Turtle Island Drama Circle | Indigenous People in Canada | Colonization | Paper

This set of drama circle cards is about the impact of colonization on First Nations or Indigenous People in Canada faced during colonization. As part of the truth and reconciliation process, this resource talks about the series of events since the arrival of Europeans including reserves, treaties, missionaries, and Residential Schools.

This resource is included in our Drama Circle Bundle! 

Drama circles are similar to readers' theatre activities where students read small sections of text. They encourage listening and reading fluency. Best of all, they require only moments to prepare, but students are engaged and learning for an hour or more.

This engaging activity includes:

• directions on how to run a drama circle.
• a teacher quick guide.
• a set of 40 cards (in colour and ink-saving versions).
• a set of discussion questions to do after the activity.
• a variety of reading difficulties and amounts of text on the cards so you can differentiate easily for your students.
• a few blank cards if you need to change the language on a card.

This activity is not intended to be the end of a set of lessons about Indigenous People and their history, but instead the beginning of a conversation about how things have happened in the past and how knowing this information can help guide us all toward healing and building relationships in the future.

This resource has been reviewed for content by members of the Indigenous communities in Alberta and British Columbia.

If you teach in Alberta, be aware this resource was written for the old Social Studies Program of Studies. It has not been reviewed or adjusted for the new Alberta social studies curriculum which is being piloted in the 2024-25 school year. To learn about how we plan to address the changes, visit our site https://brainninjas.ca/social-studies-in-alberta/

This activity aligns with:

• the Alberta Program of Studies for most Division 2 and 3 classes

This activity supports:

• any lesson about Indigenous People or the arrival of Europeans in North America. 
• any lesson about the impacts of colonization in Canada.

It has been classroom tested with students in grades four and five with success, but it does deal with mature themes and topics related to Residential Schools, so be sure you know your students well to prepare them for the seriousness of the conversation.

Ninja Note: This resource requires downloading the PDF, printing the cards, and cutting them apart before beginning the activity.

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