What is the effect of different perspectives on the past? This is the user-friendly version of the statement of inquiry that my Grade 8’s began exploring this past November in our #Canada150 unit. With our sesquicentennial (150th) birthday coming July 1st, I reframed our study of Confederation and tried to make the content relevant to today. I also had to make sure I was balanced in my approach. For many, this is a joyful celebration. For many others, this marks one hundred and fifty years of brutal colonialism, cultural genocide and institutional racism. How could I create a rich unit of inquiry that looked at the required curriculum and beyond the curriculum? How could I celebrate while also paying respect to all of the voices in our story? How could I set the stage for thinking about the past while making connections to the present?
In the Middle Years Program (MYP) of the International Baccalaureate (IB), we use GRASPS to structure a unit, and they are introduced from the beginning of the inquiry.
This is my GRASPS for the #Canada150 unit:
Goal Students will propose a 150th birthday celebration for Canada that pays tribute to our past and honours its present.
Role Artists/Videographer/Designer
Audience- #Canada150 committee
Setting Proposal to committee in Ottawa
Product monument, event, piece of art or other way to celebrate Canada's 150th
Standards Criterion A, B, C and D (with task specific clarifications)
After introducing the roadmap of the unit, I introduced 5 learning centres that students completed to create schema around the unit:
The Railroad
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xiev0_railroad-trilogy_music
Students read information on the creation of the railroad and viewed The Railroad Trilogy by Gordon Lightfoot.
Their task was to address the following questions:
Why was a railroad important to the newly formed country?
What were 2 positive outcomes from the construction of the railroad?
What were 2 negative outcomes from the construction of the railroad?
What is the value of the railroad in modern Canada?
Fathers of Confederation
Annotate questions/comments about painting in your notes
Research the 3 Conferences: Charlottetown, Quebec, Lon
Whose voices are represented in this account?
Whose voices are missing in this account?
Canada 150 Logo
1. Read about the logo for Canada 150
2. Evaluate the logo. Why do you/don't you think it is a good choice?
3. Design a #Canada150 logo
Confederation Poem and Chart
Read the poem. Use it to help you investigate when and why each province/territory joined Canada.
Complete the chart provided.
Reflection: What information surprised you most?
Guided- Residential Schools and TRC Calls to Action
I have a large laminated timeline and handout packages on the calls to action. Here, the students used stickies to asked questions about the timeline.We also used at Project of Heart to discuss the timeline and review the maps. Then, we investigated answers and looked a the maps. I showed them the student-oriented calls to action and we evaluated whether or not we were following the recommendations.
After a few weeks of exploring and debriefing about the work in the centres, the students viewed The Secret Path. Here are some of the sketches from the film:
We also looked at articles about Canada's upcoming celebration including those who are protesting the events. We watched videos on the Chinese building of the railroad, and discussed the head tax as well as the apology. The students had enough background knowledge at that point to understand why there may be challenges to the celebration of our country's anniversary.
After some explicit instruction, the summative outline was provided. After brainstorming with the class, each student chose their groupings based on their mode of creative expression ie: video, event, structure etc. The proposals were really creative and reflected thoughtful and critical investigations that were respectful and incorperated many voices.
Here are some of their proposals:
Beaver Banks
New Coat of Arms
Minted Coins
A Promo Video
Events
A Monument
Now that there are signs of the upcoming celebrations wherever we look, the students report every flower pot, article and promotion they see. They are more excited and aware of this anniversary because of the work we did. While, as always, there are things to change and improve upon, I think this unit can play out for a few years to come. To what degree does what transpired in the past impact the present? Even though our country's past has aspects that are shameful and must be taught as part of the whole story, there are so many sources of pride in how we've grown as a nation and where we are heading. As I wrote in my poem: There's so much to be thankful for and so much to say, as if it should always be Canada Day!
