Templates for Lesson Planning

1. ESTABLISH THE TRADITION FOR LEARNING THROUGH STORIES: Review the background information about how the Eagle Eye Inquiry Project was developed, its purpose and structure. The Eagle Eye legend explores a wealth of information but through the ancient tradition of a teaching story instead of through a textbook or lecture. Legends invite us to ask questions, explore metaphors and multiple meanings, travel down pathways of curious research, and construct knowledge that is meaningful, personal and lasting.

 

2. CLARIFY OBJECTIVES: Facilitate an open ended inquiry on some of the curriculum integration inquiries by letting students lead in clarifying and prioritizing learning objectives. For example, a number of questions can be generated within and among a given set of inquiries.

  • How does an ecosystem function?
  • How does an economic system function?
  • What does sustainability mean?
  • What is biodiversity?
  • What are the skills of systems thinking?
  • How are the principles of marketing applied in our lives?
  • What is the triple bottom line?
  • What are the attributes of leadership? Citizenship? Stewardship?
  • If the golden rule were applied to future generations, how would we assess our behavior in their eyes.
  • When does a career path begin?
  • What does the next 20 years of our future teach us about the last 200 years of our history?

 

3. CONTENT EXPLORATION: With students leading the inquiry, explore the resource materials. Explain that there are three components to the Eagle Eye resource and that their task is to become as familiar as possible about its content and organization.

The teacher’s task is to be a guide while the students’ task is to explore the materials to get a feeling for the content and the structure. This initial exploration may be accomplished by the full class guided by the teacher over several days, or by a self-appointed team of students who are particularly intrigued and are willing to report back to the class on what they learn. Here are a few scenarios.

Option 1 - Script First: Read one or several sections of the script first to discover how each inquiry is annotated along with the segment of the legend that reveals it. What do students notice? What are they intrigued by? Ask students to write down their reflections. Support discussion in pairs, small groups, and full class. Follow this conversation with the students’ choice of what to explore next; chapter one of the performance DVD? Or a chapter of their choosing on the expert commentary DVD?

Option 2 - Legend First: View the first chapter of the performance DVD. Ask students to write down the images, words, concepts, or themes that stand out to them. Support discussion in pairs, small groups, and full class. Follow this conversation with the students’ choice of what to explore next; some of the inquiries that are annotated in the margins of the script, or a chapter of their choosing on the expert commentary DVD.

Option 3 - Commentary First: View the fourth chapter of the expert commentary DVD called “Crisis / Opportunity”. Ask students to write down the images, words, concepts, or themes that stand out to them. Support discussion in pairs, small groups, and full class. Try the same for other chapters to stimulate a deeper interest in the legend.

 

4. DESIGN A LEARNING PATHWAY: Once students have explored the materials, ask how they would like to proceed in using the Eagle Eye resource to achieve the objectives. Here are a few possible pathways to facilitate student learning. However, the more students are empowered to meet the objective in their own way, the more chances they have to construct meaningful and lasting knowledge for themselves.

  • Use the DVD of the Legend as a pre and post-assessment for what students understand and can apply as result of an extended unit of study in ecology, economics, government, indigenous studies, or career learning.
  • Watch one chapter of the story at a time over several weeks as a supplement to overarching curricular themes and thinking skills. Pick from the inquiries in that chapter. Perhaps pursue one inquiry as a full class and invite students to pick another on their own.
  • Read the script as reader’s theatre, taking time to explore literary form, style, character development and storytelling strategies. Follow up by watching one chapter of the story at a time. Explore a few of the inquiries as formal research papers, presentations, or facilitated dialogues.
  • Watch a different section of the expert commentary DVD each day over several days. Ask students to synthesize the main teachings from the expert commentary and to add their own personal reflection. Watch chapters of the legend and research additional inquiries.

 

5. SHOW WHAT YOU KNOW: Facilitate an exploration of different ways students can demonstrate that they have met the stated objectives. Here are a few possibilities.

  • publish results from a scientific or social experiment
  • analyze professional literature or public policies and synthesize
  • craft an original research paper, persuasive essay, or oral presentation
  • stage a debate
  • facilitate a panel discussion of experts and students as a multiple classroom summit
  • design and implement a service learning project that advances sustainable prosperity in your community
  • create your own legend in the style of Eagle Eye that holds layers of ecological and economic teachings
  • choreograph a dance and facilitate an audience discussion
  • shoot and edit a film and facilitate an audience discussion
  • coordinate a photo exhibit with a catalogue explaining the images

 

6. REFLECTION: Write a personal testimonial describing what you learned and what was most engaging about the way you learned it. How are you different as a student and a citizen as a result of the Eagle Eye Inquiry Project? Email the top 3-5 testimonials from your class to Peter to be published for the benefit of other classrooms throughout Canada and the United States.