Social Studies Grade Three

Unit 2: Heritage

Module One - Communities Then and Now
Concepts

heritage, history, diversity
Knowledge Objectives
Students will know that:

the community has evolved over time .
experiences of the past help shape a community.
Skills/Abilities Objectives
Students will:

identify and describe experiences of the past that helped shape a community.
compare past and present lifestyles of a community.
Attitudes/Values Objectives
Students will:

value the past experiences of various communities.
Citizen Action Objectives
Students may:

participate cooperatively in a variety of projects.
Suggested Approaches

The teacher may select some specific historic events experienced by the local community and by other communities and compare how the communities were affected by them. Make connections with how the experiences have helped shape the community.
The teacher may select some specific regions and explore some of the historical experiences and lifestyles of Aboriginal peoples in those regions (e.g., an Inuit community). Make connections with how the experiences have helped shape the community.
In studying past experiences, have students make up Then and Now charts, showing how lifestyles have changed and/or remained similar.
The teacher may select the local community and some communities where local residents originated. If possible, use stories to compare how children lived in the different communities. Learn songs and games, compare clothing worn and how various tasks were accomplished.

Module 1: Activity Guide

Teacher background
Some students and teachers will choose an approach which incorporates a large number of communities from around the world, while other teachers will choose a more in depth study of a small number of communities. When choosing groups to study, incorporate Indigenous group(s) to reflect the cultural diversity of our global community.

Current events may help direct this unit. For example, in an Olympic year, study ancient Greece, including the origin of the Olympics. Continue the journey theme by studying a child's version of Ulysses.
Some students and teachers may choose to continue the "journey" theme by studying the past by learning about explorers and their expeditions. This could include, for example, the journeys of Marco Polo, Sacajawea, Vikings, or the Polynesians who migrated to Hawaii.
First Nations Peoples

Include in your study some Indigenous peoples. There are Indigenous, or First Nations Peoples living on all the continents of the world and just as Canada's Indian and Métis peoples have special beliefs and values regarding the way we should look after the world, these groups have similar beliefs. Explore the following:

many Indigenous land-based peoples all over the world share a world view which includes:
- a belief that everything on earth is interdependent and interrelated,
- a respect for the earth and the life it supports,
- an understanding of the interdependence of people and nature,
- a belief that humans are trustees of the land and entrusted with the responsibility of conserving the balance in nature,
- mutual support and cooperation;
teaching fostered a sense of belonging to a group and a need to share;
disharmony was considered dangerous to the welfare of the group;
respect for the elderly forms part of the philosophy;
respect for diversity in cultures;
each Indigenous group formed a distinct culture because the land where they lived defined their identity; and,
Indigenous peoples used what was available in their environment to help them meet their needs and wants.

Indigenous peoples

Research one or more Indigenous group(s) learning about their world view regarding their relationship with the environment and their relationship with one another. Make connections between beliefs of Indigenous peoples, their lifestyles, their technologies, and art forms. Learn how the environment shaped the culture which evolved.

Identify commonalities in the world views of Indigenous peoples. In their journals have the students reflect upon beliefs from the cultures of Indigenous peoples which could help guide decision making in the future. Share ideas with the class. Have students identify parallel beliefs and values in their own and other cultures. For example, Asian cultures have a view about the harmony of man and nature and the importance of the group that is similar to that of many other peoples. Many farmers, ranchers, and others have beliefs about their role as stewards of the earth. Many families have incorporated environmentally sound practices into their daily lives. Some families try to develop the understanding that it is sometimes necessary for individual members of the family to make sacrifices for the benefit of the whole family.

Develop understandings about changing culture. Learn about traditional, contemporary, and bicultural lifestyles. Develop the understanding that members of the same cultural group may choose to live different lifestyles.

Guide students in understanding that some people may:

live a contemporary lifestyle;
live a traditional lifestyle; or
live a blended lifestyle.

Then/Now perspective

Make a Then/Now chart comparing a traditional culture with a contemporary culture in terms of transportation, clothing, food, education, housing, tools, and occupations, or use a concept map to organize ideas. Concept maps may also be used as advance organizers for paragraph or report writing.

Using a Talking Circle encourage students to discuss similarities and differences in humans and the lifestyles they choose to lead.

The teacher may choose historical communities that the students will find relevant. They may include:

Inuit peoples;
a pioneer community on the prairies
the Aborigines of Australia;
the Aztecs;
a Chinese agricultural community;
an Egyptian community;
a Greek community;
the Hopi;
the Masai;
the Mayans;
a medieval community;
the Navajo;
the Pygmies;
the Sami; and/or
the Vikings.

Compare the work of children or women in the past with that of today. How has technology changed their work?

Do research to discover the contributions of Indigenous women in other times and places. Use case studies. Use examples of Aboriginal women as role models today. Learn about the role of women as Shaman. Invite an Aboriginal woman to speak about the role of women in their culture.

Learn about ways people met their needs and wants in the past. Use, for example, resources such as Pueblo Storyteller. Study the group from a then/now perspective. What has changed and what has remained similar? Develop understandings about how people used what they found in their environment to meet their needs and wants. Present information in a variety of formats such as the following.

Make a then/now chart using pictures to show changes in technologies.
Create a tableau of a "then" scene. Each person in the group takes on a role of a family member. They all choose activities that reflect their roles and create props that help to explain their roles in the family. With the participants assuming their positions in the tableau, the teacher "taps in" on members of the tableau and asks them questions about the roles they have assumed.
Stage a panel discussion. The panel will be made up of students representing people from the past and people from the present. Each side will present their point of view explaining why they think life is better at the time they live.
Make a then/now book with pictures and text. Use Changing Times or Byron Through the Seasons as a model.

Have students reflect on this activity by writing about it in their journals.

Suggested Resources
(listed in other bibliographies and catalogues)

Resources - Learning about the past

Alistair's Time Machine Marilyn Sadler (ELA)
The Museum Curator (MHP, V3184)
Past (MHP, V5050)

Resources - Vikings

Elfwyn's Saga David Wisniewski (ELA)

Resources - Medieval England

Illuminations Jonathan Hunt (ELA)
The Kitchen Knight Margaret Hodges (ELA)
Max and Me and the Time Machine Gery Greer and Bob Ruddick (ELA)
Music Thru the Ages (MHP, V1782)
A Tournament of Knights Joe Lasker (ELA)
Folk Tales From Asia for Children Everywhere Asian Culture Centre for UNESCO (ELA)
A World of Stories Andrea Spalding (ELA)

Resources - Indigenous Peoples

A Boy of Taché Ann Blades (Elm ELA) (book features a group of Dene in Northern British Columbia)
Byron Through the Seasons LaLoche Children and Friends (ELA)
Dancing Feathers Christel Klietsch (ELA) (read it to grade 3's)
Donna Meets Coyote Don Sawyer (ELA)
Eagle Feather - An Honour Ferguson Plain (ELA)
Pueblo Storyteller Diane Hoyt-Goldsmith (ELA)
Waupush Jane Pachano (ELA)
The Yukon Ted Harrison (ELA)
Children's Literature: Springboard to Understanding the Developing World (ELA)

Resources - American Indian Groups

A, B, C's: The American Indian Way Richard Red Hawk (ELA)
Grandmother Stories of the Northwest Nashone (ELA)
Her Seven Brothers Paul Goble (ELA)
How Food Was Given (ELA)
Pueblo Story Teller Diane Hoyt-Goldsmith (ELA)
Tsonakwa and Yolaikia - Legends in Stone, Bone and Wood Linda Crawford and Jo West, eds. (ELA)
A World of Stories Andrea Spalding (ELA)

Resources - Inuit

More Tales From the Igloo Agnes Nanogak (ELA)
A Northern Alphabet Ted Harrison (ELA)

Resources - Okanagan Nation

Neekna and Chemai Jeanette Armstrong (ELA)

See also Indian and Métis Resource List K- 12, Saskatchewan Education, Training and Employment, 1994.