Instructional Plans:  Plants Used for Medicinal and Social Purposes

Learning Outcomes and Introductory Activities   Lesson 1: Aboriginal Communities Used Plants as Medicine Lesson 2: Pictures of Aboriginal Plants Lesson 3: Oral History of Plants Lesson 4: Plants, Plants, and their Characteristics Lesson 5: Sharing Stories Creates Wellness

Lesson 4: Plants, Plants, and their Characteristics

This lesson is to be used in conjunction with Lesson 3, however it can be easily modified to stand alone. This lesson can also be used as a starting point for a small research project for older students. They can select one of the plants from the “new word” wall and use the Student Zone and additional sites to find out more information on their chosen plant and the Aboriginal group associated with it.

Objectives

Students will:

• Discover the scientific and common names of a number of plants that were utilized by Aboriginal groups
• Realize that one plant can have many different uses
• Recognize that the same plant was used by different Aboriginal groups
• Visually recognize and analyze different plants
• Develop confidence in speaking in a group setting
• Develop research and computer search and retrieval skills

Main Lesson

Follow up Lesson 3’s activity by creating a “new word” wall. On this wall you will want to select pictures of 8 to 12 plants (depending on bulletin board space) from the Student Zone Photograph Gallery. Label each picture with the scientific and common name, the Aboriginal group that uses the plant, as well as one or two examples of its uses.

To get students involved you can buddy up students on a computer and have them select a photograph that is of interest to them. Ask students what appeals to them about that particular plant. What kind of ailment might that plant be used for? Compare the students’ ideas to the information on the Native Plant Chart.

Ask students to select one plant that they think is the most interesting and share their response with the class.