Professional Documents
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Fnim Resource
Fnim Resource
A Promise is A Promise
By
Maxine Bett 7211171
Grace Scully 7656725
Andrew Luscombe 300096437
Monica Cipriani 300000317
How can we use this book to start conversations about Indigenous knowledge and ways of life
and how the students can find good appreciation for First Nations throughout this book.
2019
TABLE OF CONTENT
Table of Content……………………………………………………………………………... 2
……………………………….………... 9-12
Lesson Plan Outline: Dancing for Meaning…
Lesson Plan Outline: Inuit Connection to the Land Through Art……………….….. 13-18
References………….…………………………………………………………………….….. 19
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INTRODUCTION/ OVERVIEW
As a teacher many resources can be used when teaching students about the
Indigenous culture and ways of living. An example of a starting point resource that can
be used is A Promise is a Promise, by Robert Munsch and Michael Kusugak, illustrated
by Vladyana Krykorka. It is written by Michael Arvaarluk Kusugak an Inuit elder who
grew up in in Repulse Bay, NWT (now Nunavut). As the author himself was raised living
a traditional Inuit lifestyle, this book is a pertinent resource to be used in the classroom
as a way to start conversation among the students in relations to First Nations. As this is
the book that is being used for this resource assessment, it will be discussing the
various ways this book can be used to to start conversations about Indigenous
knowledge and ways of life and how the students can find good appreciation for First
Nations throughout this book.
Created for a grade 4 class, this assessment will touch upon the dance and
language arts curriculum and the social studies and visual arts curriculum. Our various
lessons will touch upon the overall expectation A3 of Dance, Exploring Forms and
Cultural Contexts: demonstrate an understanding of a variety of dance forms, traditions,
and styles from the past and present, and their sociocultural and historical contexts and
upon A3 of writing; use editing, proofreading, and publishing skills and strategies, and
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knowledge of language conventions, to correct errors, refine expression, and present
their work effectively. Furthermore, it will also bring forth the overall expectation of B3 of
social studies: Understanding Context: identify Canada’s political and physical regions, and
describe their main characteristics and some significant activities that take place in them
(FOCUS ON: Significance; Patterns and Trends). And finally on D2 of Visual Arts: Reflecting,
Responding, and Analysing: apply the critical analysis process (see pages 23–28) to
communicate feelings, ideas, and understandings in response to a variety of art works and art
experiences.
As this call to action states that it is of duty to include Indigenous lesson plans
from kindergarten to Grade twelve, these lessons plans touch upon Indigenous studies
for grade 4 learners, the junior learner. Furthermore, during these lesson plans the
students will learn to develop an appreciation and new knowledge in regards to First
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Nations which call upon this call to action. Hence, these lesson plan in this resource
guide will create an opportunity for the teachers to begin opening discussions on more
sensitive topics with the students. This will then create an opportunity for the students to
develop their appreciation and further their knowledge on First Nations.
The second Call to Action that these lesson plans respond it Call Number 64.
As this Call to Action states that Aboriginal spiritual beliefs and practices need to
be included in the curriculum these lesson plans explore these contents. In these lesson
plans students are thought about Indigenous myths and cultures through dancing,
writing, art and geography.
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Discussion section
A Promise Is A Promise as a resource has the potential to begin the
conversations that need to happen in the classroom in order to decolonize education.
When targeting fourth grade students we are presented with a unique challenge in
terms of teaching difficult truths, but we don't want to fall back on mythological
storytelling and crafts to try to convey Indigenous knowledge and ways of life to our
students; in fact to do so would be a disservice to them. They are going to have to be
exposed to the difficult truth in their near future and so we owe it to them to start
preparing them, to begin to develop a new lens through which they can view their world
so that they might begin the process of "two eyed seeing" (Battiste, 2010). We believe
that there is no one resource you can bring into your classroom to achieve
decolonization, it is not a one time action, it is a daily choice. As such we do not claim
that this resource can decolonize, but rather that it is fuel to be used to start a fire in our
students, to lead them towards a better understanding of Indigenous knowledge and
ways of life, that they might start the process of making that essential daily choice. In
this section of our resource guide we will break down a few of the ways in which A
Promise Is A Promise c an be used as a resource to start conversations that will
increase students connection to Indigenous knowledge and ways of life, in order to set
them on a path towards decolonization.
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have to be careful of choosing books that are represent the perspective of the given
community rather than the teacher’s own assumptions about a cultural identity (James,
2007). lso presents an opportunity for a more direct
A Promise Is A Promise a
discussion of the tensions between Indigenous and settler narratives, “On TV I have
seen Santa Claus, Fairy Godmothers and the Tooth Fairy, but never any Qallupilluit. I
think my mother is wrong.” (Munsch & Kusugak, 1993). It is this decision by our
protagonist to cast away Indigenous knowledge that leads her down a dangerous path
at the beginning of story. There is also a universal theme within that of the power of
media that can be explored to begin understanding the tools that have made
Eurocentric worldviews so prevalent.
Respect for the environment- way of knowing
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3. Recognizing and reviving Indigenous languages
A Promise Is a Promise s upports Indigenous languages in a very limited manner.
This absence can be seen as a weakness in the book, but can be used thoughtfully as a
resource to still support this particular area of decolonization. There are two words in
particular in this book that stand out from the rest, the name of our hero: Allashua, and
of our villains: Qallupilluit. Students can be engaged with questions of why these two
names are different, allowing them to make inferences about how language is valued in
our society. This can also be lead into a conversation about the variety of Indigenous
languages, and the fact that those able to speak them are dwindling in numbers. By
focusing on this simple minimal representation of Indigenous words we can help
students “ to understand the consequences to the world when Indigenous peoples, their
languages and their knowledge, are denigrated, dismissed, or denied the resources
necessary to retain them.” (Batiste, 2010).
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Lesson Plan Outline: Dancing for Meaning
Integrated Lesson Plan 1
Lesson Description
In this lesson, students will view four different types of Indigenous dances. Students will then be asked
to compare these dance forms and reflect on why they believe it is important to their culture. Students
should also reflect on why it is important to their community and the role that dance plays in their lives.
Students will then put their findings into a text type of their choice to demonstrate their learning.
Dance A3: Exploring Forms and Cultural Contexts: demonstrate an understanding of a variety of dance
forms, traditions, and styles from the past and present, and their sociocultural and historical contexts
Writing 3: use editing, proofreading, and publishing skills and strategies, and knowledge of language
conventions, to correct errors, refine expression, and present their work effectively
Dance:
A3.1 describe, with teacher guidance, how forms and styles of dance reflect people’s different social
and political roles in various communities, times, and places.
A3.2 identify and describe the different roles of dance in their lives and in communities around the
world.
Writing:
3.3 Confirm spellings and word meanings or word choice using different types of resources appropriate
for the purpose.
3.8 Produce pieces of published work to meet identified criteria based on the expectations related to
content, organization, style, use of conventions, and use of presentation strategies.
-students will learn how to -the elements of dance covered in previous classes
critically analyze various -Important elements to various types of texts (ex. essay, poem,
dance forms
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-students will apply their
writing skills to create a
review of the dances viewed
Success criteria:
1 – Learning Goal: Today we will apply our Students will watch the dance videos and do a
knowledge of dance forms to our viewing of think, pair, share about various important
various Indigenous dances. aspects of the dances. As students do this,
2 – Why: So that we can understand why dance they will be filling out a graphic organizer with
is important to various cultures and traditions. all the information then they will collect their
3 – Success Criteria for this Lesson: ideas and express it in a form of writing of
You know you understand when you can their choosing.
successfully identify the important aspects of
dance to the Indigenous culture, traditions and
the roles that dance play in their communities.
To assess their learning, a formative assessment in the form of a checklist will be used to ensure that all
of the important elements were included in their writing piece. Students will then receive feedback on
their writing piece about what they did well and next steps.
Introduce the topic of dance and show this video of the Nutcracker
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zV1qLYukTH8 and discuss how this song is important to Canadian
culture.
Open ( 15 MINS):
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Discuss the following:
- importance of dance in culture and in communities in general
- how forms and styles of dance reflect people’s views in society in general
Then discuss how the two points relate specifically to Indigenous communities.
As a class, introduce the following dances in English and in their Native language.
- Grass Dance (Omaha dance) (Howard, 1951)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vz-F3lA4qhA
- Jingle Dress Dance (Zaangwewe-magooday niimi'idiwin) (Ojibwe People’s
Dictionary , 2015) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGfA82hTwGw
- Red River Jig (Oayache mannin) (Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada, 2018)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOQ3We6M6KI
- Hoop Dance (biindaagibagizowin) (Ojibwe People’s Dictionary , 2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aekMz60W1Hw
Students should then perform a think, pair, share about what they put into the graphic organizer to allow
for students to see different perspectives from their peers.
Students will then chose a form of writing (ex. paragraph, poem, letter, etc.) for them to express their
thoughts
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Assessment Tool for Lesson Plan 1
Comments:
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Lesson Plan Outline: Inuit Connection to the Land Through Art
Integrated Lesson Plan 2
Title: Inuit Connection to the Land Through Art Subject/Course: Social Studies & The Arts (Visual
Arts) Time: 65 minutes Level: Grade 4
Lesson Description
This lesson will be focused around interpreting the illustrations, of the students choosing, from Robert
Munch's "A Promise is a Promise". Students will be given the opportunity to reflect on their current
understandings about the landform and climatic region of the northwest territories (NWT). These
preconceptions will be related to Vladyana Krykorka’s illustrations using the Pastro’s 2005 elements of
art; line, shape, colour, form, texture, value and space. The lesson is built for students to do research
about how the geographic conditions (landform/ climate) connects to Indigenous peoples to sustain their
lifestyle to explore if these illustrations painted an accurate portrayal of that. There findings of this will be
demonstrated in a visual arts response.
How does the illustrations in a “Promise is a promise” give us a better understanding of Inuit
connections to the land?
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B.3. Specific expectations
Understanding Context: Regions in Canada
● B3.1àidentify various physical regions in Canada (e.g., landform, vegetation, and climatic
regions), and describe their location and some of the major ways in which they are distinct from
and similar to each other
● B3.2àidentify some of the main human activities, including industrial development and
recreational activities, in various physical regions of Canada
● B3.3à describe the four main economic sectors (i.e., the primary sector is resource based, the
secondary sector is based on manufacturing and processing, the tertiary sector is service
based, the quaternary sector is information based), and identify some industries that are
commonly associated with each sector (e.g., primary: logging, fishing, mining; secondary: pulp
and paper, car manufacturing; tertiary: banks, stores, transportation; quaternary: education,
research and development)
● D2.1 interpret a variety of art works, and identify the feelings, issues, themes, and social
concerns that they convey
● D2.3. demonstrate awareness of the meaning of signs, symbols, and styles in works of art
Learning goal: Students will identify the landform(s) ● Landform/ climatic regions of Canada
and climatic region(s) of the North West Territories in ● Responding to elements of art
order to implement their research to create a response (identifying and applying these
of their choice to the illustrations of the book after elements to a reflexive practice of
analyzing Pastros elements of art interpretation)
● Making connections between different
formats (i.e. visual to visual, reading
to visual, visual to reading etc.)
● Having read “A Promise is a Promise”
(SMASH book time/ lunch time read
aloud or previous lesson)
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Learning Goals: “clearly identify what students Instructional Strategies:
are expected to know and be able to do, in ● direct instruction- introducing the lesson
language that students can readily understand.” and explanation of learning goals and
Success criteria: “describe in specific terms task and consolidation
what successful attainment of the learning goals ● individual work (can be an opportunity to
looks like” (Growing Success p. 33). work in groups) to research and
complete task
Today we will create responses from the pictures in Choose instructional strategies purposefully
A Promise is a Promise. After researching its and based on the learning goal.
geographic conditions (landform/climate), students
will understand if these illustrations are accurate
depictions of what they thought Indigenous
connection to the land of the NWT looked like
before the research. The success criteria is to
recognize how biases relate to geography inspired
by visual theory to deepen the understanding of this
one resource. Connections between different
concepts around a main goal is a life skill worth
practicing. This concept is very interdisciplinary and
multimodal. Students will understand they achieved
the learning goal when their response (cumulative
assessment) reflects their opinion on if the
illustrations reflected their pre-consumptions about
Indigenous connections to the land in the NWT or
not using at least two of Pastros elements of art.
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they want to submit it (hard
copy, electronic etc.)
● Formative assessment- see rubric for the “Response to Illustration” task attached below
Objective: Share with the students that visual arts can be used as a unique tool to mirror socio-political
and historical conditions to further understand how certain communities sustain their lifestyle.
Open (5 MINS):
· Welcome class
· Class pledge
· Agenda reminder
· Read learning goals/ objective on smart board
Body (modeling, collaborative work, individual = gradual release of responsibility, synthesis) (50
MINS):
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Close (success criteria visited) (5 MINS):
● Review learning goal
● Take a poll on how many students felt they achieved the learning goal by asking them
● Make notes on who and how many students need more time and modify the following lessons
● Homework reminders
● Dismissal
Grade 4 Rubric
Response to Illustration
Components Level 4: Expert Level 3: Proficient Level 2: Apprentice Level 1: Novice
Demonstrate Product shows a Product shows some Uses other people’s Uses other people’s
s individual large amount of original thought and ideas (giving them ideas but does not
response of original thought critical thinking. credit), but there is give them credit.
personal and critical Work shows new little evidence of
growth after thinking. Ideas ideas and insights. original thought or
the research are creative and critical thinking.
inventive.
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Incorporates The analysis is The analysis of the The analysis of the Does not attempt to
Indigenous strong and evidence stretches evidence has no explain how the
Connection explains how its meaning to relation to the evidence relates to
to the Land the evidence support learning learning goal;1 or 2 learning goal; no
(at least 2 supports the goal; the 2+ examples are examples are
examples) learning goal; 2+ examples are included but not included.
strong examples stretched. relevant.
are made.
Appearance Makes excellent Makes good use of Makes some use of Use of minimal color,
of final use of color, color, graphics, color, graphics, graphics, effects,
response graphics, effects, etc. to effects, etc. to etc. to enhance the
effects, etc. to enhance the enhance the presentation. Often,
enhance the presentation. presentation, but these detract from
presentation. occasionally these the content.
detract from the
content.
*late project lose 5 points daily
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References
Battiste, M. (2010). Nourishing the Learning Spirit: Living our Way to New Thinking. Education
Canada, 50(1), 14-18.
Howard, J. (1951). Notes on the Dakota Grass Dance. Southwestern Journal of Anthropology,
7(1), 82-85. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3628652
Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada. (2018). Music and dance. I n Indigenous Peoples Atlas of
Canada (Métis). Retrieved from
https://indigenouspeoplesatlasofcanada.ca/article/music-and-dance/
James, Carl. (2007) Negotiating school: Marginalized students’ participation in their education
process. In Enomoto, R. and Johnson G.(Eds.), Race, Racialization and Antiracism in Canada
and Beyond ( pp. 17-36). Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Jingle Dress, Dance, Hoop Dance. (2015). Ojibwe People’s Dictionary. Retrieved from
https://ojibwe.lib.umn.edu/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=Jingle+dance&commit=Search&type=
english
L. Radford & T. Hollweck, adapted from "Understanding by Design", Wiggins and McTighe
(2005).
Munsch, R., & Kusugak, M. (1993). A Promise Is A Promise. Toronto, ON: Annick Press.
Ng-A-Fook, N., & Milne, R. (2014). Unsettling our Narrative Encounters within and
outside of Canadian Social Studies. Canadian Social Studies, 47(2).
Pastro, H. A., & Mann, L. (2011). Exploring the Elements of Art. In K. Grauer, Starting With . . .,
(pp.126-133). Victoria, B.C.: Canadian Society for Education through Art.
Tupper, J. (2014). Social Media and the Idle No More Movement: Citizenship, Activism and
Dissent in Canada. Journal of Social Science Education, 13(4), 87-94
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