Versatility of Salmon

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Name: Jared Sharp (Métis Nation)
Grades: Kindergarten, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
Subject Areas: Applied Skills, Design, and Technologies; Career Education; Science Education; Social Studies; English Language Arts
Artefact /Place/ Skill: Salmon Teachings & Knowledges
Exploring the versatility of salmon and its cultural, economic, and scientific implications for First Peoples.

Making Space

How might teachers prepare their students to work with this content? What background knowledge might be required?

  • The typical life cycle of salmon.
  • Social and economic impact of salmon.
  • Mathematics and physics of salmon.
  • Stories / oral histories of salmon.

Practice Humility

How might non-Indigenous teachers sensitively work with this subject? What might they need to consider in their own positionality?

  • Different Indigenous communities take different stances on the topic.
  • Avoid pan-Indigenous claims. Look to local or a specific Indigenous knowledge of salmon and their ecosystems.
  • Traditional Ecological Knowledge differs from a Western conception of science.

Acknowledge Sources

What can teachers do to find good supporting resources? How should they be cited, especially when it comes to Indigenous knowledges?

Books

  • Hatcher, A., Bartlett, C., Marshall, A., & Marshall, M. (2009). Two-Eyed Seeing in the Classroom Environment: Concepts, Approaches, and Challenges. Canadian Journal of Science, Mathematics and Technology Education, 9(3), 141–153.
    • This article presents a viable method of approaching a topic where both Western and Indigenous views are valued.

Online Resources

BC Curriculum Connections

How does it relate to BC Curriculum?

Click on the subject area below to expand the section.

Applied Design Skills and Technologies

Curricular Competencies:

  • Applied Technologies
    • Identify how the land, natural resources, and culture influence the development and use of tools and technologies.

Concepts & Content:

  • Entrepreneurship and Marketing
    • Characteristics of social entrepreneurship in First Nations communities.
  • Food Studies
    • Social factors that affect food choices, including eating practices.
    • Local food systems.
    • First peoples food use and how that use has changed over time.

Curricular Competencies:

  • Applied Technologies
    • Identify how the land, natural resources, and culture influence the development and use of tools and technologies.

Content:

  • Entrepreneurship and Marketing
    • Characteristics of social entrepreneurship in First Nations communities.
  • Food Studies
    • First Peoples traditional food use, including ingredients, harvesting/gathering, storage, preparation, and preservation.

Curricular Competencies:

  • Applied Technologies
    • Evaluate impacts, including unintended negative consequences, of choices made about technology use.
    • Evaluate the influences of land, natural resources, and culture on the development and use of tools and technologies.

Concepts & Content:

  • Barriers that diverse groups of entrepreneurs face and factors that can contribute to their success.

Big Idea(s): 

  • Social, ethical, and sustainability considerations impact the culinary arts.

Curricular Competencies:

  • Applied Technologies
    • Evaluate the influences of land, natural resources, and culture on the development and use of culinary ingredients, tools and technologies.

Concepts & Content:

  • First Peoples food protocols, including land stewardship, harvesting/gathering, food preparation and/or preservation, ways of celebrating, and cultural ownership.
  • Food products available locally via agriculture, fishing, foraging, and their culinary properties.

Big Idea(s)

  • Social, ethical, and sustainability considerations impact service design for individuals, families, and groups.

Curricular Competencies:

  • Applied Technologies
    • Evaluate impacts, including unintended negative consequences, of choices made about technology use.
    • Evaluate the influences of social, cultural, and environmental conditions on the development and use of tools and technologies.

Concepts & Content:

  • Family and relationship dynamics, challenges families face, both locally and internationally, including strategies for taking action, special caregiving issues, and access to resources.

Big Idea(s): 

  • Consumer needs and preferences inform food production and preparation.
  • Social, ethical, and sustainability considerations impact design.

Curricular Competencies:

  • Ideating
    • Analyze impacts of competing social, ethical, economic, and sustainability factors on food choices and preparation.
  • Applied Technologies
    • Evaluate impacts, including unintended negative consequences, of choices made about technology use.
    • Evaluate the influences of land, natural resources, and culture on the development and use of tools and technologies.

Concepts & Content:

  • First Peoples food protocols, including land stewardship, harvesting/gathering, food preparation and/or preservation, ways of celebrating, and cultural ownership.
  • Food trends, including nutrition, marketing, and food systems.

Big Idea(s):

  • Cuisine design interests require the evaluation and refinement of culinary principles and practices.

Curricular Competencies:

  • Applied Technologies
    • Analyze and evaluate how land, natural resources, and culture influence the development and use of culinary ingredients, tools, and technologies.

Concepts & Content:

  • Diverse cuisine and cooking methodologies, including ethnic, multicultural, and First Peoples.
  • Social, economic, and environmental effects of food procurement decisions

Big Idea(s):

  • Services and products can be designed through consultation and collaboration.

Curricular Competencies:

  • Defining
    • Identify and analyze potential consumers, intended impact, and possible unintended consequences for a chosen tourism design opportunity.
  • Ideating
    • Critically evaluate how competing social, ethical, economic, and sustainability factors impact tourism locally, nationally, and globally.

Concepts & Content:

  • Emerging trends in the tourism industry, such as leisure innovation and First Peoples tourism.
  • Role of labour in sustaining tourism and hospitality operations and services locally and globally.

Big Idea(s):

  • Services and products can be designed through consultation and collaboration.
  • Tools and technologies can be adapted for specific purposes.

Curricular Competencies:

  • Ideating
    • Critically evaluate how competing social, ethical, economic, and sustainability considerations impact choices of food products, techniques, and equipment.

Concepts & Content:

  • Food justice in the local and global community.
  • Legislation, regulations, and agencies that influence food safety and food production.
  • Factors involved in regional and/or national food policies.
  • Perspectives in indigenous food sovereignty.
  • Nature and development of food philosophies by individuals and groups.

Career Education

Big Idea(s):

  • Strong communities are the result of being connected to family and community and working together toward common goals.
  • Communities include many different roles requiring many different skills.

Curricular Competencies:

  • Identify and appreciate the roles and responsibilities of people in their schools, families, and communities.
  • Recognize the basic skills required in a variety of jobs in the community.

Concepts & Content:

  • Connections to Community
    • Cultural and social awareness.
    • Roles and responsibilities at home, at school, and in the local community.
    • Jobs in the local community.

Big Idea(s):

  • Strong communities are the result of being connected to family and community and working together toward common goals.
  • Communities include many different roles requiring many different skills.

Curricular Competencies:

·       Identify and appreciate the roles and responsibilities of people in their schools, families, and communities.

·       Recognize the basic skills required in a variety of jobs in the community.

Concepts & Content:

  • Connections to Community
    • Cultural and social awareness.
    • Roles and responsibilities at home, at school, and in the local community.
    • Jobs in the local community.

Big Idea(s):

  • Strong communities are the result of being connected to family and community and working together toward common goals.
  • Communities include many different roles requiring many different skills.

Curricular Competencies:

  • Identify and appreciate the roles and responsibilities of people in their schools, families, and communities.
  • Recognize the basic skills required in a variety of jobs in the community.

Concepts & Content:

  • Connections to Community
    • Cultural and social awareness.
    • Roles and responsibilities at home, at school, and in the local community.
    • Jobs in the local community.

Big Idea(s):

  • Strong communities are the result of being connected to family and community and working together toward common goals.
  • Communities include many different roles requiring many different skills.

Curricular Competencies:

  • Identify and appreciate the roles and responsibilities of people in their schools, families, and communities.
  • Recognize the basic skills required in a variety of jobs in the community.

Concepts & Content:

  • Connections to Community
    • Cultural and social awareness.
    • Roles and responsibilities at home, at school, and in the local community.
    • Jobs in the local community.

Big Idea(s):

  • Our attitudes toward careers are influenced by our view of ourselves as well as by our friends, family, and community.

Curricular Competencies:

  • Question self and others about the reciprocal relationship between self and community.
  • Use entrepreneurial and innovative thinking to solve problems.
  • Recognize the influence of peers, family, and communities on career choices and attitudes toward work.

Concepts & Content:

  • Connections to Community
    • Local and global needs and opportunities.
    • Cultural and social awareness.
  • Life and Career Plan
    • Factors affecting types of jobs in the community.

Big Idea(s):

  • Our attitudes toward careers are influenced by our view of ourselves as well as by our friends, family, and community.

Curricular Competencies:

  • Examine the importance of service learning and the responsibility of individuals to contribute to the community and the world.
  • Question self and others about the reciprocal relationship between self and community.
  • Use entrepreneurial and innovative thinking to solve problems.
  • Recognize the influence of peers, family, and communities on career choices and attitudes toward work.

Concepts & Content:

  • Connections to Community
    • Local and global needs and opportunities.
    • Cultural and social awareness.
  • Life and Career Plan
    • Factors affecting types of jobs in the community.

Big Idea(s):

  • The value of work in our lives, communities, and society can be viewed from diverse perspectives.
  • Adapting to economic and labour market changes requires flexibility.
  • Our career paths reflect the personal, community, and educational choices we make.

Curricular Competencies:

  • Question self and others about how individual purposes and passions can support the needs of the local and global community when considering career choices.
  • Recognize and explore diverse perspectives on how work contributes to our community and society.
  • Question self and others about the role of family expectations and traditions, and of community needs in career choices.

Concepts & Content:

  • Connections to Community
    • Local and global needs and opportunities.
    • Cultural and social awareness.
    • Factors affecting types of jobs in the community.
  • Life and Career Plan
    • Role of community, school, personal network, and mentorship in career planning.

Big Idea(s):

  • The value of work in our lives, communities, and society can be viewed from diverse perspectives.
  • Our career paths reflect the personal, community, and educational choices we make.

Curricular Competencies:

  • Question self and others about how individual purposes and passions can support the needs of the local and global community when considering career choices.
  • Recognize and explore diverse perspectives on how work contributes to our community and society.
  • Question self and others about the role of family expectations and traditions, and of community needs in career choices.

Concepts & Content:

  • Connections to Community
    • Local and global needs and opportunities.
    • Cultural and social awareness.
    • Factors affecting types of jobs in the community.
  • Life and Career Plan
    • Role of community, school, personal network, and mentorship in career planning.

Science Education

Big Idea(s):

  • Plants and animals have observable features.
  • Daily and seasonal changes affect all living things.

Curricular Competencies:

  • Experience and interpret the local environment
  • Recognize First Peoples stories (including oral and written narratives), songs, and art, as ways to share knowledge.
  • Express and reflect on personal experiences of place.

Concepts & Content:

  • Basic needs of plants and animals.
  • Adaptations of local plants and animals.
  • Local First Peoples uses of plants and animals.
  • Weather changes.
  • Seasonal changes.
  • Living things make changes to accommodate daily and seasonal cycles.

Big Idea(s):

  • Observable patterns and cycles occurring the local sky and landscape.

Curricular Competencies:

  • Recognize First Peoples stories (including oral and written narratives), songs, and art, as ways to share knowledge.
  • Consider some environmental consequences of their actions.
  • Express and reflect on personal experiences of place.

Concepts & Content:

  • Classification of living and non-living things.
  • Names of local plants and animals.
  • Behavioural adaptations of animals in the local environment.
  • The knowledge of First Peoples.
  • Local First Peoples knowledge of the local landscape, plants and animals.
  • Local First Peoples understandings and use of seasonal rounds.

Big Idea(s):

  • Living things have life cycles adapted to their environment.

Curricular Competencies:

  • Experience and interpret the local environment.
  • Recognize First Peoples stories (including oral and written narratives), songs, and art, as ways to share knowledge.
  • Consider some environmental consequences of their actions.
  • Express and reflect on personal experiences of place.

Concepts & Content:

  • Metamorphic and non-metamorphic life cycles of different organisms.
  • First Peoples use of their knowledge of life cycles.
  • Local First People’s knowledge of water:
    • Water cycles
    • Conservation
    • Connection to other systems

Big Idea(s):

  • Living things are diverse, can be grouped, and interact in their ecosystems.

Curricular Competencies:

  • Experience and interpret the local environment.
  • Recognize First Peoples perspectives and knowledge as sources of information.
  • Identify some simple environmental implications of their and others’ actions.
  • Express and reflect on personal or shared experiences of place.

Concepts & Content:

  • Biodiversity in the local environment.
  • The knowledge of local First Peoples of ecosystems.
  • Local First Peoples knowledge of local landforms.

Big Idea(s):

  • Human practices affect the sustainability of ecosystems.
  • Humans can play a role in stewardship and restoration of ecosystems.

Curricular Competencies:

  • Experience and interpret the local environment.
  • Apply First Peoples perspectives and knowledge, other ways of knowing, and local knowledge as sources of information.
  • Contribute to finding solutions to problems at a local and/or global level through inquiry.
  • Implement multiple strategies to solve problems in real-life, applied, and conceptual situations.
  • Communicating
  • Express and reflect on a variety of experiences, perspectives, and worldviews through place.

Concepts & Content:

  • First Peoples knowledge and other traditional ecological knowledge in sustaining biodiversity.
  • Human actions and their impact on ecosystem integrity.
  • First Peoples ways of knowing and doing.
  • Resource stewardship.
  • Restoration practices.

Big Idea(s):

  • Scientific processes and knowledge inform our decisions and impact our daily lives.
  • Scientific knowledge can be used to develop procedures, techniques, and technologies that have implications for places of employment.

Curricular Competencies:

  • Demonstrate a sustained intellectual curiosity about a scientific topic or problem of personal, local, or global interest.
  • Use local knowledge to experience and interpret the local environment.
  • Apply First Peoples perspectives and knowledge, other ways of knowing, and local knowledge as sources of information.
  • Contribute to finding solutions to problems at a local and/or global level through inquiry.
  • Implement multiple strategies to solve problems in real-life, applied, and conceptual situations.
  • Express and reflect on a variety of experiences, perspectives, and worldviews through place.

Concepts & Content:

  • Impact of technologies
  • Impacts of technology in the workplace
  • Human impact on Earth’s systems:
    • Effects of climate change.
  • Actions and decisions affecting the local and global environment, including those of First Peoples.

Big Idea(s):

  • Human actions affect the quality of water and its ability to sustain life.
  • Human activities cause changes in the global climate system.
  • Living sustainably supports the well-being of self, community, and Earth.

Curricular Competencies:

  • Experience and interpret the local environment.
  • Apply First Peoples perspectives and knowledge, other ways of knowing, and local knowledge as sources of information.
  • Contribute to finding solutions to problems at a local and/or global level through inquiry.
  • Implement multiple strategies to solve problems in real-life, applied, and conceptual situations.
  • Express and reflect on a variety of experiences, perspectives, and worldviews through place.

Concepts & Content:

  • Water quality parameters and bioindicator.
  • Availability and water use impacts.
  • Global water security:
    • Conservation of water.
  • Changes to climate systems.
  • Impacts of global warming.
  • Personal choices and sustainable living.
  • Global environmental ethics, policy, and law.

Social Studies

Big Idea(s):

  • Our communities are diverse and made of individuals who have a lot in common.
  • Stories and traditions about ourselves and our families reflect who we are and where we are from.
  • Rights, roles, and responsibilities shape our identity and help us build healthy relationships with others.

Curricular Competencies:

  • Explain the significance of personal or local events, objects, people, or places (significance).
  • As questions, make inferences, and draw conclusions about the content and features of different types of sources (evidence).
  • Sequence objects, images, or events, and distinguish between what has changed and what has stayed the same (continuity and change).
  • Recognize causes and consequences of events, decisions, or developments in their lives (cause and consequence).
  • Acknowledge different perspectives on people, places, issues, or events in their lives (perspective).
  • Identify fair and unfair aspects of events, decisions, or actions in their lives and consider appropriate courses of action (ethical judgement).

Concepts & Content:

  • Personal and family history and traditions.
  • Rights, roles, and responsibilities of individuals and groups.
  • People, places, and events in the local community, and in local First Peoples communities.

Big Idea(s):

  • We shape the local environment, and the local environment shapes who we are and how we live.
  • Our rights, roles, and responsibilities are important for building strong communities.
  • Healthy communities recognize and respect the diversity of individuals and care for the local environment.

Curricular Competencies:

  • Explain the significance of personal or local events, objects, people, or places (significance).
  • Ask questions, make inferences, and draw conclusions about the content and features of different types of sources (evidence).
  • Sequence objects, images, or events, and distinguish between what has changed and what has stayed the same (continuity and change).
  • Recognize causes and consequences of events, decisions, or developments in their lives (cause and consequence).
  • Explore different perspectives on people, places, issues, or events in their lives (perspective).
  • Identify fair and unfair aspects of events, decisions, or actions in their lives and consider appropriate courses of action (ethical judgement).

Concepts & Content:

  • Characteristics of the local community that provide organization and meet the needs of the community.
  • Diverse cultures, backgrounds, and perspectives within the local and other communities.
  • Relationships between a community and its environment.
  • Roles, rights, and responsibilities in the local community.
  • Key events and developments in the local community, and in local First Peoples communities.
  • Natural and human-made features of the local environment.

Big Idea(s):

  • Canada is made up of many diverse regions and communities.

Curricular Competencies:

  • Explain why people, events, or places are significant to various individuals and groups (significance).
  • Ask questions, make inferences, and draw conclusions about the content and features of different types of sources (evidence).
  • Sequence objects, images, or events, and explain why some aspects change and others stay the same (continuity and change).
  • Recognize causes and consequences of events, decisions, or developments  (cause and consequence).
  • Explain why people’s beliefs, values, worldviews, experiences, and roles give them different perspectives on people, places, issues, or events (perspective).
  • Make value judgements about events, decisions, or actions, and suggest lessons that can be learned (ethical judgement).

Concepts & Content: 

  • Diverse characteristics of communities and cultures in Canada and around the world, including at least one Canadian First Peoples community and culture.
  • Relationships between people and the environment in different communities.
  • Rights and responsibilities of individuals regionally and globally.

Big Idea(s):

  • Learning about indigenous peoples nurtures multicultural awareness and respect for diversity.
  • Indigenous knowledge is passed down through oral history, traditions, and collective memory.
  • Indigenous societies throughout the world value the well-being of the self, the land, spirits, and ancestors.

Curricular Competencies:

  • Explain why people, events, or places are significant to various individuals and groups (significance).
  • Ask questions, make inferences, and draw conclusions about the content and features of different types of sources (evidence).
  • Sequence objects, images, or events, and explain why some aspects change and others stay the same (continuity and change).
  • Recognize causes and consequences of events, decisions, or developments (cause and consequence).
  • Explain why people’s beliefs, values, worldviews, experiences, and roles give them different perspectives on people, places, issues, or events (perspective).
  • Make value judgements about events, decisions, or actions, and suggest lessons that can be learned (ethical judgement).

Concepts & Content:

  • Cultural characteristics and ways of life of local First Peoples and global indigenous peoples.
  • Interconnections of cultural and technological innovations of global and local indigenous peoples.
  • Governance and social organization in local and global indigenous societies.
  • Oral history, traditional stories, and artifacts as evidence about past First Peoples cultures.
  • Relationship between humans and their environment.

Big Idea(s):

  • The pursuit of valuable natural resources has played a key role in changing the land, people, and communities of Canada.

Curricular Competencies:

  • Construct arguments defending the significance of individuals/groups, places, events, or developments (significance).
  • Ask questions, corroborate inferences, and draw conclusions about the content and origins of different sources (evidence).
  • Sequence objects, images, or events, and determine continuities and changes between different time periods or places (continuity and change).
  • Differentiate between intended and unintended consequences of events, decisions, or developments, and speculate about alternative outcomes (cause and consequence).
  • Construct narratives that capture the attitudes, values, and worldviews commonly held by people at different times or places (perspective).
  • Make ethical judgements about events, decisions, or actions that consider the conditions of a particular time and place (ethical judgement).

Concepts & Content:

  • Demographic changes in pre-Confederation British Columbia in both First peoples and non-First Peoples communities.
  • Economic and political factors that influenced the colonization of British Columbia and its entry into Confederation.
  • The impact of colonization on First Peoples societies in British Columbia and Canada.
  • The history of the local community and of local First Peoples communities.
  • Physiographic features and natural resources of Canada.

Big Idea(s):

  • Canada’s policies and treatment of minority peoples have negative and positive legacies.
  • Natural resources continue to shape the economy and identity of different regions of Canada.

Curricular Competencies:

  • Develop a plan of action to address a selected problem or issue.
  • Construct arguments defending the significance of individuals/groups, places, events, or developments (significance).
  • Ask questions, corroborate inferences, and draw conclusions about the content and origins of a variety of sources, including mass media (evidence).
  • Sequence objects, images, and events, and recognize the positive and negative aspects of continuities and changes in the past and present (continuity and change).
  • Differentiate between intendeds and unintended consequences of events, decisions, and developments, and speculate about alternative outcomes (cause and consequence).
  • Take stakeholders’ perspectives on issues, developments, or events by making inferences about their beliefs, values, and motivations (perspective).
  • Make ethical judgements about events, decisions, or actions that consider the conditions of a particular time and place, and assess appropriate ways to respond (ethical judgement).

Concepts & Content:

  • The development and evolution of Canadian identity over time.
  • Resources and economic development in different regions of Canada.
  • First Peoples land ownership and use.

Big Idea(s):

  • Economic self-interest can be a significant cause of conflict among peoples and governments.
  • Systems of government vary in their respect for human rights and freedoms.
  • Media sources can both positively and negatively affect our understanding of important events and issues.

Curricular Competencies:

  • Develop a plan of action to address a selected problem or issue.
  • Construct arguments defending the significance of individuals/groups, places, events, or developments (significance).
  • Ask questions, corroborate inferences, and draw conclusions about the content and origins of a variety of sources, including mass media (evidence).
  • Sequence objects, images, and events, and recognize the positive and negative aspects of continuities and changes in the past and present (continuity and change).
  • Differentiate between short- and long-term causes, and intended and unintended consequences of events, decisions, or developments (cause and consequence).
  • Take stakeholders’ perspectives on issues, developments, or events by making inferences about their beliefs, values, and motivations (perspective).
  • Make ethical judgements about events, decisions, or actions that consider the conditions of a particular time and place, and assess appropriate ways to respond (ethical judgement).

Concepts & Content:

  • Economic policies and resource management, including effects on indigenous peoples.
  • Regional and international conflict.
  • Media technologies and coverage of current events.

Big Ideas:

  • Geographic conditions shaped the emergence of civilizations.
  • Religious and cultural practices that emerged during this period have endured and continue to influence people.
  • Economic specialization and trade networks can lead to conflict and cooperation between societies.

Curricular Competencies:

  • Assess the significance of people, places, events, or developments at particular times and places (significance).
  • Identify what the creators of accounts, narratives, maps, or texts have determined is significant (significance).
  • Assess the credibility of multiple sources and the adequacy of evidence used to justify conclusions (evidence).
  • Characterize different time periods in history, including periods of progress and decline, and identify key turning points that marked periods of change (continuity and change).
  • Determine which causes most influenced particular decisions, actions, or events, and assess their short- and long-term consequences (cause and consequence).
  • Explain different perspectives on past or present people, places, issues, or events, and compare the values, worldviews, and beliefs of human cultures and societies in different times and places (perspective).
  • Make ethical judgements about past events, decisions, or actions, and assess the limitations of drawing direct lessons from the past (ethical judgement).

Concepts & Content:

  • Human responses to particular geographic challenges and opportunities, including climates, landforms, and natural resources.
  • Origins, core beliefs, narratives, practices, and influences of religions, including at least one indigenous to the Americas.
  • Social, political, legal, governmental, and economic systems and structures, including at least one indigenous to the Americas.

Big Idea(s):

  • Human and environmental factors shape changes in population and living standards.
  • Exploration, expansion, and colonization had varying consequences for different groups.
  • Changing ideas about the world created tension between people wanting to adopt new ideas and those wanting to preserve established traditions.

Curricular Competencies:

  • Assess the significance of people, places, events, or developments at particular times and places (significance).
  • Identify what the creators of accounts, narratives, maps, or texts have determined is significant (significance).
  • Assess the credibility of multiple sources and the adequacy of evidence used to justify conclusions (evidence).
  • Characterize different time periods in history, including periods of progress and decline, and identify key turning points that marked periods of change (continuity and change).
  • Determine which causes most influenced particular decisions, actions, or events, and assess their short- and long-term consequences (cause and consequence).
  • Explain different perspectives on past or present people, places, issues, or events, and compare the values, worldviews, and beliefs of human cultures and societies in different times and places (perspective).
  • Make ethical judgements about past events, decisions, or actions, and assess the limitations of drawing direct lessons from the past (ethical judgement).

Concepts & Content:

  • Social, political, legal, governmental, and economic systems and structures, including at least one indigenous civilization.
  • Changes in population and living standards.

Big Ideas:

  • The physical environment influences the nature of political, social, and economic change.
  • Disparities in power alter the balance of relationships between individuals and between societies.
  • Collective identity is constructed and can change over time.

Curricular Competencies:

  • Assess the significance of people, places, events, or developments, and compare varying perspectives on their historical significance at particular times and places, and from group to group(significance).
  • Assess the justification for competing historical accounts after investigating points of contention, reliability of sources, and adequacy of evidence (evidence).
  • Compare and contrast continuities and changes for different groups at the same time period (continuity and change).
  • Assess how prevailing conditions and the actions of individuals or groups affect events, decisions, or developments (cause and consequences).
  • Explain and infer different perspectives on past or present people, places, issues, or events by considering prevailing norms, values, worldviews, and beliefs (perspective).
  • Recognize implicit and explicit ethical judgements in a variety of sources (ethical judgement).
  • Make reasoned ethical judgements about actions in the past and present, and determine appropriate ways to remember and respond (ethical judgement).

Concepts & Content:

  • Social, political, legal, governmental, and economic systems and structures, including at least one indigenous civilization.
  • Changes in population and living standards.

Big Idea(s):

  • Worldviews lead to different perspectives and ideas about developments in Canadian society.
  • Historical and contemporary injustices challenge the narrative and identity of Canada as an inclusive, multicultural society.

Curricular Competencies:

·       Assess the significance of people, places, events, or developments, and compare varying perspectives on their historical significance at particular times and places, and from group to group (significance).

·       Assess the justification for competing historical accounts after investigating points of contention, reliability of sources, and adequacy of evidence, including data (evidence).

·       Compare and contrast continuities and changes for different groups at particular times and places (continuity and change).

·       Assess how underlying conditions and the actions of individuals or groups influence events, decisions, or developments, and analyze multiple consequences (cause and consequences).

·       Explain and infer different perspectives on past or present people, places, issues, or events by considering prevailing norms, values, worldviews, and beliefs (perspective).

·       Make reasoned ethical judgements about actions in the past and present, and assess appropriate ways to remember and respond (ethical judgement).

Concepts & Content: 

  • Environmental, political, and economic policies.
  • Canadian identities.
  • Discriminatory policies and injustices in Canada and the world, including residential schools, the head tax, the Komagata Maru incident, and internments.
  • Advocacy for human rights, including findings and recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
  • Domestic conflicts and cooperation.

Big Idea(s):

  • The identities, worldviews, and languages of B.C. First Peoples are renewed, sustained, and transformed through their connection to the land.
  • The impact of contact and colonialism continues to affect the political, social, and economic lives of B.C. First Peoples.
  • Cultural expressions convey the richness, diversity, and resiliency of B.C. First Peoples.
  • Through self-governance, leadership, and self-determination, N.C. First Peoples challenge and resist Canada’s ongoing colonialism.

Curricular Competencies:

  • Assess the significance of people, events, places, issues, or developments in the past and present (significance).
  • Identify what the creators of accounts, narratives, or maps have determined to be significant (significance).
  • Using appropriate protocols, interpret a variety of sources, including local stories or oral traditions, and Indigenous ways of knowing (holistic, experiential, reflective, and relational experiences, and memory) to contextualize different events in the past and present (evidence).
  • Characterize different time periods in history, including examples of progress and decline, and identify key turning points that marked periods of change (continuity and change).
  • Assess the long- and short-term causes and consequences, and the intended and unintended consequences, of an action, event, decision, or development (cause and consequence).
  • Assess the connectedness or the reciprocal relationship between people and place (cause and consequence).
  • Explain different perspectives on past and present people, places, issues, or events, and distinguish between worldviews of today and the past (perspective).
  • Explain and infer perspectives and sense of place, and compare varying perspectives on land and place (perspective).
  • Make reasoned ethical judgements about actions in the past and present, and assess appropriate ways to remember, reconcile, or respond (ethical judgement).

Concepts & Content: 

  •  Traditional territories of the B.C. First Nations and relationships with the land.
  • Role of oral tradition for B.C. First Peoples.
  • Impact of historical exchanges of ideas, practices, and materials among local B.C. First Peoples and with non-indigenous peoples.
  • Provincial and federal government policies and practices that have affected, and continue to affect, the responses of B.C. First Peoples to colonialism.
  • Resistance of B.C. First Peoples to colonialism.
  • Contemporary challenges facing B.C. First Peoples, including legacies of colonialism.

Big Idea(s):

  • The identities, worldviews, and languages of indigenous peoples are renewed, sustained, and transformed through their connection to the land.
  • Indigenous peoples are reclaiming mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being despite the continuing effects of colonialism.
  • Indigenous peoples continue to advocate and assert rights to self-determination.
  • Reconciliation requires all colonial societies to foster healing and address injustices.

Curricular Competencies:

  • Use indigenous principles of learning (holistic, experiential, reflective, and relational) to better understand connectedness and the reciprocal relationship of First Peoples to the land.
  • Assess and compare the significance of the interconnections between people, places, events, and developments at a particular time and place, and determine what they reveal about issues in the past and present (significance).
  • Using appropriate protocols, ask questions and corroborate inferences of Elders and other local knowledge keepers through oral traditions, indigenous knowledge, memory, history, and story (evidence).
  • Compare and contrast continuities and changes for different groups in different time periods and places (continuity and change).
  • Assess how underlying conditions and the actions of individuals or groups affect events, decisions, and developments, and analyze multiple consequences (cause and consequence)
  • Explain different perspectives on past or present people, places, issues, and events by considering prevailing norms, values, worldviews, and beliefs (perspective).
  • Make reasoned ethical claims about actions in the past and present after considering the context and values of the times (ethical judgement).

Concepts & Content: 

  • Varied identities and worldviews of indigenous peoples, and the importance of the interconnection of family, relationships, language, culture and the land.
  • Factors that sustain and challenge the identities and worldviews of indigenous peoples.
  • Resilience and survival of indigenous peoples in the face of colonialism.
  • Community development, partnerships, and control of economic opportunities.
  • Responses to inequities in the relationships of indigenous peoples with governments in Canada and around the world.

Big Idea(s):

  • A geographic region can encompass a variety of physical features and/or human interactions.

Curricular Competencies:

  • Asses the significance of places by identifying the physical and/or human features that characterize them (sense of place).
  • Evaluate how particular geographic actions or events influence human practices or outcomes (geographical value judgements).
  • Identify and assess how human and environmental factors and events influence each other (interactions and associations).
  • Make reasoned ethical judgements about controversial actions in the past or present, and determine whether we have a responsibility to respond (geographical value judgements).

Concepts & Content:

  • Relationship between First Peoples and the environment.
  • Relationships between natural resources and patterns of population settlement and economic development.

English Language Arts

Big Idea(s):

  • Language and story can be a source of creativity and joy.
  • Everyone has a unique story to share.
  • Through listening and speaking, we connect with others and share our world.

Curricular Competencies:

  • Use foundational concepts of print, oral, and visual texts
  • Engage actively as listeners, viewers, and readers, as appropriate, to develop understanding of self, identity, and community
  • Recognize the importance of story in personal, family, and community identity
  • Show awareness of how story in First Peoples cultures connects people to family and community.
  • Explore oral storytelling processes.

Concepts & Content:

  • Story/text
    • elements of story
    • literary elements and devices
    • vocabulary to talk about texts
  • Strategies and processes
    • oral language strategies
    • metacognitive strategies

Big Idea(s):

  • Language and story can be a source of creativity and joy.
  • Everyone has a unique story to share.
  • Through listening and speaking, we connect with others and share our world.

Curricular Competencies:

  • Use foundational concepts of print, oral, and visual texts
  • Engage actively as listeners, viewers, and readers, as appropriate, to develop understanding of self, identity, and community
  • Recognize the importance of story in personal, family, and community identity
  • Show awareness of how story in First Peoples cultures connects people to family and community.
  • Explore oral storytelling processes.

Concepts & Content:

  • Story/text
    • elements of story
    • literary elements and devices
    • vocabulary to talk about texts
  • Strategies and processes
    • oral language strategies
    • metacognitive strategies

Big Idea(s):

  • Language and story can be a source of creativity and joy.
  • Stories and other texts help us learn about ourselves, our families, and our communities.

Curricular Competencies:

  • Use developmentally appropriate reading, listening, and viewing strategies to make meaning.
  • Engage actively as listeners, viewers, and readers, as appropriate, to develop understanding of self, identity, and community.
  • Explain the role that story plays in personal, family, and community identity.
  • Recognize the structure and elements of story.
  • Show awareness of how story in First Peoples cultures connects people to family and community.
  • Develop awareness of how story in First Peoples cultures connects people to land.

Concepts & Content:

  • Story/text
    • elements of story
    • functions and genres of stories and other texts
  • Strategies and processes
    • oral language strategies
    • metacognitive strategies
  • Language features, structures, and conventions
    • features of oral language

Big Idea(s):

  • Language and text can be a source of creativity and joy.
  • Exploring stories and other texts helps us understand ourselves and make connections to others and to the world.

Curricular Competencies:

  • Recognize the role of language in personal, social, and cultural identity.
  • Use personal experience and knowledge to connect to text and deepen understanding of self, community, and world.
  • Demonstrate awareness of the oral tradition in First Peoples cultures and the purposes of First Peoples texts.
  • Identify how story in First Peoples cultures connects people to land.

Concepts & Content:

  • Story/text
    • forms, functions, and genres of text
  • Strategies and processes
    • oral language strategies
    • metacognitive strategies
  • Language features, structures, and conventions
    • features of oral language

Big Idea(s):

  • Language and text can be a source of creativity and joy.
  • Exploring stories and other texts helps us understand ourselves and make connections to others and to the world.

Curricular Competencies:

  • Explain the role of language in personal, social, and cultural identity.
  • Demonstrate awareness of the oral tradition in First Peoples cultures and the purposes of First Peoples texts.
  • Identify how story in First Peoples cultures connects people to land.
  • Use oral storytelling processes.

Concepts & Content:

  • Story/text
    • forms, functions, and genres of text
  • Strategies and processes
    • oral language strategies
    • metacognitive strategies
  • Language features, structures, and conventions
    • features of oral language

Big Idea(s):

  • Language and text can be a source of creativity and joy.
  • Exploring stories and other texts helps us understand ourselves and make connections to others and to the world.
  • Exploring and sharing multiple perspectives extends our thinking.

Curricular Competencies:

  • Apply appropriate strategies to comprehend written, oral, and visual texts, guide inquiry, and extend thinking.
  • Recognize and appreciate how different features, forms, and genres of texts reflect various purposes, audiences, and messages.
  • Recognize and identify the role of personal, social, and cultural contexts, values, and perspectives in texts.
  • Recognize how language constructs personal, social, and cultural identity.
  • Construct meaningful personal connections between self, text, and world.
  • Recognize and appreciate the role of story, narrative, and oral tradition in expressing First Peoples perspectives, values, beliefs, and points of view.
  • Use and experiment with oral storytelling processes.

Concepts & Content:

  • Story/text
    • forms, functions, and genres of text
  • Strategies and processes
    • oral language strategies
    • metacognitive strategies
  • Language features, structures, and conventions
    • features of oral language

Big Idea(s):

  • Language and text can be a source of creativity and joy.
  • Exploring stories and other texts helps us understand ourselves and make connections to others and to the world.
  • Exploring and sharing multiple perspectives extends our thinking.

Curricular Competencies:

  • Apply appropriate strategies to comprehend written, oral, and visual texts, guide inquiry, and extend thinking.
  • Recognize and appreciate how different features, forms, and genres of texts reflect various purposes, audiences, and messages.
  • Recognize and identify the role of personal, social, and cultural contexts, values, and perspectives in texts.
  • Recognize how language constructs personal, social, and cultural identity.
  • Construct meaningful personal connections between self, text, and world.
  • Recognize and appreciate the role of story, narrative, and oral tradition in expressing First Peoples perspectives, values, beliefs, and points of view.
  • Recognize the validity of First Peoples oral tradition for a range of purposes.

Concepts & Content:

  • Story/text
    • forms, functions, and genres of text
  • Strategies and processes
    • oral language strategies
    • metacognitive strategies
  • Language features, structures, and conventions
    • features of oral language

Big Idea(s):

  • Language and text can be a source of creativity and joy.
  • Exploring stories and other texts helps us understand ourselves and make connections to others and to the world.
  • People understand text differently depending on their worldviews and perspectives.
  • Texts are socially, culturally, and historically constructed.

Curricular Competencies:

  • Apply appropriate strategies to comprehend written, oral, and visual texts, guide inquiry, and extend thinking.
  • Recognize and appreciate how different features, forms, and genres of texts reflect various purposes, audiences, and messages.
  • Recognize and identify the role of personal, social, and cultural contexts, values, and perspectives in texts.
  • Recognize how language constructs personal, social, and cultural identity.
  • Construct meaningful personal connections between self, text, and world.
  • Recognize and appreciate the role of story, narrative, and oral tradition in expressing First Peoples perspectives, values, beliefs, and points of view.
  • Develop an awareness of the protocols and ownership associated with First Peoples texts.

Concepts & Content:

  • Story/text
    • forms, functions, and genres of text
  • Strategies and processes
    • oral language strategies
    • metacognitive strategies
  • Language features, structures, and conventions
    • features of oral language

Big Idea(s):

  • Language and text can be a source of creativity and joy.
  • Exploring stories and other texts helps us understand ourselves and make connections to others and to the world.
  • People understand text differently depending on their worldviews and perspectives.
  • Texts are socially, culturally, and historically constructed.

Curricular Competencies:

  • Apply appropriate strategies to comprehend written, oral, and visual texts, guide inquiry, and extend thinking.
  • Recognize and appreciate how different features, forms, and genres of texts reflect various purposes, audiences, and messages.
  • Recognize and identify the role of personal, social, and cultural contexts, values, and perspectives in texts.
  • Recognize how language constructs personal, social, and cultural identity.
  • Construct meaningful personal connections between self, text, and world.
  • Recognize and appreciate the role of story, narrative, and oral tradition in expressing First Peoples perspectives, values, beliefs, and points of view.
  • Develop an awareness of the protocols and ownership associated with First Peoples texts.
  • Develop an awareness of the diversity within and across First Peoples societies represented in texts.
  • Recognize the influence of place in First Peoples and other Canadian texts.

Concepts & Content:

  • Story/text
    • forms, functions, and genres of text
  • Strategies and processes
    • oral language strategies
    • metacognitive strategies
  • Language features, structures, and conventions
    • features of oral language

Big Idea(s):

  • The exploration of text and story deepens our understanding of diverse, complex ideas about identity, others, and the world.
  • People understand text differently depending on their world views and perspectives.
  • Texts are socially, culturally, geographically, and historically constructed.

Curricular Competencies:

  • Recognize and appreciate the role of story, narrative, and oral tradition in expressing First Peoples perspectives, values, beliefs, and points of view.
  • Recognize and appreciate the diversity within and across First Peoples societies as represented in texts.
  • Recognize and appreciate the influence of land/place in First Peoples and other Canadian texts.
  • Apply appropriate strategies to comprehend written, oral, visual, and multimodal texts.
  • Recognize personal, social, and cultural contexts, as well as values and perspectives in texts.
  • Explore how language constructs personal and cultural identities.
  • Construct meaningful personal connections between self, text, and world.

Concepts & Content:

  • Text forms and genres
  • Text features and structures
    • narrative structures found in First Peoples texts
    • protocols related to ownership of First Peoples oral texts
  • Strategies and processes
    • oral language strategies

First Peoples’ Principles of Learning

Which First Peoples’ Principles of Learning apply?

  • Learning ultimately supports the well-being of the self, the family, the community, the land, the spirits, and the ancestors.
  • Learning recognizes the role of Indigenous knowledge.

Inviting Community

What is one way that teachers could work with community members for this project?

  • If your local community has both Indigenous fishing practices and commercial fishing a good idea would be to invite representatives from both groups to visit the classrooms to talk about their practices.