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Political History

Spending the Surplus


Overview


Students will demonstrate an understanding of the challenges of governing communities or societies in which diverse value systems, multiple perspectives, and differing civic purposes coexist.

Aims


Skills
  • research and inquiry (ie. formulating questions, note taking)
  • writing a persuasive proposal (including editing and revising)
  • group work (ie. collaboration)
  • role-playing

Activities


Time Allowance:
4 periods of 75 min.

Procedures:

Scenario

The federal government has decided to consult the...

The Treaty of Versailles


Overview


Students will work through a simulation of the discussions leading to the Treaty of Versailles at the Paris Peace Conference, 1919. After completing their unit on the First World War, the students will present the positions of country representatives at the simulated conference through the six months of 1919. In groups, they will present and argue their positions depending on their national perspectives (i.e. USA, UK, France, etc.). Each student will then write a brief article...

The Fur Trade Cafe


Overview


Your group has been transported back though time to the period of the Fur Trade in Canada (prior to Confederation). Your goal will be to create and perform a dramatic presentation to share your perspective of the social and economic impact of the fur trade through the eyes of your assigned role-playing characters. Your dramatic presentation will be the only way your classmates will develop a true understanding of the impact of the fur trade on your group.

Note: this assignment is...

Novel Study


Overview


Students will read a Canadian novel to determine whether it provides an accurate picture of a Canadian event, experience, or character. In order to complete the assignment, students are expected to note the political, social, and economic circumstances outlined in the novel. Using primary and secondary sources the students will then write a report outlining the value of the novel as a historical source.

Aims


Students will:

  • make judgements about the significance of people and events...
Political History

W.A.C Bennett


Overview


This lesson is based on viewing the W.A.C. Bennett biography from The Canadians series. William Andrew Cecil Bennett was the premier of B.C. for twenty consecutive years in the second half of the twentieth century. He ran the province with a mix of socialist, capitalist, and populist tactics; and his political dynasty transformed the economic, social, and cultural face of B.C.

Aims


By writing opinion pieces and engaging in discussion and debate, students will assess the leadership of...

William "Bible Bill" Aberhart


Overview


This lesson is based on viewing the William Aberhart biography from The Canadians series. Former school principal turned Baptist preacher, William Aberhart took Alberta politics by storm in the 1935 election. During the Depression, his promise of a $25 dividend to every citizen struck a winning note for his recently created Social Credit Party. His schemes didn't pan out, but his party ruled Alberta until 1971.

Aims


With writing, debates, and role-playing activities, students will be...

Symbols of Canada


Overview


In this lesson students recognize symbols as Canadian, they present their significance, and find its place in the Coat of Arms of Canada.

Aims


To familiarize students with symbols and what they represent, to develop an awareness of self, group, and Canada.

Students will:

- Research the significance of symbols found in the Arms of Canada.
- Develop research skills to investigate the meaning of each symbol.
- Present orally the findings of their research.
- Locate the position of each...

Interview with a Historical Figure from New France


Overview


This lesson will guide students as they learn about a significant number of concepts and facts related to New France through the study of an historical figure.

Aims


This lesson is based on an interview format, with open-ended questions and detailed, full-sentence answers, a portrait of the person, a drawn geographical map, and a timeline (indicating important dates in the person's life and important dates in the corresponding history of the country).

Background


All too often, research...

History is not Dead: Historical Context Lesson Plan Template


Overview


“What's the point of studying that? That's the past. That has nothing to do with my life.” Students often speak of history as a dead subject, a collection of past events with no bearing on the present and even less on the future. This lesson intends to engage students in historical thinking: consider significance, analyze evidence, assess continuity and change, examine cause and consequence, consider historical perspective and form moral judgment. Ultimately, they will produce their...

Emily Murphy


Overview


This lesson is based on viewing the Emily Murphy biography from The Canadians series. Murphy was a mother, magistrate, author, reformer, and legislator. She is best remembered as one of the "Famous Five" who successfully took the "Persons Case," which advocated the recognition of women as persons in the eyes of the law, before the Supreme Court of Canada, and the British Privy Council.

Aims


Studying the life of Emily Murphy will provide students an opportunity to learn about the...

Komagata Maru


Overview


This lesson examines social attitudes towards East Asians in the early 1900s in British Columbia and Canada. The arrival of the Komagata Maru in Vancouver harbour in 1914 challenges the Canadian government’s continuous passage rule.

Background


"Komagata Maru, a Japanese-owned freighter chartered out of Hong Kong in April 1914 by 376 Punjabis, mostly SIKHS, bound for Canada. At the time, East Indians were kept out of Canada by an order-in-council requiring them to come to Canada by...

Images Reflecting Complex Relationships


Overview


In April 2001 and again in February 2007 a storm of controversy erupted in the press of the province British Columbia. This lesson reflects on that controversy and encourages students to engage with the information in different ways.

"By studying historic artifacts of all people, the important and the unimportant alike citizens have a stronger foundation for understanding how and why the past tells us a great deal about the present and the future. All history is selective and...

Kit Blake Coleman


Overview


This lesson is based on viewing the Kit Blake Coleman biography from The Canadiansseries. Coleman’s twenty-five year career helped carve a new niche for women in journalism.


Aims


The life and career of Kit Coleman will provide students with a starting point to learn about a variety of themes and topics. In several research and writing activities, students will learn about the historic events that Coleman reported on, the history of women and work, and the field of journalism.

...

Canadian Internment Camps During the First World War


Overview


The beginning stages of the First World War saw increasing suspicion by the Canadian populace of immigrants from Germany and Eastern Europe, particularly Ukrainians, Austrians, Poles, Czechs and Slovaks. Over 80,000 immigrants from these nations were forced to carry special identity cards and report for regular interviews with local authorities. Further, 8,579 "enemy aliens" (5,000 of which who were of Ukrainian origin) were interned in twenty-four detention camps during the course...

International Terror


Overview


Since the attacks in the U.S. on 11 September 2001, terrorism has been on everyone's mind. This lesson will enhance students' understanding of terrorism.

Aims


Students will look at the causes of terrorism, the aims of terrorists, and the historical development of international terrorism (including terrorism within Canada).

Background


Events in recent history have torn the topic of terrorism from the movie screens and the International section of the newspaper and thrust it into our...

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