Page 166 - THE ONTARIO CURRICULUM, GRADES 9 to 12 | First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Studies

Grade 11, College Preparation
THE ONTARIO CURRICULUM, GRADES 9–12 | First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Studies
sources, including increasingly complex texts, and decide whether the texts achieve their intended purpose (e.g., determine the credibility of a website based on an evaluation of the various voices it incorporates; explain why social media are effective or ineffective channels for communicating First Nations, Métis, and Inuit community news)
Sample question: “How effectively does the inclusion of multiple first-hand accounts of living in the same Indian residential school support the documentary’s key findings?”
Audience Responses
E1.4 explain why the same media text might prompt different responses from different audiences (e.g., explain why a Métis leader and
a non-Indigenous elected politician might respond differently to a news report on changes to legislation regulating traditional harvesting rights; explain why sports fans might have a variety of responses to a team name, mascot, and/or logo embodying
an Indigenous stereotype)
Sample questions: “In your opinion, why has this documentary on treaty rights and obligations prompted widely conflicting responses among viewers? What specific information may have sparked the polarized reactions?”
Critical Literacy
E1.5 identify the perspectives and/or biases evident in media texts from First Nations, Métis, and Inuit cultures, and, as appropriate, in relevant media texts from non-Indigenous sources, including increasingly complex texts, and comment on any questions they may raise about beliefs, values, identity, and power (e.g., identify issues of individual identity and power raised by the representation of First Nations, Métis, and/or Inuit women on an Indigenous organization’s website; explain how the perspective of a news program is revealed in its choice of experts to discuss an issue of importance to First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities; describe how First Nations individuals were portrayed in Wild West shows in
the late nineteenth century, and assess the influence of these portrayals on popular beliefs about Indigenous identity)
Sample questions: “What topics covered by First Nations, Métis, and Inuit news outlets are under-reported in mainstream news media?” “How does the use of the term ‘settler Canadian’ in an advertisement for a webinar on Indigenous peoples in Canada imply a particular historical perspective? What values does the use of this term imply? What does the term suggest about cultural identity?”
Production Perspectives
E1.6 explain how a variety of production, market- ing, and distribution factors influence the First Nations, Métis, and Inuit media industry (e.g., identify some challenges that First Nations, Métis, and Inuit media producers face in gaining access to conventional marketing channels, and describe some recent attempts to address those challenges; explain how product placement works, what the benefits are for the product manufacturer and the media producer, and what First Nations, Métis, and Inuit media producers are doing to secure this form of marketing partnership; suggest reasons why a college with a predominantly Indigenous student population might supplement its course information with promotional materials about the college culture and extra-curricular programs)
Sample question: “What factors might influence the number of visits that a promotional website for a First Nations, Métis, or Inuit video receives?”
E2. Understanding Media Forms, Conventions, and Techniques
By the end of this course, students will:
Form
E2.1 identify general and specific characteristics of a variety of media forms and explain how they shape content and create meaning in the context of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit cultures (e.g., social media feeds function in real time to disseminate comments from a broad spectrum of people, allowing First Nations, Métis, and Inuit scholars and journalists to engage an audience
of non-scholars as they debate and support one another’s opinions; online cultural performance spaces include digital interactivity to enable First Nations, Métis, and Inuit artists to upload and share their work)
Sample questions: “Which characteristics of this video about Inuit history indicate that it was made as an educational resource for classrooms rather than as a movie for general release?” “What aspects of this program tell you that you are watching a drama rather than a documentary?”
Conventions and Techniques
E2.2 identify conventions and/or techniques used in a variety of media forms and explain how they convey meaning and influence their audience in the context of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit cultures (e.g., the inclusion of text translated into syllabics on a playbill advertising an Inuit-related play encourages an Inuit audience
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