(From POS) / Indicators of Student Learning
(How will I recognize what students have learned?) / Assessments and Tasks
(How will they show what they know?)
2.1.2: investigate the physical geography of an Inuit, an Acadian, and a prairie community in Canada by exploring and reflecting the following questions for inquiry
- Where are the Inuit, Acadian and prairie communities located in Canada?
- What is daily life like for children in Inuit, Acadian and prairie communities (e.g.,
- What are the main differences in climate among these communities?
- How does the physical geography of each community shape its identity?
- What are the cultural characteristics of the communities (e.g., special symbols, landmarks, languages spoken, shared stories or traditions, monuments, schools, churches)?
- What are the traditions and celebrations in the communities that connect the people to the past and to each other?
- What individuals and groups contributed to the development of the communities?
- Correctly apply terms related to time
- arrange events, facts and/or ideas in sequence
- use a simple map to locate communities studied in Canada
- work and play in harmony with others to create a safe and caring environment
contributing to their community, such as:
- participate in activities that enhance their sense of belonging within their school and community
- prepare and present information in their own words, using respectful language
- Can locate where Fort McMurray and Nunavut are on the map
- Understands the concept of community
- Can describe what life is like for children in an Inuit community and compare it to what life is like for children in Fort McMurray
- Connects how a community’s identity is shaped by where it is located
- Listens to and demonstrates an appreciation for oral history and stories when learning about communities across Canada
- Can identify the cultural characteristics of an Inuit community
- Understand that the celebrations and traditions that are present in a community are linked to the people who developed the community
- Categorizes scenes from an Inuit community and Fort McMurray and can place them in sequential order according to time
- Can locate where Fort McMurray and Nunavut are on a map
- Demonstrates the ability to work cooperatively with peers
- Demonstrates an appreciation for their community
- Presents information to class in a clear and interesting manner
- Was the student able to locate where they were from on the Canadian map? checklist (yes/no)
- Each student will have a duty in the group and I will have a checklist in regards to how they performed the duty and what the group reported about what life is like in Iqaluit
- Anecdotal notes on contributions made while discussing community
- Checklist on the groups ability to sort through the pictures characteristics of the concept of community
- Rubric for the postcard/letters-students will show an understanding of community in their writing
- Students will do a self assessment and describe what they have learned at the centres on celebrations and traditions
- Anecdotal comments on the interesting facts the students pulled out from the centres on celebrations and traditions
- Could students pick out important information about the history of the Inuit from their books (rubric)
- Could students put historical events in order (rubric)
- Anecdotal comment on what the student’s prediction was for the future of those living in Inuit culture.
- Students can complete a Venn diagram about the similarities and differences between Fort McMurray and Iqaluit successfully (checklist)
- Students will demonstrate an understanding of the similarities and differences between children in Iqaluit and Fort McMurray in their presentations (rubric)
Individual lesson plans – lesson objectives, learning experiences, assessment, resources
# / Objectives / Learning experiences / Assessment / Resources
1 / Students will be able to:
- Locate where they are from on a Canadian map (this only works well with Fort McMurray because most families are not from here!)
- Draw a picture and write about where they are from
- Show the students the big map of Canada that is at the front of the classroom
- Ask questions about this map: where is Fort McMurray located? Who is from somewhere other than Fort McMurray? What other provinces and territories are in Canada and where are they located? If the students do not know I will go over it with them.
- Connect their own personal experience with the vastness of Canada by having each individual student come up and place a picture of themselves on the place that they are from and tell the class one interesting thing about this place (there will also be a world map in the classroom for those students who are from other countries)
- Students are to draw a picture in their journal and write a few sentences about what they think is interesting about the town they are from
- Was the student able to locate where they were from on the Canadian map? (yes/no)
- Did the student provide at least two interesting facts about the community they are from?
- Large world map
- Pictures of students (I would have taken these before the lesson)
- Journals
2 / Students will be able to:
- Locate where Iqaluit is on the map
- Describe what the climate is like there
- Describe what life is like in Iqaluit due to its climate
- I will ask the students to tell me where Iqaluit is on the Canadian map and we will put a picture of a child in that spot. I will have a picture of a non Inuit child so that we can discuss that Iqaluit is a multicultural city like the rest of Canada.
- As a class we will make a cluster map on the board about what students prior knowledge is about the climate in Nunavut
- I will tell the students the name of our unit and our essential question so that they are aware that we will be looking at how our lives compare to the lives of those who live in Iqaluit
- There will be five groups who will be given clues about what life is like due to climate in the north
- Students will tell the rest of the class some facts about what life is like in Iqaluit
- Anecdotal notes on how the students work together
- Each student will have a duty in the group and I will have a checklist in regards to how they performed the duty and what the group reported about what life is like in Iqaluit
- Self and peer assessments regarding how the group worked together
- Large map of Canada
- Whiteboard and dry erase markers
- Large banner to write the essential question on to put over the Canadian map
- The booklets for each group to explain what life is like due to climate-the booklets will be things such as a grocery list, clothing catalogue, house plans, transportation, weather and animals
- These booklets will have magnet pictures that we will put on the board when presenting the information to the class
3/4 / Students will be able to:
- Distinguish what makes up a community and explain why
- Sort through examplers and non-examplers of the concept community
- Inquire about what life may be like in an Inuit community
- Read Baseball bats for Christmaswhich is a story about life in a Northern community and how they made baseball bats from trees
- Ask students to think about what connects the people in the book to each other and talk with a neighbour about it
- There will be a list on the board of the ideas that students came up with and we will have a vote about what concept we are looking at
- I put a large definition of the concept community by our map: People that all live in the same place and have shared interests
- I will give groups of students pictures and they will sort through them and decide which ones represent community
- Students will bring up the pictures they felt represented community and explain why to the rest of the class
- Have a class discussion and put the pictures of community under the community heading
- Have students write letters to their pen-pals in Iqaluit and tell them about Fort McMurray and ask questions about what their community is like
- Anecdotal notes on contributions made while discussing community
- Checklist on the groups ability to sort through the pictures
- Rubric for the postcard/letters
- Kusugak, Michael. (1990) Baseball bats for Christmas. Willowdale, Ont.: Annick Press
- Large piece of paper with a definition of community
- Poster board to put pictures of community on
- Letter organizer
- Final copy paper for letter
- Ted Harrison art project for front of postcard: this is an art project the class will have done when looking at northern art and it would be neat if they could share their artwork with their penpals.
5 / Students will be able to:
- Explain why they think Inuit people practice throat singing
- Demonstrate an understanding of what a tradition is
- Watch short video on the young girls who are practicing throat singing
- Have a class discussion about what tradition is and means to them and that every community has different traditions
- Have students write 1-2 sentences about why they think these two girls are singing like this
- traditions-there are also different traditions within a community because Canada is such a diverse country
- Have each student write down a tradition that they practice in their family
- Write these traditions on the board and take a poll of who practices what traditions
- Students will graph these (we practiced the skill of graphing earlier in the year)
- Students will write why they think the traditions in our classroom are diverse
- Completion marks for why they think the girls were singing like that
- Checklist for graphing and reason why our graph looks the way it does
- Video on traditional throat singing:
- Blank bar graph sheet
- Journals
- White board and dry erase markers
6 / students will be able to:
- record the main characteristics of Inuit celebrations and traditions
- record the characteristics of one of their own traditions or celebrations
- Read “Dreamstones” by Maxine Trottier. It is a story about a boy who discovers some Inukshuks and it explains why they are created.
- Ask if the students know what celebration means? Ask the students if they know of any Inuit traditions or celebrations?
- Big buddies will come in and read the directions and instructions for activities at each centre and help the grade 2’s fill out their worksheet regarding characteristics of Inuit tradition
- Center #!: Inuit history is often told through oral stories-read a few of these with buddies
- Centre #2: pictures of inuksuk and soap stone carvings-students will have a discussion about what these might be for. Big buddies will then read what they really are used for.
- Centre #3: student will play a game that teaches them about Inuit traditions such as games, housing, clothing
- Centre #4: spelling of Inuit words and how many Inuit children will have multiple names-will be an art centre
- Centre #5: students will explain one of their own traditions or celebrations to the group and tell peers about it
- Students will complete write one interesting fact about the traditions and celebrations from each centre
- Students will do a self assessment and describe what they have learned at the centres
- Anecdotal comments on the interesting facts the students pulled out from the centres
- Trottier, Maxine. (1999) Dreamstones. Toronto: Stoddart Publishing.
- Centre materials-centre directions, worksheet, oral stories, art supplies, string for Inuit game
- Big buddies
7 /
- Students will organize Inuit history in order from oldest to most recent history
- Students will predict what they think may happen in Inuit culture in the future
- Students will be put in groups of four and each will have the research books on Inuit:
-Lassieur, Allison. (2000). The Inuit. Manako, Minn: Bridgestone Books.
-Communities in Canada: Looking at People
- Each group will make a poster of history of the Inuit that they fins in their books. They can draw pictures, use magazine cut outs and write sentences. These books have great pictures and their textbook is written at a level that most of them can read so at least one person in the group will be able to read it to the rest.
- These poster board pieces will be made into a big book on Inuit history for the class (we will make the illustrations in art class)
- Students will make a two-four sentence prediction about what they think will happen in the future for the Inuit living in Nunavut
- Could students pick out important information about the history of the Inuit from their books (rubric)
- Anecdotal comment on what the student’s prediction was for the future of those living in Inuit culture.
- Santella, Andrew. (2001) The Inuit. New York: Children's Press
- Lassieur, Allison. (2000). The Inuit. Manako, Minn: Bridgestone Books.
- Communities in Canada: Looking at People. (2005). Toronto: Pearson.
- poster board
- markers
8/9 / Students will be able to:
- compare and contrast the daily life of children in their community to children in an Inuit community
- develop a presentation for the rest of the class that displays their knowledge of the similarities and differences between Fort McMurray children and Inuit children
- Draw a line down the middle of the board and have a discussion about the similarities and differences between cats and dogs and I will write them on the board
- Show students how to use a Venn diagram and have them do one on their own about winter and summerwith a partner
- Ask the students what the main question of our unit is
- Have students create a Venn diagram in a group about the similarities and differences between Fort McMurray children and children living in Iqaluit
- Students are to come up with a presentation that describes the similaritiesand differences between these two communities.
- Students can complete a Venn diagram successfully (checklist)
- Was the student able to work cooperatively in a group (anecdotal comment)
- Did the group demonstrate understanding of the similarities and differences between children in Iqaluit and Fort McMurray in their presentations (rubric)
- Venn diagram templates
- Whiteboard and dry erase markers
- Sheet describing ideas for presentations
- Presentation materials (art supplies, poster board)
10 / Students will be able to:
- Present their project to their peers
- Demonstrate an understanding of the similarities and differences between their community and Iqaluit
- Listen to “O Siem” by Susan Aglukark
- Have a discussion about what this song means before we end our unit (it is talking about freedom and family: community)
- Groups will take turns presenting the similarities and differences between Fort McMurray children and Iqaluit children
- Students will do a self assessment and peer assessment of their group
- Susan Aglukark’s CD “The Child”
- self assessment and peer assessment sheets (2 stars and a grow)