KINDERGARTEN RESOURCES

Learning Plan

In this inquiry students will:

• Understand that sometimes people do not always agree
• Understand that people can view the same situation quite differently
• Look for ways to resolve differences of opinion

Can people disagree and still get along with one another?

Curricular Outcomes

Students will recognize situations in which disagreement may be part of living, studying and working together, and that resolution may be an avenue to progress to a state of peace, balance, and harmony. (PAK.2)

Student friendly outcome for posting

Students will learn how to handle times when they do not get along with someone and learn that it is better to try and fix a problem rather than not trying to fix it.

Essential Questions: Guiding Questions

• How do I live and work beside people who think differently from me?
  • What causes a person to have a different understanding of the same situation?
  • How can I understand another person’s point of view?
• Do we all have to like the same thing? Can people disagree and still live/work together?
  • What happens to your body when you disagree with someone?
  • How do you talk to someone that you disagree with?
  • How do you behave to someone that you disagree with?

Vocabulary

• Point of view
• Conflict
• Cooperate
• Resolve
• Bully

Essential questions are given to students at the start of the exploration of study. This is what students will explore throughout the unit of study and will also be the questions they will be required to answer at the end of the unit of study.

• Check vocabulary understanding – point of view, disagree.
• Talk with students to gather their ideas about solving problems.
• Connect learning outcomes to previous learning/ future learning. Connect to:
  • Diversity: different cultural backgrounds and points of view.
  • Students will use their learning to understand that:
    • people can disagree and still live and work together
    • people can have different points of view about the same topic
    • there are different processes to solve disputes
• Find a story about disagreement between friends or neighbours, boys-girls, animals, etc.
• Identify two points of view in the story and how situation was resolved. (Suggestions below are a starting point)
  • Let’s Be Enemies – Janice May Udry
    • James and John are best friends –or at least they used to be. They sharedpretzels, umbrellas, and even chicken pox. Now James always wants to be boss, and John doesn’t want to be friends anymore. But when he goes to James’ house to tell him so, something unexpected happens.
  • Clancy’s Coat – E. Bunting
    • This book deals with numerous misunderstandings between friends. Two old friends in dispute over one’scow trampling the other’s garden come to understand each other’s feelings about the things they cherish. They are able to rekindle their friendship by talking and sharing.
  • Others

• Develop ability to determine emotions in others and use appropriate words to describe feelings
  • Have students look at pictures of people that are displaying emotions i.e. happy, sad, angry, surprised, scared, disgusted, worried, frustrated, etc.
  • Check to see that all students can identify appropriate emotion expressed.
  • Have students’ role play certain emotions and have students identify emotion.
  • Link emotions to appropriate activities – happy when reading with caregivers, sad when grandparents leave, frustrated when can’t button coat or reach something up high.
  • Identify how characters in initial story felt during disagreement and afterwards.
  • Have students identify thinking and give reasons for their answers.
• Develop strategies for resolving conflicts
  • Have students identify times when they might have had a disagreement with a sibling, caregiver/parent, or friend and talk about how they felt.
  • Identify strategies students used to resolve conflict.
  • Surface feelings about how student felt afterwards – better or still upset/confused, etc.?
• Health curriculum (connection to traffic light graphic)
  • Red – Stop – calming down, reflect on personal feelings
  • Yellow – Think – gather information – how is other person feeling
  • Green – Do – communicate, do something with new information
  • Revisit essential question – What story is my behaviour telling?
  • Red
    • calming down – have students take 3 deep breaths

    • describe feeling – I am feeling… because…

  • Yellow
    • describe other person’s feeling – X is feeling… because
  • Green
    • say what you want to happen
    • ask other person what they want to happen
• Debrief
  • Talk about how student felt at end of situation.
  • describe emotions
  • What would they do next time?

• Develop understanding of ways in which people cooperate in order to solve problems and/or live peacefully. (Connection to acting like a citizen)
  • Have students identify times when they worked with someone to solve problem i.e. worked with cousin to help younger child, Acts of Kindness
  • Surface emotions about how that felt; why did they do that?
  • Think about times when they could not get along with someone? What might they do differently now?
  • Interview school leaders, caregivers/parents, community leaders about times when they:
    • worked cooperatively with someone to solve a problem or live peacefully
    • had to follow a rule(s) that they didn’t totally agree with
    • couldn’t get along with someone but now have an idea of something they might do differently

• How do I live and work beside people who think differently from me?
• Can people disagree and still work/live together?
• Teachers can choose a situation or have students choose a situation to demonstrate.
  • Students may demonstrate in a manner appropriate to age/ability but must show:
    • How do I live and work beside people who think differently from me?
    • Can people disagree and still work/live together?
    • Teachers can choose a situation or have students choose a situation to demonstrate.
      • Students may demonstrate in a manner appropriate to age/ability but must show:
        • Problem solving strategy
        • Examples of Cooperation
        • Situations in which people with different points of view interact harmoniously together.
    • What did I learn about getting along with people?
    • What does this information tell me about being a citizen?
    • Why is it important to know this?
    • What will I do with this new learning?

• What makes a person a friend? What kind of a friend are you? Tell why you think this.
• Draw pictures of a time when you helped someone. How did it make you feel?
• What is a citizen?

Part C: Engaged Citizens Resources

• Let’s Be Enemies – Janice May Udry
  James and John are best friends — or at least they used to be. They shared pretzels, umbrellas, and even chicken pox. Now James always wants to be boss, and John doesn’t want to be friends anymore. But when he goes to James’ house to tell him so, something unexpected happens.
• Clancy’s Coat – E. Bunting
  This book deals with numerous misunderstandings between friends. Two old friends in dispute over one’s cow trampling the other’s garden come to understand each other’s feelings about the things they cherish. They are able to rekindle their friendship by talking and sharing.
• Charter for Children Book Series – DC Canada Education Publishing: www.dc-canada.ca
• Discovery Education Videos: “A Kid’s Guide to Rules”: http://www.discoveryeducation.ca/Canada/
• Learning to Give.org – website with many resources – http://learningtogive.org/
• Welcoming Schools.org – website with applicable resources http://www.welcomingschools.org/
• How to Bullyproof your Classroom by Caltha Growe – Responsive Classroom – https://www.responsiveclassroom.org/product/how-bullyproof-your-classroom

Health

USCK.1:  Develop basic habit to establish healthy relationships with self, others, and the environment. 

• Describe feelings of calmness/peacefulness and experiment with the language to convey these feelings.
• Share what is known about healthy relationships (e.g. be kind to each other, laugh together, accept differences, feel like one belongs and contributes).
• Observe and discuss interactions among others (i.e. real life, media, literature) to identify positive/helpful and negative/hurtful behaviours.

USCK.2:  Establish behaviours that support safety of self and others (including safety at school and at home).

APK.1:  Demonstrate, with guidance, initial steps for developing basic health habits, establishing healthy relationships, supporting safety, and exploring “self”.

Treaty Education

TRK:  Examine the diversity of First Nations peoples living in Saskatchewan starting with the classrooms and communities in which they live.

HCK:  Explore the connection all people have to the land as expressed through stories, traditions, and ceremonies.

TPPK:  Examine the intent of different kinds of promises.

Part A: Curricular Connections and Background

Lifelong Learning Citizens understand that change is ongoing and develop skills for action.  In this area of citizenship study, students develop skills, attitudes, and knowledge to assist them in understanding change.

Lifelong learning citizens learn to appreciate the need for on-going learning regardless of one’s age.  The world is continually changing and students are encouraged to adopt an inquisitive attitude to the changes. Students will be invited to reflect on their activities and personal choices to determine the effects of their impact in the world.

Students will develop their understandings of diversity and the uniqueness of individuals and begin to understand that people have differing points of view which are shaped by experiences.

Critical thinking exploration in this area of citizenship asks students to examine the steps and processes required to learn new information and to develop awareness that they must be actively involved in acquiring new information.

Prekindergarten and kindergarten students will begin to talk about past events and think about how present and future are connected to the past.  Students will begin to understand that actions and behaviours are learned and can be influenced by individual choice.  They will start to examine their behaviours to develop an awareness of the steps and processes they go through to learn a new task. They will examine their present behaviours to see how they may impact the future, exploring the relationship between cause and effect.  They will understand that promises are commitments to act and that actions now have an impact on the student’s future and the future of the world.  They will begin to understand that their actions affect others and that they have the ability to control their actions to make changes for the future.  Students will be encouraged to think about their thinking in order to develop an awareness of their thought processes. 

Students will understand that:

• Their actions affect others
• Actions now can affect the future
• Promises are commitments to act in a particular manner

Students will develop their understanding of the diversity and uniqueness of people and also understand that people have different points of view that cause them to think differently about the same subject.  Those points of view are developed by one’s previous experiences, cultural and family traditions, and beliefs.  They will examine past events and think about how present and future are connected to the past. 

They will further examine their present behaviours to see how they may impact the future, thinking about cause and effect.  They will begin to understand that their actions affect others and that they have the ability to control their actions to make changes for the future.  Students will be encouraged to think about their thinking in order to develop an awareness of their thought processes and understand how to initiate personal change. 

Students will consider how:

• Actions, behaviours, and relationships are learned and affected by the past.
• Events and ideas from the past influence the present and can influence and serve as models of how to live as a contributing citizen.
• People develop rules so that we can live together peacefully.
• Rules have differing levels of impact so people who make rules need to consider the individual good and common good.
• Diversity can have a variety of impacts and can impact points of view
• Individuals have the power to affect others and make a difference.
• Canada has a long relationship with First Nations Peoples through treaty relationships.
• Decisions have far-reaching effects, so it is important to think about the choices we make.
• Active participation leads to belonging and symbols can support belonging;
• People are connected to each other and to their environment and have a responsibility to take care of the world.

Students will:

• Practice different steps and processes to solve problems
• Consider how present actions will affect future choices
• Consider the impact of culture on behaviours and worldview
• Become aware of their thinking
• Consider the perspectives of others when trying to understand behaviours.

Students will practice the skills of:

• Observing
• Describing
• Thinking about their thinking

• How are present events related to past events?
• How does the past influence your present? Your future?
• What is my behaviour saying about what I think?/What story is my behaviour telling?
• How does my behaviour add to being a citizen?
• What might be another way to look at this?

DRK.1 – Overarching Outcome – use in all areas of Citizenship

Describe the spatial relationships among people, places, and environments.

Indicators:

• Demonstrate understanding of personal directions (e.g., left/right, up/down, front/back) and relative location (e.g., near/far, above/below).
• Recognize that some cultural groups describe earth and sky according to traditional spiritual beliefs (e.g., Mother Earth, Creator, Heaven, God, Odin, The Dagda, Tangaroa).
• Identify cardinal directions (north, south, east, and west) on a simple map, when in the classroom, and on the playground.
• Locate and name places in the school and playground, and illustrate their functions (e.g., water fountain, washroom, library, playground equipment).
• Describe characteristics of the local physical environment, including natural (e.g., plains, forests, lakes, rivers) and constructed elements (e.g., buildings, roads, farms).
• Explore the world beyond the immediate environment, through stories of personal travels, recollection of books and other narratives, and various map representations (including a map of the local community, the province, the nation, and a globe).

DRK.2

Explore examples of promises made through actions and words, and why it is important to keep promises.

Indicators:

• Identify situations where a promise has been made in personal stories, recollection of books, and other narratives.
• Describe the consequences of when promises are kept and when they are not (e.g., hurt feelings, misunderstandings).

DRK.3

Analyze ways in which place and physical systems influence daily life, including the influence of place on the daily life of First Nations and Métis people.

Indicators:

• Name, and describe the physical characteristics of, the four seasons.
• Give examples of how daily life is influenced by environment (e.g., work, play, clothing). Identify how weather affects everyday life, and describe how adaptation for seasonal change is evident in daily life (e.g., clothing, food, home construction, recreational and sporting activities, transportation).
• Investigate ways in which place influences identity (e.g., leisure activities, sports, arts, and culture are all influenced by place).

INK.1

Demonstrate an understanding of similarities and differences among individuals in the classroom.

Indicators:

• Identify and categorize the attributes that make an individual unique (e.g., physical features, cultural interests, personality characteristics).
• Identify and categorize factors that individuals have in common, including basic physical needs of all people (e.g., food, water, clothing, shelter, love, and belonging).
• Explore and describe various ways in which people meet their needs, and describe how these ways are similar and different.

INK.2

Describe the diversity of groups represented in the classroom.

Indicators:

• Investigate the diversity of languages and cultural traditions represented in the classroom and school, and recognize the role language and culture play in an individual’s unique identity.
• Describe various cultural traditions, festivals, and celebrations recognized by children’s families and communities, and discuss the importance of these cultural traditions, festivals, and celebrations.
• Identify individuals and groups that are important in children’s lives, and explain why these individuals and groups are important to them as individuals (e.g., family, Elders, senior citizens, friends, storytellers, classmates, members of activity groups to which children belong).

Part B: Learning Plan

In this inquiry students will:

• Understand what a promise is.
• Learn that making a promise involves a commitment to future action.
• Consider the thought and planning behind their behaviour and actions.

What causes me/makes me to behave the way I do?

Curricular Outcomes

Students will:

• Explore examples of promises made through actions and words, and why it is important to keep promises. DRK.2
• Demonstrate an understanding of the spatial relationships among people, places, and environments. DRK.1
• Consider how place and physical systems influence daily life. DRK.3

Essential Questions: Guiding Questions

• How are present events related to past events?
  • How does my history and culture influence my thinking?
• How does the past influence your present? Your future?
• What story is my behaviour telling? (How do we check to see if our behaviours honour our commitments? Is my behaviour showing what I believe?)
  • Is my behaviour planned or am I reacting?
  • How would someone else describe what I am doing?
  • What does my behaviour look like to someone else?
    

Vocabulary

• commitment
• promise
• agreement

Present essential questions to students at the start of the exploration of study.  As students make meaning of the outcomes, the answers to these questions will frame their thinking at the end of the unit of study.

• Read “A Promise is a Promise” by Robert Munsch and Michael Kusugak.
  • Importance of keeping a promise regardless of how difficult it is for the person making the promise.
  • Apply the essential questions to the characters in the story. e., What story did their behaviours tell about them?
  • How would you describe their behaviours?
• Find other stories that have promise and commitment theme.
  • “Horton Hatches the Egg” by Dr. Seuss

Lesson: It’s important to keep your promises. Faithfulness has its own rewards.

• Determine what the students know, understand, need to be able to do to master/answer the essential questions.
  • Check vocabulary understanding – promise, commitment.
  • Create (K)now- (W)ant to know – (L)earned chart for students.
  • What do students know about promises, commitment?
• Connect learning outcomes to previous learning/ future learning.
  • Students will use new learning to understand that:
    • their actions affect others
    • actions now will affect how they do things in the future
    • promises made are commitments to act in a particular manner

Behaviours are a commitment to action.

• Planning behaviour and examining behaviour for consequences.
  • Talk with students about going for an outing away from the school.
  • e. picnic, fishing, hike, swimming, hockey
  • What do students need to take to get ready to go, so that they are successful while they are there? What do they need to consider regarding the weather so they will be successful?  Teach students this is planning and thinking ahead.
  • What might happen if they did not do that planning?
  • Develop understanding that safety could be an issue, may not be able to continue event/plans.
• Planning a community feast, classroom celebration, birthday party.
  • Identify what they need to think about.
  • Think about guests they might invite – What might happen if people said they would come, made a commitment or promise and then did not follow through on that.
  • Develop understanding that feelings could be hurt, people might develop misunderstandings about why person did not come to event.
• Remind students of treaty education study where students learned about promises made to First Nations people.

Extend outside of classroom

• Moving to different parts of the school i.e. library, gym, art room.
  • When moving to another place in the school or community, describe/remind/ask students what appropriate behaviours look like. Be sure to use proper labels to define the various areas of the school.
  • When they get to location or finish event ask students to reflect on their behaviour while traveling to space, during event – Did they behave the way they had planned? Could they have done better?  Would they do the same thing in the future?
  • Consider behaviours in places outside of school i.e. spiritual places, hospitals. What kinds of behaviour are needed there?  (Be sure to acknowledge the different names that students have for spiritual leaders.)
• Identify heroes or someone that students admire.
  • List attributes of individual – hockey player, soccer player, dancer, drummer, hunter.
  • Determine what the person did to become so well known – practice, train, work with an elder.
  • Link behaviours to actions and a commitment to becoming better; reinforcing that behaviours are a commitment to action.
• Revisit recycling examples studied in protecting environment and reducing waste.
• Role play problem situation and have students suggest different endings for behaviour describing possible consequences.
  • Describe promises made in treaties, and explain why it is important to keep them.
  • Describe feelings of calmness/peacefulness and experiment with the language to convey these feelings.
  • Observe and discuss interactions among others to identify positive/helpful and negative/hurtful behaviours.
  • Recognize the value of taking time to “stop and think” before choosing/acting.

Inquiry:  What causes me to/ makes me behave the way I do?

Re-visit student answers to the essential questions.

• How has their thinking changed?
• Why is it important to learn this information?
• What will they do with this new learning?

Demonstrating Understanding of Behavioural Consequences

• Have students role play their solutions to proposed scenarios specifically identifying consequences of actions i.e.
  • Littering, picking flowers, using too much paper.
  • Finding garbage on the playground or in the classroom.
  • Someone who is crying.
  • Listening to someone not wanting to play with a classmate.
• Recognize/categorize appropriate behaviours and explain thinking or tell why appropriate.
• Demonstrate appropriate behaviours for a variety of situations noting planning and safety consideration i.e. baking cookies/bannock.
• Explain how present behaviours can affect future situations i.e. how would you become a strong soccer player, better fisherman?

• What is something you would like to do, a goal you have for the future? Think about and write or draw what behaviours you would have to do to reach your goal.
• Tell why this is important to you.

Learning Plan

In this inquiry students will:

• Learn how people are the same
• Learn how people are different
• Understand what makes a person unique
• Understand how point of view is affected by one’s past experiences

Curricular Outcomes

Demonstrate an understanding of similarities and differences among individuals in the classroom.  INK.1

Students will learn about what makes people different and the same and how we are all unique.

Describe the diversity of groups represented in the classroom. INK.2

Students will know that their classmates may come from many different places and have different traditions

Essential Questions: Guiding Questions

• Why do you think and act the way you do?
  • How does our history or past experience affect the way we think? Act?
• What would happen if we all thought and acted the same way?
  • What makes us unique?
• What happens when cultures interact?
  • What experiences can we share with others?
  • How can we let others know about our history?

Vocabulary

• culture
• point of view
• tradition
• diversity
• history
• similarities
• unique

Present essential questions to students at the start of the exploration of study.  As students make meaning of the outcomes, the answers to these questions will frame their thinking at the end of the unit of study.

• Determine what the students know, understand, need to be able to do to master/answer the essential questions.
  • Check vocabulary understanding – cultures, traditions, point of view.
  • What do students know about cultures?
  • Create K-W-L chart for classroom.
• Poll students to determine:
  • Favorite colours, foods, seasons of year, etc. Surface vocabulary that might be different.
  • Chart results.
  • Talk with students about possible reasons for differences – connect to point of view and that differences exist.
• Determine what the students know, understand, need to be able to do to master/answer the essential questions.
• Connect learning outcomes to previous learning/ future learning.
  • Students will use their learning to understand that:
    • diversity can have a variety of impacts
    • background and culture can impact points of view
    • advocate for oneself
    • appreciate other points of view

• Surfacing differences and similarities in classroom
• Book Suggestion – Whoever You Are by Mem Fox
  • Whoever You Are reminds us that children may have different looks, live in different countries, and eat different foods, but they all smile, laugh, and cry.
  • Students learn the world is made up of many different people and children everywhere are more alike than different.
  • Identify similarities between people physically and emotionally then move to looking at special celebrations and traditions
• Find out how students celebrate common holidays surfacing traditions, special festivals, celebrations – highlight differences, similarities
  • e. foods eaten, songs sung, prayers, leaders at celebrations
  • Each category highlights a similarity, specific practices highlight differences
  • The manner in which similar holidays are celebrated/recognized indicates different points of view
  • Find out how many different languages are spoken in homes
    • Surface names for caregivers, grandparents, common items, names for items in nature, spiritual leaders, i.e. Mother Earth, Creator, Heaven, Dagda, Tangaroa
  • Find out how many different family structures are in classroom- who is living in student’s home. These are individuals who are important in student’s life.  Find out what other individuals are important in student’s life.
  • Have students interview their family and develop a family tree, family crest, find out how they got their name or what their name means.
  • Identify similarities and differences in the celebrations.  Develop a summary statement that talks about the similarities and differences in the celebrations.
• Teach students that different cultures have different traditions and different beliefs about similar things i.e. The importance of family names for First Nations people.
• Connect specific differences to specific cultures and have students recognize that language and culture help to shape the person’s identity
• Differences = diversity and create a rich culture that is valued and respected by citizens and Canada
  • Identify individuals and groups that are important in children’s lives, and explain why these individuals and groups are important to them as individuals (e.g., family, Elders, senior citizens, friends, storytellers, classmates, members of activity groups to which children belong).
  • Investigate the diversity of languages and cultural traditions represented in the classroom and school, and recognize the role language and culture play in an individual’s unique identity.

• Have a cultural fair showcasing food, dancing, music, etc. of a variety of cultures.
• Invite members of the community in to share cultural experiences.
• Have students experience variety of occurrences connected with various cultures.
• Describe their experiences focusing on similarities and differences – likes and dislikes.
• Larger centres can develop lists of different cultural restaurants or eating places and provide opportunities for students to taste food from different cultures that may not be represented in classroom.
• Have students talk/draw feelings associated with new experiences.

Revisit students’ original thinking on the essential questions. 

• How has student thinking changed?
• Why is it important to learn this information?
• What will students do with this new learning?

Demonstration of Understanding 

• Teachers can choose one question for the entire class to explore i.e., Why do you think and act the way you do?
  • Give examples of different traditions that student has learned about describing a similar celebration or holiday that is recognized in different ways i.e. birth of a baby, marriage
• What happens when cultures interact?
  • Have students share in student appropriate manner i.e. talk/draw/act, new experience from another culture
• What would happen if we all thought and acted the same way?
  • Describe various cultural traditions, festivals, and celebrations recognized by children’s families and communities, and discuss the importance of these cultural traditions, festivals, and celebrations.
  • Identify individuals and groups that are important in children’s lives, and explain why these individuals and groups are important to them as individuals (e.g., family, Elders, senior citizens, friends, storytellers, classmates, members of activity groups to which children belong).

• Draw a picture of a favorite family tradition. Why is it important to you? What story does it tell about you

Part C: Lifelong Learning Resources

• Whoever You Are by Mem Fox
• Citizenship by Lucia Raatma
• Responsibility by Lucia Raatma
• What is a Community from A-Z by Bobbie Kalman
• Who’s in a Family? by Robert Skutch
• We All Have Different Families by Melissa Higgins
• If The World Were a Village by David J.Smith (Book and DVD)
• I Am Different Can You Find Me? By Manjula Padmanabhan
• Arthur’s Promise by Marc Brown
• Charter for Children Book Series – DC Canada Education Publishing: dc-canada.ca
• Discovery Education Videos: “A Kid’s Guide to Rules”: http://www.discoveryeducation.ca/Canada/
• Learning to Give.org – website with many resources: http://learningtogive.org/
• Welcoming Schools.org – website with applicable resources: http://www.welcomingschools.org/
• How to Bullyproof your Classroom by Caltha Growe – Responsive Classroom:
  https://www.responsiveclassroom.org/product/how-bullyproof-your-classroom

Treaty Education

TRK:  Examine the diversity of First Nations peoples living in Saskatchewan starting with the classrooms and communities in which they live.

• Students will become aware that First Nations people had their own culture, languages, beliefs, and values, oral traditions and histories.

TPPK:  Examine the intent of different kinds of promises.

• The students will learn that First Nations peoples believe that treaties are more than promises because they were sealed with sacred pipe ceremonies where the Creator was witness to the treaties made between the British Crown and the First Nations in Saskatchewan.

Health Education

Actions and Behaviours are Learned.

• Apply decisions that will improve the health of self and others (AP).
  • Describe feelings of calmness/peacefulness and experiment with the language to convey these feelings.
  • Observe and discuss interactions among others to identify positive/helpful and negative/hurtful behaviours.
  • Recognize the value of taking time to “stop and think” before choosing/acting.

Part A: Curricular Connections and Background

Citizens with a Strong Sense of Self, Community, and Place explore the relationship that citizens have with themselves and others, their communities – local, regional, provincial, national, and global, and their developed sense of place.  Being a member of any community brings with it certain rights; however, it also brings with it certain responsibilities to protect those rights and privileges.  A person’s “sense of place” develops through experience and knowledge of the history, geography and geology of an area, the legends of a place, and a sense of the land and its history after living there for a time. Developing a sense of place helps students identify with their region and with each other. A strong sense of place can lead to more sensitive stewardship of our cultural history and natural environment.

In this area of study, students will examine the responsibilities that are inherent in all of these relationships.  This area of citizenship invites students to act on issues that are explored so that they can move toward becoming justice-oriented citizens.

Students are invited to study of citizenship issues and challenges within an ever increasing sphere of influence.  Because this area of citizenship begins with self and exploring issues of citizenship it is the primary area of focus for primary and elementary students.

Prekindergarten and Kindergarten students will begin to learn about respect for themselves, others, and their environment.  They will begin to think about their relationships with people around them, the land, and their community.  As students think about these relationship they will be invited to consider their responsibilities in each of these areas and start to examine ways in which they can care for their environment and others.  Students will learn to advocate for themselves, develop skills of empathy and understand that people can have different points of view on the same topic.   Students will also learn to respond appropriately to national symbols.

Citizens connected to Self, Community, and Place will understand that:

• Actions, behaviours, and relationships are learned and affected by the past.
• Events and ideas from the past influence the present and can influence and serve as models of how to live as a contributing citizen.
• People develop rules so that we can live together peacefully.
• Rules have differing levels of impact so people who make rules need to consider the individual good and common good.
• Diversity can have a variety of impacts and can impact points of view.
• Individuals have the power to affect others and make a difference.
• Canada has a long relationship with First Nations Peoples through treaty relationships.
• Decisions have far-reaching effects, so it is important to think about the choices we make.
• Active participation leads to belonging and symbols can support belonging.
• People are connected to each other and to their environment and have a responsibility to take care of the world.

Students will …

• Respond appropriately to symbols of nationalism.
• Develop awareness of their thinking.
• Advocate for oneself.
• Consider another point of view.

Students will:

• Discriminate between needs and wants.
• Recognize Canadian symbols – provincial and national.
• Become aware of their thinking and develop and practice skills of empathy, advocacy.
• Develop and practice skills of treating self and others with respect.
• Develop conflict resolution skills.
• Begin to develop positive environmental habits.

• How do needs differ from wants?
• What responsibilities do I have to my community?
• What responsibilities do I have to my environment?
• What are symbols and why do people respond to them?

Outcomes: (Sask. Curriculum/Student Friendly)

DRK.1:  Overarching Outcome – use in all areas of Citizenship

Describe the spatial relationships among people, places, and environments.

Indicators:

• Demonstrate understanding of personal directions (e.g., left/right, up/down, front/back) and relative location (e.g., near/far, above/below).
• Recognize that some cultural groups describe earth and sky according to traditional spiritual beliefs (e.g., Mother Earth, Creator, Heaven, God, Odin, The Dagda, Tangaroa).
• Identify cardinal directions (north, south, east, and west) on a simple map, when in the classroom, and on the playground.
• Locate and name places in the school and playground, and illustrate their functions (e.g., water fountain, washroom, library, playground equipment).
• Describe characteristics of the local physical environment, including natural (e.g., plains, forests, lakes, rivers) and constructed elements (e.g., buildings, roads, farms).
• Explore the world beyond the immediate environment, through stories of personal travels, recollection of books and other narratives, and various map representations (including a map of the local community, the province, the nation, and a globe).
• Understand that countries, specifically Canada, use a variety of symbols to represent their country.

RWK.1  

Examine ways of managing tasks and resources in families and schools.

Indicators:

• Give examples of different types of work in the family and school, including paid and unpaid work.
• Share stories of personal responsibilities within the home and school.
• Brainstorm ways in which decisions can be made about various classroom tasks requiring completion (e.g., teacher decision, volunteers emerge, majority vote, rotation through class roster).
• Relate occasions when the sharing of tasks and resources is necessary and desirable in the classroom and within the family.
• Display examples of sharing within the classroom and school.
• Identify occasions in which sharing is not advisable and explain why (e.g., toothbrushes, toques, hats, nut-based food stuffs).

RWK.2 

Develop and demonstrate stewardship of the environment in daily actions, in an effort to promote balance and harmony

Indicators:

• Recognize reasons to care for the environment
• Identify ways to care for the environment (e.g., reduce, reuse, and recycle) in daily classroom and family life.
• Demonstrate environmentally responsible behaviours in the classroom and school (e.g., take only what is needed in order to provide for future needs, reduce consumption, practice water conservation, turn off lights when leaving a room, recycle, compost).

INK.2

Describe the diversity of groups represented in the classroom

Indicators

• Investigate the diversity of languages and cultural traditions represented in the classroom and school, and recognize the role language and culture play in an individual’s unique identity.
• Describe various cultural traditions, festivals, and celebrations recognized by children’s families and communities, and discuss the importance of these cultural traditions, festivals, and celebrations.
• Identify individuals and groups that are important in children’s lives, and explain why these individuals and groups are important to them as individuals (e.g., family, Elders, senior citizens, friends, storytellers, classmates, members of activity groups to which children belong).

Part B: Learning Plan

In this inquiry students will understand that:

• Symbols can represent ideas and convey information.
• Symbols can join people together and create a sense of belonging.
• Some symbols require action or specific behaviour.

Curricular Connections

Students will:

• Understand that countries, specifically Canada, use a variety of symbols to represent their country.

Essential Questions: Guiding Questions

• What are symbols and why do people respond to them?
  • What makes a symbol a symbol?
  • Why are symbols important? To groups?
  • Can symbols create feelings/emotion in people?

• Introduce a number of symbols to students and see if they know the word “symbol” or can identify it as a category to which all of these things belong.
  • Canada flag, Medicine Wheel, Provincial flag, Treaty flags.
  • Marketing symbols – Rider flag, Sparks, Beavers.
  • Safety and Information symbols – stop sign, traffic lights, (Red, yellow, green), H for hospital.
  • Spiritual symbols – eagle feather, braided sweetgrass, drums, cross.
  • Animal tracks, changing colours of leaves, animal coats.
• Alternately, present the word symbol and discuss its meaning with students and then have them generate a number of things they consider symbols.
  • Using the students’ examples of symbols begin to develop categories and group symbols.
  • Possible categories.
    • natural symbols – rabbits changing colour, geese migrating
    • man-made symbols – safety, information, nationalism/citizenship, belonging

• Present all visual symbols and have students group symbols into categories.
  • Categorizing activity where symbols fall within the circle and outside the circle.
  • Determine similarities between symbols, differences between symbols.
  • Possible categories:
    • natural symbols – rabbits changing colour, geese migrating
    • man-made symbols – safety, information, nationalism/citizenship
  • Surface reasoning as to why symbols were put into specific circle – connection to metacognition awareness.
  • Develop language around thinking i.e. “I put this inside the circle because…”
• Work with students to identify the category to which the symbols belong.
  • Symbols of nature, man-made symbols, safety symbols, national symbols.
• Surface feelings, thoughts, actions that symbols create in students.
  • Coordinate with senses – feel like, sound like, look like.
  • Develop understanding that some symbols engenderr certain levels of respect that leads to behaving differently around those symbols.

i.e. – Standing at attention when singing national anthem, or proper behaviour when an elder prays

• Begin with visual symbols and then move to auditory symbols such as jingles, songs, anthems.
• Do a walk around the school, community buildings, etc. and collect examples of symbols to add to students examples.
• Look for examples of symbols in books during read alouds or independent reading.

• Why are symbols important? to groups?
• What makes a symbol a symbol?/characteristics of a symbol?
• Why are symbols important to you? Explain the role symbols play in your life.

Have students demonstrate appropriate behaviours:

• Recognize and respond appropriately to national citizenship symbols/symbols such as, flags, Canadian, provincial flag, Métis flag, Treaty medal, Medicine Wheel, H – hospital.

• What symbol means something special to you? Draw a picture of it and tell what it is and why it is special.
• What symbol would you pick to represent the kind of person you are? Draw a picture of it. Tell why it is a good symbol to represent you.

Learning Plan

In this inquiry students will:

• Think about the way they use resources
• Think about ways to look after the environment
• Practice looking after their environment

Curricular Outcomes

Examine ways of managing tasks and resources in families and schools (RWK.1)

Understand different ways of sharing resources and responsibilities

• Develop and demonstrate stewardship of the environment in daily actions, in an effort to promote balance and harmony. (RWK.2)

Think about ways to look after the environment

Students will understand that they can take care of the world by taking care of their belongings/surroundings.

Essential Questions: Guiding Questions

• How do needs differ from wants?
  • Do we need everything we want?
• How can my community reduce waste?
• How can I care for my belongings/surroundings?
• How does my behaviour add to being a citizen?
  • How do I care for myself, others, the environment?

Vocabulary

• environment
• recycle
• reduce
• reuse
• community stewardship

• Present essential questions to students at the start of the exploration of study. This is what students will explore throughout the unit of study and it will also be the questions students will be required to answer in some fashion at the end of the unit of study.
  • Do we need everything we have? Do we need everything we want?
  • How can I reduce waste? (connect to student first, move to home, then community)
• Check – Know – What garbage and waste is? Recycle, Reduce, Reuse mean?
• Ask students to guess – how much garbage or waste they produce in a day? A week?
  • Surface students’ thinking or reasons as to why they made their guess
  • Come back to reasoning later to talk about the accuracy of their guesses and unpack their reasoning.
• If school currently has recycling and/or composting program, discuss with students what their understanding is of how the program works.
• Introduce concept of environmental stewardship – looking after the environment and the responsibility students have to try to protect and preserve the environment.
• Determine what the students know, understand, need to be able to do to master/answer the essential questions.
  • Create K-W-L chart for classroom.

• Exploring idea of Needs and Wants
  • Look around the classroom, in desk, in kindergarten bucket, anywhere there is a collection of items
  • What do we use in this room to… learn with? keep warm with? etc.
  • What is critical to: keeping us warm? learning? (begin to discriminate needs vs. wants)
  • How many of these things do we really need? How many could we do without?  Could we use something else instead?
  • Begin to classify items needed as to those that are new, reused, recycled
  • Chart/graph numbers of items in each category – Math connection counting – What do we use the most of? Do we recycle or throw out more things? 
• Exploring understanding of reducing waste
  • Check waste/garbage can – Have students look at the waste/garbage in the can at the end of the day. How many of these things are used only once?  Could we use something else instead?  Could we use parts of this waste garbage more than once?
  • Begin to classify items as to those that are new, reused, recycled
  • How many of those waste items are necessary – needs? How many are not necessary – wants or could we do without?
• Examining the things that are used in a day – needs
  • school needs – paper, electricity
  • personal needs – water, electricity
• Exploring understanding of existing recycling program
  • Discuss with students as to why they think the program is in place.
  • How does the program help the school? What would happen if the school didn’t have a recycling program?

• Needs vs. Wants.
  • Have students examine the things they use in a day only once and think of something else they could use instead that would be reused.
• Reducing the amount of waste.
  • Can the students reduce the amount of waste that they use in the classroom? Generate ideas for various items i.e., paper, waste from lunches, water, electricity
  • Set goals to reduce the amount of waste created by the classroom in a day – track progress
• School Recycling Program.
  • Have students find out how many classrooms take part in the school recycling program
  • How many homes recycle? Why do they choose to recycle?

Teachers can choose one question for the entire class to explore or can talk with students to have them choose the question for which they would like to provide an answer.

• How do needs differ from wants? / Do we need everything we want?
• How can my community reduce waste?
  • For preK students think of classroom only – How can my classroom reduce waste?
  • K students substitute following question –
    • How can I reduce waste?
    • How can my classroom reduce waste?
    • How can my family reduce waste?
  • How can I care for my belongings/surroundings?
  • What am I learning about being a citizen? What story does my behaviour tell about my citizenship?

Throughout these lessons, students have been exploring these questions. In groups or individually have them answer one of the questions above using the following methods:

• role play
• make posters
• Write a story/jingles/songs/poems

Ongoing indicators of learning

• Watch students and notice if they demonstrate environmentally responsible behaviours in the classroom and school (e.g., take only what is needed in order to provide for future needs, reduce consumption, practice water conservation, turn off lights when leaving a room, recycle, compost).
• Revisit K-W-L chart as classroom to see if questions and ‘want to knows’ were addressed.

• What do you do to take care of the environment? How do you know it is working?
• Why do people drop litter? How would you convince them to pick up their garbage?
• What am I learning about being a citizen?

Part C: Self, Community, and Place Resources

• “Citizenship” by Lucia Raatma
• “Responsibility” by Lucia Raatma
• “Turtle Island” – Ojibway version
• “What is a Community from A-Z” by Bobbie Kalman
• Who’s in a Family? by Robert Skutch
• We All Have Different Families by Melissa Higgins
• If The World Were a Village by David J.Smith (Book and DVD)
• I Am Different Can You Find Me? By Manjula Padmanabhan (To support similarities/differences)
• Arthur’s Promise by Marc Brown (To support promises/actions)
• Charter for Children Book Series – DC Canada Education Publishing: dc-canada.ca
• Discovery Education Videos: “A Kid’s Guide to Rules”: http://www.discoveryeducation.ca/Canada/
• Learning to Give.org – website with many resources: http://learningtogive.org/
• Welcoming Schools.org – website with applicable resources: http://www.welcomingschools.org/
• How to Bullyproof your Classroom by Caltha Growe – Responsive Classroom:
  https://www.responsiveclassroom.org/product/how-bullyproof-your-classroom

Language Arts

CRK.1:  Comprehend and respond to a variety of visual, oral, print and multimedia text that address identity (exploring interests, community e.g., belonging), and social responsibility (e.g., contributing).

• Use illustrations, photographs, video programs, objects, and auditory cues to understand ideas and information.
• Relate a personal experience as a result of a picture, photograph, or model.
• Satisfy natural curiosity by engaging in inquiry:
  • wonder about new ideas and observations
  • discuss personal knowledge of a topic
  • ask questions to satisfy personal curiosity and information needs
  • identify self and others as sources of information
  • seek information from others including people at school, at home, and in the community including Elders and Knowledge Keepers
  • compare gathered ideas and information to personal knowledge
  • share learning and information-gathering experiences compose with a scribe
  • indicate whether or not information is useful for answering questions.

CCK.1:  Compose and create various, visual, multimedia, oral, and written texts that explore and present thoughts, ideas, and experiences.

CCK.2:  Use and construct symbols, pictures, and dramatizations to communicate feelings and ideas in a variety of ways.

Language Arts connections are primarily developed through student responses to the essential questions as they demonstrate understanding of their citizenship responsibilities.

Science

LTK.1:  Examine observable characteristics of plants animals, and people in their local environment – Show respect for the needs of other people, other living things, and the environment when observing and interacting with living things (e.g., show concerns for other students’ feelings, care for living things that are kept in their classroom, and willingly suggest how we can protect the environment.

MOK.1:  Investigate observable characteristics of familiar objects and materials in their environment. – Discuss how familiar objects are designed to meet human needs.

NSK.1:  Explore features of their natural surroundings (e.g., soil, water, landform, and weather conditions), including changes to those surroundings over time.