or brief slide deck presentation. | |||||||
| STAGE 1: Desired Results | |||||||
| UNDERSTAND | Big Ideas | Essential Questions | |||||
| Learning about indigenous peoples nurtures multicultural awareness and respect for diversity. People from diverse cultures and societies share some common experiences and aspects of life. | 1. Where in the world do Indigenous peoples live? 2. What languages do these different Indigenous groups speak? 3. What types of things do various Indigenous peoples do to adapt to their specific environments in order to thrive? 3a. What types of foods do the Indigenous peoples we look at traditionally eat? 3b. What types of transportation do/did the Indigenous peoples we look at traditionally use? 3c. What types of shelters do/did the Indigenous peoples we look at traditionally use? 4. What are some of the similarities students can see between their lives and the lives of those from the cultures we investigate? | ||||||
| DO | Core Competencies: | ||||||
| Communication | Thinking | Personal & Social | |||||
| CommunicatingCollaborating Communicating: I communicate purposefully, using forms and strategies I have practiced (Profile 3). Collaborating: In familiar situations, I cooperate with others for specific purposes (Profile 2). | Creative ThinkingCritical & Reflective Thinking Critical and Reflective Thinking: I can use my observations, experience, and imagination to draw conclusions and make judgements (Profile 3). | Personal Awareness & ResponsibilityPositive Personal & Cultural IdentitySocial Awareness & Responsibility Positive Personal and Cultural Identity: I have pride in who I am. I understand that I am part of larger communities (Profile 4). Social Awareness and Responsibility: In familiar settings, I can interact with others and my surroundings respectfully (Profile 2). | |||||
| Learning Standards – Curricular Competencies: Use Social Studies inquiry processes and skills to ask questions; gather, interpret, and analyze ideas; and communicate findings and decisions. Explain why people, events, or places are significant to various individuals and groups (significance).Ask questions, make inferences, and draw conclusions about the content and features of different types of sources (evidence). Explain why people’s beliefs, values, worldviews, experiences, and roles give them different perspectives on people, places, issues, or events (perspective). | |||||||
| KNOW | Learning Standards – Content: Cultural characteristics and ways of life of local First Peoples and global indigenous peoples. Aspects of life shared by and common to peoples and cultures. Interconnections of cultural and technological innovations of global and local indigenous peoples.Governance and social organization in local and global indigenous societies. Relationship between humans and their environment. | ||||||
| First Peoples Principles of Learning | Learning ultimately supports the well-being of the self, the family, the community, the land, the spirits, and the ancestors.Learning is holistic, reflexive, reflective, experiential, and relational (focused on connectedness, on reciprocal relationships, and a sense of place).Learning involves recognizing the consequences of one’s actions. Learning involves generational roles and responsibilities. Learning recognizes the role of indigenous knowledge.Learning is embedded in memory, history, and story.Learning involves patience and time. Learning requires exploration of one’s identity.Learning involves recognizing that some knowledge is sacred and only shared with permission and/or in certain situations. | Comments on how you will address the FPPL: Learning about the cultural diversity that exists across the globe and celebrating the similarities and differences they share with people from various Indigenous cultures will help all students position their own identities. Increasing their awareness of cultural diversity supports the well-being of the self, the family, the community, the land, the spirits, and the ancestors. Learning and producing a body of work as a group will help students to learn in an experiential and relational way as well as help them to recognize the consequences of their actions as they interact with others. The use of maps will help students position their location in the world in relation to the homeland territories of the Indigenous cultures we look at. This will help to nurture a sense of connectedness and a sense of place. The role and value of Indigenous knowledge will be recognized in this unit as students learn both about and from various Indigenous groups from around the world. Allowing multiple work blocks for students to work on their small group projects (e.g. poster or slide deck), monitoring their progress, and adjusting the timeline for completion as necessary will demonstrate that learning takes patience and time. As students reflect on how their lives and cultures are similar and distinct from the cultures we will investigate, they will be exploring/considering their own identity. | |||||
| STAGE 2: Assessment Plan | |||||||
| Formative Assessment (Assessment as Learning and Assessment for Learning): | |||||||
| Formative assessments will be used during each of the four lessons proceeding the inquiry-based group project. The following strategies will used during those lessons: Observational assessments during in-class discussions. “Give Me 5” assessments to gauge student understanding as the lesson progresses. Word-bank worksheets that address the six questions students will answer in their group projects will be used to scaffold their learning. These worksheets will be taken in and assessed for accuracy to monitor students’ understanding in a low-stakes environment. These worksheets will use a routine style and structure across the Indigenous groups we investigate which will provide continuity to the unit, help students to focus on the content, and demonstrate growth. Whiteboard check-ins at the end of the lesson to check for student understanding. During the inquiry-based project work blocks, the following strategies for gauging student progress will be used: Circulating the room and checking in with students as they research. Circulating the room and checking in with students as they create their posters or slide decks. When students present their finished group work to the class, their peers will have the opportunity to provide positive and constructive feedback. This will help students practice their social skills and provide one another with praise and pointers for future inquiry-based collaborative learning. | |||||||
| Summative Assessment (Assessment of Learning): | |||||||
| Creating an informational poster or brief slide deck on a chosen Indigenous culture in small groups will serve as the summative assessment. The finished product of their collaborative work will be assessed using a rubric. | |||||||
| Stage 3: Learning Plan | |||||||
| Date/ Lesson | Learning Intentions | Instructional Activities (brief description here – lesson plans will be used to flesh out each lesson) | |||||
| Lesson 1: Introducing Culture | This lesson intends to have students reflect upon themselves and their own culture. This reflection will ideally lead to the students having more confidence in themselves and a better understanding of how they fit within the larger community. | Anticipatory Set: -Together the class will complete a mind-map in which they will answer, “What is a culture?” Guided Practice: -Hand out the Culture Worksheet with five guiding questions, including: Where do you live? What language do you speak? What are three foods that you eat? What is one example of a type of transportation that you use? What type of shelter do you live in? – Inform the students that we will be answering the questions based on what we do in our own homes/families/cultures today. -I Do: Teacher will answer the first question. Where do you live? Teacher will fill in the answer (Terrace) on their worksheet, showing the students via the document camera. -We Do: Have the class answer the next few questions together via a group discussion. Answers may vary between students. Remind students to answer based on themselves and their own family. Independent Practice: -Have students complete the rest of the worksheet independently. Conclusion: -Wrap up the lesson by asking students to write down one thing they learned about culture on their whiteboard. Have students hold up their answers so the teacher can quickly assess student understanding based on their written responses. | |||||
| Lesson 2: Nisga’a Culture | Introduce the students to some aspects of Nisga’a culture. Celebrate the similarities and differences that may exist between their own culture and the Nisga’a culture. | Anticipatory Set: -Demonstration of Nisga’a Culture -Have Dave Griffin come in and teach the students about his Nisga’a culture. He will show them pictures and videos of how his family fishes and prepares oolichan, as well as other aspects of his Nisga’a culture. Guided Practice: -Hand out the cultural worksheet with the six guiding questions. Adapt the questions to allow the students to answer based on the information they have learned about the Nisga’a culture. -Questions will include: Where in the world is the traditional territory of the Nisga’a people?What language do the Nisga’a people traditionally speak?What are three foods that are traditionally eaten by the Nisga’a people?What is one example of a type of transportation Nisga’a people traditionally used to travel?What type of shelters did Nisga’a people traditionally live in? Add a sixth question on today’s worksheet: What is one way your life is similar to the life of someone from Nisga’a culture? -Today’s worksheet will include a word bank to support the students while answering the questions. -Teacher will answer the first few questions of the worksheet, providing a demonstration of how to utilize the word bank. -Have the class answer the next few questions together via a group discussion. Use observational assessment to check student understanding of how to utilize the word bank. -Have Dave share in the group discussion and provide further explanations where necessary. Independent Practice: -Have students complete question number six of the worksheet independently. Conclusion: -Wrap up the lesson by asking students to share with Dave their favourite thing they learned about the Nisga’a culture. Thank Dave for joining the class today and offer him a gift as a thank you from the class. | |||||
| Lesson 3: Inuit Culture | Introduce students to aspects of Inuit culture. Show the differences and similarities between their own culture and the Inuit culture. Make sure to mention that there are multiple groups and Inuit is a general term. | Anticipatory Set: -Demonstrate Inuit Culture with a short video showcasing some of the aspects of Inuit culture. -Present aspects of Inuit culture through a handmade poster. The poster will imitate the posters that students will develop if they choose the poster presentation option. Guided Practice: -Hand out the cultural worksheet with the six guiding questions. Let the students know that we will be answering the questions as we learn about Inuit culture. -I Do: The teacher will ask the class if they remember what they learned during the last lesson about how to use the word bank. If students are struggling or do not remember, the teacher will answer the first question using the word bank at the top of the page like in the previous lesson. -We Do: Have the class answer the next two questions together via group discussion. Make sure to use observational assessment and circulate the room to check for student understanding. Independent Practice: -Have the students answer the remaining three questions on their worksheets alone. Conclusion: –Wrap up the lesson by asking the class to write down their favourite thing they learned about Inuit culture on their whiteboard. Have them hold up their answers so that the teacher can quickly assess their understanding. -Have the students write down one thing that was different between Inuit culture vs. Nisga’a culture on their whiteboard. Have them hold up their answers so that the teacher can check for understanding. | |||||
| Lesson 4: Mapuche Culture | This lesson will introduce students to some of the cultural characteristics and ways of life of Mapuche culture. Introducing an Indigenous culture from South America will expose students to an Indigenous culture outside of Canada and highlight that there are Indigenous cultures across the globe. Students will reflect on the similarities and differences that may exist between their own culture and ways of life and Mapuche culture and ways of life. | Anticipatory Set: -The lesson will begin with a short introductory video showcasing an aspect of Mapuche culture. -Demonstrate aspects of Mapuche culture via a slide deck. This slide deck presentation will imitate the type of slide deck students will be expected to develop if they select this project format. -Advise students that there will be a worksheet to complete on Mapuche culture which will follow the same structure as the previous cultural worksheets they have completed. Guided Practice: -Hand out the cultural worksheet on Mapuche culture with the six guiding questions. Inform the students that we will be completing this worksheet based on what we have just learned about Mapuche culture. -I do: Teacher will read the first question aloud. The worksheet will be under the document camera so students can see and follow along with the teacher. Students will volunteer to answer the question by raising their hands. A student will answer the question. Teacher will circle the answer in the word bank and demonstrate how to neatly write the word bank answer on the appropriate line. Teacher will demonstrate how to write out a proper full-sentence answer for question #1. -We do: Walk through the next four questions as a class and select answers from the word bank via group discussion. Demonstrate writing the selected word on the appropriate line with the worksheet under the document camera. Independent Practice: -Students will work independently to generate an original answer to question #6. -Students will also work independently to generate full-sentence answers using the word bank words we selected as a class. Conclusion: -To end the lesson, students will be asked to respond to the following question on their individual whiteboards: “What was the most interesting thing you learned today about Mapuche culture?” -Teacher will scan their whiteboards as they hold their answers up to assess student understanding. | |||||
| Lesson 5: Inquiry-Based Project | This lesson will introduce students to their inquiry-based project. Ideally, this lesson would be delivered in a longer block of time so that once students were organized into their assigned groups, they would have time to select the culture they would like to study, and then have time to begin the research process. | Introduction: -Inform students that they will begin working on a group project about culture today. (Students will already be familiar with the six guiding questions and the two available format options because they have been planted in previous lessons in this unit.) -When students are all seated at their desks, hand out the project assignment criteria (the list of six guiding questions) and the list of available options for cultures to research (alongside each cultural option, list a couple of helpful websites that students can use to complete their research). Guided Work: -I do: Read through the assignment criteria aloud and provide brief explanations referring back to examples we have gone over from the three cultures we explored. Briefly explain the two formats students can choose from (poster or slide deck) and inform students they will have to decide on their format as a group. -I do: Once the assignment criteria are clear, sort the students into assigned groups. There should be about three students in a group. -Instruct students to gather in their groups and select their culture and their project format. Group Work: -Students will discuss with their group members and decide on a culture to focus on. They will also select the format they will use to create their project. -Students will inform the teacher of their decisions. Teacher will record their choices. -Students will begin the research phase of their project. A class set of iPads or laptops will be reserved for use at this time. It may be wise to plan this lesson during a time when there is more adult support in the classroom, if possible. -Students will have a worksheet with the list of questions they are working to answer handy and will be asked to write down the information they find to answer those questions on the worksheet. This will help to scaffold and support their research process. -Teacher will be circulating the room as students work to assess and monitor how students are progressing as well as provide support. Conclusion: -Warn students there are only a few minutes remaining to work on their projects today. -Ask students to finish reading the paragraph they are reading or writing the sentence they are working on and then begin putting away their laptops, books, supplies, etc. -As they clean up, let students know that they will have more time to work on their projects soon. | |||||
| Lesson 6: Inquiry-Based Project Work Block | This lesson block will be given to students as a work block. They will use this time to work collaboratively on their project. | Introduction: -Briefly review the two presentation exemplars to refresh students’ understanding of the product goal of this project. -Leave the exemplar slide deck and poster on display while students work so they can refer to them if they choose to. Group Work: -Students will gather in their groups and continue working on their projects. -Those still in the research phase will be supported as they gather the information they need to answer all the guiding questions. -Students will spend time designing their projects and work on putting their posters and slide decks together. Those doing posters will require poster paper, markers, pencil crayons, etc. Those making slide decks will require laptops or iPads to work on their projects. -Teacher will be circulating the room as students work to assess and monitor how students are progressing as well as provide support. -As the block progresses, students should be finishing their posters or slide decks. If it becomes clear that multiple groups are not close to wrapping up, an additional work block can be provided to students. Conclusion: -Students who finish their projects will hand them in. If they are finished early, students can read or draw quietly while the other students continue their work. -As the end of the block approaches, warn students about how much work time is left. Five minutes before the end of the block, ask that they finish the sentence they are working on and begin cleaning up. | |||||
| Lesson 7: Inquiry-Based Project Sharing | During this lesson, students will showcase their learning by sharing their finished group projects with the class. They will present their projects and share their learning with the rest of the class. Students will receive peer feedback during this process. | Introduction: -Remind/announce to the class that student presentations will be taking place today. Body: – Student presentations begin. The order of student presentations will be predetermined beforehand by the teacher for ease and efficiency of transitions. -Each small group will share their learning with the class by showcasing the product of their work in front of the class. -After they walk through the answers they prepared to the guiding questions and wrap up their presentations, students in the audience will have the opportunity to comment/ask questions. Each group will respond to 2-3 comments/questions to ensure there is time for all presentations. -Students who provide feedback to their peers will be asked to positively comment on one aspect of the presenting group’s project they feel was executed well before politely asking a question. -As students present, observe. Offer positive formative commentary on their presentations. -After the first group concludes their presentation, the next group will be prompted to begin their presentation. This cycle will continue until all the groups have presented. Conclusion: -Thank the class for their hard work and the collaborative efforts that went into creating their posters/slide decks and sharing their work. Initiate a round of applause for the class to close. | |||||
| Resources needed: | |||||||
| Materials & Supplies: Pencils and erasers (1 for each student)Cultural worksheets on Nisga’a, Inuit, and Mapuche (1 for each student to be given at the start of each respective lesson)Mini whiteboards (1 for each student)Whiteboard markers (1 for each student) Access to a document camera List of appropriate and useful websites to guide students in their research efforts Access to a class set of laptops or iPadsAccess to library books about different Indigenous culturesAccess to Google Slides Pre-prepared Google Slides template Poster paper Markers or pencil crayons | |||||||
| Interdisciplinary connections: (e.g. How did you weave ELA, Social Studies, Science, Math, Fine Arts, and/or ADST together in this instructional sequence?) | |||||||
| English Language Arts and ADST are woven into this instructional sequence. English Language Arts → Big Ideas: Stories and other texts help us learn about ourselves, our families, and our communities. Curiosity and wonder lead us to new discoveries about ourselves and the world around us. Students will read books and websites and watch videos to help them learn about different cultures and communities. As they explore what “culture” means, they will also consider their own cultural identity which will help to develop their understanding of themselves, their families, and their communities. Students will exercise and develop their literacy skills as they complete the cultural worksheets and work to create their own full-sentence responses to the questions using the keywords from the word bank. Students will use their curiosity and wonder as they research their chosen culture and learn more about the world around them. Additionally, students will use their curiosity and wonder as they reflect upon and consider how their lives and contexts are similar and different from the lives and contexts of the communities and cultures we will investigate. ADST → Big Idea: Technologies are tools that extend human capabilities. Students will use books and laptops to research their chosen culture. They will be supported in their use of the internet and laptop computers/iPads. Students will exercise and develop their applied design skills by ideating, making, and sharing their poster or slide deck designs. They will work together to generate ideas for the design of their products, add to one another’s ideas, select appropriate tools and materials to create their products, share their finished products with the class and have the opportunity to explain the how/why aspects of their product design. | |||||||
| Reflection | |||||||
| How did the unit go? How do I know? | |||||||
| Where to next? | |||||||