Foundational Objectives

The foundational objectives reflect the aim and the goals of the curriculum guide. They guide the teachers in their yearly plans and unit plans. Usually the foundational objectives state intended levels of achievement/learning at a specific grade. However, in second language teaching the situation may be that some students' have varying degrees of fluency or even varying degrees of exposure to the language. Therefore, the objectives are divided into phases. The teacher should keep in mind, however, that a student may be in the emerging phase in second language acquisition and be in the developing phase or in the extending phase in other areas of language learning.

Foundational objectives should serve as the basis for establishing intended learning outcomes, unit planning, and student evaluation.

students' will demonstrate emerging:

• ability to listen politely according to cultural norms.
• ability to use oral Indian or Michif languages to bring meaning to what they observe, feel, and hear through questions and discussion.
• awareness that the print and symbols of Indian languages convey meaning.
• curiosity about the patterns, sounds and intonations of the Indian and Michif languages by listening and speaking, and participating in shared reading and writing activities.
• desire to participate in discussions of ideas and illustrations in a variety of resources either in English, Michif or an Indian language.
• awareness of the contemporary and the historical or traditional lifestyles and cultural protocol of the Indian and Métis people.
• ability to participate in small or large groups for various purposes.

students' will demonstrate developing:

• ability to use listening to understand the meaning of Indian or Michif languages.
• ability to convey meaning orally and with confidence in the Indian or Michif languages to adults, Elders and peers in various situations.
• interest in interpreting symbols and print in their environment.
• awareness of the relationship between the letters, symbols and sounds of the Indian or Michif languages.
• curiosity about and interest in print by participating in independent and shared reading and writing activities.
• recognition that writing is a process focused upon conveying meaning to self and others.
• desire to independently initiate reading and writing activities for various purposes.
• interest and ability to read orally and silently for enjoyment and information.
• ability to discuss a limited number of topics using the Indian or Michif language.
• awareness of and respect for cultural protocol.
• respect for one's own culture and the cultures, lifestyles and experiences of others.
• respect for the ideas, language, dialect and communication styles of others and the ability to respond sensitively and thoughtfully.
• ability to participate in small or large groups for conversation and other purposes.

students' will demonstrate increasing:

• ability to use oral Indian or Michif languages to generate, clarify and extend their personal understandings of what they observe, feel, hear and read through interaction with others.
• ability to convey meaning with confidence to adults and peers in various settings and situations.
• ability to interpret symbols, sounds, and intonation of words through reading and conversing.
• ability to read for meaning by integrating all cuing systems.
• interest and ability to express ideas, thoughts and feelings in writing for self and others.
• ability to discuss a variety of topics.
• respect for the ideas, language, dialect and communication styles of others.
• confidence and ability to respond in culturally appropriate ways to various audiences and situations.
• awareness of, and respect for the range of cultures, human behaviours, experiences, emotions and ideas conveyed through oral communication.
• ability to participate cooperatively in large and small groups.

students' will demonstrate increasing:

• ability to use oral Indian or Michif languages to generate, clarify and extend their understandings of what they observe, feel, hear and read through personal reflection and interaction with others.
• interest and ability to use oral and written language in various settings, activities, purposes, and to respond to the needs of an audience.
• interest and ability to read and respond to what others have written, and to collaborate with them in the stages of the writing process.
• ability to monitor for meaning during oral and silent reading.
• interest and ability to express increasingly more advanced ideas, thoughts and feelings for self and others through writing.
• ability to discuss, in depth, more complex topics.
• ability to interpret and respond to ideas conveyed through various media.
• respect for the ideas, language, dialect and communication styles of others and awareness of the need for sensitive and thoughtful response.
• maturity of thought in cultural protocol and responding appropriately to various audiences in different situations.
• awareness of, and respect for, the range of cultures, human behaviours, experiences, emotions and ideas conveyed through speech, interaction, literature and various media.
• ability to play a leadership role in a small group.

Learning Objectives

Learning objectives affect several aspects of a curriculum:

• the direction of the unit plans;
• lesson plans;
• the mode of evaluation;
• teaching strategies; and
• selection of resources.

Learning objectives are determined by factors such as:

• ages of students';
• level of fluency of each student in the class;
• whether the class is to be taught as a first and/or second language acquisition situation; and
• language proficiency in the first language.

This curriculum uses a spiral model for determining and organizing its learning objectives. Using this developmental model, teachers introduce students' to various content, specific skills, and important attitudes at an early stage. The content, skills and attitudes are revisited periodically throughout the year and in years to come in order to review, strengthen and build on them, at levels that are appropriate for the age and proficiency of the students'. For example, kindergarten students' might learn various basic greetings. During that same year and in subsequent years, the students' will review the greetings they learned, learn additional ways to greet people, learn protocol related to certain situations, learn about the cultural significance of certain greetings, demonstrate appropriate attitudes, and perhaps learn greetings that were used in the past. In this expanding spiral fashion, what students' learn at an early stage they encounter again and again, each time within a broader context or with increasing complexity.

Some general and some specific learning objectives are listed below. Although the objectives are arranged under specific headings, the categories are not discrete. That is, usually more than one skill is developed in any given activity. For example, when students' learn to speak, they also strengthen their abilities to listen and comprehend.

Listening and Comprehension

students' will have opportunities to:

• compose their own responses - orally or written - to questions, statements and oral or written material.
• listen and observe attentively.
• follow instructions.
• utilize prior knowledge to express new ideas.
• interpret meanings of gestures, tones, emotions and expressions.
• master the intonation, rhythm, patterns and stress points of the language.
• listen to oral presentations given in various situations and select specific information from them.
• understand vocabulary used in different contexts.
• identify the main idea of spoken or written material.

Speaking

students' will have opportunities to:

• develop confidence in their verbal responses.
• perfect their pronunciation, intonation, stress and volume to suit the situation.
• use vocabulary at their level of instruction to express themselves.
• express opinions on a variety of topics and with a variety of audiences.
• express themselves in a formal cultural setting.
• use vocabulary correctly and in appropriate contexts.
• speak to different kinds of audiences in various situations.
• participate, with greater insight, in increasingly complex discourse.

Reading

students' will have opportunities to:

• read and recognize the written version of the oral vocabulary being learned.
• extract meaning from written material using context and picture clues.
• develop reading ability appropriate to their age and competency levels.
• read about topics of interest.
• read materials that contain increasingly complex vocabulary and structure.

Writing

students' will have opportunities to:

• communicate through writing about their ideas, experiences and emotions.
• express themselves through writing, using vocabulary learned in the oral and reading portion of the class.
• learn the importance of proper sequencing of events in their own or other writing.
• learn to be sensitive to the ways in which each community uses the language.
• learn to use increasingly complex grammatical structures.

Cultural Considerations

students' will have opportunities to:

• learn about the origin and significance of some of the vocabulary.
• learn vocabulary related to making some crafts.
• learn how to communicate with Elders in a respectful and appropriate manner.
• listen to and recognize the vocabulary related to activities such as dances, feasts and winter festivals.
• participate appropriately in traditional ceremonies (e.g., feasts, pipe ceremonies).
• listen to and read stories that reflect various aspects of culture in the language being learned.
• learn about historical and current experiences of the peoples of the language group.
• learn to appreciate and value the language and the culture it reflects.