TESL 0150 Unit 2: Aboriginal Peoples Unit Review
For this activity, I have chosen to write my evaluation on
the Aboriginal Identify unit, which is pegged at the CLB 8 level. Below you will find a link to the student
materials.
Target Learning
Context: A classroom consisting of young and mature adult learners, ages 25
to 50, with an English proficiency of around CLB 8, who have recently
immigrated to Canada. These students wish to improve their English and learn
about Canadian culture and customs.
Objectives: Students
will be able to use a variety of skills, including reading, writing, speaking,
and listening, to learn about and to discuss the identity of Aboriginal peoples
in Canada. Students will be challenged to apply their language skills in order
to think critically about issues that affect Canada’s First Nations and relate
them to their own experiences.
Some criteria that I
have applied to this unit include:
- 1.) Do the materials provide opportunities for
students to think critically on the topics presented?
- 2.) Do the materials cater to a variety of preferred
learning styles?
- 3.) Are the materials presented through a variety of
different activities?
- 4.) Do the materials incorporate a balance of reading,
writing, speaking and listening skills?
- 5.) Are the instructions clear and easy to follow
for students?
- 6.) Do the activities provide opportunities for
students to connect personally with the materials?
- 7.) Do the materials promote cultural awareness in a
meaningful way to students?
Upon going over this unit and applying my evaluation
criteria, I would have to say this unit is in fact suitable for the learning
context I have provided and its objectives. This unit provides ample
opportunities for students to think critically by getting them to reflect upon
and discuss issues around Aboriginal identity and by getting them to apply
these topics to their own situations. This unit also does a good job in
catering to a variety of preferred learning styles, by including activities
where students work alone, do think-pair-shares, participate in group discussions,
complete class presentations, research projects, essay assignments, listening
activities, etc. While I found this unit to heavily emphasize reading and
writing skills, it still manages to provide ample opportunities for listening
and speaking skills, especially through the think-pair-share and group
discussions. The instructions for the various exercises were very
straightforward and easy to follow, so I think students at the CLB 8 level
would have no difficulty following them. One aspect I especially liked about
this unit was how well it incorporates activities for the students to connect
personally with the content of the unit. Throughout the unit, students are
asked to relate to what they have read to their own lives and to put themselves
in the shoes of Canada’s First Nations. This ties into my final point where I
think this material does an excellent job in promoting cultural awareness in a
meaningful way. The unit ends with students choosing a well-known Indigenous
person and researching up on them. By ending the lesson in this manner, it
further helps students to see the richness of Aboriginal culture but also makes
it relevant to them as they will gravitate to someone they admire.
As far as I can tell, there are no actual authentic
materials incorporated into this unit. The readings are all written
specifically for this unit and the audio recordings are of one person reading
from a script, as opposed to a conversation between two people in an
interview-like environment.
If I were to change anything about this unit, I’d
incorporate more visual materials for students to use. This could be done by showing
the students videos on YouTube of say traditional Indigenous dance or music, or
possibly of interviews with prominent Indigenous people.
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