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Projects
Here is a list of all lesson plans categorized as Projects.
Students research and analyze three major transportation structures in Canada, the Trans-Canada Highway, Confederation Bridge, and the St. Lawrence Seaway, focusing particularly on the impact of Canada's geography on moving people and goods in Canada. Groups of students then choose one structure to analyze in detail and outline a plan for a one-day event, called Celebrating Canadian Connections, to recognize and celebrate that structure and the key figures involved in its existence. They prepare and deliver a multi-media presentation to describe their event.
Using the CBC Digital Archives website and other relevant resources, students will research the major historical events that took place in Canada during the Trudeau era (1968-84), focusing particularly on Pierre Trudeau's impact on Canadian politics ("Trudeaumania"); the causes, events, and results of the October Crisis of 1970; the major developments in the debate over the reform of Canada's Constitution during the Trudeau administration; and the proposed Mackenzie Valley pipeline of the early 1970s and public reaction to it. Students will research these topics and others of interest to them from the Trudeau era, and work in groups to prepare and present either a newspaper account or a broadcast newsmagazine about these events.
Using the CBC Digital Archives website and other resources, students will research a Canadian natural disaster from the following list: the Saguenay flood, the Halifax Explosion, the Ice Storm of 1998, the Red River floods, the Ocean Ranger disaster, and Hurricane Hazel. Students will form small groups and research one Canadian disaster. Students will keep a research folder and will use their information to prepare a role-play based on being a witness to or a participant in the event. Students will then present their role-plays to the class.
The Quebec File: Separatism and the October Crisis
Bilingual senior students will form small teams of not more than four members. They will research relevant clips about separatism and the October Crisis from the CBC Digital Archives website topics listed in Outline the Opportunity. Students will keep a research folder as part of their project work. Students will prepare a written analysis of the question: Were separatism and the October crisis covered differently in the English and French media? Students will participate in a debate based on their findings and then prepare a position paper based on their research and debate.
Ballot Box: Provincial Elections in Canada
This project involves student research on the provincial electoral history of at least three jurisdictions in Canada from the 1960s or '70s to today. Based on their research, students organize their information and present it as an illustrated report. This report compares and contrasts the electoral systems of three provinces from different regions of Canada, focusing on parties, issues, leaders, results, etc. The main sources of information for this project will be the following topics from the CBC Digital Archives website: • Quebec Elections: 1960-2007 • PEI Elections: Liberal Landslides and Tory Tides • Ontario Elections: 25 Tumultuous Years • Showdown on the Prairies: A History of Saskatchewan Elections • Newfoundland and Labrador Elections • Northwest Territories: Voting in Canada's North Students select any three of the above topics as the basis for their research and report. At least one of the choices should be based on their own region of Canada.
Students will explore the topic of the Canadian spirit by gathering information about Margaret Laurence, Leonard Cohen, Oscar Peterson, the Stratford Festival, and the Group of Seven. Students will begin in small groups by brainstorming such inquiry questions as: What do these people and institutions bring to our idea of the Canadian spirit? How do they reflect Canada? What makes the Canadian spirit unique? Students will then work individually, researching their inquiry questions and keeping detailed, accurate notes. They will write a formal essay based on their research.
Students will examine Canadian literature by viewing the following topics on the CBC Digital Archives website: Mordecai Richler Was Here, Michel Tremblay: L'enfant terrible of Canadian Theatre, Margaret Laurence: Canada's Divine Writer, and Leonard Cohen: Canada's Melancholy Bard. Partners brainstorm what they know about these writers and their works, then list inquiry questions and choose a few of those questions to form a thesis statement. Students will read one literary work by each author and research the author through the clips on the website. Possible research topics include the influence of the writer's life on his or her work, the role of the author as social commentator, or the similar themes that run through the different authors' works. Students may choose from a variety of genres, and will keep reader-response journals as they work. Based on their research, students will write a comparative literary essay of approximately 1500 words.
Canadian Women: Their Extraordinary Contributions
Students research major issues that have faced Canadian women throughout the 20th century. They create a magazine that addresses six of those issues, discussing each issue in the form of a factual article and an editorial piece. The magazine will also include advertisements, visuals, a table of contents, and a cover. It will focus particularly on the impact of women on social issues, politics, entertainment, and sports. Students will investigate the following topics on the CBC Digital Archives website: "Fair Game: Pioneering Canadian Women in Sports," "On Every Front: Canadian Women in the Second World War," "The Birth Control Pill," "Fighting Female Infertility," "Equality First: The Royal Commission on the Status of Women" and "The Montreal Massacre." Students can substitute one of those topics with one of the following topics: "Margaret Laurence: Canada's Divine Writer," "Barbara Frum: Pioneering Broadcaster" or "Karen Kain, Prima Ballerina."
Using the CBC Radio Digital Archives website, other internet resources, and various other resources, small groups of students will research an athlete, team, or sport profiled in one or more of the CBC clips listed. From their research they will organize and present a nomination of the person, team, or sport to the Sports Canada Hall of Fame.
Exploring Media: Understanding and Identifying Editorial Perspective in Television and Radio News
Students will research the topics Boat People: A Refugee Crisis, Dr. Henry Morgentaler: Fighting Canada's Abortion Laws, and CANDU: The Canadian Nuclear Reactor on the CBC Digital Archives website, and expand their research to include selected other resources. Students will keep a research folder and a research log, and use their information to prepare group presentations.
Using the CBC Digital Archives website, as well as other internet and traditional resources, students will work in groups to research and analyze information in order to formulate opinions and explain key elements of Canadian identity. From their research they will create a simulated television production that represents and justifies their group's opinion about Canadian identity. They will find their information by visiting the topics Canada's Constitutional Debate: What Makes a Nation?, The Great Canadian Flag Debate, and Ruling the Airwaves: The CRTC and Canadian Content.
Students collect and organize information concerning recent issues affecting Aboriginal Peoples in Canada. Topics may include the recent history of Aboriginal Peoples, the changes they have endured over the last 50 years, and the challenges they face as a result of their re-emergence as a collection of First Nations. Students then write an essay defining their position on the rebirth of aboriginal nationalism, answering the question of how Canadian governments should support aboriginal efforts to establish self-determination or of how Canadian governments and churches should acknowledge and redress historical aboriginal grievances. Students will explore the following topics on the CBC Archives website: Georges Erasmus: Native Rights Crusader, The Oka Crisis, Creation of Nunavut, An Inuit Education: Honouring a Past, Creating a Future, A Lost Heritage: Canada's Residential Schools, James Bay Project and the Cree