Unit Plan: First Nations Paddles
Math, Visual Arts, Language Arts / Grade 4-7
Big Ideas
Art, mathematics, and story-telling are vehicles to explore cultures and deepen our understanding of the world, bringing us closer together.
Concepts:
- Geometry
- Elements and principles of design
- Form
- The Writing Process
- Oral Storytelling
Essential Questions
Students will keep considering…
VISUAL ARTS
- How does art connect us, our communities, and our cultures?
MATH
- How does geometry help us make sense of the world?
LANGUAGE ARTS
- How does oral storytelling connect us to places and people?
- How can an open mind lead us to deeper understandings about ourselves and other cultures?
- Why does writing have a purpose?
Evaluative Criteria
Teacher Evaluative Criteria:
Teachers will be assessing students’ ability to:
- Create design that incorporates traditional Aboriginal design elements
- Make connections between the Aboriginal shapes and 2D shapes and 3D solids
- Work through the writing process
- Share their story orally
Monitoring Progress
Teacher will monitor progress:
Formative Assessment throughout: During class discussions, small group discussions and one on one conversations
Potential Student Misunderstandings:
N/A
Resources
- Examples of Coast Salish shapes and art
- Colouring Sheets that show a variety of First Nations shapes
- First Nations Support Workers/Aboriginal Success Teacher
- BLM of paddle shape
- Literacy 44 Graphic Organizers for How To Writing, Pourquoi Tales, and Story Writing Frames
Reflection
How will teachers and their students reflect on and evaluate the completed project?
Teacher:
Next time I teach this unit I would…
Student:
My students needed:
Process:
Product:
Content:
Potential Student Misunderstanding:
Downloads
Stage 3 – Learning Plan
EXECUTE THE LEARNING PLAN
LEARNING EVENTS:
- These learning events/activities are suggested activities only.
- In some cases the plans are not fully completed lesson plans.
- The teacher may choose some lessons/activities to span over several lessons.
- Teachers may add, revise and adapt these lessons based on the needs of their students, their personal preferences for resources, and the use of a variety of instructional techniques.
Learning events are enriched for students when teachers consider the “WHERE TO” acronym and guiding organizer by Wiggins and McTighe.
The Learning Events should always be prefaced by focusing on the essential questions:
VISUAL ARTS
- How does art connect us, our communities, and our cultures?
MATH
- How does geometry help us make sense of the world?
LANGUAGE ARTS
- How does oral storytelling connect us to places and people?
- How can an open mind lead us to deeper understandings about ourselves and other cultures?
- Why does writing have a purpose?
Acquisition-Meaning-Transfer
Lessons 1-3
The Learning Events should always be prefaced by focusing on the essential questions:
VISUAL ARTS
- How does art connect us, our communities, and our cultures?
MATH
- How does geometry help us make sense of the world?
LANGUAGE ARTS
- How does oral storytelling connect us to places and people?
- How can an open mind lead us to deeper understandings about ourselves and other cultures?
- Why does writing have a purpose?
(Lessons 1-3)
Students listen to a variety of traditional oral stories (i.e. The Sisters), and are taught to listen with two ears – one on their head, one in their heart. Students are encouraged to listen, and recall the stories using the Story Wheel graphic outline in Literacy 44 (using pictures and writing). Lots of discussion is directed around how stories are place based.
Lesson 4
The Learning Events should always be prefaced by focusing on the essential questions:
VISUAL ARTS
- How does art connect us, our communities, and our cultures?
MATH
- How does geometry help us make sense of the world?
LANGUAGE ARTS
- How does oral storytelling connect us to places and people?
- How can an open mind lead us to deeper understandings about ourselves and other cultures?
- Why does writing have a purpose?
(Lesson 4 – Concurrent with Lessons 1-3)
During a math unit on geometry (polygons and solids), time is spent showing students traditional Coast Salish shapes and artwork. Connections are made to how these shapes are also place based (i.e. how the u-shapes are related to shapes you may see on an Orca). Students can practice drawing the shapes and creating their own designs, or identifying the shapes on pre-made colouring sheets.
Lesson 5
The Learning Events should always be prefaced by focusing on the essential questions:
VISUAL ARTS
- How does art connect us, our communities, and our cultures?
MATH
- How does geometry help us make sense of the world?
LANGUAGE ARTS
- How does oral storytelling connect us to places and people?
- How can an open mind lead us to deeper understandings about ourselves and other cultures?
- Why does writing have a purpose?
(Lesson 5 – Concurrent with Lessons 1-3)
Building on the math lessons, students create their own paddles (on paper, or could carve, or make three-dimensional) that incorporate the Coast Salish shapes.
ADAPTATION
Trace shapes with tracers; cut shapes onto construction paper and glue down on paddle shape.
Lessons 6-8
The Learning Events should always be prefaced by focusing on the essential questions:
VISUAL ARTS
- How does art connect us, our communities, and our cultures?
MATH
- How does geometry help us make sense of the world?
LANGUAGE ARTS
- How does oral storytelling connect us to places and people?
- How can an open mind lead us to deeper understandings about ourselves and other cultures?
- Why does writing have a purpose?
(Lessons 6-8)
Once the paddles are done, students begin to tell the story of their paddles. Students are given the option of various formats and graphic organizers (see Literacy 44) to use for this purpose (i.e. “how to” stories, pourquoi tales, legends). Students then have the option of either writing out their complete stories, or using the graphic organizers to orally tell their stories. They should practice telling their stories multiple times and with various people.
Lesson 9
The Learning Events should always be prefaced by focusing on the essential questions:
VISUAL ARTS
- How does art connect us, our communities, and our cultures?
MATH
- How does geometry help us make sense of the world?
LANGUAGE ARTS
- How does oral storytelling connect us to places and people?
- How can an open mind lead us to deeper understandings about ourselves and other cultures?
- Why does writing have a purpose?
(Lesson 9)
Students present their stories according to the oral tradition.
The following resources are made available through the British Columbia Ministry of Education. For more information, please visit BC’s New Curriculum.
Big Ideas
The Big Ideas consist of generalizations and principles and the key concepts important in an area of learning. The Big Ideas represent what students will understand at the completion of the curriculum for their grade. They are intended to endure beyond a single grade and contribute to future understanding.
Core Competencies
Communications Competency
The set of abilities that students use to impart and exchange information, experiences and ideas, to explore the world around them, and to understand and effectively engage in the use of digital media
Thinking Competency
The knowledge, skills and processes we associate with intellectual development
Social Competency
The set of abilities that relate to students’ identity in the world, both as individuals and as members of their community and society
Curricular Competencies & Content
Curricular Competencies are the skills, strategies, and processes that students develop over time. They reflect the “Do” in the Know-Do-Understand model of curriculum. The Curricular Competencies are built on the thinking, communicating, and personal and social competencies relevant to disciplines that make up an area of learning.
Additional Resources
First People's Principles of Learning
To read more about First People’s Principles of Learning, please click here.
For classroom resources, please visit the First Nations Education Steering Committee.
