Intro+to+the+Unit



Usha's comments in Blue

Your name: Christopher Taylor

**Initial Reading and Assessment of Textbook Treatment of the Topic**

Name of Gr. 10 Textbook examined: //Canadian History//, by Hundley, I., and Magarrey, M. (2000). Toronto, ON: Irwin Publishing Ltd.

Name of more "scholarly" source examined: Copp, Terry, "The Military Effort, 1914-1918." In Craig Brown, Robert, and Clark Mackenzie, David, (2005), //Canada and the First World War: Essays in Honour of Robert Craig Brown//. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

__Your Initial Thoughts:__ Please provide a **brief** (5-10 sentences) initial assessment of the textbook's treatment of the subject. We have not developed any particular criteria by which to assess the textbook so this is really simply you initial reactions, feelings, questions about what you have read. Thanks!

My thoughts on the History Textbook: 1) It seems to be giving a very brief (very!) introduction to the causes of the War, mainly, the building-up of Empires and armies in Europe, and the start of the war in Serbia with Archduke Ferdinand's assassination. 2) Again, this is exceptionally brief, with the focus on the feeling of war being inevitable, the only question being how would Canada be able to meet its 'obligations' (a word with many interpretations, here) to the British Empire and serve in the war. It's nice to see that there is an awareness of the broader scope of the war--that Canada was part of a larger world and that this interdependence has significant impact on the parties involved. The focus here, at the outset, is on the mobilization effort, which leads to some of the internal conflicts discussed below. 3) The introduction does a decent job of just that: introducing the student to the topic of the chapter, which is the part Canada, explicitly, played in the war. 4) The book also situates this chapter in what seem to be three broad historical 'stories' or narratives. 1) the relationship between Canada and the British Empire/Commonwealth; 2) the growth of Canada towards independence--and, indeed, the book even says that the war is a "gigantic step towards" that independence (63). The other issue is the internal one: the lingering animosities and cultural divide between Canada's English and French populations, which the war exacerbates. 5) I feel like, from the beginning, this Unit has already left out a few parties. What of the Aboriginal population? What of those recently immigrated? What of the conflicts between Canadians descended from England & France, and those descended from member nations of the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy)? Interesting - the introduction really does set the tone, doesn't it. It sounds like you are interested in using the introduction to give students a "taste" of the various issues, voices, questions that will arise over the course of the unit.  6) The text does not, at this stage, introduce opposing viewpoints. This being the intro, I can understand that, but hopefully this gets resolved in the rest of the Unit! Another interesting dilemma - is it useful to start simple and move to more complex or should we set out the complex questions at the beginning to engage kids in "doing" history right from the start? 7) The book connects this Chapter to the previous one by its layout: the page before the Chapter is a review of and space for reflection upon the prior Chapter, and which will likely see echoes in the current Unit. 8) The book introduces the reader to key concepts that will be examined in the remainder of the Chapter, and to the topics within it. *9) A new thought, post reading: the book divides the period of our Unit (1914-1929) into two halves: the World War, and the aftermath/the '20s. As such, I've *not* read the intro to the 20s. That strikes me as coming later on in the Unit, and therefore, it might be good to cover it later. Thoughts? Good question. It will likely come down to whether or not you're focusing on similar themes or questions that apply to the whole unit (otherwise it begs the question: Why is this particular time period chunked together as a unit?).

Thoughts after reading the scholarly article:

I deliberately went into the textbook first, wanting to get my gut reaction to the text before I looked at the scholarly article. I'm looking back and noticing that, while I generally like the textbook, I have a few comments and concerns about the voices potentially unheard in the book. Reading the scholarly article (I'm still going through it, mind), my initial impression is that the major narrative of scholarly study on the subject of 1914-1929, and the introduction to the world war, is very similar to the textbook I'm reading. There probably are alternative interpretations, but the concerns for Canada, at the time, were about mobilization for World War One: how to transfer from the peaceful society (relatively speaking) to a war footing, and the consequences of that change.

An interesting topic. Though I'm not sure yet how to plan my lesson around such an intro, without crossing over into the "Causes of the War," the next topic in the Unit, I'm reminded by the textbook of how much I love studying this period in history. I'm looking forward to putting together a lesson on the subject!

Thanks for your assessment, Christopher. You've raised several interesting questions to consider.

An attempt at a T3 Question: Was Canada's participation in the First World War worth the consequences? This question is nicely framed and will certainly invite critical thinking. As a question to introduce the unit, it would serve as a question to guide the entire unit, potentially as students weighed the consequences of participation not just in terms of death toll but also the consequences of greater autonomy, sense of nationhood, exacerbated French-English tension, changes for women, treatment of visible minorities, etc. Nicely done.


 * _**

History Lesson Plan Christopher Taylor Instructor: Usha James October 22nd, 2010 // Key Learning // : Students will understand that the events of World War One had numerous effects in the following decades, both internally within Canada (and other countries) and internationally (between countries). In many respects, we're still feeling the aftershocks today! // Critical Challenge: // ** Was Canada's Participation in the First World War worth the consequences **// ? //

// Skill-set for Newspaper Spread: // Report Card. By the end of the lesson, students should have been introduced to the concept, and perhaps had a little practice at evaluating consequences for a given action. // Dimension of Historical Thinking: // Cause and Consequence // Background Knowledge // : Content/Skills: As the Critical Challenge connects to later lessons in the Unit, at this stage, the Content necessary to the lesson is the background in Canada and internationally leading up to the War--what did Canada look like on the eve of war? Without this knowledge, it will be difficult to examine the consequences! Reviewing some of this would be helpful, especially if it leads to critical thought as to how much/if at all WWI affected these elements. Identifying cause and effect (skills)

// Criteria for Judgment // : Establishing criteria to determine if something IS a consequence (i.e., not just 'contemporary,' but actually a consequence) Criteria for worthiness (useful, beneficial, significant, known by the people at the time, morality, etc.) // Habit of mind: // Circumspection. Being willing and able to reserve judgment until sufficient evidence leads to a judgment. Since this is the introduction lesson, Students may be tempted to jump to conclusions about the Challenge. I want them to begin thinking about the topic, but to be willing to reserve judgment until we've examined the consequences in greater detail later in the unit. // Critical Thinking Vocabulary: // Criteria. Without criteria, answers to the critical challenge will fall back into T2 territory. Lesson activities should be geared towards developing criteria for judgment (How do we know an action is worthwhile? How can we measure its impact? In other words, an insignificant consequence should not cancel out a consequence that has a massive effect!)

Lesson Aims (What Expectations are to be met by this Lesson?): 1) Formulate questions on topics and issues in the history of Canada since 1914, and use appropriate methods of historical research to locate, gather, evaluate, and organize relevant information from a variety of sources; 2) Interpret and analyse information gathered through research, employing concepts and approaches appropriate to historical inquiry 1) Analyse the impact of external forces and events on Canada and its policies since 1914; 2) Analyze the development of French-English relations in Canada, with reference to key individuals, issues and events; 3) Assess Canada’s participation in war and contributions to peacekeeping and security Warm-Up Handout; Chalk, Board; Poster Paper/Bristol Board; Primary Sources (See Handout); 4 Corners Handout; Report Card Handout Agenda (in brief) I. Warm Up  II. Agenda Introduction/Introduce Expectations/Critical Challenge  III. Micro-Lecture: World War One  IV. Barnstorming Causes and Consequences  V. Practicing Causes and Consequences  VI. Report Card Intro/Practice  VII. HW Assignment/Summary  Lesson Plan Outline:
 * Time ** : 75 Minutes (One class period)
 * Grade/Stream ** : Gr. 10 Academic
 * Course Code ** : CHC2D
 * Methods of Historical Inquiry and Communication: **
 * Communities: Local, National, and Global: **
 * NB: These themes are loosely touched upon in this Lesson. The first (Methods of Historical Inquiry and Communication) is our primary focus in this particular lesson, while the other flows naturally from the Critical Challenge being posed to the students, and the work being done throughout the entire unit. The purpose of the present lesson is to introduce these themes for development over the next several classes. **
 * Required Resources ** : //Canadian History//, by Hundley, I., and Magarrey, M. (2000). Toronto, ON: Irwin Publishing Ltd.

8-10 Minutes || “Pre” Warm-up. Ask if anybody in the class is familiar with the website FailBlog (website where people post examples of mistakes people have made, such as our warm-up, below. Ask: How do Ss think people decide which events are “worthy of being called failures?” How do we decide that? Brainstorm a few Ss responses on the board  Introduce Concept: Causes and Consequences, Evaluating an event, using warm-up below.  Photo Warm-Up  Interaction Pattern: Partners  1) Provide a handout with a photograph of an event (not an historical event, but something slightly more present tense--could be a photo of someone tripping--comedian, for example). 2) Before Ss begin observation, have them quickly assess, based on first glance, the driving of the people involved, from A (excellent) to F (utter failure) 3) Have Ss work with a partner: Start with observation. What is happening in the picture. Be specific, include details so that if another person heard/read your notes, they could imagine the picture in their minds. 4) Have Ss begin to guess causes, as many as they can based on their observations of the picture 5) Have students predict consequences. Again, as many as they can based on their observations and the causes. 6) Have the partners pick their ‘Top Three’ consequences, that is, what they think the most significant consequences will be. Partners should be prepared to explain why. 7) Now that they’ve assessed the causes and consequences, ask if any Ss’ opinions on the skill of the driver have changed. If so, why? If not, why? 8) Transition to Introducing the Topic for the Lesson: Introduction to the First World War and its aftermath, and our first Critical Challenge || Warm-Up Handout || Interaction Pattern: (Teacher Talking, Ss listening/writing down the AGENDA!) Introduce Critical Challenge, but explain that this will only be answered over the course of the Unit. Goal today is for Ss to see it, and to begin learning //how// to answer it.  Introduce Report Card for Newspaper/Summative Assessment. Again, goal today is not to produce a finished copy, but to introduce it.  Importance of Task (“why are we doing this?”): Part of the Summative Evaluation includes creating a Report Card on the events of 1914-1929. We’ll be introducing that today, a little. To do a Report Card, you need to be able to evaluate the Consequences, which, again, we’ll be introducing today.
 * Time || Activity/Instructions || Resources Required ||
 * 1-2 Minutes
 * Feedback: Each pair should present 2 of their Top 3, one per partner. **
 * 5 Minutes || Introduce Agenda, Lesson Aim: Beginning to answer Critical Challenge

// Critical Challenge: // ** Was Canada's Participation in the First World War worth the consequences **// ? // || Chalk, Board || Modeling: Probably 3-5 minutes Activity Proper: ~15 minutes || Barnstorming Causes and Consequences Interaction Pattern: (Small Groups: 2-3 People is ideal, 4 at max) Have students work together in small groups to: 1) Identify what a cause is: a) how do we know x is a cause of y; b) how do we decide which causes are "the most important." 2) Identify what a consequence is: a) how do we know x is a consequence of y?; b) how do we evaluate the consequences (this is positive or negative...? harmful? beneficial?); c) how do we decide if the consequences were 'worth' the cost?  Activity Instructions: Divide Ss into small groups (3 is good. 4 at the max). 1) Explain the steps below, then Model (as per parts below) one example of each, before having Students carry on each part. 2) Part One: Have Ss start by identifying how we know something is a cause of another thing. What has to be true of x for it to be a cause **(Identify the Cause)**? (**Modelling: “Well, if it comes after the event, it’s probably not a cause, so a Cause has to be //before// the event it’s causing…”)** 3) Part Two: Have Ss brainstorm how they would rank the Importance of Causes. What are some things they think make a given Cause more important **(Evaluate the Cause)**. (**Modelling: “Well, the driver’s brakes broke five seconds before the accident… that’s really close to the time of the event, and he didn’t have time to fix it before the event…”)** 4) Part Three: Have Ss brainstorm how they know x is a consequence of y, as many requirements as they can (**Identify the Consequence)**. **(Modelling: “Well, if a Cause has to happen //before// the event, then a Consequence has to happen //after// it.”)** 5) Part Four: Have Ss brainstorm how they would rate consequences (**Evaluate the Criteria)**. What makes one more important than another. (**Modelling: “Well, this only affected //two// people, so it’s not as important as a train wreck that hurt //hundreds// of people.”)** While they’re doing this, have one or two students assist the Teacher in creating a ‘final’ copy of the Poster board to be hung on the wall. || Four Corners activity on Poster Paper || (Observation: 2-3 Minutes) (Identifying Causes and Consequences: ~10 Minutes) (Evaluating Causes and Consequences, ~12-15 Minutes) || Practicing Causes and Consequences (Interaction Pattern: Groups of 3) 1) Assign groups a copy of the Primary Sources, and Four Corners Handouts 2) First, conduct and write down observations using 5Ws/H. 3) Using the Four Corners handout, and **Identify the Cause** together, as per our criteria above. 4) Using the Four Corners handout, **Evaluate the Causes and Consequences** as per our criteria, above. Feedback: Teacher Circulates, checks in with each group as they go. || Primary SourceS, Four Corners Handout || (Interaction Pattern: Same Groups of 3) Have students assign a ranking, from A-F for Three of their Consequences. The rating is like a report card: How good or bad the consequence is, anywhere from an A (a good consequence, based on your criteria) to F (a terrible consequence, based on your criteria) Each should have two to three sentences explaining your ranking. Finish for homework (Not GRADED) Homework Assignment || Lesson Summary and HW Assignment Sum-up the Agenda: 1) Ss have learned: How to identify and evaluate Causes and Consequences. 2) Ss have been introduced to: Assessing an event with a ranking, and showing a reason (to be continued with HW, below). 3) Ss have also begun using this method to analyze historical events. 4) Show Ss one other thing: At the beginning, people were quick to judge an action on first glance. Now that we’ve started to analyze events in more depth, we can see that it takes //longer// and //more thought// to give a full assessment. They’ve learned **circumspection,** a crucial critical thinking skill**.** Causes and Consequences, Ranking. Finish previous assignment, if not already done, or, if they want to go back over it in more depth.
 * 20 Minutes
 * Feedback ** . Have students come together and collectively decide what Ss think are good answers to the above questions. **No repetition.**
 * 25 Minutes
 * 15 Minutes || Report Card intro (Adding a layer of complexity)
 * Feedback: Turned in for Formative Assessment ** || Report Card Handout ||
 * 3-5 Minutes
 * Formative assessment only **, just to see what people think/how they’re thinking.

Reading HW: // Canadian History //, by Hundley, I., and Magarrey, M. (2000). Toronto, ON: Irwin Publishing Ltd., **pg. 63-66** || Previous Handouts ||