Part B: Learning Plan
In this inquiry students will learn about:
- the different cultures that make up Saskatchewan and learn how settlers/people overcame obstacles posed by the environment by working together;
- the lives of the First Nations and Métis in Saskatchewan and study their connection to the land prior to European contact; and,
- the impact of geography and history on the decisions made by all people who chose to live in Saskatchewan specifically reflecting upon the impact of decision making to the making of Treaties.
QUESTIONS TO GUIDE INQUIRY
Essential Questions – Guiding Questions:
- What does the affirmation of diversity add to the Canadian culture?
- Does diversity strengthen or weaken us?
- What is needed to develop respect for diversity in Canada?
- How do we celebrate diversity in our school, community, province?
- What influences your decisions?
- What does the past have to do with decisions made today?
- How far reaching are the impacts of decisions? (i.e. Community, province, nation, world, universe)
- Do all problems have a solution?
- What makes a solution “good/high quality”?
- Can all problems be solved the same way?
- What steps (model) do you use in order to solve a problem?
- Why do all Canadians have an investment in treaty relationships?
- What are the benefits of understanding treaty promises?
- What are the hazards of not understanding treaty promises?
CONNECT TO TOPIC AND SURFACE STUDENTS’ THINKING ABOUT …
This section indicates ways to introduce the lesson by engaging students and helping them to personally connect to the content. Essential questions are posed here and vocabulary is noted here. Answers to essential questions establish a baseline regarding student understanding as they identify the basic knowledge that students have and give teachers an idea of what students will need to learn to explore these outcomes.
Process
- Pose the essential and guiding questions and allow students to discuss their thoughts on the matter.
- Determine what the students know, understand, need to be able to do to master/answer the essential questions (connect to content). Additional guiding questions can be added as required. Students are encouraged to add their questions to the others.
- Create Know, Want to know, Learned Chart – identify vocabulary that requires development
- Surface any additional questions students might have as a result of their discussions about the essential questions.
Discuss with students. Post their initial reflections for later review to note thinking changes. Have students begin to research the answers to the following or choose to teach this information to students.
Post Saskatchewan’s Motto
“From Many Peoples Strength”.
- What does this motto mean?
- Why would Saskatchewan choose this motto?
- Is it an appropriate motto for Saskatchewan?
History of Saskatchewan/Settling of Saskatchewan
- How old is Saskatchewan?/When did Saskatchewan begin to be settled?
- When European settlers came to Saskatchewan who was living here?
- What do you know about the people who first lived in Saskatchewan?
- Did any of your relatives move from a European country to live in Saskatchewan?
- When people came to Saskatchewan, what were they looking for, where did they settle?
- How did the people who lived here survive?
- Develop a list and post – Who Came? Why? – this will form a starting point for the groups that students will research
- Create Know, Want to know, Learned Chart
First Nations living in Saskatchewan
- In which treaty area is this school located?
- What are the First Nation communities within this treaty area?
- What is the language of the First Nations in those areas?
- What are the adjoining Treaty areas and who are the First Nations living within each area?
- What is the history of the First Nations in each area?
- When did First Nations people begin living here?
- What were their traditional traveling patterns?
- How were they connected with the land?
- How did they survive?
- What questions would students ask of first people to live in Saskatchewan?
Post any additional questions students have about how the province of Saskatchewan was settled and the First Nations who lived here prior to the arrival of the settlers. These questions can be used as additional frames for the research by the students.
Understanding geographic areas of Sask.
Use a map of Saskatchewan to:
- Chart the locations of the treaty lands and understand the supports First Nations provided to immigrants to Sask.
- Indicate some of the areas where immigrants settled.
- Develop connections between geographic location and economic opportunities for immigrants/new Canadians and settlement.
Timeline Framework Reference – developing historical perspective on decision-making
- Begin to develop a timeline beginning in the 1600’s and ending shortly after Saskatchewan became a province – 1905 – 1950.
- Roughly frame the timeline into half centuries – 1600 – 1650, 1700 – 1750, 1800 – 1850, 1900 – 1950 ~ 8 sections.
- Mark the creation of the province of Saskatchewan 1905.
DEVELOPING UNDERSTANDING
This section is the core of the lesson. It describes the main activity(ies) involved. In inquiry-based learning, the teacher facilitates the activities that lead to the understandings that students make of the essential questions. It is critical then, that students be allowed to raise questions and talk about issues that develop as they explore the learning activities.
Jigsaw Study Process
- Divide the class into groups and give each group a demographic group of people to learn about and present to the class.
- Each group must find out the information in the questions posed and additional questions raised by students so they can share with the class.
- Encourage students to present information learned in a variety of modes including speaking, writing, drama, multimedia, or other modes so that all students have an entrance point for demonstrating their leaning and understanding.
- Consider “resident experts”, people in the community that can be invited into the classroom to speak with students.
Groups of people who founded Saskatchewan
- First Nations in the Treaty Area where the school is located
- Métis Nation
- European immigrants
- Explorers
- Fur traders
- Homestead Farmers
- Religious reasons – Mennonites, Hutterites, Doukhobours
Specific Information Required
Trace and represent the history of the people studied. For each group – Identify:
- History
- Place or country of origin
- Where, when and why came to Saskatchewan – reference on map and timeline
- Worldview or belief system of people
- Relationship to the land
- How they lived on and used the land, traditional lifestyles
- Why they chose area of Saskatchewan to settle – how did geography impact decisions
- Overcoming Challenges
- Difficulties faced and how solved i.e. working together, forming treaties
- Decision and Impact of decisions made to deal with situations/challenges/hardships?
Summarizing and Inferencing – in groups have students indicate
- What are students noticing? Commonalities – Differences between groups studied?
- What were the influences to the decisions made? i.e.
- Why did people choose to live where they lived?
- Geography and the way people chose to make a living?
- How did worldview/belief system influence decisions made?
- What are the big ideas that are surfacing?
- Geography impacted settlements
- Worldview impacted use of land
- All groups of people ran into difficulty and needed support to survive
Post Saskatchewan’s Motto “From Many Peoples Strength”. Have students consider their earlier answers to the questions and reflect on:
How their thinking has changed?
- What does the motto mean?
- Why would Saskatchewan choose this motto?
- Is it an appropriate motto for Saskatchewan?
APPLY AND EXTEND KNOWLEDGE
This section includes ideas to extend the inquiry or apply concepts explored. This section may also includea dditional reflective questions to promote student connection to the topic. This forms the “You do” section of the inquiry – may be “you do it collaboratively” or “you do it alone”. Invite students to extend their thinking beyond the classroom discussions and inquiry experiences. Pose additional reflective questions that have been raised to encourage critical and creative thinking.
This next area of study will make links between the treaties formed and specifically addresses the outcome that asks students to analyze the implications of the Treaty relationship in Saskatchewan.
Essential Questions
Decision-Making/Problem-solving
- What influences your decisions?
- How does history impact decisions?
- Do all problems have a solution?
- What makes a solution “good/high quality”?
- Why do all Canadians have an investment in treaty relationships?
- What are the benefits of understanding treaty promises?
- What are the hazards of not understanding treaty promises?
- If a rule/law impacts people differently, is it fair? Explain your thinking.
- What influenced the decision of First Nations people and the British Crown to enter into treaties?
- How did worldview impact the understanding of the provision of treaties?
- Who benefited from treaties and how?
- Was the treaty solution a “good/high quality” decision? Explain your thinking.
EVIDENCE OF LEARNING
This section suggests ways in which students may demonstrate their understanding. Ideal demonstrations will be in authentic performance tasks. Each citizenship study may have its own smaller assessment piece or be compiled to supportone larger performance task assessment. Assessment pieces vary, but should allow students to demonstrate their understanding in a variety of ways. Demonstrations of understanding may be done collaboratively or independently.
Link back to Essential Questions
Cultural Diversity
Cultural Diversity
- How did diversity strengthen Saskatchewan?
- How does it continue to strengthen Saskatchewan?
- What does the affirmation of diversity add to the Saskatchewan/Canadian culture?
- How would you rate the present culture and respect for diversity in Saskatchewan? Why? What is needed to increase the respect for diversity in Saskatchewan?
Decision-Making/Problem-solving
- What influences your decisions?
- How does history impact decisions?
- Do all problems have a solution?
- What makes a solution “good/high quality”?
- Why are treaty relationships important to all Canadians?
- What are the benefits of understanding treaty promises?
- What are the hazards of not understanding treaty promises?
STUDENT CITIZENSHIP JOURNAL OPPORTUNITIES
Students are keeping a Citizenship Journal to reflect upon their developing views of citizenship. This section provides prompts for student journals. Students are invited to choose one that interests them or propose their own. Students can also respond to any of the essential questions.
Students are encouraged to respond using a variety of genres.
Canada is country that values diversity.
- What are your responsibilities as a citizen to understand and affirm that diversity?
- What are the costs of not affirming diversity?
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