Lesson Plan

Date: Feb 17, 2017

Subject: Environmental Science 20 Grade: 11
Topic: Essential Question (from unit, if applicable):
Why do we need to be able to identify common plants?
How did First Nations use common plants in their everyday lives?

Materials: Five unknown plants from nearby the school yard

Plant identification booklet:
http://www1.foragebeef.ca/$Foragebeef/frgebeef.nsf/all/frg96/$FILE/riparianplantIDSk.pdf
Lab report sheet

Stage 1- Desired Results you may use student friendly language

What do they need to understand, know, and/or able to do?
- Parts of the plant
- Plants in Saskatoon
- Differentiate between different plant shapes
- Understand and use a Lab report sheet

Outcome(s):
- Examine the significance (e.g., medicinal, spiritual, nutritional and shelter) of plants, including
tobacco, in First Nations and Mtis cultures.
- Discuss the many roles of plants including their roles as providers of ecological goods and services as
well as natural capital.

PGP Goals:
- 2.3 Knowledge of First Nations, Metis and Inuit Culture and History (e.g., Treaties, Residential School,
Scrip, and Worldview)
- 2.1 Knowledge of Canadian History, especially in reference to Saskatchewan and Western Canada
- 4.2 The ability to incorporate First Nations, Metis, and Inuit knowledge, content, and perspective into
all teaching areas

Stage 2- Assessment

Assessment FOR Learning (formative) Assess the students during the learning to help determine next steps.
Are students using the identification book correctly
Are they working together well to help each other identify the correct plant
Are they filling in the lab report in the correct order?
Assessment OF Learning (summative) Assess the students after learning to evaluate what they have
learned.
Students will hand in the lab report sheet at the end of class and will be marked on the completed lab reports,
corrects steps for identifying the plants, and if they have the correct plant written down.
- Lab reports will be graded on level of detail for each drawing of plant and method of identification.
- The steps for identifying the plant must be recorded to avoid guess work. If a student is already
familiar with the plant, then he/she needs to discuss where they learned this skill and the proper
steps to identifying it in the wild
- Finally, to receive full marks the students must identify the correct plant in front of them, and list the
possible uses; medicinal, food source, ceremonial, etc.

Stage 3- Procedures:

Motivational/Anticipatory Set (introducing topic while engaging the students)

5-minutes: Long before there was a pill for everything and pharmaceutical companies making cures for all
ailments, people would turn to the earth to heal themselves. The Indigenous people of Canada have a list a
mile long of every flower, bush, and tree that could cure everything that made them sick. From stomachaches
and diarrhea to arthritis and tuberculosis, there exists a natural substance to help you feel better. The best
part is that you dont have to cross the plains or climb to the topic of a mountain to find this cure. Most of the
plants can be found in any natural setting around this city.

Main Procedures/Strategies:

Instructions: 5mins
Todays lab is the process of identifying local plants in the Saskatoon area. There are many plants found
around Saskatoon that have ties to the past through traditional uses by First Nations people, some of which
are still used today. Its important for you to be able to identify common medicinal, traditional, and food
source plants from the prairies because its part of our heritage and they may become useful in the future.
Some of the plants around to today can be used to alleviate bug bites, upset stomachs, and rheumatoid
arthritis. In groups of two or three (based on class size and lab stations this can vary) you will have ten
minutes at each plant station to identify the following:
- The name of the plant that is at your station
- Process for identifying the plant using the book provided
- Common uses by First Nations people for this plant; medicinal, ceremonial, shelter, food source, etc.
- Drawing of the plant in the box provided
Once you have sorted out what group you are in you will have the reminder of the class period to identify and
record your answers for each station. At the ten minute (can be changed based on how many plant samples
and number of students) mark I will let you know when time is up and you can move on to the next station. If
you require more time at a station you can return to that station at the end of the class to collect the last bit
of information, or to see the plant to complete the drawing.

At each station, you will find:

- An unidentified plant
- A book of steps for identifying local flora
- Traditional uses for local plant life
 Main Procedure: 40mins

Students will have approx. 10 minutes per station to identify the plant. There are four stations around the
room. One containing Common Plantain, one piece of Birch tree, Dried Sage bush, and a Choke Cherry Branch.
At the 10-minute mark, Ill give the students an extra 30s to wrap up at that station and prepare to move to
the next one.

Closing of lesson: 10mins

When all of the student have finished the last station Ill ask them to return to their desks. As a general broad
question Ill ask them what theyve discovered about common plants found in Saskatchewan. More than likely
this will be met with silence. Using a prompt I can ask, What did you learn about common plantain? Why are
these uses beneficial to people who dont have access to Afterbite, or vitamin C rich fruit? What is the
importance of Sage in First Nations ceremonies? How many different uses did you find for Birch trees?

The importance of these plants is that even before modern medicine, people had a way of curing simple
ailments that people take pills to solve today. A more holistic approach would be to step outside and make
Birch bark tea to cure a headache instead of taking Tylenol. So why dont people do this anymore? Something
to think about for next class.

Adaptations;
- If students require more time to identify plants then some of next class can be devoted to finishing up
before moving on to the next lesson.
- Students with reading and literacy problems can be pair up with stronger students. The caution here
it to make sure the struggling student still has an opportunity to learn and doesnt rely on the other
student to complete the work
- Students with mobility concerns can have the group come to them and send a runner to bring the
station sample back to the table.

Personal Reflection:

*Adapted from Understanding by Design (McTighe and Wiggins, 1998)

 Lesson Plan Assessment Reflection

I chose to do a plant identification lab as a precursor to my final project that involves field identification

of plants. This one-to-two class lab will give the student the chance to use the resource booklet on plant

identification in a controlled environment where everyone will have a chance to ask me questions. If the students

were to see this book for the first time in the field they would have too many questions and we wouldnt be able to

use the time wisely. In a classroom, I would be available for every student as soon as they had any questions. I

found the booklet on the Live It Up 4 Life website that has many great resources for environmental science 20.

Each station will have one booklet at it, and the book will remain at one station so it doesnt get lost or damaged.

The two outcomes I chose are from the Environmental Science 20 curriculum, and are found under the

terrestrial ecosystems unit. I chose the two outcomes that relate to FNMI content because I saw the chance to

make a connection to Beaver Creek, and in some science classes its difficult to incorporate FNMI content. The

first outcome is how First Nations, Inuit, and Metis people used plants in their culture. Choosing birch tree,

plantain, choke cherry, and sage. All four are commonly found in and around Saskatoon, and hold a great deal of

importance to First Nations culture; birch trees were used to make canoes, and the sap as glue; sage is used in

smudging ceremonies; common plantain is an herbal medicine; choke cherry is a common food source. The next

outcome applies to FNMI content as these plants are a resource that aid in sustaining a community and an

economy. First Nations people would have use the birch tree canoes to gain access to the river systems for

trading. Choke cherries could be dried into pemmican for trade, and sage would have been used in every day

ceremonies. All important aspects of sustaining a community and culture.

The first PGP goal is knowledge of FNMI culture and history. I wanted to create a lesson to incorporate

this goal as science is my secondary area and my primary area doesnt allow for in depth research into FNMI

content. Music has used throughout First Nations culture, but it is difficult to make an authentic representation of

that music in a band room. First Nations worldview is more easily incorporated in a science classroom, while

remaining authentic. To achieve this goal, I need to have more than just one lesson on FNMI culture in my class.

It is easy enough to research what plants were used for, but I feel it would have much more impact if I could
somehow get an elder to come speak about the various uses for everyday plants in Frist Nations culture and

ceremonies. Also, I would have to learn about the use of ceremonial plants to be more knowledgeable in this area.

Choosing to identify plants found around Saskatoon is how I plan to bring the learning closer to home. The PGP

about tying it all to Saskatchewan and Western Canada is important in that, this is the part of the country Im from

and where the students are from. Everyones worldview starts small and gets larger. If Im not aware of my

surroundings, and neither are my students, then it is impossible for our collective worldview to expand beyond

our own province. With regards to environmental science I am close to achieving this PGP goal. Ive explored

many different places in this province yet I am still lacking in the more environmental justice, and politics of it

all. Lastly, I hoped to hit PGP 4.2 by incorporating FNMI content into both my teaching areas. This is the first

time Ive planned a science lesson focusing on First Nations culture. Im hoping it isnt the last one either.

My assessment for learning is the basics of any lab assessment. Due to the groups used in this lab, I can

observe how well they work with others, and use that information to create different groups for the next lab based

on who works well with who. Another assessment would be the order of the lab, are they following instructions,

are they filling out the lab report to the right amount of detail. Following procedure is crucial to science classes. It

is important that students learn these processes now, so that they may apply them in university. The last form of

formative assessment is the use of the identification booklet and a students ability to properly use resources in the

context of a lab.

Assessment of learning will come from the handed in lab reports. The reason for only choosing three

aspects to grade is this is only a small portion of their overall grade and is my take on an entrance slip to

determine where students are at with plant structure and using resources. Since this is the precursor lab to the

Beaver Creek excursion, this lab will give the students an opportunity to practice using various resources before

they have to research they final project presentation.

The procedure for this lesson is a standard lab format. Instructions will be given first as to what the end

goal of the day is, followed by splitting into groups and starting the lab. Putting times next to each of the steps

gives me a sense of how long the class should take but not necessarily how long it will take. In my experience the
motivational set and explanation of the main process will always take less time than you planned for. In this

instances that is a better outcome as it leaves more time for the students to complete the lab write up. I dont

anticipate the plant identification taking the whole ten minutes per station that Ive allotted so thats why I

incorporated the drawing, process of identification, and plant uses in First Nations culture. I added the

adaptations section to the lab myself just as added measures. I find it is always beneficial to add adaptations to all

my lesson plans, that way if ever I use them in the future everything is already done. One adaptation I couldnt

come up with is what to do if the students moved through the assignment too fast. There is a possibility that each

group will be done a station in five minutes, instead of the ten Ive given them. Most likely, given the amount of

time, I would start the next lesson or start a discussion about other plants used in First Nations culture.