Part B Learning Plan

Studies this year examine the impact of beliefs, lifestyles, responsibilities, and decisions of ancient societies on contemporary Canada.

In this inquiry students will:

  • Assess and reflect on the relationship between the natural environment and the development of society. (DR9.3)
  • Investigate and compare the roles and responsibilities of members of studied societies to contemporary society. (PA9.3)
  • Analyze the impact of empire-building and territorial expansion on indigenous populations and other groups. (PA9.2)

Questions to Guide Inquiry

Essential questions are posted and discussed with students at the start of the exploration of study. These open-ended questions are continually revisited; encompass concepts that students will explore throughout the unit of study; form the evidence of understanding; and, frame the assessment at the end of the unit of study. Guiding questions are posed to support student thinking as they explore the answers to the larger overarching questions.

Teachers may want to consider putting the questions into a “Before, During, After” chart to note the changes in students’ thinking as a result of the inquiries.

Essential Questions: Guiding Questions

  • What is government’s responsibility to ensure common good?
    • What is common good? Is it constant?
    • Whose perspective is represented in common good?
    • What is the impact of culture and community on common good?
    • How does government balance the rights of the individual with common good?
  • How should citizens respond to marginalization?
    • How do we contribute to marginalization?
  • What is the relationship between the natural environment and the development of society?
    • What is the impact of the environment and relationship with the land on your personal beliefs and values?
    • Does your environment and your sense of place/relationship affect how your cultural and social behaviours develop?
  • What responsibility do you have to balance personal needs with the global community’s needs?
    • How do you control the impact of your actions and decisions?
    • What are your responsibilities regarding the impacts of your life-style as a global citizen?
  • What role does empathy play in citizenship?
    • What is the power and responsibility of the individual to make a difference in the world?

Throughout all of the research, students are encouraged to consider the inherent difficulties of researching ancient history.

Teacher Note

Students are examining the impact of ancient civilizations on the present.  Teachers are encouraged to have students choose or assign student groups specific ancient societies and historical indigenous societies for research. Have students study those same civilizations repeatedly so that students can gain a stronger understanding of the diversities of those civilizations.  It is in the layering of information that patterns are discovered and understandings reached. 

Historical societies include:

  • Macedonia
  • Rome
  • England
  • Spain
  • France
  • Mongolia

Historical indigenous societies include:

  • One Indigenous society of North America
  • Mesopotamia or Ancient Egypt
  • Ancient Greece or Rome
  • Aztec, Incan, or Mayan civilizations
  • Medieval Europe or Renaissance Europe
  • Ancient China or Japan

CONNECT TO TOPIC AND SURFACE STUDENTS’ THINKING ABOUT …

This section introduces the concepts and helps teachers gain an understanding of the current thinking of the class.  Present essential questions and allow students to think about and talk about.  Student answers will give teachers a baseline or beginning understanding of the amount of specific and incidental teaching required to explore these outcomes.  Vocabulary should be noted here.  Record students’ current thinking for reflection throughout inquiry. This section also frames the “We do” portion of the lesson where teachers guide the initial structure of the inquiry.
Teacher Note

These questions surface students’ thoughts about their relationship with the environment prior to the research.  Teachers may choose to put students’ responses to the questions in a “Before, During, and After” chart to note the changes in thinking as a result of the inquiry.

Inquiry

What is the relationship between the natural environment and the development of society? (DR9.3)

  • What responsibility do you have to balance personal needs with the global community’s needs?
    • How do you control the impact of your actions and decisions?
    • What are your responsibilities regarding the impacts of your life-style as a global citizen?
Learn more
Choose the “hook” exercise that best suits your classroom culture.

Hook 1

“It is the industrial nations of the First World, not the poor ones of the Third, that devour some 80% of the world’s resources and pose the greatest threat to the planet’s ecology”.

Rethinking Globalization: Teaching for Justice in an Unjust World

by Bill Bigelow and Bob Peterson. Pg. 65

What does this quote say to students? Have the students discuss and share their thinking about the global impact of the quote.

Hook 2

Use the Maclean’s article “How Canada Became the New Climate Change Villains” as prompt. (see appendix)

  • Agree/Disagree with the quote/article – Why?
  • What does the quote/article say about our relationship with and value of the environment to Canadian citizens?
  • What does the quote/article say about the idea of “global common good”?
  • Do you think Canadians value their environment?
  • What other questions do students have?

Environment and Development of Society

  • What is the relationship between the natural environment and the development of society?
    • What impact does the environment and your relationship with the land have on your personal beliefs and values?
    • How does your environment and where you live affect how your cultural and social behaviours develop?
    • How does the place in which we live affect the way we view the world? (Think in global perspectives)
    • Given our technological developments, does the environment have less control over our societal development than it did in the past?

Common Good and Governments

  • What is common good? Is it constant?  Whose perceptions are represented?
  • What is the impact of culture and community on common good? What impact does history have on common good?
  • What is/was government’s responsibility to ensure and sustain common good?
  • What is government’s responsibility to balance the rights of the individual in determining common good?
  • How has this responsibility changed over time and what caused the changes?
Strategies to develop and explore inquiries include:

  • Surfacing student thinking, posting, and then reflecting on thinking to note how thinking has changed and what has caused the changes.
  • Jigsaw strategy approach: Students, individually or in groups, explore similar questions, present their findings to the group. The teacher helps to note similarities, differences, themes.  Students are encouraged to develop summary statements to clarify their thinking and describe new learning.
  • Reflect on initial thinking to note how thinking has changed. What is the evidence to support the new learning? 
DEVELOPING UNDERSTANDING
This section is the core of the lesson.  It describes the main activity(ies) involved.  In inquiry-based learning, the teacher facilitates the activities that lead to the understandings that student make of the essential questions.  It is critical then, that students be allowed to raise questions and talk about issues that develop as they explore the learning activities.  This forms the  “They do” section of the inquiry where students are finding answers to the overarching questions and then searching for themes and patterns as possible explanations.
Teacher Note

Students have explored these questions relating to Canada in other years, but most recently gr. 8.  Teachers may choose to review these concepts by relating initial discussions to Saskatchewan or Canada.  Student responses will indicate to teachers how much specific review of these ideas is required before moving into independent research.

See appendix for graphic organizers to support student research.

In your chosen society identify:

  • What was the impact of the environment on the:
    • settlement and movement of people?
    • technological development of society?
    • progress or decline of the society?
  • What was the impact on the environment of:
    • colonization?
    • territorial expansion?
    • empire-building?
  • How did the following influence the ways of life and worldviews of the developing society:
    • major water systems,
    • topography,
    • climate

Have a debate discussing this statement:

  • “Society has developed exactly as the environment has allowed.”

This response could also be to demonstrate Evidence of Understanding.

CONNECT TO TOPIC AND SURFACE STUDENTS’ THINKING ABOUT …

This section introduces the concepts and helps teachers gain an understanding of the current thinking of the class.  Present essential questions and allow students to think about and talk about.  Student answers will give teachers a baseline or beginning understanding of the amount of specific and incidental teaching required to explore these outcomes.  Record students’ current thinking for reflection throughout inquiry. This section also frames the “We do” portion of the lesson where teachers guide the initial structure of the inquiry.
Throughout these studies have students reflect upon the difficulties and inconsistencies that are associated with reviewing history written from a singular perspective.

Evaluate the authenticity and validity of information sources used in the inquiry process.

Inquiry

In this inquiry students will explore the worldviews of past societies in order to understand the connection between past and present.

How do past societies affect my life as a citizen of contemporary Canada today? (PA 9.3)

  • Is there a pattern to the way that societies develop?
  • Do all societies follow similar patterns of development?
  • Are there commonalities of societal development?
  • What are the effects of history on societal development?

Link to essential questions

  • What is government’s responsibility to ensure common good?
    • What is common good? Is it constant?
    • Does the idea of common good change depending on the culture, community, the historical era?
  • What is government’s responsibility to balance the rights of the individual with common good?
  • Has thinking on responsibility changed over time and why?
  • Whose perspective is reflected in common good?

Investigate and compare the roles and responsibilities of members of societies studied with those of citizens in contemporary Canada.

Teachers may wish to surface initial understanding of these concepts by discussing answers in relation to Canada first.

  • Within your chosen society identify:
    • How did people become citizens?
    • What were the rights and responsibilities of citizens?
    • How did citizens achieve their rights?
  • What impact did the following have on citizenship roles and responsibilities:
    • Gender?
    • Age?
    • Vocation?
    • Social class?
  • Investigate examples of the oppression of rights of particular groups or individuals to examples in Canada:
    • slavery,
    • limited franchise,
    • restrictions on property ownership
Learn more
  • What are the commonalities between societies?
  • What are the differences?
  • What themes are developing?
  • What connections to the present exist?
  • What were the authenticity and validity issues raised during the research?
  • How did the idea of common good evolve?
  • Why is this information important to know?
  • What will you do with this information?

PA9.2: What was the impact of empire-building and territorial expansion on indigenous populations and other groups in the societies studied?

  • Conduct an inquiry regarding:
    • the initial interaction of North American Indigenous peoples with Europeans,
    • compare the worldviews of the two.
  • Within your chosen society indicate:
    • the imperial activities of the society
    • critique the reasons for imperialism in the context of the time period
    • and assess the treatment of indigenous populations by the imperialists
    • identify and compare worldviews
Students will extend this inquiry to consider historic treatment of Indigenous peoples.

See appendix for graphic organizers to support student research.

These are very “big” concepts.  Throughout this study, it is critical that teachers help students to step back to see the big picture. 

  • What themes are emerging?
  • What are the similarities and differences?
  • Why do students think this is so?

The independence level of the class, will determine how much teacher direction is required to do this.

This statement is taken from an Australian Human Rights Commission Document dated 2010.

“We have human rights, now for action.

The existence of human rights standards is not the source of Indigenous disadvantage. Human rights do not dispossess Indigenous peoples, they do not marginalise them, they do not cause their poverty, and they do not cause gaps in life expectancy and life outcomes. It is the denial of rights that is a large contributor to these things. The value of human rights is not in their existence; it is in their implementation.

That is the challenge for the world and for Australia with this Declaration.”

(Mick Dodson)

The Community Guide to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.  pg. 8, Australian Human Rights Commission, 2010. Retrieved May 30, 2014 from http://www.culturalsurvival.org/sites/default/files/declaration_guide2010.pdf

Learn more
  • What does this quote tell you about the state of Indigenous Peoples in the world today?
  • What has been the historical impact of empire-building, imperialism, colonialism on Indigenous people?
  • What are some of the processes for making changes?

Revisit the essential questions from an Indigenous perspective.

  • How well did governments fulfill their responsibility to ensure common good for Indigenous people?
    • Whose perspective of common good was reflected?
  • How did the idea of common good change for Indigenous cultures, and communities throughout history?
  • What is government’s responsibility to balance the rights of the individual with common good?
  • How has thinking on responsibility to Indigenous people changed over time and why?

APPLY AND EXTEND KNOWLEDGE

This section includes ideas to “wrap up” the inquiry or apply concepts explored. This section may also include additional reflective questions to promote student connection to the topic.  This forms the “You do” section – extend thinking beyond the classroom discussions and inquiry experiences.  Pose additional reflective questions that have been raised to encourage critical and creative thinking.  
Learn more
  • What is Progress?
    • Have students survey people and bring their responses to the class.
    • Post survey responses and search for themes.
    • Write a reflection in your journal following the discussion.

Why Societies Collapse – TED Talk – Jared Diamond

http://www.ted.com/talks/jared_diamond_on_why_societies_collapse

EVIDENCE OF LEARNING

This section suggests ways in which students may demonstrate their understanding.  Ideal demonstrations will be in authentic performance tasks.  Each citizenship study may have its own smaller assessment piece or be compiled to support one larger performance task assessment.  Assessment pieces vary, but should allow students to demonstrate their understanding in a variety of ways.
Students should be able to demonstrate an understanding of the:

  • relationship between the natural environment and the development of society
  • roles and responsibilities of members of studied societies to contemporary society
  • impact of empire-building and territorial expansion on indigenous populations and other groups
  • difficulties that might be related to studying ancient histories regarding accuracy of documentation.

Common Good and Governments

  • How has the idea of common good changed throughout history?
    • What is common good? Is it constant?
    • How does the idea of common good change depending on the culture, community, the historical era?
    • What is/was government’s responsibility to ensure common good?
    • How has this responsibility changed over time and what caused the changes?
    • Whose perspective is reflected in common good?

The relationship between the environment and the development of society

  • How has the impact of the natural environment affected the development of society?
    • What was/is the impact of the environment and relationship with the land on the development of personal beliefs and values?
    • Does your environment and where you live affect how your cultural and social behaviours develop?
    • Has the environment always affected the way we viewed the world?
  • Why is this information important to know?
  • What will you do with this information?

STUDENT CITIZENSHIP JOURNAL OPPORTUNITIES

Students will continue to explore their understanding of their role as a Canadian citizen and reflect on their perspective in an Ongoing Journal. Consider opportunities for video journaling.  Art may be included throughout the journal; some to accompany the journal entry and some that are random drawings and sketching. The journal entries are a record of the student’s thinking and reflect their journey of citizenship exploration.

Students are keeping a Citizenship Journal to reflect upon their developing views of citizenship.  This section provides prompts for student journals.  Students are invited to choose one that interests them or propose their own. Students can also respond to any of the essential questions.

Students are encouraged to respond using a variety of genres.

  • What do you think the responsibility is for a Canadian citizen to ensure the environment is sustainable?
  • Why are Indigenous people marginalized throughout the history of society?
  • Man has been able to develop many accommodations of society over nature and the environment. Can human kind exist independent of the environment?
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Grade 9 Self, Community, and Place Part B Learning Plan