Lesson Plan

Lesson Title: Settler Colonialism

Grade Level: 11

Interdisciplinary Connections: ELA - Students will be reading and using reciprocal teaching to examine
Settler Colonialism.
Lesson Duration: 45 minutes

Language Function: (Bloom’s Taxonomy): Students will examine the who, what, when, where, and
why of Settler Colonialism. Students will apply the skill of reciprocal teaching to make more meaning
of a text.

Syntax and Discourse: Reading

EL Learner Needs
Communication Needs: Printed out versions of notes and documents should be available for EL
learners. Relevant vocabulary for the lesson should also be printed out and translated for the
students. Students will be strategically grouped to enhance the student’s learning.
Special Ed
Students need to be redirected to their resources with the goal of being more autonomous. Avoid
dependence on the teacher.

SETTING INSTRUCTIONAL OUTCOMES/ACADEMIC LANGUAGE

Central Focus/Purpose Statement:

The purpose of this lesson is for students to examine the who, what, when, where, and why of
Settler Colonialism and understand that history classes don’t always teach the history of others. The
students will use the strategy of reciprocal teaching to make meaning of a text about Settler
Colonialism. This lesson is directly related to the prior lesson because in Lesson 2 we learned about
what Colonialism was and what American Ideals were and how they changed through time. Today,
we are learning more about a certain kind of Colonialism that usually isn’t discussed in history
courses. This is directly related to the student’s unit EQ because we are studying the evolution and
creations of new kinds of colonization through time. This is related to the final product because they
will be studying settler colonialism as an American Ideal that has changed or hasn’t changed through
time, and in their final product they will argue their position.

NYS Next Generation Learning Standards: (All phases)

11.1 COLONIAL FOUNDATIONS (1607– 1763): European colonization in North America
prompted cultural contact and exchange between diverse peoples; cultural differences and
misunderstandings at times led to conflict. A variety of factors contributed to the
development of regional differences, including social and racial hierarchies, in colonial
America.
(Standards: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5; Themes: MOV, TCC, GEO, GOV, ECO, EXCH)
- Students will trace European contact with Native Americans, including the Dutch, the English,
the French and the Spanish.
- Students will examine the impacts of European colonization on Native Americans, who
eventually lost much of their land and experienced a drastic decline in population through
diseases and armed conflict.
-
Special Ed: Alternate Achievement: Dynamic Learning Maps- (DLM)

EE.RL.11-12.1 Analyze a text to determine its meaning and cite textual evidence to support explicit
and implicit understandings.

Objective(s):
Special Ed: IEP Goal(s) addressed:
- Students will be able to examine the who, what, when, where, and why of Settler
Colonialism.
- Students will be able to apply the skill of reciprocal teaching to make more meaning of a text.

Academic Language: Settler Colonialism

MATERIALS/RESOURCES

Technologies and Other Materials/Resources: Writing journals, Powerpoint, Video, Reading on

Settler Colonialism

STUDENT ASSESSMENT

Before the lesson:

At the beginning of class, I will provide a brief direct instruction on what Settler Colonialism and what
Social Justice means so that we can view the video that I provide through a social justice lens. Viewing
the video through this lens will help students understand that a lot of the history of others isn’t taught
in the general history classroom. By showing this video and generating discussion about it, I am
assessing whether the students can make connections between modern-day events and Settler
Colonialism/Settler Colonist views.

During the lesson:

Informal Formative Assessment: I will walk around the class during guided practice and independent
practice to answer any questions that students might have and make sure the students are staying on
task, acting appropriately during the stations, and satisfying today’s second objective by successfully
applying the skill of reciprocal teaching.

Formal Formative Assessment: Students will be working in groups and conducting reciprocal teaching
roles to make more meaning of a text on Settler Colonialism. Through observation I can assess whether
the students understand their role and the reading. Through a share aloud after independent practice
and the graphic organizer, I can assess whether the students ultimately understood the who, what,
when, where, and why of Settler Colonialism.

At the end of the lesson:

The students will complete an exit prompt in their writing journals. Through this prompt, I will be
assessing whether the students have an understanding of the text and how Settler Colonialism still
connects to modern-day events and issues.

CONTENT AND PEDAGOGY

Anticipatory Set/Hook: Elicit Prior Knowledge (ENGAGE)

At the beginning of class, the students will be coming in to a brief time of direct instruction on
Settler Colonialism and Social Justice using this powerpoint:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/12SVSyZgy5cek9RlTRaEnUqkeT-vCoreDrpQ3HZHBPFA/edit
?usp=sharing
I will give the definitions and explanations of Settler Colonialism and Social Justice.

Once I finish direct instruction, I will have the students watch the following video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JMkzakXgIY. I will prompt them: “While watching this video,
try and take down notes on times that you see Settler Colonial ideas/views.”

A minute and a half into the video, I will pause and ask the students:
Right Here: “So far, what occurred that can be equated to Settler Colonialism?”
Probing: “What would those teenagers consider it to be instead?”
I will continue the video. I will pause the video again at two minutes and fifteen seconds:
Think and Search: “If you were Nathan Philips, how would you feel at this point? Would you feel
threatened, disrespected, happy, etc? What would you have done if you were there, bystand or
upstand?”
At three minutes I will pause the video:
Connecting: “Let’s think about the time of Colonialism. What connections can you make between
the young man blocking Philips’s way, the whole demonstration, and Settler Colonialism? How much
has the concept of Colonialism really changed in America? Think about the image of U.S. military
presence around the world from our prior lesson.”

I will continue discussion: “The concept of Settler Colonialism and the events in this video are the
kinds of history that aren’t taught to use in general history classes. We need to begin learning and
understanding the history of others to understand U.S. history as a whole.”

Procedures (Overview of lesson):

Instructional Strategies/THE FIVE E’S
Introduction: Then, I will introduce today’s activity.
“Today, you will all be using the strategy of reciprocal teaching to make meaning of a text on Settler
Colonialism. While you read, you will be taking notes on a graphic organizer with columns labeled as
‘Who, What, When, Where, and Why?’ As you read, take notes on Who was involved in Settler
Colonialism, What helps you understand what Settler Colonialism is, When Settler Colonialism took
place, Where it took place, and Why it took place or the purpose of Settler Colonialism.”
Then, I will introduce the reciprocal teaching strategy and explain each role. I will also provide each
student with a role guide to help them during independent practice. I will explain that they will
conduct these roles verbally and discuss as they read and take notes in their organizer.

I will introduce the roles:

“These are the roles you will take on for independent practice:
- “As predictor, Consider the question: ‘What do you think the text is going to be about? Why
do you think so?’
- “As clarifier, my job is to clarify vocabulary.
- “As questioner, consider the question: ‘What are some relevant questions we should ask
ourselves in this text?’
- As summarizer, think about this question: ‘What’s the theme? How would I summarize this
text?’”

Guided Practice:
I will model reciprocal teaching on the first few sentences of their reading and I will do so using a
read-aloud.
- “Settler colonialism is a distinct type of colonialism that functions through the replacement
of indigenous populations with an invasive settler society that, over time, develops a
distinctive identity and sovereignty. Settler colonial states include Canada, the United States,
Australia, and South Africa, and settler colonial theory has been important to understanding
conflicts in places like Israel, Kenya, and Argentina, and in tracing the colonial legacies of
empires that engaged in the widespread foundation of settlement colonies.”
I will read the section and say “As predictor, what questions would I ask? Yes! What do we think this
reading is going to be about? Based on the first sentence, I think this reading will be on Settler
Colonialism because here they define it.”
“ If I were the clarifier, what would I ask instead? Yes! I would ask what vocabulary words might be
hard to understand within the reading! Why would we ask this? I think we would ask this because
Tier 3 vocabulary can be hard for students to understand, and to understand the text you need to
understand the content-specific vocabulary within it. For example, the word ‘invasive’ can be a
difficult word. Invasive, in this context, means the unwanted settler society that invaded the
indigenous populations/land.”
“If I were the questioner, what kind of questions would I ask? Yes! Questions that we should ask
ourselves and are relevant to the text. What is an example of a question we would ask ourselves in
this section? Oh, that’s really interesting! You’re right, an example could be ‘How is the process of
Settler Colonialism different from what we were taught about colonialism throughout our
education?’”
“Lastly, if I were the summarizer, how would that change my question? Good! ‘How would I
summarize this text?’ Can someone volunteer to summarize this for me? Great! ___ summarized this
section by saying that ‘Settler Colonialism is structured to replace indigenous populations with a
settler society. It also explains where Settler Colonialism exists and how it is important to
understanding conflicts in other countries.’”

I will then ask the students if they have any questions about the strategy.

Independent Practice:
Once I have finished modelling reciprocal teaching, I will group students homogeneously according
to language so students can discuss in their native language. If there are no language partners I will
allow students to use translators on their phone. The students will receive a short, but very
informative reading on Settler Colonialism
(https://globalsocialtheory.org/concepts/settler-colonialism/). They will have 15 minutes to conduct
their roles, read, and take notes on the text in their graphic organizer. I will be walking around to
answer any questions and promote discussion if some groups are struggling.

Once the students have finished in their groups, I will conduct a share aloud on the student’s
findings and notes in their graphic organizers. Once some students have shared, I will generate a
mini-discussion.

Sentence Starters for Share Aloud:

Settler Colonialism is ____________.

Those involved in Settler Colonialism were _______.

Settler Colonialism took place _______ (time period(s)).

Settler Colonialism exists in ________ (place(s)).

The purpose of Settler Colonialism was to ______.

Mini-Discussion:
“Now that we know about what Settler Colonialism is, how is Settler Colonialism different from the
Colonialism that you were taught in all of your history courses? What new history have you learned?
Are the histories of others still erased today? Does settler colonialism still exist today? If so, how has
its definition and the process of it changed over time? In what ways can we stand up to this?”

Once the mini-discussion is completed, I will collect the student’s graphic organizers.

Differentiation :

Specially and Culturally Designed Instruction (e.g. Students with IEPs, 504s, ELLs etc.):

● EL Learners in the class were given translated material so that they can
understand the content and task better.

Closure:
At the end of class, I will have the students do a short writing assignment in their journals. They will
respond to the following prompts:
- What new content have you learned today? What has today’s lesson taught you about how
history is configured, manipulated, or white-washed?
- In what ways can we fight systems like Settler Colonialism today?
By doing this, I will be assessing whether the students understood the text that they read using
reciprocal teaching and if they can make connections between the content from today and how it
relates to them.

Powerpoint:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/12SVSyZgy5cek9RlTRaEnUqkeT-vCoreDrpQ3HZ
HBPFA/edit?usp=sharing
Graphic Organizer:

WHO WHAT WHEN WHERE WHY