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Cross Curricular Lesson Plan

Christina Dimitrijevic

Thursday, February 4th, 2021

EDUC-5206 (21): Aboriginal Ways of Knowing

Instructor: Angel Renaud

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Teacher Candidate: Christina Dimitrijevic

Subject: Science (Academic- Biology Unit) Grade/Class: 9

Date: TBD Duration: 75 minutes

Lesson Topic: Sustainable Ecosystems: The Grassy Narrows Case Study

Overall Expectations

B1.assess the impact of human activities on the sustainability of terrestrial and/or aquatic
ecosystems, and evaluate the effectiveness of courses of action intended to remedy or
mitigate negative impacts;
B3. demonstrate an understanding of the dynamic nature of ecosystems, particularly in terms
of ecological balance and the impact of human activity on the sustainability of terrestrial and
aquatic ecosystems.

Specific Expectations

B1.2 e valuate the effectiveness of government initiatives in Canada (federal, provincial,

muni-cipal), and/or the efforts of societal groups or non-governmental organizations, such as
Aboriginal communities, environmental groups, or student organizations, with respect to an
environmental issue that affects the sustainability of terrestrial or aquatic ecosystems (e.g.,
wetland restoration, recycling programs, Canada–Ontario Environmental Farm Plans,
stewardship of national and provincial parks) [AI, C]

B3.5identify various factors related to human activity that have an impact on ecosystems
(e.g., the introduction of invasive species; shoreline development; industrial emissions that
result in acid rain), and explain how these factors affect the equilibrium and survival of
ecosystems (e.g., invasive species push out native species and upset the equilibrium in an
ecosystem; shoreline development affects the types of terrestrial and aquatic life that can
live near lake shores or river banks; acid rain changes the pH of water, which affects the type
of aquatic life that can survive in a lake)

Learning Goals

At the end of this lesson, students will be able to……

1. Explain the impact of chemical disposal on the surrounding environment and people
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2. Understand how human activity impacts ecosystems and surrounding culture

3. Identify how industrial actions affect the earths sustainability

Success Criteria

I can………

1. Explain why proper disposal of chemicals is important.

2. Explain the relationship Indigenous people have with their land.

3. Identify how Indigenous people were impacted by the Grassy Narrows situation.

4. Explain the interconnectedness within and between different ecosystems.

5. Identify how small scale changes can have large scale impacts.

Content:

Summary of Lesson

Time Instructional Description Resource

Activity

25 minutes Minds on Activity - Students will be - “Grassy Narrows

broken up into groups mercury victims
Article- Group of 4 and will read the up to 6 times
work news paper articles on more likely to
Grassy Narrows have debilitating
mercury victims, and health problems,
the article on Ontario report says”
knowing about the news article
mercury - Article: Ontario
contamination. knew about
Students will discuss mercury
their thoughts about contamination
near Grassy
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the article with their Narrows in

group members. 1990: report
- Laptop – white
Discussion Questions: board
-
- How did the article
make you feel?
- What important
points stood out to
you?
- Ask the students to
think about the
impact this situation
would have on the
community as a whole
(this question will be
revisited towards the
end of the class)

Note: If this lesson was

taught in a virtual platform,
breakout groups could be
used and an interactive white
board could be used to share
ideas

30 minutes PowerPoint lesson Grassy Narrows Study - Power Point

- Brief overview of what presentation
happened at Grassy - Laptop
Narrows (include who, - Show students
what, where, when the “Municipal
and why) Actions- Reduce
- Dryden Chemicals Mercury”
background document
information

Ask the class to predict…..

What are the impacts of

disposing of mercury in the
water system?
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Mercury
- Health impacts of
mercury
- Methylmercury
poisoning
- Discuss uses of
mercury in different
industries
- Proper disposal of
mercury

Levels of the ecosystem

review
- Take a look at the
structure of
ecosystems
- Point out how
elements become
more concentrated as
they go up food chain
levels
- How does this impact
humans?

Indigenous People

Ask the class…

What do you know about

Indigenous people?

- Youtube video
explaining who
Indigenous people are

- Indigenous way of life-

a few points on
Indigenous beliefs are
included to give
students background
information

Impact of Grassy Narrows on

Indigenous People
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- Indigenous people
rely heavily on their
land for resources,
jobs, etc.

- 2 quotes from
Indigenous people
who live on the Grassy
Narrows land are
shared, which show
the impact the
mercury dumping has
had on their lives

- Ask students how the

quotes make them
feel… keep this feeling
in mind

7 minutes YouTube video - Students will watch a YouTube video (link in

YouTube video by materials/resources
Indigenous people section)
about the Grassy
Narrows Situation

8 minutes Group discussion - Students will be given

a few minutes to
(5 minutes) discuss the video with
their peers
- A group discussion will
occur where students
will share how the
video made them feel
5 minutes PowerPoint What is being done now? Powerpoint lesson

Presentation - Briefly explore what Laptop

the government is
doing to fix the
situation at hand

Ask students to think about

the following questions….
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DO you think the efforts

made by the government
were sufficient?
Could the government have
done more to prevent and
resolve the situation?

Assessment

Formative Assessment- Journal Entry (1 page)

- Students will write one paragraph reflecting the connection of Indigenous people and
their community. Students will answer the following questions…
a) What relationship do Indigenous people have with their surrounding
land/environment? How is this relationship similar/different to non-
indigenous people?
b) How did the Grassy Narrows incident impact the lives of Indigenous people?
c) How did you feel while learning about the Grassy Narrows case?
d) Could this situation have been prevented? How?
e) How would your life have been impacted if this situation happened to your
community? How is this impact different or similar to the impact on
Indigenous people?

Students will be assessed on their understanding of the content learned in this lesson on
their summative unit test.

Resources/Materials

- Article: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/grassy-narrows-health-
report-release-1.4675091
- PowerPoint lesson
- Article: https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2017/11/11/ontario-knew-about-
mercury-site-near-grassy-narrows-for-decades-but-kept-it-secret.html?rf
- Youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgaYz8YWsO8
- Laptop, projector

- Youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CISeEFTsgDA’

Notes: Articles may have to be printed and photocopied (if class is in peson)
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Culminating Activity

Restoration Proposal – Summative Unit Project

Throughout the unit, students will be working on their restoration proposal assignment,

where they will create a proposal on how green spaces can be restored or created that

benefit all organisms in the area. Students will choose one area in particular and create their

proposal as they further research their chosen area. Students may choose Grassy Narrows if

they desire.

This project will be introduced at the beginning of the unit, and will be due at the end of the

unit.

References

Amnesty International. (n.d). Grassy Narrows. Retrieved from https://www.amnesty.ca/our-

work/issues/indigenous-peoples/indigenous-peoples-in-canada/grassy-narrows

Anderson, C. (2020). Grassy Narrows. The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved from

https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/grassy-narrows

Government of Ontario. (2020). Mercury contamination in the English and Wabigoon Rivers
near Grassy Narrows and Wabaseemoong Independent Nations. Retrieved from
https://www.ontario.ca/page/mercury-contamination-english-and-wabigoon-rivers-near-
grassy-narrows-wabaseemoong-independent-nations

United States Environmental Protection Agency. (2020) Health Effects of Exposures to

Mercury. Retrieved from https://www.epa.gov/mercury/health-effects-exposures-mercury

Lesson plan inspiration- https://stao.ca/resource/indigenous-peoples-curriculum-resources/

Lesson plan inspiration- https://cdn-5cb4e3b3f911cf0dc86f377b.closte.com/wp-

content/uploads/2020/01/Grassy-Narrows-Study.pdf