Social Studies Unit Plan Lesson Plan Grade 6: First Nations Peoples and European Explorers

Marylina Serio

The Impact of Early European Settlement - Critical Challenge Lesson Plan Critique the Piece Judge the Better or Best Rework the Piece Name: Marylina Serio Course: Social Studies Grade Level: Grade 6 (Gifted) Decode the Puzzle Design to Specs Perform to Specs

Overall Expectations:
Describe characteristics of pre-contact First Nation cultures across Canada, including their close relationships with the natural environment; the motivations and attitudes of the European explorers; and the effects of contact on both the receiving and the incoming groups; Use a variety of resources and tools to investigate different historical points of view about the positive and negative effects of early contact between First Nation peoples and European explorers; Analyse examples of interaction between First Nation peoples and European explorers to identify and report on the effects of cooperation and the reasons for disagreements between the two groups.

Specific Expectations:
Identify the Viking, French, and English explorers who first came to and explored Canada, and explain the reasons for their journeys (e.g., the early-fifteenth-century blockade of overland trade routes and the resulting search for new routes to the Far East; the fishing industry; the fur trade; the search for gold; population growth in Europe leading to the search for new areas for settlement); Identify technological developments and cultural factors that assisted and promoted the exploration of North America (e.g., caravel ships, improved navigational instruments, the quest for new lands); Identify and explain differing opinions about the positive and negative effects of early contact between European and First Nation peoples (e.g., growth of First Nation peoples dependency on trade goods; impact of the fur trade on the economy and environment; effect of attempts to convert the Huron Nation to Christianity);

Critical Tasks/Question:
What was the impact of early European exploration on Indigenous peoples? And on European Peoples?

Social Studies Unit Plan Lesson Plan Grade 6: First Nations Peoples and European Explorers

Marylina Serio

Overview:
Students will have the opportunity to discover the impacts of early European exploration on both Europeans and Aboriginal Peoples in the past. They will then make a judgement as to which group of Peoples early contact has had a greater impact on. The students must then write an editorial from the perspective of one person from the group of peoples that early contact has had the most impact on according to their judgements.

Objectives:
Lesson Objectives: The students will gain an understanding of what makes something impactful and the criteria for how to judge whether or not something is impactful. The students will learn about the impacts that European exploration had on both Aboriginal Peoples and European explorers and settlers in terms of gaining or loosing resources, the way resources were used, the food that was grown or eaten, the land where they lived, culture and beliefs, technologies and tools that were used, and language. Based on this knowledge about the impacts of early contact, the students will make a judgment as to which group of peoples early contact had a greater impact on.

Social Objectives: Work together cooperatively with classmates to discover the impacts that early contact had on both Aboriginal Peoples and European explorers and settlers. Demonstrate mutual respect for the opinions of classmates and listen attentively as the students discuss the findings of their research and judge the group that early contact had a greater impact on.

Broad Understanding:
Early contact in Canada impacted the lives of both Aboriginal Peoples and European explorers and settlers in many ways.

Requisite Tools for Thinking Critically:

Background Knowledge: o The students should have some experience with searching the internet and writing a newspaper editorial o The students, through previous lessons, should also have an understanding of the concepts of culture and social culture

Social Studies Unit Plan Lesson Plan Grade 6: First Nations Peoples and European Explorers

Marylina Serio

Criteria for Judgement: o Identify the results that emerged from early contact What was shared between the two groups of peoples? o How did early contact change the lives of the two groups in terms of: Resources Foods that were grown and foods that were eaten Land and where they lived Culture Beliefs Technologies and tools Language Critical Thinking Vocabulary: o Culture This term will have been previously taught in other lessons and will have been written in their learning log glossaries. However, if necessary, a brief review of the term can be given. Thinking Strategies: o The students will be provided with a chart so that they may organize their research Habits of Mind: o Listening to others with understanding and empathy o Thinking flexibly o Striving for accuracy and precision o Thinking and communicating with clarity and precision o Learning continuously

Suggested Activities:
Mental Set: (1 minute)

Write the critical thinking question on the board or on chart paper to provide the students with a big picture of what they will be learning about and discussing throughout this lesson: o What was the impact of early European exploration on Indigenous Peoples? And on European Peoples?

Stated objectives and purpose: (1 minute) Today we are going to learn about what makes something impactful and then we will apply this criteria to early contact and discover the impacts that it had on Aboriginal
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Social Studies Unit Plan Lesson Plan Grade 6: First Nations Peoples and European Explorers

Marylina Serio

Peoples and on European explorers and settlers. We will then use this information to judge which group early contact had a greater impact on. Input/modelling/demonstration: (20 minutes) Ask the students the following questions to engage in discussion about the general topic of early contact: o Would you have liked to have been an Aboriginal person in the times of exploration? Why or why not? o Would you have liked to have been an explorer or settler during these times? Why or why not? During the discussion, stress to students that early contact and exploration had an impact on both Aboriginal Peoples and European explorers. Re-state the original critical thinking question: o What was the impact of early European exploration on Indigenous Peoples? And on European Peoples? Provide the students with the criteria that they will use to judge the impacts that early contact had on both groups: o For this lesson the students will make a judgement based on the following criteria: What was shared between the two groups of peoples? Note: The students may need to be How did early contact change the lives of the two groups in terms given some examples of how of: something can change lives: o Resources Post these criteria Something that is impactful o Food can make people change the on the chalk board o Land and where they lived way they act, the way they or on a piece of o Culture interact with something, their chart paper for the behaviours, their beliefs, o Beliefs changes where they live, what students to make o Technologies and tools they eat, etc. reference to. o Language o Example: hearing
that eating large amounts of junk food leads to obesity and cancer may impact your lives by convincing you to stop eating junk food.

Divide the class into working groups of 3, and provide each group with a chart (with the two headings impacts on Aboriginal Peoples, and impacts on European explorers and settlers), chart paper, and markers. Have the students construct an enlarged copy of the chart onto the chart paper.
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Social Studies Unit Plan Lesson Plan Grade 6: First Nations Peoples and European Explorers

Marylina Serio

Discuss with the students that they will be working on the computers to compile evidence that can be used to discuss the impacts that early contact has had on Aboriginal Peoples and European Explorers. Provide them with the following websites through a Google Document so that they may access them from the computers. o Why Explorers Explored the World: http://library.thinkquest.org/J002678F/why.htm o Exploration: the Fur Trade and the Hudsons Bay Company: http://www.canadiana.ca/hbc/intro_e.html o The Canadian Atlas Online: http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/atlas/themes.aspx?id=first&lang=En o Multicultural Canada: http://www.multiculturalcanada.ca/ o Virtual Museum of Canada: http://www.museevirtuel-virtualmuseum.ca/indexeng.jsp o For basic information: Native Americans for Kids: http://nativeamericans.mrdonn.org/index.html If the computers are not available, an alternative solution would be to use various ministry approved textbooks including books from the Canada Revisited Series by Nelson Education. (35 40 minutes)

Practice:

o Provide the students with ample time to search through the websites provided to them so that they may compile enough evidence to support the ways that early contact has impacted the lives of both groups based on the provided criteria. o While they are researching, they should also be contributing information to their charts on the chart paper (or each group member may choose to individually fill out their handouts and then compile all of the information together into their enlarged charts once they are finished on the computers). o Suggest to the students that they may wish to split up the categories in the criteria amongst each of the group members so that the information they are finding is not overlapping each other and they will be able to get through each of the criteria more efficiently. Checks for Understanding (while the students are working on the computers): o While the students are working, check to see that they are staying on task with the assignment o Ask the students various questions about their findings as they are working to determine if they are understanding the information they are finding o Example: How was the land that Aboriginal Peoples lived on impacted by early contact? How had early contact changed where they lived?

Social Studies Unit Plan Lesson Plan Grade 6: First Nations Peoples and European Explorers Closure: (10 15 minutes)

Marylina Serio

Allow the students in each group an opportunity to share their ideas with the class. Encourage the students to reflect, ask questions, and provide evidence to substantiate their ideas.

Evaluation:
Based on the evidence found by their research, the students must work in their Social Studies Learning Log to write an editorial from the perspective of one person from the group of peoples that early contact has had the most impact on. In order to complete this task the students must make a judgement as to whether early contact had a greater impact on Aboriginal Peoples or Indigenous Peoples based on the information they found. Once they make this judgement, the students will write their editorial from the perspective of these peoples and discuss the impacts that early contact had on them. For this evaluation the students will be assessed based upon the following success criteria: o Has the student: Made a judgement as to which group of peoples was impacted more by early contact based on the criteria provided Justified their choice or judgement based on the criteria of what makes something impactful: How did early contact change the lives of the two groups in terms of: o Resources o Food o Land and where they lived o Culture o Beliefs o Technologies and tools o Language Provided evidence for each of the criterion for their judgement Provided a convincing argument as to why they think the group of peoples they chose were impacted more than the other group of peoples Written information in their own words and referenced all outside sources

Extension:
o Once the students are completed their work, they may continue to work on their culminating tasks and find ways to incorporate the information learnt, through this lesson. into their products where appropriate.
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Social Studies Unit Plan Lesson Plan Grade 6: First Nations Peoples and European Explorers

Marylina Serio

References:
This lesson was adapted from a lesson in the unit titled Inside the Circle: Aboriginal Peoples in Canada written by The Curriculum Review Team and a lesson from the unit entitled Hands-On Social Studies by Jennifer Lawson, Joni Bowman, Joan Murash, and Linda McDowell.

Lawson, J., Bowman, J., Murash, J., and McDowell, L. (2002). Hands-on Social Studies: Grade 6. Winnipeg: Portage & Main Press. The Curriculum Review Team. (2005). Inside the Circle: Aboriginal Peoples in Canada. Ontario: N/A. Websites: CHIN. (2009). Explore the Virtual Museum of Canada. In Virtualmuseum.ca. Retrieved March 10, 2013, from http://www.museevirtuel-virtualmuseum.ca/index-eng.jsp.

Donn. (n/d). Native Americans in Olden Times. In Mr. Donn.org. Retrieved March 10, 2013, from http://nativeamericans.mrdonn.org/index.html. N/A. (2001-2002). Exploration: the Fur Trade and the Hudsons Bay Company. In Canadian.org. Retrieved March 6, 2013, from http://www.canadiana.ca/hbc/intro_e.html. Oracle Education Foundation. (2010). Why Explorers Explored the World. In Think Quest. Retrieved March 10, 2013, from http://library.thinkquest.org/J002678F/why.htm. Royal Canadian Geographical Society. (n/d). First Peoples. In The Canadian Atlas Online. Retrieved March 6, 2013, from http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/atlas/themes.aspx?id=first&lang=En. Simon Fraser University et. al. (n.d.). Related Sites. In Multicultural Canada. Retrieved March 14, 2013, from http://www.multiculturalcanada.ca/.