Aboriginal perspectives in Canada_Teacher notes.pdf - Education ...

8. Indigenous Healing Practices
Description
Level: intermediate, upper-intermediate (B2).
Time: 45 minutes
Skills: writing, reading and speaking
Activity: This unit features the Native North American healing practices, focusing on the
differences between Indigenous practices and Western medicines as well as on historical
aspects. Students will also learn about famous ’healers’ among Indigenous people in Canada.
Preparation: Copy the worksheet for each student or for each pair/group of students. Have
copies of the key to go with the texts in Activity 2. You might also want to look up some
background information on the topic before going to class (see: further information).
Procedure: As for Activity 1, ask students to browse through the text and let them spot them
unknown words. Put these on the board and clarify their meaning. (If possible, someone from
the class should provide a definition/ explanation.) Then ask students to read through the text
and set a time limit for the completion of this task. After 6-8 minutes, ask somebody to read
the text aloud, and ask the other students to let the person know if they think there is a mistake
in the proposed solution. Then discuss students’ ideas together in class. (Please, note that the
term “Native American” refers to the Indigenous peoples of the Americas in general.)
For Activity 2, students should work in groups of three. Hand out text A to one group and text
B to the next one, and so on. Tell students that they should do the gap-fill on their own, and
then compare their solutions within the group. After this, give each group the key and ask
them to correct their mistakes. Then pair up students from group A with students from group
B and let them share the information. Activity 2 is an ideal opportunity to practice extended
verb forms (active, passive, participles), as well. Make sure you tell your students about the
caliber of options for the successful completion of the task.
Let students have a look at the images of Activity 3 on the worksheet before they start
working on the activity itself. Ask them to describe what they think they see in the pictures
and what these may be used for. Then, in pairs, students should read the descriptions and
match them with the pictures and the target words. Everybody should stop working when the
first pair is ready, and the activity should be checked in class. As a follow-up, they should
gather some information on a healing object or practice of their choice from the list. In their
one-paragraph descriptions, they should answer the following questions:
1. What is the object or practice like?
2. Which culture area or Native group does it belong to?
3. Are there different kinds of it?
Extension/ Variation: To go with Activity 2, you can show your students a video in which
Robin Tekwelus Youngblood gives an interview in Maui about well-being:
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