EDPB 508, Cohort 1

Tem McCutcheon
Spring 2020

Designing an activity and assessment to build competency

Social Studies 6 Curricular Competency:

● Construct arguments defending the significance of individuals/groups, places, events, or
developments (significance)

Social Studies 6 Content:

● Regional conflict - land rights and title
● Different systems of government - federal, provincial, indigenous
● Economic policies and resource management, including effects on indigenous peoples

Core competencies:
● Communicating and collaborating (combine perspectives and strategies to enhance
collective understanding)

CONTEXT

In early February, I started a social studies unit on Sense of Place with my grade six class. ​In
BC’s rationale for teaching social studies, they state that “An informed citizen understands key
historical, geographical, political, economic, and societal concepts, and how these different
factors relate to and interact with each other.” To achieve this level of understanding, students
must first be able to place their own self within a local and global context. By grade six, students
have developed their own kind of geographical understanding, one that is based on a uniquely
developmental and formative relationship with familiar and valued places. This unit will tap into
the ways in which students value, find meaning in and make sense of their immediate
environments, particularly their learning and play spaces at Huband Park Elementary.

The first part of this unit is a student led inquiry project that encourages students to develop
and/or enrich their sense of place in the school forest. Each Wednesday, they will have half of
the time to play, inquire, and research about their project (they have already split themselves
into five groups - focusing on topics like survival shelters, trail infrastructure and plant
identification). While this will help develop their collaborative skills and creative thinking, it really
is a sneaky way to get them playing outside and creating a unique (but still shared) connection
to this parcel of forest. The other half of the time, I hope to facilitate a weekly activity that will
directly relate to understanding the complex history and rich culture tied to this land.

During April/May, I hope to springboard from this project into a more complex understanding of
Sense of Place. By using this forest as a shared example, we can begin to uncover the five

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concepts of place have been identified as being common to most First Peoples (though we will
focus on the K'ómoks Nation):

1. Place is multidimensional. More than the geographical space, it also holds cultural,
emotional and spiritual spaces which cannot be divided into parts.
2. Place is a relationship. All life is interrelated.
3. Place is experiential. Experiences a person has on the land give it meaning.
4. Place is local. While there are commonalities, each First Nation has a unique, local
understanding of Place.
5. Place is land-based. Land is interconnected and essential to all aspects of culture.

*These five concepts are directly pulled from FNESC’s 5-9 Science First Peoples resource.

MATERIALS

● Access to a forest, or other natural space, that you can consistently and easily walk to
● Materials relating to student inquiry projects
● Field Journals (ideally created by students)
● Access to computer, internet and projector (see links below)
● Guest speaker from the ​K'ómoks ​Nation and appropriate gift for protocol
● Copy of “The Other Way to Listen” by Byrd Bailor

DESCRIPTION

Over the course of five Wednesday’s, our class will explore the significance of the ​K'ómoks
Nation alongside a place-based inquiry project. I will devote an hour each Wednesday to​ share
knowledge and tools with the students so that they can construct arguments defending the
significance of the K'ómoks Nation on these lands and in relation to their inquiry projects
(significance). The rest of our class time will be spent developing and researching their own
specific place-based inquiry. While this inquiry project is integral to their assessment of
knowledge, I will not go into detail about that portion of the unit in this description.

Wednesday 1: Forest free play

● This first Wednesday is left intentionally open and approachable. Our main goal is to
have fun, be silly and create a positive first connection to this trail and forest.
● Acknowledge the territory before heading outside. Review our Community Agreement
and talk about why we respect all living things when on playing/learning in the forest
● Journal prompt: ​How does it feel to be in this forest?

Wednesday 2: Territory acknowledgement and A̱m’lala sa Kumux̱se’ ('Play Song of the

K’omoux)
● Look up the traditional territory of the K'ómoks Nation on a projector.
(​http://www.komoks.ca/maps​)

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 ○ Ask students to identify Vancouver Island, the Mainland and any bodies of water
they may know. Ask them to try and locate our school on the map. Can they
locate other places of significance to them? Explore further depending on your
class knowledge and interest.
○ If time allows, this could be easily extended by giving each table group a printed
off map. They can have some time to explore it in smaller groups before diving
into a larger class discussion.
○ What do you know about the K'ómoks Nation? In grade four (two years ago), this
class visited the Big House on Reserve. Ask them to recall what they learnt while
there.
● Listen to A̱m’lala sa Kumux̱se’ and sing along if the class is up for it. Acknowledge the
song creators, history and protocol. Celebrate Kwakwaka’wakw culture and language.
http://www3.sd71.bc.ca/School/abed/resources/teacher/Pages/A%CC%B1m%E2%80%
99lala-sa-K%CC%B1%CC%93umux%CC%B1se%E2%80%99-.aspx#/=
● Why is it important to do a territory acknowledgement? Have you done one before?
● Head outside for the inquiry portion of the lesson and free play.
● Journal Prompt: ​How can we show respect to the ​K'ómoks ​Nation? (Refer to song
protocol, community agreement, respect for all living things as examples)

Wednesday 3: Plant walk

● Nikki Peret (Huband’s Aboriginal Support Worker) has kindly organized for someone
from the K'ómoks Nation to lead the class on a plant walk in this forest. The content and
knowledge shared will be left up to the discretion of the presenter.
● Review and lead class in protocol for guest speaker.
● Journal Prompt: What did you learn about from our guest speaker? What is your
personal connection to the ​K'ómoks ​Territory?

Wednesday 4: The Other Way to Listen

● After their inquiry project time, read aloud “The Other Way to Listen” by Byrd Bailor while
in the forest.
● Pre-reading activity: In small groups, have the class explore the following questions -
How did our guest gain the knowledge they shared with us last week? How could you
gain knowledge from our surroundings when in the forest?
Post-reading activity: Journal time, followed by a group discussion based on the same
questions.
● Journal prompt: How do you listen to the land? ​OR ​What questions do you have for an
elder?

Wednesday 5: Celebration of knowledge (presentations)

● This lesson is centered around sharing and celebrating our knowledge. Each group will
present their inquiry project out in the forest. Alongside sharing what they found out
about their inquiry question, they will also answer the following question: Why is the
K'ómoks Nation significant to our inquiry and this land?

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 ● Journal prompt: ​We have spent five weeks exploring this trail and forest. Has your sense
of place changed in that time?

ASSESSMENT

There are three areas of assessment that I will use for this unit, reflecting their individual, group
and class efforts.

Individual: Field Notes Journal (Formative Assessment)

● See Image 1 below for reference
● A new prompt is given to them each week, with about 10+ minutes of forest time to
quietly reflect. They can focus on the prompt for the whole time, or answer it briefly and
then choose something else they are interested in reflecting on.
○ Week 1: How does it feel to be in this forest?
○ Week 2: How can we show respect to the ​K'ómoks ​Nation? (Refer to song
protocol, community agreement, respect for all living things as examples)
○ Week 3: What is your personal connection to the ​K'ómoks ​Territory? To this
forest?
○ Week 4: What questions do you have for an elder?
○ Week 5: We have spent five weeks exploring this trail and forest. Has your sense
of place changed in that time?
● Assessment will be based on their completion of each prompt and their ability to reflect
on their own while outside. I will assess these informally during their writing time and at
the end of each class.

Image 1: Student example of Field Note Journals

Group: Presentation (Peer Assessment and Summative Assessment)

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 ● This is the capstone activity to demonstrate student knowledge and make a case for the
significance of the ​K'ómoks N​ ation, especially in relation to their groups inquiry.
● Each group will present their inquiry project out in the field. I will assess each group
during their presentation using the rubric below.
● Each student will also be providing peer assessment for each group. Using a printed
organizer, they will answer two questions per group presentation. This will help me in
assessing the clarity and engagement of each presentation. It will also provide each
student with a collection of notes to use as a foundation for the next part of the unit and
as a space for them to showcase their shared knowledge on the significance of the
K'ómoks ​Nation.
○ How did this group present traditional knowledge from the K'ómoks Nation to
strengthen their inquiry? Based on their inquiry question, why is the K'ómoks
Nation significant to this forest?
○ What follow up question do you have for the group?

Class: Community Agreement (Self Assessment)

● Did I uphold our Community Agreement? How did I support my community? Could I
better support my community next time? If so, how?
● We collectively created our Community Agreement at the beginning of the unit and, after
a class court review, all agreed and signed it. It hangs up at the front of the classroom for
all to see during our related lessons.

Inquiry Group Presentation: Assessment Performance Scale

Learning Emerging Developing Proficient Extending

Intention

We can We can identify We can identify We can explain We can explain

communicate that the K'ómoks how the accurately how accurately how
why the Nation created K'ómoks Nation the K'ómoks the K'ómoks
K'ómoks Nation change. created (and Nation created Nation created
continues to (and continues (and continues
is significant to
create) change. to create) to create)
our inquiry and
change. change and
this land assess the
(Historical impact of that
Significance) change.

We can present Information Information Information Information

our main ideas (inquiry question (inquiry question (inquiry question (inquiry question
to the class as a and findings) is and findings) is and findings) is and findings) is
team presented in a presented and logically logically
way that is hard some questions presented and presented and

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for the class to can be questions can questions can
follow. answered. be answered be answered
Questions can thoughtfully. thoughtfully and
not be with explanation.
answered.