PED 3102A – Three Part Lesson Plan

Lesson: Superhero Plant Trading Cards

Teacher: Fatouma Yassin
Grade 2
Subject: Language Arts
Curriculum Expectations (Overall and Specific)

Overall Art Expectation – C1 Knowledge About Texts

Specific Language Expectations:

- C1.1 Read and comprehend short texts, using knowledge of words, grammar, cohesive
ties, sentence structures, and background knowledge
- C1.7 Read, listen to, and view various forms of texts by diverse First Nations, Métis,
and Inuit creators to demonstrate understanding of various aspects of First Nations,
Métis, and Inuit histories, cultures, relationships, communities, groups, nations, and
lived experiences

Cross-curricular Expectation – Art Expectation – D3: Exploring Forms and Cultural

Contexts:
- D3.1: Identify and describe visual art forms that they see in their home, at school, in
their community, and in visual arts experiences

Connection to Language
- They learn about traditional Indigenous and Métis traditions of using plants for their
medicinal properties and how knowledge is passed through generations. This is not
something that is typically seen in Eurocentric cultures and gives power back to the
people who have a lot being stolen from them.
- It shows the students how there are different forms of healing that do not necessarily
have to involve the healthcare system
- I think it brings back some of the joy into the curriculum about Indigenous Peoples
and their histories. We often focus on all the terrible things that have happened and
continue to happen today. It is important to share the positive side of their histories as
well and to show that they still prevail to this day despite everything that is happening

Assessment For/Of/As Learning

- Anecdotal noting will be used for during discussion periods for general understanding,
for re-stating information from the video/introduction, and when making connections
 in the debrief of the activity
- Anecdotal noting for overall effort put into the creation of their superhero plant

Minds On
The resource will be introduced to the students by first telling them that we are going to explore
how sometimes plants are superheroes. I would then go on to explain that in Indigenous culture
plants can have healing powers. I would provide them with examples such as Canada Thistle to
help when their teeth hurt and Indian Hemp to cure a cough. Students will be given access to
printouts of other plants while I explain the examples on the board.

I will then show them a video of Jamie Koebel being interviewed by the Ottawa Art Gallery as an
introduction to the Superhero Plant Trading Cards.

Guiding Questions:
- Before the video – What are superpowers you wish you had that would make change
in the world? What plants do you think are superheroes and why?
- After the video – What does Métis mean? What is something that was passed down
through the generations to you similar to how information about medicinal plants was
passed down through Indigenous cultures? Do you think all the plants you see every
day have superpowers? What kinds of things do you think these plants do for you
and/or for others?

Time:
I think the introduction piece will take about 10 minutes total. The video itself is just under 10
minutes. The other 25 minutes would be used for the students to ask questions and begin working
on their own superhero cards.

Materials:
- Access to technology to watch the Jamie Koebel video
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8hvPCFk0Pg)
- Printouts of various medicinal/superhero plants from the Medicinal Plant Guide
(https://manitoumounds.com/nature/medicinal-plant-guide/)
Action
Using the handouts given to them, each student will select a plant that has superpowers that
interest them. This can be beneficial to them specifically or to the world in general. Students will
need to read the brief descriptions of the plants to properly understand what they are selecting.

Students will then draw and colour their plant on one side of the card. They have the option to
draw it as detailed as they would like and can add additional “superhero” features such as a mask
and cape if they want. I would show them Jamie Koebel’s example, so they understand what is
expected of them.

Once they have drawn their superhero plant, the students will then move onto the writing
component. they will write on the back of the card the name of their plant and what its
superpower is. Students can then hand in their card to be laminated and assessed by the teacher.

Guiding Questions:
I want students to be thinking about how information is passed through generations to benefit
their futures. I want the students to be making connections between what they are drawing and
what they see in their everyday lives to hopefully make some practical connections to their world
today.
- How did Indigenous Peoples pass along their information?
- Will this superhero plant still be around in 10, 50, 100 years?
- How will this plant benefit the future generation and how can I teach others about it?

Time:
Students should be given ample time to do their research and to create their card so that it is a
meaningful learning experience. I think 20-30 minutes would be an appropriate amount of time as
some students will finish faster than others. If students are finished early, they can discuss what
they created with their classmates and explore other plants they may have not selected in the
handouts.

Materials:
- Cardstock cut into rectangles
- Art utensils – markers, pencil crayons, crayons
- Pencils and erasers
Consolidation/Debrief
Once everyone has completed their cards, they will be told to return to the carpet to share.
Everyone will get a chance to share what plant they chose, how they depicted it, and why. We will
also revisit the guiding questions from earlier to consolidate some of that information.

Guiding Questions:
I would use this time to solidify the information we just learned and start building on the idea of
passing information through generations. This would be something we would build on over the
next couple of class with different lessons.
- What plant did you pick and why?
- Does anyone remember what it means to be Métis?
- What is something that was passed down through the generations to you like how
information about medicinal plants was passed down through Indigenous cultures?
- What other knowledge do you think was and is still being passed down?
- How is information passed through generations? Can you give me some examples?

Materials:
- Their completed trading cards

Time:
We would spend the rest of the block on this. Depending on how long the students took to
complete their trading cards, we would still have 10-15 minutes left to discuss and consolidate
information.

Modifications/Differentiation/Accommodations
- Closed captions would be used on the videos for students with sensory and/or auditory
processing difficulties
- Students who struggle to make academic decisions can be given a choice of two plants
to help streamline the decision-making process
- Simplified handouts with briefer descriptions and larger photos can be provided for
students modified for reading
- Students could be accommodated/modified with a writing prompt for the back of their
card and/or have help with scribing
- Students who have difficulties with the fine motor part of drawing would be provided
with pre-made images for them to paste on their card or they could create the image
online using photo editing software