Residential Residential

OVERARCHING INQUIRY LAUNCH
LESSON TITLE: UNIT LAUNCH
BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE FOR TEACHERS:
Prior to this unit launch, introduce the use of Thinking Journals to your students. In the
first Thinking Journal entry students will explore the questions, “What were Residential
Schools? What does reconciliation look like?”
LESSON GOAL:
Students will have a discussion that will help them:
• Become aware of the government’s apology to First Nation, Métis and Inuit Peoples for
Residential Schools.
• Begin building background knowledge about the legacy of Residential Schools.
• Generate questions that will guide how they will respond to the overarching question,
“How do we best respond to the legacy of Residential School?”
Teachers will:
• Ask questions for the students to discuss.
• Capture, record and make visible students’ ideas to refer back to throughout the inquiry.
NOTE: This is an opportunity for teachers' to observe and listen to students’ conversations in
order to better understand what students actually know about this topic and their personal
connections to this topic. Teachers should avoid direct instruction and ensure that all voices
are heard.
SUCCESS CRITERIA:
I can ask thought-provoking questions that will lead to an investigation about Residential
Schools.
LESSON PLAN
BEFORE (ACTIVATION):
As a class, discuss: What is an apology? When and why do we apologize? Give examples
of times when you apologized. What happened after you apologized? Do adults apologize?
When? How is it different from kids?
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