EDPB 505- English Language Arts Methods

Instructor. Mary Ann. Richards

Mallory Chester 655077824

Due Date: October 13th, 2017

Reading Lesson Plan: Final Draft

Lesson Title: Themes of Self Lesson #1 Date:

Identity as well as Indigenous
Identity through Thomas Kings
Boarders
Name: Ms. Mallory Chester Subject: English 12/English First Grade(s): 12
Peoples 12

Rationale: An introduction lesson to a greater unit of Identity within literature. Meant to get
students thinking about how they identify themselves and others in relation to the world around
them. Also meant to have students begin to consider themes of Indigenous identity within Canadian
literature and the suppression of these peoples identity throughout history.

Curriculum Connections: https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/

Curricular Competency:
- Recognize and appreciate the role of story, narrative, and oral tradition in expressing First
Peoples perspectives, values, beliefs, and points of view (English Language Arts 12)
- Recognize the diversity within and across First Peoples societies represented in texts (English
Language Arts 12)
- Recognize and identify the role of personal, social, and cultural contexts, values, and
perspectives in texts (English Language Arts 12)
- Recognize how language constructs personal, social, and cultural identity (English Language
Arts 12)
- Construct meaningful personal connections between self, text, and world (English Language
Arts 12)
- Respond to text in personal, creative, and critical ways (English Language Arts 12)
- Develop awareness of how First Peoples languages and texts reflect their cultures,
knowledge, histories, and worldviews (English First Peoples 12)
- Recognize the influence of place in First Peoples texts (English First Peoples 12)
- Apply appropriate strategies in a variety of contexts to guide inquiry, extend thinking, and
comprehend texts (English First Peoples 12)
- Recognize and identify the impact of personal, social, and cultural contexts, values, and
perspectives in texts (English First Peoples 12)
- Construct meaningful personal connections between self, text, and world (English First
Peoples 12)
 - Respectfully exchange ideas and viewpoints from diverse perspectives to build shared
understanding and extend thinking (English First Peoples 12)

Content:
- features and structures of First Peoples text: narrative structures found in First Peoples texts
(English Language Arts 12)
- the legal status of First Peoples oral tradition in Canada (English Language Arts 12)
- reading strategies (English Language Arts 12/ English First Peoples 12)
- writing processes (English Language Arts 12/ English First Peoples 12)
- narrative structures, including those found in First Peoples texts (English First Peoples 12)

Core Competency:
Positive Personal and Cultural Identity:
- Relationships and Cultural Context
I can describe my family and community
I can identify groups that I belong to
I understand that my identity is made up of many interconnected aspects (such as life
experiences, family history, heritage, peer groups).
- Personal Strengths and Abilities
I can identify my individual characteristics
Social Responsibility:
- Valuing Diversity
I can explain when something is unfair
I can advocate for others
I act to support diversity and defend human rights, and can Identify how diversity is
beneficial for my community
Communication:
- Connect and Engage with Others (to share and develop ideas)
I ask and respond to simple, direct questions
I am an active listener; I support and encourage the person speaking
- Acquire, Interpret, and Present Information (includes inquiries)
I can understand and share information about a topic that is important to me
- Collaborate to plan, carry out, and review constructions and activities
I can summarize key ideas and identify ways we agree (commonalities)
I can work with others to achieve a common goal; I do my share
I can take on roles and responsibilities in a group
- Explain/recount and reflect on experiences and accomplishments
I can recount simple experiences and activities and tell something I learned

Learning Intentions: Activity: Assessment:

Students will begin to consider Pre-Reading Activity#1: Name Participation: Students must
themes of identity within Tags prove that they participated in
literature, specifically the opening identity activity by
indigenous literature being able to share their
 partners self identifiers in a
Students will think deeply, small group. They will also have
considering the way in which a name tag with their own
they think about their own identifiers on it for their desk,
identities proving they took part in the
activity.

Each student will have a copy of

Students will consider the Pre-Reading Activity #2: Map the map they have labeled with
importance of place within Labeling locations from the text. To be
Indigenous story telling submitted with their answers to
the Reading Questions

Students will submit their

Students will consider the ways
in which Indigenous identities
have been supressed through
the lens of the short story
Boarders by Thomas King
Students will engage and think
critically about the text
Activity During Reading: Close
Reading Questions
answers to these questions
along with their map at the end
of class. Answers will not be
marked as right or wrong,
rather, will be assessed based
on the students apparent
engagement with the text and
its overarching themes

Students will bring their

Students will make connections
between the text and
themselves
Homework: Reflective Journal
reflection to the next class,
where the teacher will review
and give out a mark based on
completion/consideration of
the students active
engagement in thinking about
the text in relation to their
world

Prerequisite Concepts and Skills (for student success): A general understanding of Indigenous history
within Canada and the United States, as well as the understanding that Indigenous identity and
history has been misplaced because of colonial ideals.
An understanding of identity, how one identifies themselves and the ways in which these identifiers
are important to linking ourselves to our understanding of the world around us.

Materials and Resources with Materials and Resources with

References/Sources for Teacher:
- PowerPoint: containing picture of
Thomas King, pictures of members of
Blackfoot community, map with locations
from text drawn onto it
References/Sources for Students:
- Blank sheets of paper to be folded for
name tags
- Drawing Utensils (markers, crayons,
pencil crayons etc.)
 - Photocopies of Thomas Kings Boarders
stapled together with worksheet
containing prompt questions for reading
(1per student)
- Blank maps of Southern Alberta/North
US (1per student)

Differentiated Instruction (DI- accommodations): Different reading abilities: some students may
struggle to get through the text, so teacher may need to do a brief review of the story and what is
happening to ensure an understanding that allows everyone to make the deeper connections to
identity and indigenous identity.

Organizational/Management Strategies (anything special to consider?):

- Have students sitting in tables of 2 (for first intro activity) but in a way, that is easy for them
to move into groups of 4 (for second intro activity)
Students have been allowed to choose their seating arrangements for class, but if
behaviour becomes an issue pick an assigned seating arrangement to ensure
engagement in the lesson
- Have one student from each pair come to the front and collect blank sheets of paper for the
name tags as well as the drawing utensils (markers/pencil crayons/crayons etc.)
- Once students have moved into groups of 4 for the map activity, walk around and hand out
blank maps for students to label (using drawing utensils from previous activity)
At this point, students should be instructed to bring out their laptops/smart phones
to research locations to put on their map. They should be asked to put these devices
away once the activity is finished
- Have students pass around copies of Thomas Kings Boarders which has been stapled
together with a worksheet with questions for while they are reading the text
Students are welcome to move back to their original seating plan to work
independently on the reading/questions or are welcome to work quietly in pairs
(unless noise becomes an issue, then all students will be asked to work independently
for this portion of the lesson)

Lesson Activities: Teacher Lesson Activities: Student Pacing

Introduction: 10min
- Introduce ideas surrounding the
importance of identity/self identification
- Introduce issues/importance of
Indigenous identity
- Start PowerPoint:
Introduce Thomas King,
Blackfoot people
Pre-Reading Activity #1: Name Tags
1) Have students created folded name tags 5min
for their desks. Provide the students with
 various drawing materials then have
them write their name and 5 ways they
identify themselves numbered in order
of importance. Students can be as
creative with the representation of these
identity traits as they would like.
2) Have students then share the identity
traits they chose for themselves with a
partner.
3) Have pairs then join up with another
pair: have each student share with the
group how their original partner
identified themselves.
4) Have the groups consider the order in
which everyone identified themselves.
What areas did they place the most
importance on? Gender, political views,
country of origin, status in relation to
others (ie. Brother, sister, mother,
father, boyfriend, girlfriend), religious
views etc.
5) Discuss the results with the whole class.
Give Students time to get up and walk
around, look at each others name tags
Name tag activity gives students a chance to
start considering the idea of identity, and how
peoples self identification is not always the same
Pre-Reading Activity #2: Map Labeling
1) On PowerPoint, list the following
locations from the story on a slide:
Lethbridge, Pincher Creek, Cardston and
Salt Lake City
2) provide groups of 4 (from previous
activity) with blank maps (1 per student)
of Southern Alberta/Northern US.
3) Also ask the students to research the
origin of the Blackfoot people and have
them label the area where they originally
lived. Map activity helps students gain
knowledge of the context of locations in
the story.
4) On PowerPoint, pull up slide with image
of map filled in with locations and
boarders to confirm the students
findings from their own search
5) Discuss importance of places within the
story, as well as within Indigenous
storytelling as a whole
-1 student from each pair comes to the
front to collect pieces of paper and
drawing utensils
- Students independently come up with
the 5 traits they identify most strongly
with themselves, then share these with
their partner. 5min
-Student shares with group their
partners identifiers. Discuss how their
identifiers are similar/different and what 5min
kind of identifiers they place most
importance on.
-Students may choose (and should be
encouraged) to leave their name tags 5min
with identifiers on their desk for the
remainder of the lesson.
4min
10min
-Students may take out their smart
phones/laptops to google the locations
from the story, then use utensils from
the previous exercise to label them on
the map, as well as the boarder between
Canada and the US that the narrator and
his mother would have crossed
2min
-Students use slide to confirm their
findings and/or fix any mistakes they
have made on their own maps 3min
Map activity helps create a frame of reference -Students must hold on to their copy of
for students with regards to the geography of the the map. To be submitted with answers
story, as well as emphasises the importance of to reading questions.
places within indigenous literature.
During Reading Activity: Reading Questions
1) Circles around to groups and pass out
handouts (1 per person) containing 25min
questions for students to answer as they
read
2) Circulate the room during silent -Students may choose to work in pairs or
reading/partner work to ensure that independently to read Boarders and
students are engaging with the themes answer the questions from the work
of the story and to answer any questions sheet
Providing questions for students to consider
while reading helps give them purpose as well as
provides them something to look for: keeps 10min
students overall more engaged in the text
After Reading Activity: Class Discussion
1) Go over questions from worksheet with -Students who are comfortable may
the class, and have students volunteer volunteer answers to the questions from
answers the worksheet
2) Reiterate themes of place in the text and -Students should attach their answers
their relation to indigenous story telling. from the worksheet to their copy of the
Reiterate themes of identity/indigenous map they filled out
identity 1min
For Homework: Reflective Journal Entry
1) Have students write a small journal entry
(1-2 pages) putting themselves in the -Have students hand in a copy of their
position of the narrator. Have them worksheet answers and map as a ticket
write about what they would do if they out the door of the class
were denied entry at the boarder based
on one of their identity traits (from
opening activity). Would they identify as
something else like the narrator did to
cross the boarder? If so, why? Or would
they stand up for how they view
themselves like the narrators mother? If
so, why? To be submitted for the next
class.
 Activity During Reading:

1) Give students a handout which includes the following questions to read and answer as they go
(students may work alone or with a partner to answer questions after they have finished
reading):
a. How does the way in which the speaker and his mother identify themselves differ? Why
do you think it is so much easier for the speaker to give in and identify as Canadian
rather than Blackfoot at the boarder crossing?
b. Do you think First Nations people should have to identify themselves by their country of
origin, i.e. Canadian or American, at a boarder crossing rather than their Indigenous
identifier?
c. What role do you think the media played in the American boarder officers letting the
speaker and his mother cross the boarder? Do you think the pair would have continued
to be stuck between boarders if the media had not drawn attention to their situation?
d. What do you think the speaker is implying when he says things like I had to dress up
too, for my mother did not want us crossing the boarder looking like Americans, and
Sweetgrass, which is a nice name and sounds like it is related to other places such as
Medicine Hat and Moose Jaw and Kicking Horse Pass, would be on the Canadian side,
and that Coutts, which sounds abrupt and rude, would be on the American side? What
do you think this says about the way in which the speaker views Americans?
e. One of the boarder officers talks about Blackfoot people residing on both sides of the
American/Canadian boarder. Thinking back to your map and where the boarder was
built, what kind of implications do you think this has on the Blackfoot people as a
whole? How has the creation of the boarder affected them as a people?
f. How do you think the narrator and his mothers experience is reflective of the
Indigenous experience on a larger scale? Can you think of any other instances
(past/present) where Indigenous identities have been supressed?