AML is pleased to present a lesson plan from J. Duong, one of our Spring ’25 Part One graduates.

This lesson, The Power of Narrative, was created for an Ontario Grade 11 English course, NBE3U1* (Understanding Contemporary First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Voices). The course is intended to support core language competencies through exploration of text forms emerging from First Nations, Métis, and Inuit cultures in Canada, as well as the perspectives and influence of texts that relate to those cultures.

The lesson explores how stories and objects convey meaning across cultures and media. Students begin by writing narratives about everyday objects, then compare their stories with the cultural and historical contexts of the same objects in The Witness Blanket. Through group sharing and discussion, they reflect on how personal experience, media, and cultural background shape meaning (Media Key Concepts 3, 5, 6). The lesson integrates Indigenous Story Work Principles and highlights how texts include symbolic and material forms, connecting personal narratives with Indigenous perspectives, cultural memory, and social-political messages. It is a perfect example of how effectively and seamlessly media studies integrates across the curriculum.

Click here to access this rich lesson.

*image from https://indigenousstorywork.com/resources/

The Indigenous Storywork website helps educators learn about Indigenous cultures and ways of knowing, predominantly through Indigenous traditional and life-experience stories. It originates in Nanaimo, BC, Canada.