Category: Reflections Page 1 of 5

On the day before National Truth and Reconciliation Day, I was called into a grade 4/5 classroom at one of our inner-city elementary schools.  The teacher had not left a day plan, only a note to do an Art and Social Studies activity with an “Orange Shirt Day theme.”  Luckily, the students had Library first, so I had 50 minutes to think and plan for what I wanted to do in honour of this important day.  I went to the Orange Shirt Day site (https://www.orangeshirtday.org/) and gathered a few ideas.

What transpired was truly amazing – the students were highly receptive, engaged, insightful, and so very  thoughtful.  They took to heart what we learned and shared their thoughts, ideas, and emotions so freely, and with such truth and understanding, that it brought tears to my eyes.  It was an honour to facilitate and be a part of the learning and sharing that took place in the classroom that day.  As such, I share this lesson plan hoping that my fellow teacher candidates will one day have an opportunity to utilize it and share in a similar experience.

First, I began the lesson by showing the following audio-visuals:

The first two videos feature Phyliss Webstad and provide an overview of her experience at residential school and the origin of Orange Shirt Day.  The third is a music video titled, “We Won’t Forget”, by the N’we Jinan Artists from Sk’elep School of Excellence.  After each audio-visual, we talked and discussed before watching the next.  Many of the children were shocked to learn that Phyliss grew up so close to them (less than 1.5 hours away, in Williams Lake, BC), and that the Orange Shirt Day campaign was born so close to home.  We discussed the trauma and the sadness of her story and of the experiences of Indigenous students at residential schools, how unacceptable it was, and how we must acknowledge what happened while remembering and honouring those who suffered (and continue to suffer), and work toward reconciliation and living to do better so that the past is never re-written.

Second, I read aloud the book, “When We Were Alone”, by David A. Robertson, pausing to discuss as needed.  

Third, I asked the students to reflect on everything they had heard and seen thus far, and to tell me how they think Indigenous students felt/were made to feel at residential schools.  I wrote: “Students at residential schools felt…” on the centre of the whiteboard and asked students to raise their hands if they had a thought.  With each thought, I would acknowledge it, elaborate on it, and then write it on the board in one concise word.  The responses I received were honest and insightful, as follows: sad, scared, lonely, angry, confused, misunderstood, hopeless, helpless, anxious, nervous, de-valued, frightened, hungry, hurt, bored, sick, tired, broken (inside and out), depressed, and home sick.  To invoke further student empathy, I asked them to think about how they would have felt, spending up to 300 days straight in such a school as Phyllis had.  I re-counted how I was often scared and home-sick when I went to a friend’s house for a sleepover at that age—a friend whom I knew and liked, never mind 300 nights at a strange place where the people did not treat me well.  This elicited the following responses from students: “I couldn’t imagine being away from home at a scary place like that…I don’t even like going for sleepovers either” and “I don’t like staying anywhere but my own house.”  The students’ empathy was tangible.

Forth, I asked students to think about how they, themselves, felt at school.  On an adjacent whiteboard, I wrote: “Students at school should feel…” and then asked students to raise their hands to tell me their feelings.  With each thought, I would acknowledge it, elaborate on it, and then write it down in one concise word.  The responses I got were equally insightful and included: safe, happy, excited, understood, forth-coming, valued, comfortable, creative, confident, with-going, willing, unique, kind, open, thoughtful/thought of, encouraged, and friendship.  I talked about how I, as a teacher, work hard every day to ensure that students feel this way and that I hoped they felt that!  

Fifth, we looked at and compared the two white boards, noting the stark differences between how Indigenous students felt/were made to feel at residential schools vs. how ALL students should feel at school.  I solidified that this is why we wear Orange Shirts on Orange Shirt Day and why the slogan, “Every Child Matters”, is so important – to ensure that every child is valued and cared for at school and to honour and remember those who were not valued or cared for in the past.  Orange Shirts are symbols of all of this!

Finally, each student got to choose a word from the board that described how students should feel at school and write that word on a paper feather (I found 5 different feather templates on Teachers Pay Teachers at https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Feather-Outlines-5847965 and printed them out on regular paper).  Each word was written on the centre in black and then the feathers were decorated, coloured, and cut out.  Students were reminded to do their best work as the feathers were going to be hung on the classroom bulletin board in the hallway.  The students took great pride in this and were so excited to show the parents, guardians, grandparents, and elders who attended the school’s read-in that afternoon.

If any of my fellow teacher or teacher candidate friends would like to access my full lesson, you can head over to my “Portfolio Components” section, and find in under “Lesson Planning and Resource Sharing” – Indigenous Education!

Snachailya,

Ms. H