Lesson 1 - Resource Shortage Forces Assembly of Nations

Lesson Plan

Minds On

Small Group > Wants vs. Needs Tableaux

Pose the following question to the class: What is the difference between what you want and what you need?

Divide students into groups of 4-5 and have them develop two tableaux; one that demonstrates using something or engaging in an activity reflecting a “want” and another that reflects a “need.” Encourage students to develop transitions from one tableau to another.

As groups share, keep track of what they dramatized in a T-chart titled Things We Want and Things We Need, to be displayed as an anchor chart for future reference.

Whole Class > Discussion of What Humans Need to Survive

Engage students in a discussion about basic needs and record them on chart paper.

Key Questions for Discussion:

What do you think humans need to survive?
How do people go about meeting these needs?
Whose responsibility is it to make sure that these needs are met?
What happens when people can’t meet their needs for survival?
What happens once everyone’s needs have been met? What else starts to become important? What else do people spend their time and energy doing?

De quoi pensez-vous que les êtres humains ont besoin pour survivre ?
Comment les gens vont-ils répondre à ces besoins ?
Qui a la responsabilité de s'assurer que ces besoins sont satisfaits ?
Que se passe-t-il lorsque les gens ne peuvent pas subvenir à leurs besoins de survie ?
Que se passe-t-il une fois que les besoins de chacun ont été satisfaits ? Quoi d'autre commence à devenir important ? Comment les gens passent-ils leur temps et leur énergie ?

Sample Teacher Script: We are about to engage in an activity in which you will be divided into groups and will be faced with the challenge of meeting your group’s needs; but, there are going to be some challenges along the way. Your job will be to work as a team and with other teams to solve your problems.

Scripte pour le professeur possible : Nous sommes sur le point de nous engager dans une activité dans laquelle vous serez divisés en groupes qui seront confrontés au défi de répondre aux besoins de votre groupe; mais, il y aura des défis en cours de route. Votre travail sera de travailler en équipe et avec d'autres équipes pour résoudre vos problèmes.

Connections

Connections: Review what students have studied about the regions of Canada and the natural resources each region possesses. Also review how pioneers and citizens of First Nations communities met their needs using their physical environment.

Differentiation: Consider using strategies such as Elbow Partners and Think-Pair-Share to assist students in brainstorming ideas. Use a Place mat or Grafitti strategy for brainstorming ideas on chart paper. For more on the Place mat and Grafitti literacy strategies, see Think Literacy.

Assessment as learning: Provide students with the guiding questions to complete individually as a means of determining what their level of understanding of the key ideas was before engaging in the unit of study.

Action!

Small Group > Nation-Building In Role As Citizens

Divide students into 3 groups. One of the groups will be in a Mountainous region with the largest number of inhabitants, one will be a Grassland region with the second highest number of inhabitants and one will be a group of free Roaming citizen explorers travelling along waterways who come from a far-away powerful nation. This last group will have the smallest number of citizens.

Distribute BLM #1 Scenario Cards to the respective groups and assign them a specific region of the classroom that they are not allowed to venture beyond for the majority of the drama.

Instruct groups to read their scenario cards and use the information to create any or all of the following for their country:

• a country name
• a flag
• a one verse anthem that reflects their identity and beliefs
• a process by which they will select their leader

Whole Class > Assembly of Nations Group Role Play

As teacher in role, invite members of each society to join you for an assembly of nations to discuss a problem that will be of interest to them all.

Allow time for each group to determine a manner of travel that matches the resources available to them in their given physical environment. Side coach the groups during the rehearsal process to ensure that their mode of travel is in keeping with what is available to them.

Invite groups to join you at a neutral spot in the room once they have rehearsed their method of travel. Play slow, atmospheric music as groups ceremoniously make their way from their designated region in the room to the meeting place in a circle in the centre of the room.

Once all groups have gathered, open the ceremony by having a flag bearer walk the perimeter of the circle of gathered guests and have citizens of each country stand and sing their anthem in turn.

As teacher in role as the leader of the assembled nations, announce that you have been approached by one of the members of the Grassland region that is in dire need of food, as a great drought has prevented the grain and vegetable crops that were planted from taking seed.

Individual > Appeal for Support > Hot Seating

Invite the leader from the Grassland region to make an appeal to their peers and question him or her using hot seating. Devise a formalized method for those who want to address the speaker to come forward and pose their questions. Invite citizens from other nations to come forward with their questions and comments.

Inform the leader in the hot seat that they may appeal to fellow citizens from their country for consultation when responding to questions posed. If students are not taking advantage of this option or are struggling with arriving at a solution, intervene in role as chair of the meeting and offer some suggestions.

Possible Solutions:

• Pooling spare food resources that the other two nations have in their storehouses.
• Sending the most vulnerable to neighbouring nations where they’ll be housed in temporary shelters and fed.
• Sending healthy laborers from the drought-affected nation to one of the neighbouring nations to work on some development projects that requires extra people in exchange for food.

Whole Class > Putting Solutions into Action Role Play

Once a possible solution to the problem has been identified, instruct groups to travel back to their respective locales where they will role play the agreed upon solution/s in a series of short scenes. (e.g. if students decided that the two other nations were going to give the drought plagued nation food from their stockpiles, have students act out going back to their nations, loading up a boat with supplies and venturing to the Grassland nation’s area in the room to unload the goods. Once there, the Grassland recipients would distribute the food to citizens and thank the donors, who would then return back home.)

Connections

Connections: Refer students back to the notes from their discussion in the Minds On section if they are struggling with coming up with solutions. Quick Tips: Nation-building activities may take more time than what is allotted for in this lesson, and could be used as extension activities. If time constraints exist, consider reducing the number of tasks and/or supplying predetermined names, flags, song verses, etc. to the groups. If students are struggling with the improvised role play, insert yourself into the drama by acting as a representative from the leader of the assembly of nations who wants to make sure that the agreed upon solution was being carried out as planned. Provide guiding directions or prompts where necessary to keep action moving toward the agreed upon goal.
 

Differentiation: Create flags on the computer if preferred. Students may want to record their anthem using Garage Band software if they have access to Mac computers. Provide students with chairs, blankets and ropes to help mimic physical landscapes and set actual physical boundaries between nations to appeal to visual and kinesthetic learners. Make a list of the steps that need be be taken to put the solution that was agreed upon into action. Have students act out the steps in chunks.
 

Assessment as learning: Have students reflect on their contributions as a group member before they begin their “possible solutions” scenes using the CODE Resource Self Assessment Checklist.

Consolidation

Small Group > Celebration Rituals Role Play

Once relative harmony has been restored, ask each group to develop a short celebration ritual that will take a shape of their choosing (e.g., a dance, meal, sacrifice, prayer, song). Use the CODE resource Characteristics of Rituals Checklist to review with students the basic characteristics of a ritual.

Instruct students to remain in their region and share their celebration ritual while other groups sit in their regions watching as an audience from wherever they are in the room.

Individual > Journal Reflection

Invite students to reflect on their experiences in role by responding to any or all of the following reflection prompts:
One thing that I have learned about survival is...
What have you learned about the way that climate can affect people’s lives?
What are some examples of the ways that nations can meet their citizens’ needs?
Why is it important to have good relationships with other nations?
One thing that nations can do to help each other is...
Of all of the activities that you participated in, which one made you feel most proud to be a citizen of your nation? Explain.

Une chose que j'ai apprise sur la survie est ...
Qu'avez-vous appris sur la façon dont le climat peut affecter la vie des gens?
Quels sont les exemples de moyens par lesquels les nations peuvent répondre aux besoins de leurs citoyens?
Pourquoi est-il important d'avoir de bonnes relations avec les autres nations? 
Une chose que les nations peuvent faire pour s'entraider est ... 
De toutes les activités auxquelles vous avez participé, laquelle vous a rendu le plus fier d'être un citoyen de votre pays? Explique.

Connections

Connections: Invite students to engage in directed reading about incidents where nations were in peril due to problems over natural resources to give students a historical or contemporary sense of how these problems play out in the world (e.g. the fur trade, oil sands, drought in Ethiopia, blood diamonds).

Differentiation: Have students create mind maps to capture their thinking or take videos of themselves discussing their ideas using the Photo Booth feature on Mac computers in lieu of journal writing.

Assessment for/as learning: Assess journal responses and provide formative feedback; assess students on their role play and celebrations using the CODE resources Role Play Checklist.