Collaboration and Connections with 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act.
Purpose/Rationale
The first time I was tasked with teaching BC First Peoples 12, it was in an independent school that served a very specific cultural demographic of students (which meant that there were no Indigenous students in the school). There just happened to be enough student-interest in the course to run a section for the first time in 2020/2021 (and this interest was sustained in subsequent years until the announcement of the new "Indigenous-Focused Grad Requirement," which resulted in a level of demand and student interest for a very different reason).
The fact that I was delivering this course to a class of entirely non-Indigenous students meant that I needed to approach the course material within a contextual framework of what non-Indigenous people need to know about the history and present-day lived experiences of Indigenous people in Canada. Given this context, a unit of study of 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act, by Bob Joseph was a logical choice in both the readability of the text as well as how well it addressed this very essential question for my students.
One of the other essential concepts I wanted to reinforce with my students was the problem that these "21 Things" are not common knowledge for most Canadians (otherwise, Bob Joseph wouldn't have needed to write a whole book about them); they certainly weren't common knowledge for my students, their families, and our wider school community. In addition to my students learning this very important information about Canada's history, I wanted my students to understand that this wasn't information that they should keep to themselves, nor should it be information that they file away into the dustbins of their brains to never be heard of again. My students might be the only ones in their families who know this knowledge, and so they have the responsibility to share it with others.
With these goals in mind, this unit of study had two main areas of focus: The students needed to learn about the "21 Things They May Not Know About the Indian Act" and also have the skills and confidence to share and teach this information to others.
The fact that I was delivering this course to a class of entirely non-Indigenous students meant that I needed to approach the course material within a contextual framework of what non-Indigenous people need to know about the history and present-day lived experiences of Indigenous people in Canada. Given this context, a unit of study of 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act, by Bob Joseph was a logical choice in both the readability of the text as well as how well it addressed this very essential question for my students.
One of the other essential concepts I wanted to reinforce with my students was the problem that these "21 Things" are not common knowledge for most Canadians (otherwise, Bob Joseph wouldn't have needed to write a whole book about them); they certainly weren't common knowledge for my students, their families, and our wider school community. In addition to my students learning this very important information about Canada's history, I wanted my students to understand that this wasn't information that they should keep to themselves, nor should it be information that they file away into the dustbins of their brains to never be heard of again. My students might be the only ones in their families who know this knowledge, and so they have the responsibility to share it with others.
With these goals in mind, this unit of study had two main areas of focus: The students needed to learn about the "21 Things They May Not Know About the Indian Act" and also have the skills and confidence to share and teach this information to others.
Process
I took a "jigsaw" approach to the formative assessments for this unit of study. I had students working in groups of 2-3, and each group of students was assigned one of the "21 Things" to read in the text. Students were then tasked with leading the class in a discussion on that assigned reading by presenting the "basic facts" about their assigned topic and engaging with their classmates in the discussion questions they had prepared (an "opening question," 1-2 "open-ended questions" and 1-2 "close-ended questions").
At the end of their presentation, the students were also expected to have prepared an "educational activity" for their classmates to engage in independent practice with what they had learned.
The summative assessment, students were assigned a different topic from the book, and they were to create an informative flyer/one-pager that they were to take home and share with a friend or family member from their community. They were to interview the person they chose, ask them what they already knew about the Indian Act, their impressions of the aspect of the Indian Act that the student was teaching them about, etc. Students were to record their findings from the interview and submit them with the flyer/one-pager that they had created (that would also be displayed around the school).
At the end of their presentation, the students were also expected to have prepared an "educational activity" for their classmates to engage in independent practice with what they had learned.
The summative assessment, students were assigned a different topic from the book, and they were to create an informative flyer/one-pager that they were to take home and share with a friend or family member from their community. They were to interview the person they chose, ask them what they already knew about the Indian Act, their impressions of the aspect of the Indian Act that the student was teaching them about, etc. Students were to record their findings from the interview and submit them with the flyer/one-pager that they had created (that would also be displayed around the school).
Reflection
Having taught BC First Peoples 12 for a few years now, I can say with reasonable confidence that this is frequently a favourite unit of study for many students in the course. In addition to being put in the "driver's seat" and assuming the role of "teacher" (which students consistently enjoy as it fulfills needs such as Mastery and Generosity), it also gives their learning a tangible sense of importance and purpose that they might not experience in their other courses.
The first year I taught the course, I taught it in the spring of 2021 (when the unmarked burial sites were found at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School). This incident was all over the news and was gaining a lot of attention to an issue that Indigenous communities, residential school survivors (and their families), and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission have been getting Canadians to notice for many years. The students in my BC First Peoples 12 class found themselves in the unique position of having to explain and contextualize a lot of this information for their families (especially since many of them are immigrants, the children of immigrants, or just do not have a lot of direct experience with Indigenous people). One of these students was so move by the experience that she mentioned it in her "walk-up speech" at her high school graduation later that month.
As a tangible and purposeful application of the principle that "learning ultimately supports the well-being of the self, the family, the community, the land, the spirits, and the ancestors," this unit of study has proven to be a very effective and meaningful learning experience for my students.
The first year I taught the course, I taught it in the spring of 2021 (when the unmarked burial sites were found at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School). This incident was all over the news and was gaining a lot of attention to an issue that Indigenous communities, residential school survivors (and their families), and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission have been getting Canadians to notice for many years. The students in my BC First Peoples 12 class found themselves in the unique position of having to explain and contextualize a lot of this information for their families (especially since many of them are immigrants, the children of immigrants, or just do not have a lot of direct experience with Indigenous people). One of these students was so move by the experience that she mentioned it in her "walk-up speech" at her high school graduation later that month.
As a tangible and purposeful application of the principle that "learning ultimately supports the well-being of the self, the family, the community, the land, the spirits, and the ancestors," this unit of study has proven to be a very effective and meaningful learning experience for my students.