Detailed Sample Task: Stage I

CLB 4 - Speaking
Sharing Information

Indigenization

Real-World Task

Share 2-3 of the 94 Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action and give a specific action
you can take in support of the Calls to Action.

Planning Context

Helpful Knowledge:

Vocabulary related to Indigenous Peoples in Canada.
Background information about residential schools and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).

Context:

Canada is a very diverse country where Peoples from around the world have come to make a home. Indigenous Peoples have called this land home since time immemorial and have distinct traditions and cultures which may vary across Canada.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in Canada was set up to learn the truth about what happened to Indigenous children in residential schools. These schools were places where many children were taken from their families by the government and churches. They were not allowed to speak their language or follow their culture.
The TRC listened to survivors’ stories and helped teach Canadians what happened. It also gave ideas on how Canada and Canadians can make things better for and be fair to Indigenous people.
The 94 calls to action from the TRC
report are complex and written in legal language but adapted versions are available. Some are relatively easy to explain. Some details about Truth and Reconciliation, including residential schools, can be difficult for learners. Share as much or as little as the class
is prepared for.

Vocabulary and Grammar

Sample Vocabulary:

Sample Grammar:

Modal verbs such as can to describe future possibilities

Knowledge and Strategies

Textual and Functional Knowledge:

Begin to use common connective words and phrases to signal contract or chronology (such as but, and, or, like)
Begin to use typical set formats for sequencing information.

Sociolinguistic Knowledge:

Begin to use some cultural references
or information.

Activities and Tasks

Sample Skill-Building Activities:

Discuss as a class: Where are you from? Who were the first people to live in your country? Is there knowledge and information that has been passed down many generations in your culture? What traditional beliefs did you learn about as a child from your own cultural background?
Explain that the Indigenous Peoples, including the Metis and Inuit, were the first people and caretakers of Canada. Discuss as a class: Have you visited any Indigenous museums or attended any Indigenous cultural events? Have you met any Indigenous people or heard any presentations from Indigenous Elders or community leaders? Match the vocabulary words to images on flash cards. Then match the image and word to a third set of cards with a simple definition of the word. Add these new words to a vocabulary journal in a notebook or a digital document.
Match picture cards showing images of Indigenous Peoples in Canada as well as other vocabulary items connected to the TRC and match to word cards.
Elicit learners previous experience with Indigenous Peoples in Canada or previous countries where they have lived.
Create a mini word bank to use for later activities related to Indigenous Peoples and the TRC.
Review the use of the modal verbs such as can to describe future possibilities, such as ‘Schools can teach Canadian children about Indigenous history.’ Complete simplified sentences about the calls for action with missing modal verbs.
Read a simplified paragraph about the TRC and what the Calls to Action represent. In pairs, practice reading the paragraph aloud and copy the paragraph into a digital document or notebook.
Read simple sentences about Indigenous Peoples in Canada and practice repeating the information to a partner, without reading.
Write the correct connective words into sentences so that the sentence makes sense, I want to go for a walk after dinner, but it is too cold. Begin with sentences related to everyday habits and situations and expand the activity to include sentences that are about Indigenous Peoples based on the reading about the TRC, such as “All students in Canada
should learn the truth so they can better understand Indigenous Peoples and the past.”
Using a simplified version of some calls to action, in pairs, have learners choose some that they relate to and support with their partner. Read the statements aloud.

Sample Skill-Using Tasks:

Assign 3 different simplified versions of sections of the Calls to Action to each small group of 4-5 learners; read the calls to action and discuss what each one means. Re-organize groups so each group member joins a new group and describes the original Calls to Action that their group discussed.
In small groups, share your reflections
on what you have learned from this
topic / lesson, including what was new
and perhaps surprising to you.

Sample Assessment Tasks:

Share 2-3 of the 94 Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action and give a specific action you can take in support of the Calls to Action.

Teaching Considerations

Cultural Considerations:

Recognize and teach learners that Canada is a diverse place and
has people from many different cultures. Canadian culture includes the cultures of all people in Canada, including Indigenous Peoples.
In Canada, “Indigenous” means the first Peoples who lived here before settlers came. However, Indigenous does not mean one identical group. There are many different Indigenous Peoples in Canada. Each one has its own language, culture, traditions, and teachings. Indigenous Peoples in the forest, mountains, prairies, or North have different foods, homes, stories and ceremonies. So we say there are many Indigenous Nations, not just one way of being Indigenous.

Digital Literacy Strategies:

Successful completion of some tasks may require some baseline knowledge and digital skills.

Learners may need to:

Have keyboarding and typing skills.
Locate, navigate and use websites.
Use familiar apps, social media platforms and web pages.
Read information from a screen.
Navigate camera and microphone
Adjust volume on device
Use videoconferencing technology for online meetings.

Instructors can:

Dedicate time to improve digital literacy for learners
Make and/ or adapt digital materials.
Introduce websites that are relevant to the task(s).
Support learners in finding, navigating and using websites.
Introduce tools and apps that can aid learners in coping with communication barriers, such as translation, pronunciation, text to speech, speech to text tools and so on.
Share knowledge and strategies to ensure online safety.
Refer learners to programs to improve their digital skills.

Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Indigenization Strategies:

Ensure that the images and cultural representations of Indigenous Peoples are free from stereotypes and biases.
Raise learner awareness of the need for using appropriate language when discussing and addressing Indigenous Peoples.
Acknowledge that you are learning too, and avoid speaking for Indigenous Peoples.
Use resources and voices from Indigenous communities when possible (e.g., guest speakers, videos, or approved materials).
Use Indigenous sources for researching information related to Indigenous Peoples and traditional ways of being.

Trauma-informed Strategies:

Possible Trauma triggers:

When teaching about Canada, you may teach about things that are triggering to learners who have experienced trauma. We can’t know what the triggers might be and what seems commonplace to us may have a triggering component for learners. Be aware of this and be prepared to support learners as needed.
Newcomers who come from Indigenous groups in their home countries may be triggered by considerations of the experiences of Indigenous Peoples in Canada.
Teaching an Indigenization theme will result in some difficult conversations and may revisit past trauma, oppression and discrimination your learners have experienced.

Strategies:

Give learners advance warning of this topic and be aware that there may be learners who require support.
Learners who have experienced trauma often benefit from having routine. Create a safe and supportive classroom environment by establishing familiar routines, repeated activities, and model friendly and non-evaluative interactions.
Learners will benefit from positive relationships established in the classroom with the instructor and peers.
Learners who have experienced trauma benefit from having choices.
- Allow learners choice:
  - the choice to work on a different topic
  - the choice to share or not share their own experiences
  - the choice to work alone or to work with others
  - the choice to take care of themselves
  - the choice to step out of the learning environment
When learners have shared personal distressing or traumatic experiences, make space for learners to feel safe and recover from the experience of sharing their experiences. Follow the activities which may make learners feel vulnerable with routine, predictable and comforting activities.
Giving learners the knowledge, skills and language to access resources can be empowering.

Resources

Outings, Guest Speaker Suggestions, Extension Activities:

Invite a member of the local Indigenous Nation to give a short,
simple presentation on their culture.
Visit a local Indigenous cultural centre or museum to learn about aspects of Indigenous culture.
Invite a guest speaker from the local library to present simple information about cultural heritage events.
Invite representatives from other cultural groups to learn about the traditional knowledge of that culture. This may be another person from the community, someone from the class or someone from another class in the organization.

Realia:

Simplified versions of the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action
Authentic posters for Orange Shirt Day, Truth & Reconciliation Day, National Indigenous Peoples Day events and other community heritage events.
Images of Indigenous cultural practices such as land-based learning, Medicine Wheel, smudging, Powwows, and so on.
Other objects from other cultures representing other cultural groups in the class.

Units and Modules:

The Literacy Centre of Expertise at TIES: Canadian Indigenous Content

Lessons and Activities:

The Literacy Centre of Expertise at TIES: Going to a Powwow 3L/4L (For literacy but can be adapted)
Kichi-Asotamatowin: Land and Treaties 3L/4L (For literacy but can be adapted)
ATESL: Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Anti-Racism: a 3/4 Module
The Literacy Centre of Expertise at TIES: Canadian Indigenous Readers
A search of NLCG ( nlcg.achev.ca) may provide additional tasks that can be adapted.

Multimedia:

Spirit Bear’s Guide to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission
of Canada: Child-friendly calls to action
Government of Canada: First Nations Profiles Interactive Map
YouTube: Indigenous Culture | Spectacular NWT
YouTube: Indigenous Canada – A Story to Tell