Unit Plan:
Storytelling, Identity, and First Nations’ Culture
Core French / Grade 8-10
Big Ideas
The exploration of text and story deepens understanding of one’s identity, others, and the world.
Concepts:
- Identity
- Nature vs. Nurture
- Perspective/Voice in texts
Essential Questions
Students will keep considering…
- Who am I? How do I define myself ? How does my identity change and evolve?
- How does making connections between text and self deepen my understanding of my own identity?
- How does understanding my own identity help me to connect and empathize with others?
Evaluative Criteria
TEACHER EVALUATIVE CRITERIA
Criteria
Formative assessment:
Observation in class, participation in activities for each short story, completion of skill/knowledge components
Formative tasks:
- Box of Self
- Elements of Short Stories: completion of charts for all stories
- Reflective writing tasks based on three of the short stories
- Character monologue
- Self, peer and teacher feedback and reflection—ongoing throughout the unit
- Checkpoint quizzes
Summative assessment:
Personal Profile Performance Task
Rubric:
See attached Personal Profile rubric (DOWNLOAD)
Adaptations:
- Read aloud of all short stories: focus on the understanding of identity, not individual reading and decoding skills.
- Refer to NVSD Adaptations Checklist for further support
- Work with Learning Services staff to support with adaptations for students with IEPs
Differentiation:
- Requirements of the performance task product can be differentiated based on learning styles and needs
- Student choice in texts/sources: poetry, short stories, novels, web articles, non-fiction, movies, songs, documentaries, TV shows etc.
- Student choice in the presentation of the Personal Profile: blog, website, Prezi, PowerPoint, Show Me, Vlog etc.
Extension:
Students can add other components to the personal profile that include connection to the similar Big Ideas in other curricular areas
Monitoring Progress
Teacher will monitor progress:
Criteria:
Use techniques to check for understanding: exit tickets, quizzes, student interviews, observation, mini group presentations etc.
Differentiation:
- Allow students to select their own short stories for discussion, use videos or Totals around the identity theme, read aloud of text, partner activities as needed, use LAC teacher to support differentiation
- Lesson activities can be differentiated based on learning styles and student needs
Resources
Suggested Short Stories
Wild Horses by Brian Fawcett, The Persian Carpet by Hanan Shaykh, Legend of the Sugar Girl by Joseph Boyden, On the Sidewalk, Bleeding by Evan Hunter, Just Lather, That’s All by Hernando Telles
See also:
Reflection
How will teachers and their students reflect on and evaluate the completed project?
Constant feedback from students and dialogue after each activity outlined in the Learning Events will help to direct and adapt what is explored in the next activity. Self, peer and teacher evaluation of the Performance Task and its alignment with the essential questions.
Teacher:
Next time I teach this unit I would…
Allow students to select the short stories that link to Identity.
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:
- Why do we tell stories?
- How do stories and (First Nations’) culture connect?
- How does the way we tell a story reflect our cultural identity?
Acquisition-Meaning-Transfer
Lesson 1 - Pourquoi est-ce qu’on raconte les histoires?
The Learning Events should always be prefaced by focusing on the essential questions:
- Why do we tell stories?
- How do stories and (First Nations’) culture connect?
- How does the way we tell a story reflect our cultural identity?
1. Why do we tell stories? How do we tell stories (best ways)? Has a story ever changed your mind about someone or something? Discuss the structure and the elements of storytelling as well as the impact of a well-structured tale. Discern the key elements of a well-tailored story. Why do we remember some stories and not others? (M) (T)
Formative Task:
Ask to students to reflect and discuss the above questions in groups. Get them to take notes on what common or significant points were discussed as a group and share that with the class. These elements will establish a starting point to determine the elements of an evaluation rubric for later (that will change and adapt over the course of the unit).
Lesson 2 - Voici une histoire
The Learning Events should always be prefaced by focusing on the essential questions:
- Why do we tell stories?
- How do stories and (First Nations’) culture connect?
- How does the way we tell a story reflect our cultural identity?
1. Read aloud a short story (poem, song) centered on a cultural lesson. Two examples are graphic novels depicting First Nations’ stories: La fille-aigle by Robert Cutting and Le mystère de la brume by Robert Cutting. They are in French and are at an appropriate reading level for Core French 9 or 10. (A)
2. Review common elements of a story (character, plot, setting). (A)
3. Review L2 reading strategies for comprehension (mots de la même famille, cognates, illustrations, etc.) (A)
Formative Task:
Divide the story in sections and in groups, have students translate and explain their assigned section of the story (French to English). (M) (T)
Extension:
Review of verb tenses (présent, passé composé, futur proche). (A)
Lesson 3 - Et la culture?
The Learning Events should always be prefaced by focusing on the essential questions:
- Why do we tell stories?
- How do stories and (First Nations’) culture connect?
- How does the way we tell a story reflect our cultural identity?
1. What is culture? Have students define the word culture. (M) (T)
2. What is the cultural lesson in the class reader*? *The story used in Lesson #2. (M)
Formative Task:
Students should explain their understanding of the cultural lesson in the story and why/if they thought teaching the lesson through a story is a good way to learn/remember it. (T)
Extension:
Research the First Nations people represented in the story (i.e. La fille-aigle is Nation Okanagan.
Lesson 4 - Ma culture
The Learning Events should always be prefaced by focusing on the essential questions:
- Why do we tell stories?
- How do stories and (First Nations’) culture connect?
- How does the way we tell a story reflect our cultural identity?
1. Have students reflect on something within their own culture (family, team, club, school, community, etc.) that they would want to retell to the class embedded within a story. (M)
2. With consideration of diverse possible outcomes, engage students in determining what the stories (and storytelling) could look like. (M) (T)
3. Clearly define criteria for assessment of summative tasks. *This could occur at any point throughout the unit, when the teacher is confident that students have understood what is expected of them.
Formative Task:
Students create a rationale and draft of their story. (M)
Lesson 5 - Révisons ensemble
The Learning Events should always be prefaced by focusing on the essential questions:
- Why do we tell stories?
- How do stories and (First Nations’) culture connect?
- How does the way we tell a story reflect our cultural identity?
1. Class time for self and peer review.
Formative Task:
Students submit (or explain) a revised version of their story.
Extension:
Time should be given for practice of the storytelling as well. How will they best represent their story to the class? What critical elements of storytelling will they include? – See list from Lesson #1. (M)
Lesson 6 - Voici mon histoire
The Learning Events should always be prefaced by focusing on the essential questions:
- Why do we tell stories?
- How do stories and (First Nations’) culture connect?
- How does the way we tell a story reflect our cultural identity?
Summative Task:
Students present their stories (this could include a written copy for evaluation).
Extension:
Discussion of what they understood about each other’s culture (cultural lesson). (M) (T)
Unit Extension:
Provide opportunity for students to discuss how their understanding of culture and storytelling has changed. (M) (T)
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.
