Lesson Plan: Forage Mapping - Vancouver Island First Peoples

Name: CJ Smith and Catriona Imray

Subject: Math
Lesson Title: Forage Mapping- Vancouver Island First Peoples
Grade(s): 8
Date: Nov. 16, 2017
Rationale:
First Peoples have lived on the land for many millennia. Critical to their survival was the ability to find, and return to good
hunting and gathering places. For this a map was needed. In this lesson, we will be introducing the concepts of scale,
proportion, and ratios, and how to translate what is on the paper map into the real world.

Curriculum Connections:
The Big Idea that we are covering is that number represents, describes, and compares the quantities of ratios, rates and
percents.
For the Curricular Competencies, we will engage in problem-solving experiences that are connected to place, story,
cultural practices, and perspectives relevant to local First Peoples communities, the local community, and other cultures;
represent mathematical ideas in concrete, pictorial, and symbolic forms; and incorporate First Peoples worldviews and
perspectives to make connections to mathematical concepts.
Our Content will cover numerical proportional reasoning (rates, ratio, proportions, and percent), operations with fractions
(addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and order of operations), discrete linear relations (extended to larger
numbers, limited to integers).
Learning Intentions:
 At the end of this lesson, students will be able to convert scales from a map to the real world, and vice versa. They will be
able to pace off a section of land and relate that to a map. There will also be a focus on community, land, and resources,
as well as working together as the First Peoples did. The students should be able to cooperate within their group and with
other groups to maintain a healthy community.

Prerequisite Concepts/Skills:
Students must be able to read and write English, understand map legends and symbols, such as trees, streams,
and hills.
Be proficient in adding, subtracting, multiplication, and division.
Have some spacial understanding.

Materials, Resources/References For This Lesson:

Teachers: Students:
Worksheets with map examples: Village Maps Pens/pencils
Worksheets with Maps: Territory Maps Outdoor clothes/umbrella
Masking tape
Metre stick or long measuring tape
Flagging tape
Treasures to find- Potlatch food
DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION (ACCOMMODATIONS)
We will be working in groups which should help with people who are both behind and ahead. Within the groups, there will
be a person who does the pacing, writes things down, or finds the best path to follow etc. In other words, designated
duties for each member of the group. This lesson contains an outdoor component so students should be able stay
engaged, especially those with ADHD, or any other jittery issues. As this lesson could be expanded into a full week unit
fairly easily, student should be able to access the information through ongoing differentiation with a variety of activities
and many different forms of both formal and informal assessment.

ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION

Students will have successfully completed the activity if they find their food/cache. This will have covered reading the map
and adjusting for scale, pacing, and collaboration. Assessment will be whether or not the cache was found, and then
teaching in a jigsaw format, here called a talking circle. In the talking circle the groups will be separated so that each
tribe is represented in each group and can discuss their involvement. Cooperation during the circle around the bonfire
wherein each group will say one or two things of interest about their Nation and an item for which their group foraged.
Each foraged item will have a few facts on them that can be shared in the circle. Ideally, if this were to be made into a full
one-week unit there would be an opportunity to bring in an elder to assist with the end of the unit talking circle which
could culminate in a potlatch style food-sharing.
Informal assessments can include participation in the group work, teaching the other students about their particular
foraged items in a jigsaw-type activity. If the lesson is expanded to a full unit, several kahoot or jeopardy style quizzes
with whiteboards, posters, and any other item the student group can think of to report what they have learned, such as a
video, podcast, etc, can be used. Ideally, this will be a cross-curricular unit that will be taught in STEM, Humanities, and
French/PE classes.
STEM can cover the use of the land, how the environment and climate affected what was available to be hunted
and gathered, as well as mapping, and building math as well as figuring out how much food will be needed to feed
the entire village over different seasons.
Humanities can teach the cultural aspects, the ceremonies, and wars pre and post contact. As well as the changes
in community due to specific instances such as Residential Schools and Potlatch bans.
 French can discuss the idea of a trading language that would have been needed both pre- and post- contact used
between First Peoples to trade with each other and with new settlers.
Finally, PE can cover how far and how difficult some travel was, i.e. number of km walked, etc, as well as teaching
a variety of indigenous games to round out the unit.

All of these parts can be assessed both formally and informally, allowing for the cross-curricular/interdisciplinary nature of
a unit like this. Utilizing oral traditions in poems or stories can be used for the Social Studies and Humanities, playing
traditional games in PE, and creating a poster of all of the languages used within a certain radius of each village can be
used in both French and math classes.

LESSON ACTIVITIES

TEACHER ACTIVITIES STUDENT ACTIVITIES CLASS MANAGEMENT PACING

CONSIDERATIONS
INTRODUCTION

Present the agenda: While sitting down, have the Getting and maintaining focus 2 min
-PPT on mapping and pacing desks in groups of 4 or 5 to help while presenting the agenda
-hand out worksheet to work with group work later.
through in time with the Only handout paperwork when
presentation they are being used.
-worksheet on Village Maps
-outdoor Territory Map project
-community focus upon return
-bonfire circle
BODY
The PPT will teach the students
how to read and interpret the
maps, and how the First Peoples
would use this knowledge to
maintain their hunting and
gathering locations that kept the
village fed. The PPT will do this by
using the example of the Village
Map, before moving on to the
group activity of the Territory map.
Work through Village Map scale
conversions together
The Village Map will introduce the
concepts of scale and pace, and
how to go from paper to the real
world and back to paper, and will
introduce a very rudimentary
legend, with very few items on the
legend to help decipher the maps
Separate class into groups of 4 or
5; 6 groups total
Have the groups select the pace-
makers and leave the room with
Watch and listen; making sure
that the students are fully
engaged during the information
delivery portion of the class will
be our responsibility as teachers
Receive and work through
Village Map math examples
Working through the Village Map minimize disruptions due to lack
will allow student the opportunity of understanding, and ensure
to work through a map, and,
using scale, convert the paper
map to the real world, and back
again
Get into groups of 4 or 5; 6
groups total
Choose one group member to
pace, who will go out into the
hallway to mark their pace. After
keeping focus and paying 8 min
attention
By working as a whole group
through 1 or 2 examples, we will 5 min
ensure understanding, to
that everyone is working
together to complete the
mapping details
5 min
During the group selection
process, students may get loud,
so having the students already
sitting in groups of 4 or 5 will
reduce this.
Remind the students that this is
a COOPERATIVE activity and
the best way to complete it is
through working together.
The task of learn the pacing may 5 min
them. While the pace-maker is out
in the hallway with one of the
teachers, the other teacher will
hand out the Territory Maps to
the remaining members of the
groups.
This process will have a pre-
measured distance in the hallway.
The formula that will allow the
groups to convert from paces to
metres and back will be based
upon the measured pace of the
designated group member.
Example: if the measured distance
in the hallway is 30m, and the
pacer walks it in 35 steps, then 35
paces equals 30m. If the outdoor
map requires the group to go 70m
to get to the berry patch, it will
take about 82 paces to cover that
distance.
Once the pacing exercise is
completed, the groups and
teacher will head outside and
assist the students to read the
Territory Map to find their forage
or hunting grounds based upon
their maps.
getting the Territory Map, be a bit confusing, so getting for pacing
groups should then choose measured paces from the
someone(s) to record, hallway (known distance) will
someone(s) to calculate, and help out of the classroom where
someone(s) to help keep the the distances arent known, but
pacer in a straight line (sighting). the paces are known and
The person who will be the pace landmarks can be recognized, or
maker will walk down the pointed out by teachers if
hallway, counting the paces that necessary.
it takes to go from the start line to
the finish line. This distance will
be a pre-measured distance,
dependant upon the length of the
unobstructed hallway in a
straight line from the start to the
finish. This pace will be used by
the group to determine how
many paces are required to go
how many metres.
Using the information from the Preventing distractions and 35 min
hallway pacing exercise, the going out of the proscribed area (in a full
groups will calculate the number by circulating, and making sure lesson)
of paces to get to various that each group recognizes the (likely less
locations, then move to the entire area that is encompassed than 10 min
location on the Territory Map in in the Territory Map here)
order to collect/forage for the
FNs treasure.

CLOSURE
-return to classroom
-watch traditional potlatch clip
Build the bonfire and use it as a
community building exercise as
the resources are shared
throughout the Village
Once the group gathers or
hunts according to their
Territory Map, they will return to
the village (classroom) to gather
in order to hear from an Elder
while building a bonfire (watch
the video)
Build the bonfire and gather as a
community, discuss the various
roles of each team and each
team member, in a talking
circle, similar to a jigsaw activity,
as there will be some notes of
interest on each of the foraged
items and communities
There may be some difficulty 15 min (in
getting the students back into the the full
classroom, but ensuring that lesson)
they know there are further maybe 5
exercises and video may help min here
Sitting on the ground after
returning to the classroom may
be made easier if we have
blankets or cushions for
everyone; would likely do this in
the full 80 min class, or to close
out the unit if increased to a full
unit

QUICK REFERENCES : http://www.fnha.ca/documents/traditional_food_fact_sheets.pdf

http://viea.ca/business-living-on-vancouver-island/first-nations/