Page 54 - THE ONTARIO CURRICULUM, GRADES 9 to 12 | First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Studies

THE ONTARIO CURRICULUM, GRADES 9–12 | First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Studies
Critically literate students understand that meaning is not found in texts in isolation. People make sense of a text, or determine what a text means, in a variety of ways. Students therefore need to take into account: points of view (e.g., those of people from various cultures); context (e.g., the beliefs and practices of the time and place in which a text was created and those in which it is being read or viewed); the background of the person who is interacting with the text (e.g., upbringing, friends, communities, education, experiences); intertextuality (e.g., information that a reader or viewer brings to a text from other texts experienced previously); gaps in the text (e.g., information that is left out and that the reader or viewer must fill in); and silences in the text (e.g., the absence of the voices of certain people or groups).
In First Nations, Métis, and Inuit studies, students who are critically literate are able,
for example, to actively analyse media messages and determine possible motives and underlying messages. They are able to determine what biases might be contained in texts, media, and resource material and why that might be, how the content of these materials might be determined and by whom, and whose perspectives might have been left out and why. Only then are students equipped to produce their own interpretation of an issue. Opportunities should be provided for students to engage in a critical discussion of “texts”, including books and textbooks, television programs, movies, documentaries, web pages, advertising, music, gestures, oral texts, newspaper and magazine articles, letters, cultural text forms, stories, and other forms of expression. Such discussions empower students to understand the impact on members of society that was intended by the text’s creators. Language and communication are never neutral: they are used to inform, entertain, persuade, and manipulate.
The literacy skill of metacognition supports students’ ability to think critically through reflection on their own thought processes. Acquiring and using metacognitive skills has emerged as a powerful approach for promoting a focus on thinking skills in literacy and across all disciplines, and for empowering students with the skills needed to monitor their own learning. As they reflect on their strengths and needs, students are encouraged to advocate for themselves to get the support they need in order to achieve their goals. In First Nations, Métis, and Inuit studies, metacognitive skills are developed in a number of ways. For example, in English: Understanding Contemporary First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Voices (NBE3U, NBE3C, NBE3E) students are required to identify and articulate the strategies they use to interpret text forms and to effectively communicate what they have learned. More broadly, in all courses in the program, students reflect on Indigenous ways of knowing and on the importance of identifying, understanding, drawing on, and acknowledging cognitive skills and strategies that are culturally diverse. Students learn
that different cultures gather and communicate knowledge in different ways, and that they have a responsibility to be aware of how their own cultural influences shape the skills and strategies they apply to learning.
Mathematical Literacy
Some courses in the First Nations, Métis, and Inuit studies program also reinforce and enhance mathematical literacy. For example, creating and implementing surveys develops students’ skills in data management. Students may use calculations when interpreting the data they have gathered and graphing to report the results. In addition, clear, concise communication often involves the use of diagrams, charts, and tables. Links can also be
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