Lesson #1
Role-Playing Two Different Cultures
SUBJECT: Language Arts/Social Studies
TOPIC: Role-playing
TIME FRAME: 1 class
COMMON ESSENTIAL LEARNINGS: Communication, Independent Learning,
Personal and Social Values, Critical and Creative thinking
MATERIALS: A deck of cards
1. OBJECTIVES:
Saskatchewan Social Studies
Objectives
Saskatchewan Language Art
Objectives
Cognitive: Students will...
- discuss the interactions of aboriginal and immigrants was not easy
when they first came into contact.
Physical: Students will...
- participate in class and small group discussions and collaborative tasks.
- plan and participate in simulation activities about the fur trade.
Affective/Spiritual: Students will...
- appreciate and value the cultures and traditions of various peoples during
the fur trade.
- discuss the difficulties of two different cultures trying to communicate.
2. RESOURCES:
http://www.worldweb.com/parkscanada-rocky/furtrade.html
-This website contains information on the history of the fur trade in Canada.
3. PURPOSE/TEACHER BACKGROUND
INFORMATION:
The purpose of this lesson is to give students the opportunity to discover how
difficult it was when trying to communicate with another culture, especially when the
languages were different. This will give students an idea of what it was like when
the fur trading process began.
The objective of the game is to have students trade objects. For example: A
student wants to trade his/her beaver pelt for a rifle. Therefore he/she tries to
find someone with a rifle card (#6 card) and communicates with their language (Oh Da Da or
A Na Na).
Here is a guide for the value of the cards:
2-blanket 8-snowshoes
3-beads 9-ammunition
4-tobacco 10-otter fur
5-1 pot J-bear fur
6-rifle Q-buffalo hide
7-traps K-beaver pelt
The objective of the game is to trade for objects that they want or need.
4. ACTIVITIES/IDEAS:
Have a variety of books and pictures relating to the fur trade on display in the
classroom. Tell students that they will be doing role-play activity having to do
with the fur trade.
Explain what is expected of students during role-play. Students are divided into two
large groups. Number students 1,2,1,2,1...and so on. One group will have
sounds in their language of "Oh Da Da" - Used in a variety of ways. The
other group will have sounds in their language of "A Ne Ne" - used in a variety
of ways. The two groups come into contact and try to explain to each other that they want
to trade. *remind students that they can only use the sounds of their languages when
trying to communicate to the others. Begin by stating that the First Nations
have something the Newcomers want and the Newcomers have something the First Nations want.
Begin role-playing.
KWL Chart
*Another activity to begin the unit would be to use a KWL Chart. KWL
stands for "What I already KNOW, what I WANT to
know, and what I LEARNED. Hand out the outlines for the KWL
Charts. At the top of the chart the word FUR TRADE is written. Give students
5-10 minutes to respond to the question "What I already know about the Fur Trade.".
After they have done so, then have students respond to the second question "What
I want to know about the Fur Trade.". Bring class together and brainstorm
what they already know about the fur trade. You may want to use a web to record the
information on the chalkboard. After the brainstorming is finished then have
students respond to the third question "What I learned about the Fur Trade."
5. EVALUATION: