
Rationale
In "Strategies for Engagement" (Jacobsen et. al., 2013), Friesen states that 21st century learning “is better conceived of as ensuring students have the competencies required to fully participate in and make meaningful contributions locally, provincially, nationally, and/or globally, not for someday in the future, but now.” Our interdisciplinary unit plan, “Plant the Seed: How One Person Can Make a Difference” has taken this insight as a central idea for planning and design. Students who participate in this unit will engage in meaningful, real-world tasks, construct and demonstrate knowledge socially and in a way that spills out of the classroom and into the community at large. Accessing their democratic freedoms, students will develop awareness of ways citizens may exercise agency in ways that truly matter in our world.
In this unit, the Indigenous framework of the Medicine Wheel and the concept of interconnectedness will infuse and unify several curricular areas. These powerful Ways of Knowing integrate aspects of the self, the Spiritual, the Emotional, the Physical and the Mental; and connect the individual to other human beings, to all living things and to the Earth. Students will learn that a human being has the opportunity to seek balance and wholeness in order to contribute to the harmony of the community. Through a carefully planned sequence of activities and experiences, students will deepen their sense of connection and shared responsibility in the classroom, at home, in the community and in the world. Over the course of the five week unit, Indigenous ways of knowing are integrated with aspects of several Program of Studies so all students have the opportunity to develop knowledge, understanding and respect for the histories, cultures, languages, contributions, perspectives, experiences and contemporary contexts of First Nations, Metis, and Inuit peoples.
The overall theme of Grade 6 is this: “I take responsibility for myself.” This approach underpins the main goals of Grade 6 Health and Life Skills: responsibility for self, finding positive and healthy roles in the community, and the importance of volunteerism. This theme connects seamlessly with the idea of responsible citizenship within a democracy, part of the Grade 6 Social Studies curriculum. In turn, responsible citizenship and the possibilities available to citizens in our democracy translate into powerful ways for children to practice stewardship of the Earth. Through an integration of Science Topic E: Trees and Forests, students will develop an awareness, not only of the personal connection we feel for trees and forests, but of the vital role forests play in the Earth's climate, and how preservation of forests is an essential task facing today's democracies. Students will learn about our democracy and discover that each person has a voice and a responsibility, and that there are many ways students can raise their voices constructively to advocate for the changes we need, starting with our forests.
To enhance the personal as well as collective connection to trees and forests, the unit will include land-based learning through field trips to The Weaselhead Natural Area and Jumpingpound Demonstration Forest. New understandings students acquire will form the subject matter for writing projects: poetry, a business letter and newspaper article. Students will prepare, through research, to engage in a debate. Note: Differentiation strategies within the unit will provide a variety of tasks and opportunities for all children to demonstrate their learning. Authentic and varied learning experiences will expand students' capacities, and will include the use of technology as a powerful tool for gathering, creating and communicating knowledge.
During the five weeks of the unit, students will be encouraged to approach the topic of responsibility for the Earth through a decolonizing lens, fully visible in the very structure of the unit. The first week will focus on self, in terms of wholeness and responsibility, followed by a focus on responsibility within the classroom community, with a third week focus on action within the school and family communities. The fourth week will focus on making global connections and will culminate in a final project, in Week 5, to showcase student work to parents and the school community. In this way, we hope to instill Aboriginal values and understandings within traditional curriculum learning outcomes. We hope to enable our students to see global problems from a fresh, and much needed perspective, and to become a part of a healing process for the Earth and for their communities. While this goal may sound idealistic and grand, the overwhelming problems we face require a grand vision. Honoring students as fully capable of using their voice for change, rather than training them to be useful cogs in the status-quo machine, is a necessary paradigm shift if we wish to prepare children for their future.