NBE3U Unit 4: Living Words

Students learn how oral traditions carry knowledge and law (including the Delgamuukw decision, 1997), practise culturally appropriate listening with a recorded teaching by an Elder, Knowledge Keeper or Métis Senator, study wampum, the roles of figures from oral stories in general terms, seasonal and ownership protocols, Legends of Vancouver as a case study in credit and permission, Métis and Inuit oral traditions, and how oral traditions were disrupted and continued. They analyse recorded speeches and teachings chosen by the teacher. Every lesson works without a guest; if your board can arrange a visit, the listening lesson works in person too. Students never retell community stories or imitate ceremonies or songs. Teacher notes recommend reviewing the course with your board's Indigenous education lead and inviting Elders, Knowledge Keepers or Métis Senators through board protocol, and include support resources wherever residential schools and loss come up. Contemporary texts are chosen by the teacher from board-approved resources (titles only); public domain writing by Indigenous authors of the past is included in full as historical context.

Assessment of learning: a researched presentation or podcast on an oral tradition practice or revitalization effort, and a listening journal with a reflection, with rubrics.

This unit is free to download and use with your classes.

Lessons

1. Living Words
2. How We Listen
3. Belts That Speak
4. Who Tells, When and to Whom
5. Figures of the Oral Tradition
6. Silenced and Spoken
7. Métis Voices
8. Inuit Voices
9. Reading a Speech
10. Listening to a Teaching
11. Keeping Words Alive
12. Presentation Workshop
13. Presentations and Reflection

What you get

• A teacher lesson plan for every lesson: curriculum expectations, learning goals and success criteria, a timed sequence, differentiation, look-fors and answer guides
• Detailed slideshows (15 to 18 slides per lesson) with speaker notes on every slide: what to say, what to ask, what to look for and how long to spend, plus model answers and answer-key slides
• Student handouts, organizers and exit tickets
• Editable Word and PowerPoint files, plus PDFs
• A unit overview and the summative tasks and rubrics

Part of the free complete NBE3U course.