"Indian Education" Unit
The 5-week Indian Education Unit introduces students to modern Native American literature that explores the impact of colonization on Indigenous people. Texts include “Indian Education,” by Sherman Alexie, "Reservation Dogs, directed by Sterlin Harjo, “What Made the Red Man Red,” from Disney’s Peter Pan, and others. Engaging and thoughtful informational texts provide the context students need as they are asked to engage in literary analysis and composition throughout this unit.
In this 77-page, 5-week unit, each daily lesson plan is aligned to core standards, provides "I can" statements for a daily learning target, and is broken down by minutes. You are provided with a daily bell ringer, as well as lessons, materials, links to media and other materials, discussion questions, activities, and assessments with rubrics.
A note on diversity, equity, and inclusion: Including indigenous literature ensures representation and recognition of diverse voices in the curriculum. It broadens students’ range of perspective and challenges stereotypes and misconceptions that students may hold. By exploring the complexities of Indigenous identities and experiences, students can develop a more nuanced understanding of these communities, breaking down stereotypes and fostering empathy and experiences depicted in literature, fostering a more inclusive and equitable educational environment.
Image: Reservation Dogs, FX Productions, 2014
Daily Overview
Day 1:
Lesson: Discussion about stereotypes and Better Health article
Materials Provided: "How do High School Stereotypes Hurt Teens?" article (Better Health)
Day 2:
Lesson: Brown Versus Board of Education Doll Test
Materials Provided: Landmark Cases: Brown v Board Doll Test (C-SPAN) video
Day 3:
Lesson: Analysis of Disney’s “What Made the Red Man Red?”
Materials Provided: "What Made the Red Man Red" clip from Disney, Discussion questions
Day 4:
Lesson: Summary Mini-lesson with “The Maker”
Materials Provided: "The Maker" short film, How to Write a Summary handout
Day 5:
Lesson: Summary practice, informational text: popup documentary, “America is a Stolen Country.”
Materials Provided: "America is a Stolen Country" documentary, Discussion questions
Day 6-7:
Lesson: Lesson on how to annotate, and reading Sherman Alexie’s “Indian Education”
Materials Provided: "Indian Education" by Sherman Alexie, Annotation guide
Day 8:
Lesson: Identifying 7 Types of Literary Conflict
Materials Provided: "7 Types of Conflict in Literature" handout
Day 9:
Lesson: Identifying Protagonist and Antagonist, Introduce conflict assessment/activity
Materials Provided: "Indian Education" by Sherman Alexie, Conflict assessment/activity
Day 10-11:
Lesson: Assessment: exploring Conflict Within “Indian Education”
Materials Provided: "Indian Education" by Sherman Alexie, Conflict Triangle Graphic Organizer
Day 12:
Lesson: “The Missing Children,” ABC Foreign Correspondent, Generating Questions and Statements about Informational Texts.
Materials Provided: "The Missing Children" documentary, Discussion questions
Day 13:
Lesson: Discussion guided by students questions and statements, and summary writing
Materials Provided: Give Me Three questions/statements, Paper for summary writing
Day 14:
Lesson: “Our Spirits Don’t Speak English,” Making text-self, text-text connections
Materials Provided: "Our Spirits Don't Speak English" text, Discussion questions
Day 15:
Lesson: Reservation Dogs, NPR Interview with Creators, Textual Evidence
Materials Provided: NPR interview with Sterlin Harjo, Reservation Dogs Trailer
Day 16:
Lesson: Reservation Dogs Trailer, Interview Analysis
Materials Provided: Trailer for Reservation Dogs, Unknown Warrior clip
Day 17-20:
Lesson: Group Short Story Literary Analysis with Literary Analysis Graphic Organizer
Materials Provided: "The Stone" by Louise Eldrich, "What You Pawn, I Will Redeem" by Sherman Alexie, Reckonings, Literary Analysis Wheel
Days 21-24:
Lesson: Smoke Signals and film analysis
Materials Provided: Film "Smoke Signals", Guiding Questions for Analyzing film
Day 25-26:
Lesson: Assessment
Materials Provided: Instructions and rubric
The 5-week Indian Education Unit introduces students to modern Native American literature that explores the impact of colonization on Indigenous people. Texts include “Indian Education,” by Sherman Alexie, "Reservation Dogs, directed by Sterlin Harjo, “What Made the Red Man Red,” from Disney’s Peter Pan, and others. Engaging and thoughtful informational texts provide the context students need as they are asked to engage in literary analysis and composition throughout this unit.
In this 77-page, 5-week unit, each daily lesson plan is aligned to core standards, provides "I can" statements for a daily learning target, and is broken down by minutes. You are provided with a daily bell ringer, as well as lessons, materials, links to media and other materials, discussion questions, activities, and assessments with rubrics.
A note on diversity, equity, and inclusion: Including indigenous literature ensures representation and recognition of diverse voices in the curriculum. It broadens students’ range of perspective and challenges stereotypes and misconceptions that students may hold. By exploring the complexities of Indigenous identities and experiences, students can develop a more nuanced understanding of these communities, breaking down stereotypes and fostering empathy and experiences depicted in literature, fostering a more inclusive and equitable educational environment.
Image: Reservation Dogs, FX Productions, 2014
Daily Overview
Day 1:
Lesson: Discussion about stereotypes and Better Health article
Materials Provided: "How do High School Stereotypes Hurt Teens?" article (Better Health)
Day 2:
Lesson: Brown Versus Board of Education Doll Test
Materials Provided: Landmark Cases: Brown v Board Doll Test (C-SPAN) video
Day 3:
Lesson: Analysis of Disney’s “What Made the Red Man Red?”
Materials Provided: "What Made the Red Man Red" clip from Disney, Discussion questions
Day 4:
Lesson: Summary Mini-lesson with “The Maker”
Materials Provided: "The Maker" short film, How to Write a Summary handout
Day 5:
Lesson: Summary practice, informational text: popup documentary, “America is a Stolen Country.”
Materials Provided: "America is a Stolen Country" documentary, Discussion questions
Day 6-7:
Lesson: Lesson on how to annotate, and reading Sherman Alexie’s “Indian Education”
Materials Provided: "Indian Education" by Sherman Alexie, Annotation guide
Day 8:
Lesson: Identifying 7 Types of Literary Conflict
Materials Provided: "7 Types of Conflict in Literature" handout
Day 9:
Lesson: Identifying Protagonist and Antagonist, Introduce conflict assessment/activity
Materials Provided: "Indian Education" by Sherman Alexie, Conflict assessment/activity
Day 10-11:
Lesson: Assessment: exploring Conflict Within “Indian Education”
Materials Provided: "Indian Education" by Sherman Alexie, Conflict Triangle Graphic Organizer
Day 12:
Lesson: “The Missing Children,” ABC Foreign Correspondent, Generating Questions and Statements about Informational Texts.
Materials Provided: "The Missing Children" documentary, Discussion questions
Day 13:
Lesson: Discussion guided by students questions and statements, and summary writing
Materials Provided: Give Me Three questions/statements, Paper for summary writing
Day 14:
Lesson: “Our Spirits Don’t Speak English,” Making text-self, text-text connections
Materials Provided: "Our Spirits Don't Speak English" text, Discussion questions
Day 15:
Lesson: Reservation Dogs, NPR Interview with Creators, Textual Evidence
Materials Provided: NPR interview with Sterlin Harjo, Reservation Dogs Trailer
Day 16:
Lesson: Reservation Dogs Trailer, Interview Analysis
Materials Provided: Trailer for Reservation Dogs, Unknown Warrior clip
Day 17-20:
Lesson: Group Short Story Literary Analysis with Literary Analysis Graphic Organizer
Materials Provided: "The Stone" by Louise Eldrich, "What You Pawn, I Will Redeem" by Sherman Alexie, Reckonings, Literary Analysis Wheel
Days 21-24:
Lesson: Smoke Signals and film analysis
Materials Provided: Film "Smoke Signals", Guiding Questions for Analyzing film
Day 25-26:
Lesson: Assessment
Materials Provided: Instructions and rubric
The 5-week Indian Education Unit introduces students to modern Native American literature that explores the impact of colonization on Indigenous people. Texts include “Indian Education,” by Sherman Alexie, "Reservation Dogs, directed by Sterlin Harjo, “What Made the Red Man Red,” from Disney’s Peter Pan, and others. Engaging and thoughtful informational texts provide the context students need as they are asked to engage in literary analysis and composition throughout this unit.
In this 77-page, 5-week unit, each daily lesson plan is aligned to core standards, provides "I can" statements for a daily learning target, and is broken down by minutes. You are provided with a daily bell ringer, as well as lessons, materials, links to media and other materials, discussion questions, activities, and assessments with rubrics.
A note on diversity, equity, and inclusion: Including indigenous literature ensures representation and recognition of diverse voices in the curriculum. It broadens students’ range of perspective and challenges stereotypes and misconceptions that students may hold. By exploring the complexities of Indigenous identities and experiences, students can develop a more nuanced understanding of these communities, breaking down stereotypes and fostering empathy and experiences depicted in literature, fostering a more inclusive and equitable educational environment.
Image: Reservation Dogs, FX Productions, 2014
Daily Overview
Day 1:
Lesson: Discussion about stereotypes and Better Health article
Materials Provided: "How do High School Stereotypes Hurt Teens?" article (Better Health)
Day 2:
Lesson: Brown Versus Board of Education Doll Test
Materials Provided: Landmark Cases: Brown v Board Doll Test (C-SPAN) video
Day 3:
Lesson: Analysis of Disney’s “What Made the Red Man Red?”
Materials Provided: "What Made the Red Man Red" clip from Disney, Discussion questions
Day 4:
Lesson: Summary Mini-lesson with “The Maker”
Materials Provided: "The Maker" short film, How to Write a Summary handout
Day 5:
Lesson: Summary practice, informational text: popup documentary, “America is a Stolen Country.”
Materials Provided: "America is a Stolen Country" documentary, Discussion questions
Day 6-7:
Lesson: Lesson on how to annotate, and reading Sherman Alexie’s “Indian Education”
Materials Provided: "Indian Education" by Sherman Alexie, Annotation guide
Day 8:
Lesson: Identifying 7 Types of Literary Conflict
Materials Provided: "7 Types of Conflict in Literature" handout
Day 9:
Lesson: Identifying Protagonist and Antagonist, Introduce conflict assessment/activity
Materials Provided: "Indian Education" by Sherman Alexie, Conflict assessment/activity
Day 10-11:
Lesson: Assessment: exploring Conflict Within “Indian Education”
Materials Provided: "Indian Education" by Sherman Alexie, Conflict Triangle Graphic Organizer
Day 12:
Lesson: “The Missing Children,” ABC Foreign Correspondent, Generating Questions and Statements about Informational Texts.
Materials Provided: "The Missing Children" documentary, Discussion questions
Day 13:
Lesson: Discussion guided by students questions and statements, and summary writing
Materials Provided: Give Me Three questions/statements, Paper for summary writing
Day 14:
Lesson: “Our Spirits Don’t Speak English,” Making text-self, text-text connections
Materials Provided: "Our Spirits Don't Speak English" text, Discussion questions
Day 15:
Lesson: Reservation Dogs, NPR Interview with Creators, Textual Evidence
Materials Provided: NPR interview with Sterlin Harjo, Reservation Dogs Trailer
Day 16:
Lesson: Reservation Dogs Trailer, Interview Analysis
Materials Provided: Trailer for Reservation Dogs, Unknown Warrior clip
Day 17-20:
Lesson: Group Short Story Literary Analysis with Literary Analysis Graphic Organizer
Materials Provided: "The Stone" by Louise Eldrich, "What You Pawn, I Will Redeem" by Sherman Alexie, Reckonings, Literary Analysis Wheel
Days 21-24:
Lesson: Smoke Signals and film analysis
Materials Provided: Film "Smoke Signals", Guiding Questions for Analyzing film
Day 25-26:
Lesson: Assessment
Materials Provided: Instructions and rubric
Copy of “Indian Education” by Sherman Alexie
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rLA5-JZqGDO6No_Lepf9cmyuAylEcik_tds7gKL1DAc/edit?usp=sharing