Learners will come away with knowledge in the following areas:
-Critical Thinking and Reasoning 
-Respecting North American Indigenous Cultures and History 
-North America’s Indigenous People and How They were the First People in North America
-Several Examples of the Sophisticated and Diverse Indigenous Cultures in North America Before the Arrival of the Europeans(Northwest Coast People, Plains People, Inuit and Dene People, Plateau People, Eastern Woodlands People, Subarctic People)
-Time Frame of the Age of European Exploration 
-Major Countries in the Age of European Exploration 
-Basic Reasons for European Exploration(Search for Northwest Passage, Building Empires)
-Vessels Used By European Explorers

It has been my pleasure to teach Middle School students the history of North America in Canadian classrooms for over 20 years. I have a teaching degree from the University of Winnipeg where I took many courses on excellent teaching practices as it relates to Social Studies and the history of our Indigenous Peoples and the first Europeans.  More recently I have taken professional development courses on the topics of Indigenous Cultures, Indigenous Stereotypes, Métis Art and Culture, and Indigenous Government and Leadership. 

On a personal level, between the years 2010-2016 I travelled by a small pontoon plane to visit and work with my Sayisi Dene First Nation friends in Tadoule Lake, Manitoba.  Tadoule Lake is an isolated northern community reachable by plane, snowmobile, dog team sleds, and in winter by winter road. In 1973, the Sayisi Dene moved here to return to their Barren-ground Caribou hunting life, and it is with the highest respect I share about their culture and history.

 Know that when your learners take my classes, they will be taught to consider more than their own points of view, learn some interesting historical information in a fun way, and develop critical thinking and reasoning skills that are more important now than ever before.

Homework Offered
Assessments Offered
No formal assessment or grade will be given, but during the class, attention will be given to how much knowledge students already know about the subject matter and teaching will be adjusted accordingly.
Grades Offered

The sources I have used for this lesson are as follows:

**Province of Manitoba Grade Five Social Studies Curriculum: People and Stories of Canada to 1867: A Foundation for Implementation(cluster one and cluster two)
https://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/cur/socstud/foundation_gr5/index.html

**Other Books and Resources I Used(as recommended through the above curriculum):
https://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/cur/socstud/foundation_gr5/appendixf.pdf

** Recent Websites used for Norse Explorers and L’Anse Aux Meadows information:
    https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/4/
    https://www.britannica.com/biography/Helge-Ingstad