Lesson Plan Template ED 3501 (Version C)

Lesson
Title/Focus

FMNI Blanket Activity

Date

November 12, 2014

Subject/Gra
de Level

Grade 5/6 Social Studies

Time
Duratio
n

120 Minutes

Unit

5.2 Histories and Stories of

Ways of Life in Canada
6.1 Citizens Participating in
Decision Making

Teacher

Mrs. Jacobson

General
Learning
Outcomes:

OUTCOMES FROM ALBERTA PROGRAM OF STUDIES

Students will demonstrate an understanding of the people and the stories of Canada and their ways
of life over time, and appreciate the diversity of Canadas heritage.
Students will demonstrate an understanding and appreciation of the dynamic relationship between
governments and citizens as they engage in the democratic process.

Specific
Learning
Outcomes:

5.2.2 examine, critically, the ways of life of Aboriginal peoples in

Canada by exploring and reflecting upon the following questions and
issues:

What do the stories of First Nations, Metis and Inuit peoples tell us about their beliefs
regarding the relationship between people and the land? (I, CC, TCC, LPP)
How were the natural environment and geography of each region of Canada determining
factors of the diversity among Aboriginal groups (e.g., languages, symbolism)? (LPP,
TCC)

6.1.1 recognize how individuals and governments interact and bring

about change within their local and national communities:

Recognize the influence of historical events and legislation on democratic decision making
in Canada (TCC, PADM)
LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Students will:

1. Learn the stories of First Nations, Metis and Inuit peoples tell us about their beliefs regarding the
relationship between people and the land? (I, CC, TCC, LPP)
2. Learn how the natural environment and geography of each region of Canada determining factors of the
diversity among Aboriginal groups (e.g., languages, symbolism)? (LPP, TCC)
3. Recognize the influence of historical events and legislation on democratic decision making in Canada
(TCC, PADM)
ASSESSMENTS
Observations:

Engagement in classroom skit: Are students participating? Are students

answers to questions appropriate? Are students who are not engaging verbally
in the skit paying attention?

Key Questions:
Products/Performan
ces:

How has history impacted the FNMI?

Blanket Skit

LEARNING RESOURCES CONSULTED

Program of Studies
http://spiritoftheland.ca/wpcontent/uploads/2014/04/Blanket-Exercise.pdf
Adapted from a template created by Dr. K. Roscoe

MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT

Blankets
Scrolls

Lesson Plan Template ED 3501 (Version C)

Many Voices textbooks

Scripts
Colored paper

PROCEDURE
Prior to lesson
Attention Grabber
Assessment of
Prior Knowledge
Expectations for
Learning and
Behaviour
Advance
Organizer/Agenda
Transition to Body

Learning Activity
#1

Move the desks, set up the blankets and other materials

Introduction
Okay room 5; can everyone please sit in a circle? Today, we are
going to start class with a traditional circle.

Time

What does the term Indigenous mean? Aboriginal? First

Nation? Inuit? Metis?

Students will sit quietly while the teacher is introducing

the topic and activity.
Students will gain an understanding of the FNMI
Students will work together cooperatively.

Have the blankets, scrolls, and colored paper set out

Explain to the students there are scrolls, colored paper, and two
scripts. Ask them to please come and choose one of their
choice and then stand on the blankets.
Body
Opening Circle

Time

Have the students sit in a circle. Bring in a talking rock, and

have the students go around in a circle and explain how they
are feeling. Explain how this is an important aspect of the
Indigenous culture.
The Circle process that many non-Native people are
using today is rooted in the tradition of talking Circles
that Indigenous Peoples in North America use and
have used for millennia. Different Native Peoples
practice different forms of the Circle process. The form
of Circles described in Living Justice Press books most
closely reflects the talking Circle process practiced by
the Plains Peoples of North America. In these
traditions, Circles are far more than a technique; they
are a way of life. Circles embody a philosophy,
principles, and values that apply whether people are
sitting in Circle or not.
During the
1990s, members of First Nations in Canada began
teaching the Circle practice to non-Native people.
They chose to do this because First Nation
communities were seeking alternatives to the mass
incarceration of their people, which wasand remains
another form of genocide. Returning to Native ways
to resolve conflicts and harms required collaboration
with non-Native people: lawyers, prosecutors, judges,
as well as non-Native neighbors. In the process, nonNative people experienced the Circle process and its
power to bring positive transformation for everyone
involved. From these origins, the use of Circles among
non-Natives has grown.

Adapted from a template created by Dr. K. Roscoe

Lesson Plan Template ED 3501 (Version C)

Ask the students how they feel today and one thing
they know about the indigenous people.

Teacher Notes:
Assessments/
Differentiation

Learning Activity
#2

Give students the right to pass in the circle

FMNI Blanket Activity
Explain that the two students with the scripts will be the
Europeans. The other students represent the Indigenous
people.
Start the Script.
At the end of the script
Ask the students to remember what it looked like when they
started the exercise and what it looks like now. Ask them to
hold these images in their minds. Then invite everyone to take
a seat, and continue with a talking circle or debrief

Teacher Notes:
Assessments/
Differentiation

Learning Activity
#3

Have students who are weaker readers choose the colored

papers. Have stronger readers become the Europeans or scroll
readers.
Closing Circle
Ask the students how they felt during the activity. Ask how they
would feel if they were that character. How would that influence
them growing up?

Teacher Notes:
Assessments/
Differentiation

Consolidation of
Learning:

Give students the right to pass in the circle

Closure
Finish off with a summary of what was learned.

Time

Sometimes we hear about European explorers

discovering what we now call North America. But it was
really more like this: Europeans arrived and found many
nations living heredifferent nations, each with its own
language, culture and form of government. In some cases
women were the ones who held the most powerful roles
in the communities.
We call these Indigenous nations because they were the
original people living on this land. Europeans realized
that if they wanted to live on this land they needed to
make agreements with these nations. In Canada, these
agreements are often called treaties.
We are going to learn about how those first agreements
between nations, agreements of peace and friendship,
did not last. Or maybe it is clearer to say that Europeans
Adapted from a template created by Dr. K. Roscoe

Lesson Plan Template ED 3501 (Version C)

did not keep up their side of the agreements.

We want to have a good relationship in Canada between
the descendants of the original people (the great, great,
great... grandchildren of those who first lived here) and
the people who have come as newcomers, whether that
was a long time ago or recently.
To do that we need to remember that the Indigenous
peoples who lived here first were nations. They (or we)
still live here- and they (or we) are still nations. We need
to share and respect each other and remember that each
of us has a role to play in Canada. This is not always easy
to do, especially when there have been so many
problems with the relationship along the way.
Feedback From
Students:
Feedback To
Students
Transition To Next
Lesson
Sponge
Activity/Activities

Ask the students if they learned more about Indigenous people.

Tell the students that they did a wonderful job, and what they
did well.

Ask them to go home and talk to their parents about what they learned
today.

Reflections from the

lesson

Adapted from a template created by Dr. K. Roscoe