Lesson Plan Template

Name: Rohan Cornelio Subject(s): Academic English

Grade: 6
Lesson Title: Introductory Activities for Sherman Alexies Absolute True Diary of a Part Time Indian

Curriculum Connections
Curriculum Area: Writing and Media Literacy Curriculum Area: Reading
Overall Expectations: Overall Expectations:
Developing and organizing content: generate Reading for meaning: Read and demonstrate an
gather and organize ideas and information to understanding of a variety of informational, literary
write for an intended purpose and audience and graphic texts, using a range of strategies to
construct meaning
Identify some media forms and explain how the
conventions and techniques associated with
them are used to create meaning.
Specific Expectations: Specific Expectations:
1.1 Identify the topic, purpose, and 1.4 Demonstrate understanding of increasingly
audience for several different types of complex texts by summarizing and explaining
writing tasks important ideas and citing relevant supporting
1.2 Generate focus ideas for potential details.
writing tasks, using several different
strategies and print, electronic, and other
resources.
1.4 identify, sort, and order main ideas and
supporting details for writing tasks, using several
different strategies and organizational patterns
suited to the content and purpose for writing.
1.2 Interpret media texts, using overt and implied
messages as evidence for their interpretations.

Learning Goals:
Students will have engaged with current issues surrounding the representation of Indigenous Youths described in the novel as
well as the articles that will be provided to the students.
Alongside learning how to construct clear and concise paragraphs, by reading specific articles regarding present day issues in
representations of Indigenous culture in Canada, students will get a framework to approaching Sherman Alexies novel and
have a general understanding of what the novel accomplishes and what makes it a unique work of literature

Assessment & Evaluation

SUCCESS CRITERIA:
Success Criteria will be co created with students
Adapted from: Differentiated Instruction Teaching/Learning Examples 2009 Template for Writers. Ontario Ministry of Education, Student
Success/Learning to 18 Implementation, Training and Evaluation Branch
ASSESSMENT STRATEGY:
What will you focus your assessment on? Are you looking at the product or
process, metacognition skills etc.?
Assessment for learning: Students will be
required to formulate notes as well as
create mind maps focusing on what it is
that they know about Indigenous Peoples
of Canada.
Assessment as learning: After reading
contemporary articles surrounding the
issues and representations of Indigenous
Cultures, students will look to examine how
these issues are taken up and presented in
Sherman Alexies novel. In addition,
 students will construct a brief paragraph
indicating how the stigmas surrounding
issues such as disability and substance
abuse, which are taken up in Alexies work,
are also applicable to their own lives and
their society.

ASSESSMENT TOOLS: SOCIAL JUSTICE FRAMEWORK:

o Anecdotal o Key Elements: Problematizecommon
o Rating Scale
o Checklist representations of Indigenous culture within
o Rubric society, along with gaining a better
o Other
understanding of current events surrounding
Indigenous Cultures in order to move away
from the notion that the problems and history of
Indigenous Peoples is something of the past and
irrelevant to current Canadian society.
ACCOMODATIONS/ MODIFICATIONS: DIFFERENTIATION:
o
o
Decreased workload
Peer tutoring What to learn (content) : The purpose of this
o
o
Increased time
Different mode of response
exercise is to gain awareness of Indigenous
o Visual aid/manipulatives issues within a Canadian context. The
Use of a timer
o
o Technology
inclusion of stereotypical Indigenous cartoons
o Teacher assistance is to indicate the ways in which the stigmas
o Other
and negative associations surrounding
Indigenous Peoples results in an alienation
from specific groups of people, thereby
rendering them a thing of the past or a group
that is out of the hierarchical chain of being is
neglected in society. The intent therefore, is to
move past such worldviews and notice the
limitations and contextuality of these views.

Prior Learning

Prior to this lesson, students will have: gone through a handout outlining various literary devices
present in short stories, specifically the ones dealing with themes such as imagery.
Students will also be provided a series of cartoons that represent Indigenous Peoples in a certain
stereotypical way to help them reflect upon the process of their own personal encounters with
representations of Indigenous Peoples. By unpacking those stereotypes and relating it back to the
ways in which students themselves have often been stigmatized both inside and outside the
classroom, there will be a better understanding as to how these stereotypes are damaging and how
they can often become naturalized within society.

Materials and Resources

Multiple copies of the articles being used.
Multiple copies of the cartoons that we will be working to problematize.
Copy of Sherman Alexies Absolute True Diary of a Part Time Indian.

Adapted from: Differentiated Instruction Teaching/Learning Examples 2009 Template for Writers. Ontario Ministry of Education, Student
Success/Learning to 18 Implementation, Training and Evaluation Branch
Time Steps/Activities Assessment As/For/Of Learning

Minds On Assessment Opportunities

Establish a positive learning environment
Connect to prior learning and/or experiences
Setting the context for learning
Students will be asked to discuss the representations of Assessment For Learning
Indigenous Peoples in the cartoons they have been
provided from previous classes.
In addition, students will be asked to brainstorm and create
a mind map concerning their own personal understandings
of different cultural groups.

Action Assessment Opportunities

Introduce new learning or extending/reinforcing prior to learning
Provide opportunities for practice and application of learning (guided/independent)
Assessment as Learning
After students have discussed this I will provide them with
articles to read concerning present day issues and
discussions in Canada concerning the representation of
Indigenous Peoples.
At this time students will read the articles that they have
been assigned.

Consolidation and Connection Assessment Opportunities

Helping students demonstrate what theyve learned
Providing opportunities for consolidation and reflection
After that they will be asked to construct a paragraph that Assessment For and As
sums up the argument or topic of discussion of the article. learning
In addition, their paragraph should discuss some of the key
points made regarding media representations of different
Adapted from: Differentiated Instruction Teaching/Learning Examples 2009 Template for Writers. Ontario Ministry of Education, Student
Success/Learning to 18 Implementation, Training and Evaluation Branch
 groups, and how such representations can have a negative
impact in terms of our understandings of that specific
cultural group.

Next Steps: After collecting the students written

components, I will begin to provide a brief overview of
Sherman Alexies novel and some of the main themes that
come up within the work.
I will explain that while Alexies work is more so about
Indigenous groups in the United States, the graphic novel
along with the vivid imagery provided in the language
provides us as active readers to think about how these
issues revolving around Indigenous culture can be currently
seen in Canada.
One of the ways in which we have actively done this is by
looking at the articles provided and catching a glimpse of
the issues that are prevalent in our society.

Students will be asked for homework to look up any current

topic revolving around Indigenous education. It can range
from things such as education to things such as mental
health. The purpose however is to get students acquainted
with current events surrounding the numerous Indigenous
Groups within Canada. When they come to class, there will
be a discussion regarding their findings, specifically they will
reflect on the events that surprised them or informed them
about things that they did not know about previously. The
following writing exercise will look to explore their own
personal opinions now that they are aware of the current
events surrounding Indigenous Culture, and how might they
be able to relate to some of the topics that they research.

Adapted from: Differentiated Instruction Teaching/Learning Examples 2009 Template for Writers. Ontario Ministry of Education, Student
Success/Learning to 18 Implementation, Training and Evaluation Branch
Adapted from: Differentiated Instruction Teaching/Learning Examples 2009 Template for Writers. Ontario Ministry of Education, Student
Success/Learning to 18 Implementation, Training and Evaluation Branch