TakingITGlobal

Whose Land? www.whose.land Whose Land? K-5 Introductory Lesson Plan OVERVIEW This lesson serves to teach students about the land they are learning on by viewing and cre- ating original land acknowledgements and being introduced to complex topics concepts such as who Indigenous people are, what the term settler refers to and notions such as broken promises and renewed commitments to share the land. Teachers will guide students through the process of collaborating to create a classroom land acknowledgement based on the infor- mation they learn from the Whose Land website! CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS While Indigenous knowledge and perspectives are being integrated into most subject areas through K-12 curricula, they are especially relevant while learning social studies and English Language Arts. This particular lesson - which introduces elementary school students to the topic of Indigenous land acknowledgements - supports teachers in helping students develop a foundation for learning about the Indigenous people whose land they currently occupy, while promoting mutual respect and harmonious relationships. Throughout this lesson students will be working through multiple social studies curriculum outcomes including reflecting on personal ties to land and significant places in the commu- nity, while engaging in inquiry processes by gathering information from personal experiences and multimedia sources in order to gather conclusions about local Indigenous communities and the importance of Indigenous land acknowledgements. The goal is to create a classroom community that celebrates and honours diverse cultures, backgrounds and perspectives through the recognition of historical agreements for the goal of fostering an understanding of roles, rights and responsibilities of community members. Students will also be working through multiple English Language Arts curriculum outcomes including accessing, using, and refining schema related to the importance of place, while making connections with learning experiences and contexts to internalize concepts of Indigenous perspectives of the land to develop increasing clarity, fluency and focus through guided writing processes where the students work together with the teacher to draft and edit a meaningful Indigenous land acknowledgement. DURATION 1-2 Hours Total MATERIALS • Computer with internet access • Projector PART 1: MY SPECIAL PLACE (20-30 MINUTES) Big Idea: Sharing personal experiences and connections to land and place Begin the lesson with a guessing game! Tell your students that you are thinking of a place that is very special to you. Describe the place to them without explicitly telling them what or where it is and have them try guess what you are describing! For example, if your special place is your cabin, you might say something like "I like to go to my special place to relax" or "my special place has a nearby lake that I like to swim in" etc… Keep describing your special place until a student correctly guesses it! Next, have students think of a place that is special to them, and have them take turns describ- ing it to the class: Where is it? What makes it special? Is it indoors or outdoors? Who do you go there with? Once all students have had a turn, inform them that today we will be learning about land acknowledgements. Inform them that all of their special places are actually part of a larger Lesson Plan

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