“The Way of the Sword” Dawn Dumont (Plains Cree, 1978– )
“King of the Tie-snakes” (2001), Craig Womack (Cherokee, 1960– )
“As It Was in the Beginning” (1899), E. Pauline Johnson (Mohawk, 1861–1913)
“Deer Woman” (1991), Paula Gunn Allen (Laguna Pueblo/Sioux, 1939–2008)
“‘You’ll Never Believe What Happened’ Is Always a Great Way to Start,” Thomas King (Cherokee, 1943– )
THE CONTEXT
Stories are literally all that we are. We are all storytellers and we all have a story. This unit will have both students and teachers read stories from an Indigenous perspective; listen to how others and themselves interpret or understand the story; and then begin to tell their own stories.
| Task |
Instruction |
Curriculum Expectations |
| Before |
What is a story? |
Prior knowledge |
| During |
Students will read two “Where I’m From” poems as a class and then have a brief discussion on them. What are the stories in these poems? How do they make you feel? Teacher will jot down ideas from the discussion on the board |
Reading and Listening Strategies (RLS): Use of reading comprehension strategies to identify patterns/flow of poems (ENG3U) RLS: Ability to identify elements of style and how they help communicate meaning (ENG3U) |
| After |
Students will work on their own “Where I’m From” poems in class |
Writing (W): Ability to classify and organize information and ideas to suit a specific purpose for writing (ENG3U) |
| Beyond |
Students will continue to work and review their poems |
W: Ability to determine whether the ideas and information gathered are accurate and complete, interesting, and effectively meet the requirements of the writing task (ENG3U) |
| Teacher Reflection |
Read Introduction of Read, Listen, Tell, pp. 1–11. Begin working on my own “Where I’m From” poem to share with the class |