Let’s address the issue and ask the important questions. For grades 4 and 5 a tangible and very relevant question is, “How did the Canadian government’s residential school system violate the Rights of the Child?”
This is a charged question. But it is important to examine polices of the past to have informed conversations if reconciliation is to be realized. Inquiry based learning is an ideal process to investigate this question thoroughly. Learners will analyze text, classify and sort details, and display their findings in collaboration. This lesson delivery style allows for more meaningful learning through discovery and ownership.
This detailed, step-by-step unit, guides teachers who are both experienced and inexperienced with inquiry-based learning through this inquiry project.
Centred on the BCTLA’s Points of Inquiry, Reconciliation Through Literacy follows the process: Connect-and-Wonder, Investigate, Construct, Express, and Reflect (at all stages).
Students will examine the Rights of the child and further analyze, critically think, and classify details of eight resources:
Shin Chi's Canoe by Nicola I. Campbell
The Train by Jodie Callaghan
I AM NOT A NUMBER by Jenny Kay Dupuis
I Lost My Talk by Rita Joe
Fatty Legs by Christie Jordan-Fenton and Margret Pokiak-Fenton, Margret
Stolen Words by MelanieFlorence
When We Were Alone by David A. Robertson
Orange Shirt Story by Phyllis Webstad
Included in this inquiry unit are EDITABLE activity sheets, charts, graphic organizers, planning and reflection booklets.
It meets learners at their level. It involves asking questions to guide investigations. It creates relevancy for the learner. It requires patience and time, and it involves roles and responsibilities in a collaborative effort. Ultimately, inquiry-based learning allows a community of learners to be successful.