Lesson 1: Constructing Identity

Critical Learning	Guiding Questions
The goal of this lesson is to explore the notion of identity, both of self and of a culture. Students will learn how individual identity and cultural identity are different and how both are constructed. Students will work with First Nations, Metis and/or Inuit pieces of visual art to help in the exploration of how cultural and individual identities are created.	Who am I? What is identity? How does art communicate identity? How do we construct identity?
Curriculum Expectations	Learning Goals
A1.2 select and use appropriate drama forms to present a variety of adapted or original drama works A1.3 create and interpret a range of characters using a variety of acting approaches A2.2 use a variety of drama conventions to establish a distinctive context or role in original or adapted works B3.2 analyse their use of the creative process in drama activities and explain what they learned from it and how that learning can be applied in work and other social contexts C3.1 identify and follow safe and ethical practices in all drama activities C3.2 demonstrate an understanding of the tasks and responsibilities involved in producing drama works C3.3 demonstrate an understanding of correct theatre worker and audience etiquette in classroom drama work and formal performance contexts	At the end of this lesson, students will be able to identify some of the traditional and historic assumptions and cultural representations of First Nations Metis and Inuit (FNMI) people in Canada make connections between identity and visual representations of individuals and cultures use language to describe self identity use performance techniques to explore cultural representations of FNMI people using Canadian works of visual art as inspiration identify and demonstrate how visual symbols and representations are used in the communication of self identity communicate the ways in which some voices are heard and others are silenced when art is created by or about a specific culture work safely and with proper etiquette (respect) in a group
Instructional Components
Readiness Before beginning this unit of study, establish prior knowledge of students through discussion of the concepts of identity and First Nations, Metis and Inuit (FNMI) peoples. Consult the Ministry of Education's FNMI framework (see Hyperlinks) to familiarize yourself and the class with the framework PRIOR to working on this unit. Students should have a knowledge of basic dramatic skills and conventions such as collaborative skills, classroom safety, trust, journal writing, tableau and scene structure. Terminology FNMI: First Nations, Metis and Inuit Identity: the individual characteristics by which a thing or a person is recognized or known (worenetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn) Think Pair Share Anchor Chart Tableau	Materials 5-10 visual images of FNMI peoples (see Hyperlinks for sources of FNMI art collections) Journals or paper for journal responses BLMs BLM#1 Circles of Ourselves

Approximately 15 minutes Minds On	Pause and Ponder
Individual > Journal Writing Introduce students to Journal Topic A: They will write in response to the question "Who am I?" Whole Class > Sharing and Discussion Ask students to share one or two key points from their entry and discuss their responses. Key Questions for Discussion: How do we go about identifying or explaining ourselves? What details do we include or omit from our identifications? What types of ways of identifying have been included in the journals? How are these different? How are they similar? What is identity and how can we define it? Explain the goals of the lesson: we will be exploring of the idea of self-identity and have the opportunity to explore how identity can be constructed, especially for a particular culture or people. Individual > Circles of Ourselves Using BLM#1 Circles of Ourselves as a handout, explain that students are to start with their individual names in the centre circle and identify various elements of themselves in the outside circles. Pairs > Think Pair Share After students have thought and completed their worksheets, invite them to pair and share with someone nearby. Ask students to consider the ways they identified in the journal versus in the worksheet. Prompt: What is common about the way we tend to self-identify? Instruct students to select one point on the worksheet that, if they had to, they would use to describe themselves. Allow for discussion of how students selected their own single identifier. Prompt: Why did you pick this identifier versus another? Do you feel this identifier truly sums up who you are? What difficulties does this present for us as we try to define who we are? Have students select one of the points on the worksheet at random and consider how the single element could be taken if it was the only identifier for her/him. Prompt: How would being identified by a single element of self be limiting? Whole Class > Inquiry of Knowledge Base of FNMI Peoples in Canada Explain to students that this is a point in the lesson to make a shift from looking at self to looking at First Nation, Metis and Inuit (also known by the short form FNMI) peoples to see how identity is a social construct about self and others. Activate prior knowledge of FNMI in general in Canada. Use an anchor chart to record the class's knowledge using the following headings: What we think we know What we have questions about What we want to know more about	Assessment for Learning (AfL) Circulate, observe and provide support as needed when students are creating their tableaux. Support the openness of the topic and the variety in length of responses when students are writing journal responses. Assessment as Learning (AaL) Provide opportunities for feedback throughout from teacher and students. Use questioning in class discussions, focusing on expanding ideas, providing examples and making personal connections. Use journal prompts as opportunities for self reflection, exploration of the theme of identity and questioning. Collect and offer feedback to students on their journal writing. Differentiation (DI) Alternate use of FNMI images with other images to adapt to classes with an interest in other cultural representations. Add multi-layered representations to allow each group to explore a different culture or people. Use expertise in the class to identify a variety of cultural stereotypes and to address more than one culture in the lesson. Expand work to include modern representations of a variety of cultures, ages, groups, and identities. Expand the initial tableaux created from the art images to include scenes that happened before and after the moment depicted in the painting. Quick Tip Identify the use of FNMI as a term. Use any student leaders with FNMI knowledge to help extrapolate on historical and cultural contexts. Scaffold by having a local FNMI artist or activist come to the classroom and discuss issues of representation and identity in their community. Link and Layer Remind students of previous work in their classes on stereotyping. Note that working with a stereotype of identity is a method of breaking it down. Emphasize that drama can often allow us to explore by being someone else and going beyond the stereotype. Hyperlinks in the Lesson Emily Carr Gitwangank (1912) McMichael Gallery National Gallery of Canada Ministry of Eduction's FNMI Framework document
Approximately 35 minutes Action!
Whole Class > Images of FNMI Peoples in Canadian Art Show students a traditional painted representation of FNMI peoples in Canada (see Hyperlinks for suggested piece such as Emily Carr Gitwangak 1912). Utilize one or more of these three strategies for setting up the observing of the image: Use a projected image for the whole class to see Use a post-card image of the piece and pass it around the class in a circle Use colour photocopies of the piece for each student to hold during activity Ask students to describe what they see and record observations of the class on chart paper to help organize thoughts. Small Group > Art Interpretation Staging Form groups of 5 or 6 and instruct students to interpret an assigned visual art piece. Provide each group with a hard copy visual of a selected piece of art representing FNMI people in Canada. Ask groups to develop a series of three tableaux depicting a representation of the scene BEFORE, DURING and AFTER the moment depicted in the work of art. Allow for practice/rehearsal time. Circulate and provide feedback as necessary to groups. Whole Class > Tableaux Performance and Feedback Discussion Invite groups to perform their tableaux for the class. During and/or after each performance, invite feedback from the audience and facilitate class discussion of these representations. Key Questions for Feedback Discussion: What is represented here? How is it being represented by the performers? What stereotypes, if any, are demonstrated here? What do we learn about First Nations, Metis and Inuit peoples in this image? What do we see as important to the people in this image? Small Group > Revising and Refining Have students return to their groups and identify the voices represented in the image and the voices absent in the image. Prompts: Who is the viewer of the image? Who is depicted? What are the assumptions present in the image? Instruct groups to create an adapted version of their piece of art demonstrating a clearer, more balanced representation. This could include adding in characters conspicuously absent in the first image, re-imagining of the context into a modern setting, and/or a breakdown of the stereotypes and generalizations present in the image.
Approximately 20 minutes Consolidation
Whole Class > Re-presentation and Feedback Invite groups to share and to respond to the revised tableaux with their newly critical eyes, identifying the stereotypes that have been removed and the new voices have been included in the new tableaux. Discuss with the whole group the idea that identity is more than a single representation (how we see ourselves) and involves a variety of perspectives. Individual > Journal Writing Have students respond to Journal Topic B: What is Identity? Collect responses for formative feedback.