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LESSON #5         Negotiating Our Own Treaty

SUBJECT:  Language Arts/Social Studies

TOPIC:  Negotiating Our Own Classroom Treaty

TIME FRAME:  2-3 classes

COMMON ESSENTIAL LEARNINGS:  Communication, Independent Learning, Personal and Social Values.

MATERIALS:   Examples of treaties, a brown paper bag to inscribe the treaty on paper.

1. OBJECTIVES:              Saskatchewan Social Studies Objectives
                                               Saskatchewan Language Arts Objectives

Cognitive: Students will...
- demonstrate maturity of thought in interpreting and responding to various media.

Physical: Students will...
- participate in simulation activities related to the treaties, negotiate a modern day treaty.

Affective/Spiritual: Students will...
- demonstrate using the oral and written language to generate, clarify and extend their personal understanding of what they observe, feel, hear, and read through internal and external interaction.      

2. RESOURCES:

http://collections.gc.ca/treaties/code
http://www.inac.gc.ca/treatdoc/index.html
-Students can research the websites on Treaties to examine the format of a completed treaty.

3. PURPOSE/TEACHER BACKGROUND:

    The purpose of this lesson is to give students' an idea of what it is like to negotiate a treaty.

    Background Information:

    Your classroom is called Canada.  In Canada there are First Nations people which are called the Inhabitants.  They are content with their land.   Then one day some strangers arrive on the Inhabitants land and we'll call them Visitors.  These Visitors share the same idea about the land and they want to own it.  However, the Inhabitants are not willing to give it up for nothing in exchange.  The Visitors decide they want to negotiate a treaty with the Inhabitants for this land.  The Inhabitants are willing to negotiate a treaty.

4. ACTIVITIES/IDEAS:

Review with students' terms and definitions about the treaties.  Then brainstorm with students' what kinds of goods they could exchange.  Examples would be exchanging: ...
Use of one side of the room in exchange for one days supply of paper.

Have activity cards (for each group - the number of cards is the teacher's decision).   Have  the students' draw items that they would like to exchange.  For example:  On a flashcard draw a bicycle or boat or some other item that they would like to exchange with the other group.

Divide students into two groups - one side will be the Inhabitants and the other side will be the Visitors (students' can use any name they agree on).  Then divide the room into two sides.  One side of the room belongs to one group and the other side of the room belongs to the other group.

Appoint one student to be the commissioner and another student to be Chief.  (The commissioner will be from the Visitors and the Chief from the Inhabitants)

The Visitors have just arrived from another country and are looking to settle and they decide to settle on the Inhabitants' land.  The Visitors are happy with the land they have arrived on and decide that they would like to own the land.  A commissioner from the Visitors is appointed to negotiate a treaty with the Inhabitants for the land. 

Treaty negotiations begin.      

5. EVALUATION:

Part of Original Treaty four document.

Questions for students' to respond to in their journals.

1. Did you like negotiating a treaty?
2. Did the negotiating procedures go well?
3. A long time ago, do you think that negotiating treaties happened the same way?
4. What did you learn about negotiating a treaty?