Social Justice for Little Learners

Grade Level: Grade One

Topic: Truth and Reconciliation

Book Title: “When We Were Alone”

Author: David A. Robertson

Link to Purchase: https://a.co/d/37DUq8l

Link for Online Read-Aloud : https://youtu.be/iIWSjY6HSwc?si=QmAmDgQ3B4KewrbU

Cree Pronunciation Video: https://youtu.be/IIggbriekSw?si=7qkCQuM6tYIOUDm1

Teacher Resource Video: https://youtu.be/8nD1DozPdt0?si=dFaEwyK5Z0B3E38M

Discussion Prompts/Questions:

• Before Reading
  • “Tell about a time when you were alone. How did you feel? What did you do?”
  • “Have you ever felt alone at school? What did you do?”
• During/After Reading
  • “What do you notice about the colour of the words on the pages? What do the different colours mean?”
  • “What would it be like if you had to go to school away from home? How would you feel if you had to leave your family?”
  • “How would you feel if you had to wear the same clothes as everyone else?” (If at a uniform school, “How does it feel to come to school wearing the same clothes as your classmates?”)
  • “What would be like if you had a rule about cutting your hair off to go to school?”
  • “What are some things that the grandmother does now because she could not do them at school?”
  • etc.

Follow-Up Activity:

• Teach students to braid, using yarn or ribbon. If possible, have someone come in and show students braided sweetgrass and/or how to braid grasses.
• Have the class make a collaborative list of games or activities at school that they enjoy (recess, choice time, puzzles, art, Lego, etc), and place each suggestion in a jar/bowl/container. Each day, choose one or two activities to do as a class until everyone’s activity has been used! There will likely be a sense of disappointment each time a student’s choice isn’t the pick. This is a very good reminder of the fact that different people find happiness in different things, and that it is important that everyone get to do the things that are important to them. I highly recommend that this be a “bonus play time”, rather than any regularly scheduled play, so that children are all playing together, and everyone will still have free choice as usual in the day.

BC Core Competency Connections:

Personal and Social

• Positive Personal and Cultural Identity
  • I am aware of myself as different from others.
• Social Awareness and Responsibility
  • I am aware that other people can be different from me.
  • In familiar settings, I can interact with others and my surroundings respectfully.
  • I can identify when something is unfair to me or to others.

Thinking

• Creative Thinking
  • I get ideas when I use my senses to explore.
• Critical Thinking
  • I can explore with a purpose in mind and use what I learn.

Communication

• Communicating
  • In familiar settings, I communicate with peers and adults.
  • I can understand and share basic information about topics that are important to me.
• Collaborating
  • In contribute during group activities, cooperate with others, and listen respectfully to their ideas.

BC Curricular Connections:

• Understand (Big Ideas):
  • Stories and other texts help us learn about ourselves and our families. (ELA 1)
  • Everyone has a unique story to share. (ELA 1)
  • Through listening and speaking, we connect with others and share our world. (ELA 1)
  • Healthy communities recognize and respect the diversity of individuals and care for the local environment. (SS 1)
  • Learning about ourselves and others helps us develop a positive attitude and caring behaviours, which helps us build healthy relationships. (Physical and Health Education 1)
  • Engagement in the arts creates opportunities for inquiry through purposeful play. (Arts Education 1)
  • People connect to others and share ideas through the arts. (Arts Education 1)

• Know (Content):
  • Diverse cultures, backgrounds, and perspectives within the local and other communities. (SS 1)
  • Rights, roles, and responsibilities of individuals and groups. (SS 1)
  • Cultural and social awareness, achieved by exploring self-identity, acknowledging cultural differences, honouring indigenous traditions. (Career Education 1)
  • Caring behaviours in groups and families. (Physical and Health Education 1)
  • Personal and collective responsibility associated with creating, experiencing, or sharing in a safe learning environment. (Arts Education 1)

• Do (Curricular Competency):
  • Comprehend and connect (reading, listening, viewing)
    • Engage actively as listeners, viewers, and readers, as appropriate, to develop understanding of self, identity, and community. (ELA 1)
    • Recognize the importance of story in personal, family, and community identity. (ELA 1)
    • Use personal experience and knowledge to connect to stories and other texts to make meaning. (ELA 1)
  • Create and communicate (writing, speaking, representing)
    • Exchange ideas and perspectives to build shared understanding. (ELA 1)
  • Recognize causes and consequences of events, decisions, or developments in their lives. (SS 1)
  • Acknowledge different perspectives on people, places, issues, or events in their lives. (SS 1)
  • Identify fair and unfair aspects of events, decisions, or actions in their lives and consider appropriate courses of action. (SS 1)
  • Share ideas, information, personal feelings, and knowledge with others. (Career Education 1)
  • Develop and demonstrate respectful behaviour when participating in activities with others. (Physical and Health Education 1)
  • Create artistic works collaboratively and as an individual, using ideas inspired by imagination, inquiry, experimentation, and purposeful play. (Arts Education 1)

FPPL Link:

• Learning ultimately supports the well-being of the self, the family, the community, the land, the spirits, and the ancestors.
• Learning involves recognizing the consequences of one’s actions.
• Learning is embedded in memory, history, and story.
• Learning requires exploration of one’s identity.

BC ELF Link:

• Early years spaces are inclusive.
• Play is integral to well-being and learning.
• Relationships are the context for well-being and learning.
• Learning is holistic.

TFT Through-line Link:

• Justice Seeking
• Community Building