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C3.7 · Compare Indigenous-created texts with attention to context

Learn to compare indigenous-created texts with attention to context through clear examples and targeted practice.

Ontario Grade 9 English

Comprehension: Understanding and Responding to Texts

Ontario Grade 9 English, ENL1W C3.7

C3.7 asks you to compare Indigenous-created texts with attention to context. That means noticing both what the texts do and what dependable information about their creation helps you understand. Context is not a guess about a creator or a whole community. It may include information the creator shares, or information supplied by the publisher, about the work’s creation, purpose, audience, or circumstances. This lesson uses two published picture books as examples: The Orange Shirt Story by Phyllis Webstad and When We Were Alone by David A. Robertson, illustrated by Julie Flett. The descriptions below are brief guides, not quotations or substitutes for reading the books. Context notes are attributed to information provided by the books’ publishers, Orca Book Publishers and HighWater Press. Check the actual text and source information available to your class before making a claim of your own.

What you will learn

Compare two Indigenous-created texts using details from each.
Explain how reliable information about a text’s creation or circumstances can shape a comparison.
Separate what a text shows from what a reader reasonably infers.
Share and revise a comparison in a way that is clear, fair, and supported by evidence.

1. Read closely and keep evidence in view

Start with the text itself. Notice its form, events, images, speaker or characters, and repeated details. For a picture book, words and illustrations both matter. Write down what you can point to before deciding what it might mean. An observation is directly checkable; an inference is a reasonable interpretation supported by observations.

For example, a reader might observe that The Orange Shirt Story tells a story connected to Phyllis Webstad’s experience of having an orange shirt taken from her when she attended a residential school. Orca Book Publishers presents the book as based on Webstad’s experience. A reader might infer that the shirt is important to the story’s emotional meaning. That is an interpretation grounded in the detail, not a claim that the shirt has one fixed meaning for every reader.

When We Were Alone, written by David A. Robertson and illustrated by Julie Flett, centres on a child asking a grandmother questions about her childhood. HighWater Press describes the book as addressing the grandmother’s experiences at a residential school. Those are useful starting points, but a short description cannot replace close reading of the book’s words and illustrations. Check details in the text before using them as evidence.

Keep the sources of your statements clear: “The book shows…” introduces an observation; “This may suggest…” introduces an inference; “The publisher’s description says…” identifies outside context. If a detail about a creator or the work is not supported by a dependable source, leave it unknown rather than filling the gap.

Use details from words and illustrations as evidence.
Mark the difference between observations and interpretations.
Attribute contextual information and do not guess beyond it.

2. Compare the books without flattening their differences

The two books can be compared because both address experiences connected with residential schools, but comparison should not turn distinct works or creators into one general story. The Orange Shirt Story is presented by its publisher as based on Webstad’s experience. When We Were Alone presents a child’s questions and a grandmother’s memories through a story written by Robertson and illustrated by Flett. These are differences in how the books frame their subject; they do not justify broad claims about all Indigenous people or families.

A careful comparison can name a shared subject and then consider differences in form, perspective, or structure. The shared subject is a starting point, not the whole comparison. Ask: Who is at the centre of each text? What does the reader learn, and how? What can the words and pictures support? What does reliable context add? What remains uncertain?

Context matters because it can change how a reader understands a choice. Knowing from Orca Book Publishers that Webstad’s book is based on her experience supports describing it as connected to her own account; it does not mean every detail in the picture book should be treated as a documentary record. Knowing HighWater Press’s description of Robertson’s book helps situate its grandmother character and subject, but it does not establish that the story represents every family’s experience. Keep the claim close to the evidence.

A strong comparison permits more than one defensible interpretation. One reader may focus on the personal account foregrounded in Webstad’s book; another may focus on the question-and-answer relationship described in Robertson’s. Both readings need details from the actual books. A different interpretation is not automatically wrong, but it should be explained and supported.

Name a meaningful similarity and a specific difference.
Use context to understand a particular work, not to generalize about a people.
Interpretations can differ when each is grounded in evidence.

3. Model the move: evidence, context, then a careful claim

Here is an original model comparison written for classmates. It does not reproduce either book: “Both books address residential-school experiences, but they frame those experiences differently. Orca Book Publishers describes The Orange Shirt Story as based on Phyllis Webstad’s experience, so a reader can connect the book’s account to information Webstad has shared about her own life. HighWater Press describes When We Were Alone as a story in which a child asks a grandmother about her childhood. That frame may invite readers to notice how questions and memories shape the telling. To compare the books fully, I would also cite details from their words and illustrations; the publisher descriptions alone do not tell me everything each book means.”

Notice the boundaries in this model. It states the shared subject with care, attributes the contextual information, and marks interpretation with “may.” It does not invent a quotation, claim to know the creators’ intentions, or treat either book as standing for all Indigenous experience. In your own reading, add specific evidence from the pages you have read and viewed.

A comparison is often written for a particular audience: classmates may need enough context to follow your point, while a brief oral response may need one clear claim and two details. Draft in your own words. Ask a peer to identify which sentence is an observation, which is an inference, and whether the evidence supports both. Revise where a claim is too broad, where a source is unclear, or where a detail is missing. Keep your own voice; feedback should help you communicate your thinking, not replace it.

Digital research requires the same care. When you use an online publisher description or creator statement, record who made the page and whether it directly supports the point you want to make. Check that a search result or repost has not separated the information from its source. In speaking or writing, name the source in ordinary language, such as “Orca Book Publishers describes…” rather than presenting the information as something you personally verified in the story.

Connect a text detail with a clearly attributed context detail.
Use cautious language for interpretations and state what remains unknown.
Draft for an audience, seek evidence-based feedback, and revise in your own voice.

4. Guided and independent practice

Guided example: Suppose your notes say that one book is based on Webstad’s experience, according to Orca Book Publishers, and that the other uses a child’s questions to introduce a grandmother’s memories, according to HighWater Press. A first comparison might be: “Both address residential-school experiences, but one is described as based on Webstad’s experience, while the other uses a child’s questions and a grandmother’s memories.” This is a supported comparison of context and framing. To deepen it, return to the books and add one observable detail from each. Do not claim that the difference proves one book is more truthful, more important, or representative of a larger group.

Independent task: After reading both books or selected pages approved by your teacher, write or record a short comparison for a classmate. Include one similarity, one difference, a detail from each text, and one accurately attributed context point. Add one inference using wording such as “may suggest,” and explain what detail supports it. Include a sentence about what you cannot conclude from your evidence. You choose which details and interpretation to emphasize.

Before sharing, check your own work: Can a reader find each detail in the text? Have you identified where the context information came from? Did you distinguish observation from inference? Have you avoided generalizing about Indigenous peoples or claiming to know a creator’s intention without evidence? A partner can give feedback by asking for a page or image detail, checking the source attribution, and pointing out any sentence that sounds more certain than the evidence allows.

Practise comparison with the actual works, not summaries alone.
Use evidence from both texts and contextual information with clear attribution.
Use feedback to make claims more precise, not to erase your own interpretation.

Worked example

Compare framing with attributed context

Draft a comparison of the two books using the publisher descriptions and identify one step needed to make the comparison stronger.

Establish a shared subject
The publisher descriptions connect both books with residential-school experiences. State this as a shared subject, without claiming that the books tell identical stories.
Name a difference in framing
Orca Book Publishers describes The Orange Shirt Story as based on Phyllis Webstad’s experience. HighWater Press describes When We Were Alone through a child’s questions about a grandmother’s childhood. Attribute each point to its publisher rather than presenting it as a quotation from the books.
Set a limit and next step
Publisher descriptions are context, not complete evidence for what the books mean. Read the books and add a specific detail from each before drawing a fuller interpretation.

Answer: Both books address residential-school experiences, but their described framing differs: The Orange Shirt Story is based on Webstad’s experience, while When We Were Alone uses a child’s questions about a grandmother’s childhood. To strengthen this comparison, add a detail from the words or illustrations of each book.

Check: The comparison includes a shared subject, a difference, attributed context, and a clear limit.

Worked example

Separate observation from inference

A reader says, “Because When We Were Alone includes a child asking questions, the book proves that every family discusses the past in the same way.” Assess the claim and revise it.

Identify the evidence
HighWater Press describes a child asking a grandmother about her childhood. That supports saying the book uses questions between these characters as part of its framing.
Check the scope of the claim
The described relationship does not provide evidence about every family. The claim makes a universal statement that goes beyond the source and the particular book.
Revise to fit the evidence
Keep the statement about the specific work. If you add an interpretation, mark it as a possibility and check it against details in the book.

Answer: The claim is unsupported as a statement about every family. A fairer version is: “HighWater Press describes the book as using a child’s questions about a grandmother’s childhood; this framing may draw attention to how the characters share memories.”

Check: The revised claim stays with the particular book and signals interpretation as a possibility.

Worked example

Revise a comparison for classmates

Improve this draft: “These books are the same because they are about residential schools.” Keep the writer’s own voice while making the comparison more precise.

Notice what is missing
The draft names a shared subject but overlooks differences in framing and gives no source or text details. A classmate cannot tell what the comparison is based on.
Add a supported contrast
Use the publisher descriptions to identify how each book is framed, and name those publishers. Then return to the actual books to add evidence from their words or illustrations.
Keep the writer’s voice
A revision should clarify the writer’s idea, not require everyone to use the same sentence. The sample answer is one possible wording; choose details and emphasis that you can support.

Answer: Both books address residential-school experiences, but they frame them differently. Orca Book Publishers describes The Orange Shirt Story as based on Phyllis Webstad’s experience, while HighWater Press describes When We Were Alone through a child’s questions about a grandmother’s childhood. I would add details from both books to show how those different frames appear on the page.

Check: The revision offers a similarity, a difference, attributed context, and a next step for text-based evidence.

Common mistakes and how to avoid them

Treating one book as representative of every Indigenous person or community.

Correction: Make claims about the particular text and creator, and support them with evidence and attributed context.

Presenting an inference as a fact or as the creator’s intention.

Correction: Identify the detail behind the idea and use cautious wording when the text or source does not confirm it.

Using a publisher description as if it were the full text.

Correction: Use publisher information for relevant context, then check the actual words and illustrations for evidence about the work.

Comparing only the shared subject.

Correction: Also describe a meaningful difference in framing, form, perspective, or details, and explain how you know.

Using online information without checking who supplied it.

Correction: Identify the source and confirm that it directly supports your point; if you cannot verify it, do not present it as fact.

Lesson summary

Compare Indigenous-created texts by attending to both their details and reliable context.
Attribute information about creation or circumstances to its source.
Separate observation from inference, and allow more than one evidence-based interpretation.
Avoid generalizations and claims about intention that the texts or sources do not support.
Use feedback and revision to make your own comparison clearer and fairer.

Check your understanding

Question 1

Which statement is an observation about the context described in this lesson?

Orca Book Publishers presents The Orange Shirt Story as based on Phyllis Webstad’s experience.
Every reader will interpret the orange shirt in the same way.
The book proves that all Indigenous families share one experience.
Webstad intended every detail to have one meaning.

Show answer and explanation

Orca Book Publishers presents The Orange Shirt Story as based on Phyllis Webstad’s experience.

This accurately attributes a contextual point to the publisher. The other choices make claims about all readers, all families, or intention that the information does not support.

Question 2

What should you do if a publisher description gives context but you need evidence for a claim about an illustration?

Treat the description as proof of what every illustration means.
Use a detail from the illustration and explain your interpretation cautiously.
Guess what the illustrator intended.
Use an unattributed online comment instead of checking the book.

Show answer and explanation

Use a detail from the illustration and explain your interpretation cautiously.

A claim about an illustration needs evidence from the illustration. An interpretation should be explained as an interpretation, not treated as confirmed intention.

Question 3

Which comparison is best supported by the information given?

The books are identical because both address residential schools.
The books prove that all families talk about the past through questions.
The publisher descriptions frame the books differently; a reader should check the books for details before interpreting those choices.
One book must be more accurate because it has a personal connection.

Show answer and explanation

The publisher descriptions frame the books differently; a reader should check the books for details before interpreting those choices.

It uses attributed context while recognizing that close reading is needed for claims about the books themselves.

Key terms

Observation: A detail that can be checked directly in a text, image, or identified source.
Inference: A reasonable interpretation based on details; it is not necessarily stated as fact.
Context: Relevant, supported information about a text’s creation, purpose, audience, or circumstances.
Attribution: Naming the source of information or an idea so readers know where it comes from.
Indigenous-created text: A text created by an Indigenous person or people; discuss its creator and context with accurate, supported information rather than assumptions.

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About this lesson and its review

Published by DoAssignment. This reviewed lesson follows Ontario Grade 9 English (ENL1W), expectation C3.7. It is a study resource, not an official curriculum publication.

Before publication, content is checked for structure, mathematical or chemical notation, calculations, course boundaries, and readability. Errors can still occur, so corrections are welcomed.

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