Stearns-Pfeiffer

Template for Lesson Plan

Title of Lesson:____Hope, Strength, and Modern Native American Life

Catherine Miller – 10th grade ELA

I. Big Idea(s)/Questions to Consider: (how will you introduce/make this material relevant
for students?)
Big Idea: In today’s lesson, we will look at a series of photos that represent only a very
small part of modern Native American Life. Because we have previously discussed the
fact that almost all of us feel that we do not know very much at all about life on modern
American Indian reservations, and we would like to know more, The Absolutely True
Diary gives all of us a great chance to dig in deeper to a topic which we feel is pretty
neglected in our schooling.
The photos we’re looking at today feature people who may live lives and embrace
customs that seem so different from ours in some ways, but if we really look, we can
see that we all share so many commonalities. Just like you may feel different from so
many others filling the hallways of our own ROHS, if we could freeze each one of us in
a picture and learn a bit more about all of us, we would know that what we have in
common – our shared humanity – is greater than our differences.

II. Learning objectives/goals (list the CCSS met in parenthesis after written objective):
Students will…
Be able to write about facts and figures concerning life on modern day Native American
reservations
(CCSS 9-10.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and
style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience)

Students will…
Be able to connect facts and figures about modern day reservation life to content the students
have read so far in the book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
(CCSS RL9-10.1. Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text
says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text)

Students will…
Be able to write in detail and with support about the character of the protagonist, Junior, by
evaluating the images and statistics presented in the visual slides and applying them to his
situation.
(CCSS W.9 – 10.1 (c). Use words, phrases, and clauses to link the major sections of the text,
create cohesion, and clarify the relationships between claim(s) and reasons, between reasons and
evidence, and between claim(s) and counterclaims.

III. Context of lesson: (what are students doing? What came before, what is next, etc.)
The 10th grade ELA students are reading The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time
Indian by Sherman Alexie. The students began the novel about one week ago, and are
spending time in class each day reading the novel independently. In addition to
discussing the content of the book so far, the class is also examining what they know
 Stearns-Pfeiffer
Template for Lesson Plan

about Native American Indigenous culture. The class will continue to read the novel
independently in class, while also writing each day on topics like the character of the
protagonist and events in the reading that relate to their own lives.

IV. Assessments: (what will students do/produce that shows whether objectives listed above have been met?)
At the conclusion of the slides, which students can see both on the smartboard and on
their devices, students will discuss their thoughts about these visuals in small groups.
Students will also respond in writing to prompts regarding the images and how these
images connect to the reading. This writing will take place on their devices, and will be
submitted through the online platform Canvas.

V. Overview of the lesson (you may have more/fewer acts):

Launch - introduce Big Idea and connection of slides to the reading and to the
Act 1:
students’ every day lives.

Act 2:Present visual of slides, which first includes statistics and facts about life on
Native American reservations, including commonly known information about poverty,
health risks and low levels of education. Then present images of “The Red Road
Project” by Carlota Cardana, which includes aspects of Native Life which are less often
portrayed, and are more hopeful and show strength.

Act 3:Guide students to thoughtfully complete each section of their notes page on their
device, including analysis and reflection on the statistics and images shown, in context
with their reading of The Absolutely True Diary.