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 Head:  LOSING  YOUR  WORDS  

Losing Your Words – Grade 4 Lesson Plan

Jasmin Bains, Omolara Fagbemiro, Breanna Hartman, Lindsay Kawohl, Alicia Peterson, Megan Wong

University of Calgary

EDUC 530 – S13

Dr. Dustin Louie

November 3, 2017
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“Losing Your Words” Lesson Plan

Class: Grade 4 Social Studies/English Language Arts Date: November 3, 2017

Objective of Lesson: Students will experience what it feels like to lose their language within a safe
environment. Students will struggle with being able to express themselves through the process of writing a letter
to a person of their choosing. Students will gain a preliminary understanding of the loss of language experienced
in residential schools and recognize the ongoing impact of residential schools on Indigenous cultures and ways
of knowing.

Learner Outcomes (Program of Studies) Plan for Diversity

English Language Arts
1.1 Discover and Explore
• discuss and compare the ways similar
topics are developed in different forms of
oral, print and other media texts
1.2 Clarify and Extend
• identify other perspectives by exploring a
variety of ideas, opinions, responses and
oral, print and other media texts
2.1 Use Strategies and Cues
• explain how the organizational structure of
oral, print and other media texts can assist
in constructing and confirming meaning
2.2 Respond to Texts
• experience oral, print and other media
texts from a variety of cultural traditions
and genres, such as personal narratives,
plays, novels, video programs, adventure
stories, folktales, informational texts,
mysteries, poetry and CD ROM programs
4.3 Present and Share
• present to peers ideas and information on
a topic of interest, in a well-organized form
• connect own ideas, opinions and
experiences to those communicated in oral
and visual presentations
5.1 Respect Others and Strengthen Community
• describe similarities and differences
between personal experiences and the
experiences of people or characters from
various cultures portrayed in oral, print and
other media texts
Social Studies
4.2.1 appreciate how an understanding of
Alberta’s history, peoples and stories
contributes to their own sense of belonging
and identity:
• Recognize how stories of people and
events provide multiple perspectives on
past and present events
• Auditory learners will benefit from verbal
instructions on the expectations of the assignment.
This can also be done through the use of text-to-
speech software.
• Visual learners will benefit from seeing instructions
presented through the Document Camera and/or
written instructions provided on the board.
• Students with visual impairments will benefit from
using Voice Dream Reader to manipulate their text
contrast and size. This program also provides an
option for text-to-speech.
• Students with Dyslexia that struggle with
comprehension, writing and spelling will benefit
from assistive technologies when working
independently. Students can use text-to-speech
software, speech-to-text dictation, virtual
keyboard, graphic organizers and
sentence/paragraph frames. These students will
also benefit from the review done at the beginning
of the lesson.
• Students with AD/HD will be provided with multiple
opportunities for movement such as standing
desks, wiggle cushions, and balance ball chairs.
• Students with difficulty writing and forming
sentences can use assistive technologies to
organize and present their ideas (Virtual Keyboard
on Mac, Speech-to-Text and Dictation Software for
Mac). They will also benefit from sentence or
paragraph frames in which they will be provided
with transitional words and cues to guide their
writing.
• English Language Learners will be provided with
sentence or paragraph frames to guide their
writing by using transitional words and cues.
• Education Assistants are present to offer help to
students who need assistance.
• Some students are on IPP’s and specialized
learning programs and the appropriate steps are
taken to help them be successful in the lesson.
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Prerequisite Knowledge, Skills, Strategies and Preliminary Matters (Announcements, etc.)

Attitudes • Worksheet outlining elements of writing a letter
• Students are doing a novel study on • Variety of graphic organizer templates for students
residential schools. The novel is Fatty Legs to write their letters on
by Christy Jordan-Fenton and Margaret • Hand out the list of forbidden words
Pokiak-Fenton. This autobiographical story • Guiding questions for journal entry
chronicles Margaret’s experiences leaving
her community and going to residential
school (applicable for ages 9-12).
• Students have prior knowledge about
residential schools and the detrimental
impact it had and continues to have on
Indigenous people.
• Students have prior experience writing
letters and are familiar with the correct
format and techniques required.
• Students have prior experiences with
Sharing Circles and are aware of the rules
surrounding this activity (i.e. anybody can
share their thoughts and feelings, any
member has the right to remain silent,
everyone will be respectful towards their
peers experiences, this is a safe place)

What the teacher does. What the student does (include Resources
differentiated instruction).

Introduction Teacher will mention the novel study
(20 minutes) and Margaret’s experiences within
residential schools, highlighting the
loss of language and culture.
Teacher will review the aspects of
writing a letter (i.e. date, address,
salutation, introduction, body,
conclusion).
Student will engage in large group Smart board/
discussion related to Margaret’s Whiteboard to write
experiences within residential down elements of
schools. Students will recognize writing a letter.
the point in the story in which
Margaret begins to lose her Worksheet
language and culture. outlining the
elements of writing
Students will access their prior a letter.
knowledge and participate in large
group discussion about the
elements of writing a letter.
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Activity Teacher will have students write
Sequence letters to any person of their choosing
(3 one-hour about something completely
sessions) unrelated to the novel (i.e. favourite
memory, things they like to do on the
weekend, a favourite trip they have
gone on, their favourite holiday).
The teacher will provide graphic
organizer templates to students to
draft their letters on. Students will
have the option to write by hand or
utilize laptops and assistive
technologies.
Teacher will provide continuous
feedback and support to students
throughout the writing process.
Once students have done their first
draft of their letter, the teacher will
have students exchange letters with a
peer. The teacher will explain that
students are to cross out every third
word in the letter, as well as the
words in a given list (i.e. the, I, me,
my, they, to, and, love, like, do).
These will be considered “forbidden
words.”
Teacher will instruct students to
rewrite their letters, omitting the
crossed out words. The teacher will
provide support to students and
encourage them to brainstorm ways
to get the same message across
using different words.
Closure Teacher will have students sit in
(1 hour) Sharing Circle. Teacher will review
the rules of a sharing circle (i.e.
anybody can share their thoughts and
feelings, any member has the right to
remain silent, everyone will be
respectful towards their peers
3
Students will work on their first Computers
draft of their letters.
Paper
Students will give their letters to a
peer to read. The peer will cross Pencils/erasers
out every third word in the letter,
as well as the words in a given list List of forbidden
(i.e. the, I, me, my, they, to, and, words on the board
love, like, do). and on a handout
The words that have been crossed Variety of graphic
out by the peer are now forbidden organizer
words. Students will re-write their templates to hand
letters without using any of the out
words that were crossed out.
Students will explore other ways
to get the same message across
without using the words that are
“forbidden”.
Students will give their letters to
another peer to read. Students will
write comments on their peer’s
letter to see if they can make
sense of what it says. Students
will write down any questions they
have about the letter.
When they are done reading their
peer’s letters, they will rip them
up, as well as the original letter
with the crossed out words. This
initiates that all language is
allowed again.
Using any words they want,
students will try to re-create the
letter they wrote from their
memory. They will also tell the
person they are writing to what
their peer did to their letters. They
will explain how it made them feel.
Students will share their feelings Journals
throughout the experience.
Students will acknowledge what it Guiding Questions
felt like to have their language on Smart board or
completely restricted. Students will Whiteboard, or on
consider how this impacted a handout
Indigenous cultures.
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experiences, this is a safe place)

Teacher will facilitate conversation
with questions such as: How did you
feel when you lost the ability to use
your words? What message did you
want to get across that you had
difficulty with? Do you know anybody
who has gone through a similar
experience?
Students will write their
experiences in their journals after
the sharing circle. They will use
guiding questions provided by the
teacher based on the discussion
that occurred within the Sharing
Circle.

Assessment

Pre-assessment: Students prior knowledge of the elements of a letter and recognition of Margaret losing her
language and culture in the novel study, and using graphic organizers.

Formative assessment: Peer feedback loops, teacher will provide individual guidance to students by circulating
the classroom and addressing questions and concerns, participation in sharing circle.

Summative assessment: Journal entry on overall experiences with this activity.

Reflection
What do I want the students to know and what will I accept as evidence?
Was your lesson successful? What is your evidence?
What would you do differently next time?

Adapted from Alberta Education, Canada, 2008

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Rationale

This lesson plan is intended to be within a series of lessons surrounding a novel study on the
book Fatty Legs written by Christy Jordan-Fenton and Margaret Pokiak-Fenton. This autobiographical
story chronicles Margaret’s experiences leaving her community and going to residential school
(applicable for ages 9-12). As future educators, we need to provide a safe and positive environment for
our students in order for lessons such as this one to be implemented successfully. Throughout this
lesson, students will gain a preliminary understanding of the loss of language experienced by
Indigenous individuals who attended residential schools and the ongoing impact of colonialism.
Students will experience what it feels like to lose their language within a safe environment. The
intention behind this lesson is to encourage students to becoming critical thinkers and engage in an
experience that will be meaningful to them going forward.

With regards to Indigenous pedagogy, we have ensured our lesson plan aligns with several of
Smith’s (1999) methodologies.
• Storytelling: students are engaging in a novel study and sharing their own experiences
within the lesson through journal writing and sharing circle activities.
• Celebrating survival: the teacher is highlighting the resilience that was required of
Indigenous students who attended residential schools, and the ongoing resilience that is
required to deal with the intergenerational trauma that resulted in a loss of language and
culture. This lesson plan is an example of moving away from a deficit model.
• Remembering: Acknowledging and understanding the painful aspects of residential
schools on Indigenous cultures and ways of knowing in a unified and interconnected
way through a novel study on residential schools, journal writing and sharing circle
activities.
• Connecting: students are connecting with one another through collaboration, classroom
discussions, journal writing and a sharing circle experience, while addressing their
intersectionality.
• Reading: students will examine and understand various perspectives that are being
examined through texts, while acknowledging there are perspectives missing and some
people were impacted more than others.
• Reframing: providing a safe and welcoming environment for students to explore the
complexities and true realities of Indigenous culture and ways of knowing in order to
avoid a deficit model.
• Democratizing and Networking: whole class collaboration and discussions through
journal writing and sharing circle activities.
• Protecting: encouraging the promotion of protecting Indigenous cultures, languages and
ways of knowing, while creating a safe environment for students to explore the
complexities behind this promotion.
• Sharing: relates to storytelling through the act of journal writing and sharing circles;
students will be encouraged to share what they have learned beyond the classroom.
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References

Alberta Education. (2000). English Language Arts (K-9). Retrieved from

https://education.alberta.ca/media/160360/ela-pos-k-9.pdf

Alberta Education. (2000). Social Studies (K-12). Retrieved from

https://education.alberta.ca/media/159595/program-of- studies-gr-4.pdf

Smith, L. T. (1999). Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples. London, UK:

Zed Books Ltd.