Lesson Plan 1

Cycle Level: 3 (grade 6)

Inquiry: What is Community? By the end of this lesson,

the students will be able
to:

-To be able to identify what is

community.
-To be able to identify how a
community is formed.
-To be able to identify what
communities need in order to
succeed.
-To be able to understand
that each person contributes
to a community differently.

Group Size & Materials Classroom of 30 students

Graphic Organizer Word
Web
Book: One Hen by Katie
Smith Milway

Specific Subject Competencies: (Language Arts and Others)

Language Arts Competencies:

Competency 1 To read and listen to literary, popular and information based texts
Competency 2 To write self-expressive, narrative and information based texts
Competency 3 - To represent her/his literacy in different media
Competency 4 To use language to communicate and learn.

Cross Curricular Competencies:

(Works in a team/Organizes his or her work/Communicates effectively/Exercises
critical judgment)

Competency 3 Exercises critical judgment

Competency 8 Cooperates with others
Competency 9 To communicate appropriately

Time Lesson

0:00 20:00 Introduction:

The lesson will begin with a class discussion about

community. I will be asking students about their existing
thoughts are about community to see if they have any
misconceptions.

I will ask them questions such as:

-Where have you heard the word community?

-What do you think a community represents?

As this discussion evolves, I will be creating a word web

on the smart board. The center of the word web will have
the word community. Students and I will talk about
different aspects that make up a community and add it to
our word web. Students will also share their personal
experiences about being a part of a community, what they
do to contribute, how their community affects them and
what they like about being a part of a community.
20:00 40:00 Development:

Part 1 - Reading Story

I will bring out a story called One Hen by Katie Smith
Milway that I will be reading to the students. Before I read
the book to them, I will give them a brief summary about
where the story takes place and what the story is about. I
will ask the students to keep in mind about everything we
talked about earlier and make connections to the story.

40:00 1h:00 Part 2 - Class Discussion

After reading the story to the students and looking at
different examples of communities, I will ask them to get
together in groups of five and create a list of why they
think this book is a good representation of a community
and what communities can achieve. Afterwards we will
have another class discussions where students will share
their new ideas about community. I will also be asking
them new questions that link back to the story and our
past discussions:

- Do communities need leaders?

- How can we each contribute to our community?
- How does our personal identity shape your community?
- How does your community shape your identity?
- Do you believe that you can belong to more than one
community?

Based on these questions, we will create a new word web

1h:00 1h:30 ( + extra time
at home)
to add to new ideas that they may have come up with
based on the story and class discussion.
Part 3 - Group work
Each group we will also take the time to research together
about different communities around our area. Students
can talk about their own community (if they are a part of
one) or from one that they found during the research.
They will be asked to share a brief description about the
community that they chose and explain how this
community helps other communities grow. Students will
be given class time and can also do their own research at
home. They will be asked to create a poster that
represent their community and present it to the class.

Students will also be asked to write a one page personal

reflection about their understanding of community. This
will be done at home and will be brought to the following
class, it will be a way of self assessing their
understanding of the introductory lesson. They will be
asked to write about their understanding of what a
community is and what communities can accomplish. The
goal of this personal reflection is to be able to see if
students were able to grasp the overall idea of
community.

Tasks:

- Students will first discuss about what they

already know about community.
- I will read the story to the students.
- Students will get into groups of 5 and
discuss about the book and add to the introductory
discussion.
- We will then gather as a classroom and
create a new word web to see what new information
they have gathered from the book.
- Students will research about their own
community and present it to the class the following
day.
- Students will write a one page reflection
about what they have learned about communities
and what communities can accomplish.
- Students will include their sheet that
indicates what their role was and how they
contributed to the group work.

Assessment:

Summative Assessment: Students will be assess on the

information that they provide on their poster. They will be
expected to include general information about their
community; to show examples about what that community
does for others; what makes that community unique and
 that it relates back to the course material that they have
looked at in class.

Formative Assessment: Students will be assess based

on their participation of class discussions and how well
they participate in their groups.
Self Assessment: I will give out a sheet where students
have to write about how they each contributed to the
group project and group discussions. Students will also
include their self reflection along with this sheet.

Lesson Plan 2 What is my identity? How

can my identity contribute
to the community?
(Identity)

Inquiry: What is a community? By the end of this lesson,

the students will be able
to:
-Explore more about
themselves and have higher
self-esteem.
-Recognize that everyone is
different and appreciate the
differences.
-Formulate an understanding
that similarities are not the
only requirement in a
community but differences
and knowing your own
identity are needed to make
up a community.

About 25-30 students.

Group Size & Materials Whiteboard, paper,
pencil/pen, open space, Art
material: glue, magazines,
 paint, markers, scissors,
water pencil, bristol boards,
bonhomme

Specific Subject Competencies: (Language Arts and Others)

Competency 2: To write self- expressive narrative and information- based texts
Key Feature: To use writing as a system for communication and constructing meaning
Competency 3: To represent his/ her literacy in different media
Key Feature: To construct her/his own view of the world through the media
Competency 4: To use language to communicate and learn
Key Features: To interact in collaborative group activities in a variety of roles
To use language (talk) for learning and thinking
Visual Arts
Competency 2: To produce media works in the
visual arts
Key Features: To intended viewer finalize his/her media creation
To use creative ideas inspired by a stimulus for creation of media works

Cross Curricular Competencies:

Works in a team, Communicates effectively. Organizes his or her work.

Time Lesson

Introduction:

-Students will start off with a small writing exercise.

They will have the choice to write a poem, free write or
in point form. The writing exercise is about themselves.
Students will write down on the piece of paper: three
(3) things they like and dislike and give a brief
reasoning to why. They also need to include their
hobbies, passions, three (3) strengths and
weaknesses. Guiding questions will be given such as
where are you from? Whats your background
ethnicity? While watching sports, who do you cheer for
and why? What makes you unique (any special
talents)? Through this activity, students should be able
to learn and explore more about themselves because it
is very important to know who they are.

Development:

- Once the students are done their writing task, we will

have a discussion as a class about what is identity and
what are things that makes me. I will get students initial
thoughts and write them on the board. Then, I will ask
what is a community and how do I contribute. My goal
is to lead the students to understand that community
needs self- identity and everyone is so different but yet,
they can come together as one. Therefore, out of this
discussion student should have a small understanding
that it doesnt matter if you are different, you can still
be part of a community.

- After the class discussion, I will ask student to break

into groups of 4-5 and share what they wrote in the
beginning of class. The goal for this activity is to show
how different we are and just by being in that group of
4-5, the students just built a community based on their
differences and uniqueness. Rules will be set up to
make sure students will not judge each other or make
disrespectful comments. While doing this sharing,
students will be reminded to think about the differences
and similarities of each student.

- When all the students in the group are done sharing,

students will be asked to form, their own a community
environment based the students differences (likes,
hobbies, passions) and similarities. Student will write
down ideas.

Tasks:
Art project will be given to them. Students were
thinking about their own ideal community environment
now they will need to make that community
environment using magazines, newspaper, painting
and drawing. After they are making their community
environment, they will need a description and small
explanation about their community environment.
 Furthermore, they will present it as well. Then, every
student will be given an empty bonhomme and will
have to fill it with their qualities, what they like to eat or
do to. Fill it up with who they are. Once that is done,
students will go around the classroom (there should be
5-6 different community environment hung around the
room) read the description of each of the made
community and place their own bonhomme with the
community they can connect the most with. Students
will not be allowed to place their own bonhomme on
their own community.
Through this project, students will see how important it
is to know who they are and no matter how different
the environment or the people are, we can still bond
and join a community.

Assessment:

The students will be assessed by their completion of

the work, participation, how well they interact with
others and how they organize their work. This will be a
formative assessment. I will go around to each group
to observe and listen to the group discussion. Also,
while the art project is in process, I will go around to
see how organized the groups and questions are will
be asked to see whether if the criteria of the project is
met. For example, are their differences and similarities
from each group member in the community
environment? Is the description including with an
explanation that describes their environment.

Lesson Plan 3 What are the

characteristics of a good
community leader?

Inquiry: By the end of this lesson,

the students will be able
to:
 Formulate their own
opinions about it means to
be a leader.
Students will be able to
recognize that different
communities call for
different types of leaders.

About 30 students.
Group Size & Materials SmartBoard, projector,
instructors laptop,
speakers, desktops for
student use

Specific Subject Competencies: (Language Arts and Others)

COMPETENCY 1 T O READ AND LISTEN TO LITERARY, POPULAR AND
INFORMATION-BASED TEXTS
COMPETENCY 2 T O WRITE SELF-EXPRESSIVE, NARRATIVE AND INFORMATION-
BASED TEXTS
COMPETENCY 3 TO REPRESENT HER/HIS LITERACY IN DIFFERENT MEDIA

Cross Curricular Competencies:

Communicates effectively and Exercises critical judgment, works in a team

Time Lesson

Introduction:
-Students will get into groups of four. They will be given
the word school and will be asked to write each letter
vertically down a piece of paper and then write the word
backward, vertically down the right side of the page so
that they have a beginning letter and an ending letter. The
students will be given ten minutes to create a word for
each pair of letters.
-Students will be asked to share with the class if they
experienced any conflicts and how they resolved them.
-Students will be asked to share with the class what
characteristics they think a leader possesses. Their
contributions will be written down on a public record and
will remain visible to the class for the duration of the
lesson. The goal is to see if students initial thoughts
about leaders have changed by the end of the lesson and
to see if there are any new thoughts we could add to the
list.

The students will then be told that we will be trying to

answer the question: What are the characteristics of a
good community leader?

Development:
We will look at some popular figures and learn a little bit
about them through readings and short video clips.
Through the background information, we can then
discuss what communities the figures belong to, as well
as what special traits they possess that make them a
leader.

(participative/democratic leader) Harriet Tubman: I will

read Harriet Tubman and the Freedom Train by Sharon
Gayle to the class. We will then discuss what she
communities she belonged to based on the information
we got from the story. Most importantly, we will discuss
what made her a successful leader. I will add the new
adjectives to the public record we started at the beginning
of the lesson. Is she brave, strategic, a risk taker,
determined, or selfless?

(Autocratic leader) Team coach: Example from Maurice

Richard- The Rockethttps://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=7oI1Tqs-Y-g
Is he sarcastic, firm, demanding?
(participative/democratic leader) Grade 6 student council
campaign. https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=0CqFq7d785w
Is she talented, fair, a visionary, open-minded?

(transformational leadership) Greenpeace video about

Earth Day: Take a look at the message of the video, what
are they telling us? How are they doing it? What
communities are they speaking to? How are they taking
leadership positions? Are they encouraging you to take
leadership positions? Is Greenpeace a community? Can
a community be a leader as well? Are they caring,
passionate, creative, inspiring?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ep9MFiWXR8M

Tasks: Students will write their own personal reflection

about their experience as leaders. They can also reflect
about how they would like to be as leaders. Students can
choose to use the computers to write their reflections or
can write it on paper. Students are not limited to an essay
format; they can also create clusters if they belong to
many communities and demonstrate many leadership
traits. They have seen different types of leaders and the
communities they belong to, and have seen how leaders
techniques vary greatly.

Assessment:
Their personal reflection will be used as a formative
assessment to see how the students are relating to and
understanding the content of the lesson. On-the-spot
conferencing will be used to speak with each student
about their progress and to get an idea about how they
 understand the concepts of community and leadership
and where they see themselves in relation to these
concepts. Incorporating the vocabulary from the public
record is also evidence that they are engaging with the
lesson.

Lesson Plan 4 Religion and Culture

Cycle Level: Cycle 3

(Grade 6)

By the end of this lesson,

Inquiry: the students will be able
to:
Identify the difference
between religion and culture,
recognize that some people
associate their religion and
or their culture as a
community which they are a
part of, and be able to
recognize and appreciate a
range of various religions
and cultures.

Group Size & Materials Entire classroom will

participate, then they will
split off into groups, then we
will come together as a large
group once more, and split
off one last time at the end of
the lesson.

Paper, pens/pencils, and an

overhead projector to show
 the film.

Specific Subject Competencies: (Language Arts)

Competency 1: To read and listen to literary, popular and information-based texts

Competency 2: To write self-expressive, narrative and information-based texts
Competency 3: To represent his/her literacy in different media
Competency 4: To use language to communicate and learn

Cross Curricular Competencies:

Competency 8: To cooperate with others

Competency 9: To communicate appropriately,

Time Lesson
Introduction:

0:00-15:00 To introduce the topic, I will write the words Religion and
Culture on the blackboard, in large colorful letters at the
front of the class. I will hand out a blank sheet of paper to
each student and ask them to take 10-15 minutes to write
down their initial thoughts which come to mind when they
see or hear these two words. What do they mean? How
do they differ? Are they similar in any way? How would
you define each term? The students are not obligated to
15:00-30:00 answer these questions, they are merely prompts, to act
as guidance, or for any student who might be not be
inspired to write.
30:00-45:00
Development

Next, the students will split up into groups of about 6 or 7.

45:00-1:05:00 I will ask them to brainstorm within their groups, and
produce two lists. One will be a list of words theyd
associate with Religion the other, a list of words theyd
associate with Culture.

Once the groups appear to have had enough time to

1:05:00-1:25:00 develop two substantial lists, we will come together as a
class to consolidate our ideas, by creating two
brainstorming webs on the blackboard (that is, one for
Religion and another for Culture).

Thus far, the students have been doing a lot of thinking,

working in groups, therefore, a visual aid will help
reinforce the content while tying religion and tradition into
community. The students will watch a 20 minute film from
the NFB, called Trap.https://www.nfb.ca/film/trap (this
might spill into another class due to time restraints,
depending on the situation of the classroom)

Tasks

After watching the film, Trap, we will shortly discuss any

questions or comments about the film.

Then the students will finish with a free write in relation to

the film, and all which was discussed during the lesson.
They can use the following questions as a guide for their
free write, if they wish:
Can two cultures be part of one community? Can a
community encompass 2 or more religions? Why? Why
not?
What have you learned from this video?
Comments? Questions? Concerns?

Assessment:
The students will be assessed upon completion of the
free write at the beginning of the lesson. This will be a
formative assessment. They will also be assessed their
participation in group and class discussion. This is a
formative assessment based on observations done by the
teacher.

Lesson Plan 5 FINAL TASK:

School Community Cycle
Level:
Cycle 3 -
 Grade 6

Inquiry: What is Community?
By the end of this lesson, the students will be
able to:
Describe their school as a community. They
will hopefully realize that the different
components that make a community can be
found within their school. In other words, they
will be able to synthesize everything that they
learned about communities throughout this unit
and relate it to something on a smaller scale,
i.e. their school.
Identify what their school community has to
offer (resources, services, etc.) and what
relationships exist between these assets and
how they can work together.
Write a text (a project proposal) following an
essay format.

Group Size & Materials The entire class which will then be broken up
into groups of 4-5 and then individually.

Art supplies, computers, cameras, and writing

materials.

Specific Subject Competencies: (Language Arts and Others)

Language Arts - Competency 2: To write self-expressive, narrative and information-based
texts
Language Arts - Competency 3: To represent his/her literacy in different media
Language Arts - Competency 4: To use language to communicate and learn

Cross Curricular Competencies:

Competency 8 Cooperates with others
Competency 9 Communicates appropriately
 Time Lesson

Day 1: 0:00-15:00 Introduction: This final task will start with a whole-group
discussion that mirrors the discussion that took place during the
first lesson. Students will be asked, based on what they have
learned about communities throughout this LES, if they consider
themselves to be part of a community. They will then be asked to
name the communities that they are part of. If no one mentions the
school as a community, ask the students if they consider their
school to be a community. Why or why not? Keep a public record
of their ideas on the board.

Development:

Part 1 - Community Mapping (teams of 4-5):

15:00-30:00 The students will be introduced to the process of community
mapping: what it is, how it is done and why it is done. They will
then be told that they will be given the task of mapping their
school community following this process.

Students will be asked to get into teams of 4 or 5. Together, they

30:00-1:00:00 (+ extra will make an initial list of resources that can be found at the
time outside of class if school. This can include (but is not limited to): extra-curriculars,
needed) after school programs, people (like students, nurses,
psychologists, guidance councillors, teachers and other staff
members), spaces such as the library, the computer lab, the gym,
and can even include external resources that work with the school
(like parents, businesses and other services in the neighbourhood).
They will be given time to work on this in class but will also be
encouraged to take time outside of class if they need additional
information (they can ask staff members questions about what it is
that they do, ask their parents or other family members if there is
anything that they think they could contribute to the school
community, etc.).
Then, as a group, they will have to decide how they will create
1:00:00-1:30:00 their community map. Their "map" of the school community can
be any visual representation of the school and its resources. For
example: they can draw a map on chart paper; if they are
comfortable using computers/technology they are free to use those
 to create their map; they can take photos, etc. The medium they
use is really up to them. At this point in the process it would be
important to remind the students of the concept and the idea
behind community mapping: it is not just a matter of elaborating a
list of all the different resources found in the school. They will
also have to identify what these different resources offer the
community and identify ways in which they work together and
relationships between them.

Students will then have to present their maps to the class in a short
Day 2: 00:00-30:00 presentation. After the presentations, the students will have to
write a short individual reflection (about 1 page) outlining what
they learned during the community mapping process about their
school, its assets and what makes it a community.

Part 2 - Project Proposal (individual): Students will now have

to work individually to write a project proposal. This project is
something that the student would like to see take place in their
school. It is not so much something that they think is lacking, but
after the community mapping task students might realize that
there are already-existing resources within their school that have
the potential to work together. So, based on the resources
identified during the mapping process, students will build off of
these assets to elaborate a project that they think could benefit the
school community. The word "project" is used but it can be
anything from an extra-curricular activity, a club or a team that
doesn't already exist at the school, an outing or a field trip, etc.
For example: Students might discover that one of their classmates'
parent is a chef, so they might want to ask that parent to come in
for an afternoon to teach a cooking workshop. A number of
students might be interested in a sport that is not offered as an
extra-curricular, so they could suggest that their school have a
team for that sport. A student who is environmentally conscious
might want to suggest a way to make the school more eco-
friendly.
The students' projects will have the possibility of truly being
realized, resources and time permitting, and the students will be
made aware of this. Knowing that their idea has the potential of
becoming a reality will make this assignment more meaningful for
the students and will reinforce the idea that we can all contribute
 to our community.

We will start by giving the students a short lesson on the basic

30:00-45:00 structure of an essay. Their project proposal should follow this
structure.

The students will now write their project proposals, which should
45:00-1:30:00 include the components of an essay that were discussed in the
previous mini-lesson: introduction, body and conclusion. They
will have to include information and facts to support why they
think their project should be realized. Students will be able to use
the information they collected during the community mapping
task as well as what they learned during the other teams'
presentations.

Tasks:

In teams of 4 or 5, students will have to create a community map

of their school. This "map" will be a visual representation of their
school community, its resources and assets and how all these
components work together. Students will present their projects to
the class.

After the presentations, students will write a short reflection about

what they have learned so far.

Individually, students will have to write a project proposal

following an essay structure. They can use what they have learned
during the community mapping task as well as throughout the
whole LES to support their ideas and explain why this project
would benefit their school.

Assessment:

Formative - During the community mapping task, students will

be assessed on completion of the task and on whether or not they
followed the community mapping process.

Summative - The students' essays in which they present their

projects will be evaluated based on the following criteria: the
 quality of their writing, whether or not they followed the structure
of an essay, the strength of their arguments as to why this project
should be realized, and on the successful integration of their
newly-acquired knowledge about communities. These criteria will
be assessed with a 5-point rubric.

Student self-assessment - After the presentations, the students

will write a personal reflection about what they have learned about
their school as a community

Rubric for Project Proposal Essay:

Unsatisfactory Needs Satisfactory Very Good Superior

1 point Work 3 points 4 points 5 points
 2 points

Essay Most of the Some of the Most of the All the All the
Structure components of components components component component
an essay are of an essay of an essay s of an s of an
missing. are present are present essay are essay are
Organization but they are and are present and present and
and sequencing not well somewhat are are very
are lacking. organized well somewhat well
or organized well organized
sequenced. and organized and
sequenced. and sequenced
sequenced.

Strength of No arguments Arguments Arguments Arguments Arguments

Arguments to support the are well are well are well are well
student's ideas chosen to chosen to chosen to chosen to
are given, or support support support support
some ideas. ideas. ideas and ideas. They
arguments are However, They are are are both
given but do not arguments both somewhat identified
support the are simply identified well and clearly
main ideas. identified and justified, justified. justified
and not but with the use
justified. justifications of relevant
remain information
superficial. and facts.

Integration No concepts Some Concepts Concepts Concepts

of about concepts about about about
Knowledge community are about community community community
About present in order community are identified are are
Community to support the are and identified identified
rationale behind identified somewhat and are and are
the project but do not related to the clearly clearly
proposed in the relate to the project related to integrated
essay. project proposed in the project to support
proposed in the essay. proposed in the
the essay. the essay. rationale
behind the
project
proposed in
the essay.

Quality of Writing is very Writing is Writing is Well written Well written

Writing disorganized disorganize good for the and and
and does not d and does most part but engaging. It extremely
flow. There is a not flow it does not flows well engaging.
large number of very well. always flow and has Flows very
grammatical There are and there few well with no
errors which many are some grammatica grammatica
makes it at grammatical grammatical l errors. l errors.
times difficult to errors. errors.
decipher the
meaning of the
text.