Description
This lesson plan is part 5 of a 5-part Unit Plan that supports Indigenous students’ transition from secondary school to their future education and career/life goals. The Unit Plan highlights schools and support programs available to Indigenous students in northwestern Ontario. Students will engage in the four-step inquiry process (i.e., Knowing Yourself; Exploring Opportunities; Making Decisions and Setting Goals; and Achieving Goals and Making Transitions), as they think about and prepare a post-secondary pathway plan.
This lesson plan originated from a regional gathering (2018) at Lakehead University with First Nations educators from across Northwestern Ontario
Acknowledgement Protocol
Please read this Acknowledgement before the start of this lesson to respect the knowledge that is being shared and the Land of the People where the knowledge originates.
This lesson plan was developed at Lakehead University, which is located on the traditional territory of Fort William First Nation, signatory to the Robinson Superior Treaty of 1850. The land on which we gather is the traditional territory of the Anishinaabeg.
Contributors
| Name | Role / Job Title | Place |
|---|---|---|
| Melissa Oskineegish | Curriculum developer | Thunder Bay |
| MacKenzie Orlando | Curriculum developer | Thunder Bay |
| Tina Armstrong | Elder/Reviewer | |
| Oliver Rusnak | Reviewer | |
| Victoria Russell Mathews | Reviewer |
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this lesson plan, students will be able to:
1. Solidify their post-secondary plan to identify future education and career goals, as well as supports available in school and community.
2. Create a presentation to effectively communicate their post-secondary goals and career plan.
Teacher's Guide
Background / Foundational Information
This lesson plan concludes the Unit Plan (of five Lesson Plans). Presentations provide students with the opportunity to practice their communication and listening skills. Presentation approaches can include: power-point, poster, flyer, video, speech, art/visual displays, and can be completed in front of the whole class or in a non-traditional sharing circle.
This lesson plan within the Unit Plan meets curriculum expectations in the Ontario Curriculum: Career Studies, Grade 10 (OPEN) course. The 2019 Ontario Curriculum Guidelines (p. 8) state:
The intent of the program is to ensure that students leave secondary school with a clear plan for their initial post-secondary destination, whether in apprenticeship training, college, community living, university, or the workplace, and with confidence in their ability to implement, and revise or adapt, their plan throughout their lives as they and the world around them change. The framework of the program is a four-step inquiry process based on four questions linked to four areas of learning: (1) Knowing Yourself – Who am I?; (2) Exploring Opportunities – What are my opportunities?; (3) Making Decisions and Setting Goals – Who do I want to become?; and (4) Achieving Goals and Making Transitions – What is my plan for achieving my goals?
The activities in each lesson plan are informed from the experiences of Indigenous students in northwestern Ontario as it follows the aim of the program established by the Ontario Curriculum Guidelines.
The Ontario curriculum expectations are as follows:
Overall Expectations:
- B3. Identifying Possible Destinations and Pathways: Taking their Personal Profile into account, students explore, research, and identify a few post-secondary destinations of interest, whether in apprenticeship training, college, community living, university, or the workplace, and investigate the secondary school pathways that lead to those destinations.
Specific Expectations:
- B3.1 Use a research process to identify and compare a few post-secondary options that suit their aspirations, skills, interests, values, and personal circumstances.
- B3.2 Identify the pathways towards their preferred destinations, including the courses and/or specialized programs that lead to the destination and meet the requirements for a secondary school certificate or diploma, as well as the supports available at school and in the community that can enhance their secondary education.
Activities
Presentation1:10
Purpose
Students present their post-secondary plan in a presentation approach of their choice.
- Each student will share their post-secondary plan to the whole class.
- After completing their presentation, students hand in their plan for final assessment.
Learning styles this activity connects with
- Spiritual (e.g., Relational) Learners
- Physical (e.g., Tactile, Experiential, Visual) Learners
- Intellectual (e.g., Rational, Logical) Learners
This lesson is a celebration of each student's post-secondary pathway plan. The activity connects with intellectual learners, physical learners, and spiritual learners as students prepare a format for presenting their information to share with the whole class.
Assessment
This section contains information for assessing progress in students' learning. While Indigenous approaches to assessment may be highlighted, conventional assessment methods may also be discussed.
This lesson plan includes an 'Assessment of Learning' strategy. Instructors are provided with a rubric that has two parts: one for the student's presentation and the other for the student's post-secondary plan.
Where can I find additional information?
- Supporting First Nations Learners Transitioning to Post-SecondaryLink
Info
The report provides information about factors that affect First Nations learners in education in Canada and the types of initiatives available to support a successful transition to post-secondary learning.
- Transitions: Supporting First Nations, Metis, and Inuit students in school and career successLink
Info
The website provides information about strategies that support secondary to post-secondary transitions. Posters on tips for success are available for download in English, Oji-Cree, Ojibwa, and French.
- First Nation, Metis, and Inuit presence in our schools: A Cultural ResourcePDF · 7.9 MB
Info
This handbook provides background information to staff and administrators on First Nations, Metis, and Inuit heritages and traditions, cultural teachings, celebrations, treaties, terminology, and best practices in Lakehead Public Schools.
- Exploring the Ethical Standards for the Teaching Profession through Anishinaabe ArtLink
Info
This resource provides information about ethics in the classroom and is published by the Ontario College of Teachers in collaboration with Bruce K. Beardy.
Holism and All Our Relations
This lesson plan has been developed with an Indigenous lens that is holistic in nature, and addresses the following:
Ethics in the classroom: care, truthfulness and trust, respect, integrity
This lesson supports the ethical values of Care and Respect as students share their post-secondary pathway plan and listen to each classmate's presentation. For more information about Ethics in the Classroom, please see Exploring the Ethical Standards for the Teaching Profession through Anishinaabe Art published by the Ontario College of Teachers and in collaboration with Bruce Beardy. https://www.oct.ca/-/media/PDF/Exploring%20Ethical%20Standards%20through%20Anishinaabe%20Art/2015%20Ethical%20Stndrds%20and%20Anishinaabe%20Art_en%20web_accssble.pdf
Connections with everyday life
The culminating activity connects with everyday life in that it supports students' transition to their future education and career/life goals.
Personal reflection time (connecting with thoughts and feelings)
After the class presentations, instructors can conclude this lesson with a non-traditional sharing circle that provides an opportunity for students to share their final thoughts about their transition plan from secondary to post-secondary education and career.