Understanding Historical Significance in the Proto-Canadian Nation:

Building Lower Canada from 1791 to 1858

3 a) Lesson Plan Development: Ideal Vs. Real Time Lesson Plans
Sean Johnston | EDTL 633 001 | Professor Paul Zanazanian

Table of Contents

Unit Plan..
..3 - 16
Other Lesson Plans Within The Unit Plan.
..17 - 23
Real Time Lesson
Plan..24 - 27
Ideal Time Lesson
Plan28 40
Citations
....41

Everything in bold and Italics is an annotation.

Author: Sean Johnston

Name of LES: 1791 1848 The Building of a Proto-Canadian
Nation
Learning Outcomes:
Students will be able to:

Appreciate the contingency of events in the construction of

subsequent events.
Even though this unit plan is primarily concerned with
the Historical Significance portion of the Big Six
(Morton & Seixas, 2013), I believe one cannot
adequately address it in isolation. Thus, I have
incorporated elements of the Continuity and Change
and Cause and Consequence chapter of the Big Six
(Morton & Seixas, 2013).

The major events, trends and conditions social, economic

and political in the development and passage of time in
Lower Canada during this era.
Students must learn the fundamental issues and
events of this era, as directed by the QEP.

Understand that history is necessarily constructed as a

narrative and not out of a collection of nodes of information,
or facts, that can transcend context.
This is an expansion upon the themes of the Historical
Significance chapter of the Big Six (Morton & Seixas,
2013), emphasizing more historiographical,
epistemological and philosophical themes but made
accessible and relevant to fourteen-year-old students.
Elements derived from poststructuralist narrative
theory will also be lightly incorporated.

What is meant by terms like: historical significance,

historically revealing, contingency, change and continuity,
etc.
Putting names to concepts is an important, if not
necessary, first step to engaging with more
sophisticated ideas. These concepts are certainly not
beyond the capacity of a secondary three student to
understand and engage with. This is particularly
relevant to the use of the Big Six but also incorporates
teachings from Mike Denos Portals To Understanding:
Embedding Historical Thinking in the Curriculum.

Appraise and evaluate for themselves, and later justify to

others, their understanding of the construction of historical
significance.
This incorporates the Evidence chapter of the Big Six
(Morton & Seixas, 2013) as well as Subject-Specific
Competency Two: Interprets social phenomena using
the historical method as well as Cross-Curricular
Competency Three: Exercises Critical Judgment.

Coordinate, cooperate and reach consensus on how they

choose to measure historical significance. This will necessarily
require rational argumentation and persuasion even before
any form of teacher evaluation. They will also have
opportunities to continue this process after feedback from the
teacher and their contemporaries.
This entails the use of the aforementioned material as
well as incorporates Cross-Curricular Competency
Eight: Cooperates with others.

Access information about historical events of this era and

begin to judge the veracity of claims.
This incorporates Media Literacy into the unit as well
as Cross-Curricular Competency One: Uses
Information.

Rationale (Position on Matrix): Social Initiation Intellectual

Development quadrant

The thrust of this unit is to convey: a) a sense of the history of

Lower Canada as it slowly made its way into the proto-Canadian state
we are familiar with today, with its liberal-democratic values and
constitutional rights b) how the events that created the historical
narrative of this process were not simply determined but rather
involved an often messy and unpredictable process of development c)
undermine and problematize students likely presumption of an
objective, authoritative history d) convey the philosophical (especially
epistemological) and historiographical understanding of historical
significance to uninitiated students. Given this approach, this unit
unavoidably fits in the Social InitiationIntellectual Development
quadrant of Case & Clarks Citizenship Education Matrix which means
it is, in many respects, quite alike much that qualifies as typical
secondary school (Case & Clark, 2011). This unit fits more into the
Social Initiation side of the social acceptance/social change
spectrum because it spends much more time conveying the values
and principles of contemporary Canadian society that emerged during
this particular era (1791-1848), and the fraught circumstances which
compelled the emergence of these values and principles - while both
directly and tacitly demonstrating their utility. It is closer to the
Intellectual Development end of the subject-centred/student-centred
spectrum in that it is primarily concerned with delving into historical
content and attempts to parse how this content is constructed through
the subjective appraisal of the significance of historical events by
historians. However, if students are themselves to be understood as
historians (Becker, 1932) then this arguably empowers students to
questioning and, in turn, accept a greater level of intellectual
autonomy and discovery. In this sense it may satisfy their personal
development (Case & Clark, 2011).
When I located my own placement on the Citizenship
Education Matrix for my Philosophy of Teaching Statement I
placed myself far more towards the Intellectual Development
and Social Reformation ends of each spectrum. However, I also
qualified my statement by stating that I believed social
reformation was highly unlikely without intellectual
development that each shares a dependent relationship with
the other. I also stated that I held to a principle shared by the
likes of Herbert Marcuse and Jacques Derrida: that one cannot
critique the canon in history to be understood as the
common sense, usually unquestioned mainstream version of
events without first knowing it (Novak, 2013). I believe this
unit is centered on conveying a necessary understanding of
the canon while also rupturing the epistemological
assumptions students often have. A great many of the
profoundly justifiable liberal-democratic values ones many
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students, not unlike many adults, take for granted or obvious

arose though the material developments of society and the
thought that accompanied it. To learn this process conveys not
only an important understanding of intellectual history but
also demonstrates how these values do not transcend history.
I do not feel that I am betraying my own rationale and
orientation as a teacher to teach in other aspects of the
spectrum indeed, I believe it is entirely necessary to be a
worthy educator. There is no contradiction between focusing
on the social initiation and intellectual development quadrant
in this unit and then shifting to other quadrants in subsequent
units. In fact, it may very well be impossible to teach in some
quadrants if one never broaches others.
Broad Areas of Learning:
Citizenship and Community Life
The work students will do in a social studies class makes
them particularly likely to engage with topics concerning
Citizenship and Community Life this unit is no exception. This
unit particularly emphasizes the Participation, cooperation
and solidarity focus of development when they have to
navigate debating and reaching a consensus within their group
on how they finalize their evaluation of the historical
significance of events. Students will also come to understand even just through the course content they will be presented
with - how democracy and liberal-democratic ideals were hardfought for, required substantial time, personal investment and
sacrifice to create the constitutional rights we are afforded
today all of which pertains to the Promotion of the rules of
social conduct and democratic institutions focus of
development.
Media Literacy
Students will also access information through their
course book as well as supplemental research (electronic or
use of books procured through a library or home, etc.)
necessary for the completion of the culminating activity.
Issues concerning Media Literacy are addressed, given that
the culminating activity seeks to undermine students
unconscious casual acceptance of the authority of the texts
and to problematize the notion of objective history by
demonstrating that historical narratives are created through
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the subjective appraisal of the historical significance of

events. This directly pertains to the Understanding of media
representations of reality Focus of Development. Students will
also consider the veracity and justification of claims made on
websites and other electronic resources when researching the
historical significance of events not found in their course book.
They will be asked to justify their use of outside material and
reflect upon why they believe the source of their information
is credible. This pertains to the aforementioned Focus of
Development as well as to the Awareness of the place and
influence of the different media in his/her daily life and in
society Focus of Development.
Context:
The period between the Constitutional Act of 1791 and The Act of
Union of 1848 that students will be learning about (and assessing) is
the period where the territory that would later be known as Canada
was transitioning from status as a pure colony of Great Britain to one
that exhibited considerable independence (though perhaps not yet full
sovereignty). Many of the value assumptions that underlie
contemporary Canadian society Responsible Government, freedom of
assembly and of speech, consent of the governed, the means by which
tax revenues are spent by those elected by the population, etc. - were
shaped during this period. This time period has direct relevance to the
lives of Canadas youth, even if they may not yet know it, for the
simple reason that these values are still prevalent, indeed hegemonic,
in the present. It is important to give these values a historical weight,
to demonstrate that they do not represent some sort of eternal Platonic
ideal but were instead materially placed in history. This period is also
fundamental to understanding Canada as a modern and developed
nation. Shortly prior to this time period Lower Canada was an underpopulated, undeveloped rural agrarian society with a very undiversified
economy (largely centered on the fur trade). Large waves of
immigration, waves that would expand the size of the colony many
times over its initial size, and the introduction of industry and large
infrastructural projects would make the territory virtually
unrecognizable from its former self. This time period is arguably where
the story of much of the life that we now live begins.
I chose this time period because of many of the reasons
that I outlined above, but also because it is a time period that I
both taught this winter and one that I have a natural affinity
and interest for. I am fascinated by how economic
developments drive and shape political developments and this
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is the era in Canadian history where this dynamic first

becomes undeniably conspicuous.
The Seigniorial system may have been important at one
time, and the cours-des-bois might make for an interesting
story, but neither has much direct relevance to the lives of
teenagers today. As mentioned, this is the time period where
the modern Canada begins to emerge, and, because of that,
much of how we live today can be tied to events, actions and
decisions made during this time period (and often vice versa).
If a social studies teacher is unable to demonstrate this
relevance to their students during this time period than they
will likely struggle during any other period in Canadian history
aside from the relatively recent. The fact that I have already
taught this time period affords me some experience and
means of reflecting on how to improve upon it, and confidence
that I have some understanding of what I wish to convey.
Big Idea: How is history (including events in our present) inevitably
and invariably understood through narratives narratives that are
unavoidably constructed by the subjective appraisal of the significance
of contingent historical events?
Im focusing on this Big Idea because it is perhaps the
biggest idea in the discipline of history indeed, it could be
well argued that this defines the nature of history writing and
the work of the historian. This unit serves to aid students in
becoming more conscious and self-reflexive about their
expanding role as historians if students are to be understood
as their own historians (Morton & Seixas, 2013). Furthermore,
this Big Idea has profound implications to the curious student
in such fields as philosophy, film and literary theory, and
neuroscience. The hook lesson will demonstrate how the
individual is the historian of their own lives how personal
memory is constructed by an appraisal of causality and
contingency and how this is similar to, though not the same
as, how social memory is constructed. While the extent of the
profundity of these questions may be partially lost on an
audience of fourteen-year-olds, the fact that such questions
are even being broached at all may compel an interest and
engagement that could transcend the rote and banal means by
which information is gathered and processed in most high
school classrooms.
Skills:

Students will not only read their course book and take notes,
they will necessarily have to engage with these resources as reference
materials. Students will also learn how to access online and electronic
resources and determine the validity of sources. Students will have to
cooperate and reach consensus in their group work. Perhaps most
importantly, students will necessarily engage with deeper and more
philosophical questions and require stronger mental engagement than
if they were to memorize facts and regurgitate answers.
I feel this is fairly self-explanatory and have difficulty
because anything I could add to this that I will have said
likely multiple times in other sections.
QEP Cross-Curricular Competency(ies):
Competency One: Uses Information
This unit makes heavy use of Competency One. By
gathering information (such as select[ing] appropriate
information sources and evaluat[ing] the validity of
information according to criteria) that students will need to
learn about and evaluate each event on the basis of its
historical significance means that students will necessarily be
able to [d]etermine the pertinence of information and
[identify] the value of each piece of information. By having
to use resources beyond the familiarity and safety of the
course book, students will have to [establish] research
strategies for gathering and comparing information between
sources of information (and even mediums).
Competency Three: Exercises Critical Judgment
The very appeal in designing this unit is in how it not only
asks but requires students to exercise their critical judgment.
Not only does the culminating activity ask students to [go]
back to the facts, [verifying] their accuracy and puts them in
context while bas[ing] [their] opinion on logicalcriteria in
order to [adopt] a position but it also requires students to
see their opinions in relation to others opinions, and
acknowledge, that while all their opinions are necessarily
subjective, that does not at all mean all opinions are equally
valid. The process of submitting the initial Collaborative
Historical Significance Chart means students will have already
[articulated] and [communicated] [their] viewpoint[s] and
the critique of another groups chart ensures that students will
have to justify [their] position[s]. This process of comparing
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ones own opinions with others, not just amongst their group
members in a bid to persuade and find consensus but also
amongst groups, is one where the student discovers that one
must qualify ones own judgment if it is to prove persuasive to
others, and, indeed, to themselves. Once groups receive their
Collaborative Historical Significance Chart back along with the
critique from another group, they are then required to decide
to take the other groups suggestions into account or leave
their chart as is. Either decision will require a reflection
stating why they have done so. This process is one where
students will be required to reconsider his/her position.
Students will be primarily evaluated on Well-reasoned
justification of the judgment, appropriateness of the criteria
used and openness to questioning of the judgment,
meaning most of what students will be evaluated on falls
mostly within Competency Three.
Competency Eight: Cooperates With Others
A key reason why this unit and the Collaborative
Historical Significance Chart is intentionally a group activity is
because it heightens and extends the reach of the other
competencies: students will have multiple opportunities to
exercise critical judgment, reflect upon the judgment of others
and, in light of this, further justify or modify their own
judgment. This creates a self-reflexive environment where
epiphenomenal judgments necessarily interact with and
possibly modify ones own primary or cursory judgments. Yet
aside from these dynamics, group work also strengthens a
students socialization and navigation of frequently delicate
social dynamics. Students will have to participate actively in
classroom and school activities with a cooperative attitude,
[plan] and [carry] out work with othersaccording to the
procedure agreed on by the team while [using] differences
constructively to attain a common objective and manag[ing]
conflict simply by virtue of the fact that students will be
required to plan and find consensus with group members on
their collaborative assignment. This process will also require
students to [exchange] points of view, listen to others and
respect different views and adapts his/her behavior to the
team members and the task.
QEP Subject Area Competency(ies):

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Competency One: Examines social phenomena from a historical

perspective
Students will need to immerse themselves in the origin
of the social phenomena from this era to even comprehend
why events unfolded. If students are to evaluate the historical
significance of why the British rejection of the 92 Resolutions
was important, then they will certainly have to know what
causes and conditions led to the drafting of the 92 Resolutions
in the first place. If students are going to understand why the
French middle-classes who supported the Parti Canadien
desired, and believed they should have, the right to have
control over the colonys budget and language laws then they
will necessarily have to show a concern for the beliefs,
attitudes and values of the period. Students will also
undoubtedly notice that French and English people existed
during this time frame, as they do today, but perhaps also
notice that a authoritarian Governor no longer exists in
Canadian society, which will indicate that theyre look[ing] for
elements of continuity and change. Given that historical
significance is understood by that which greatly impacts, or
even changes, the course of history, looking for elements of
continuity and change is essential to students completion of
this unit it will be the criteria by which they base their
appraisal of historical significance. This will naturally means
that students will have to look at social phenomena in their
complexity, as they will be parsing the contingent individual
events that lead to another a process that hopefully allows
the student to understand historical phenomena in their
totality.
Competency Two: Interprets social phenomena using the historical
method
If the purpose of this Competency entails students
seek[ing] and link[ing] factors that might explain these social
phenomena and develop an interpretation, which they adjust
and qualify by seeing their own representations, beliefs and
opinions in perspective then this unit and this culminating
activity could not be anymore up to the task. Students will
need to seek factors that explainsocial phenomena when
they look for the reasons, and later the justifications, for their
appraisal of historical significance. This is the very point of the
culminating activity, as is having to adjust and qualify their
appraisals in relation to that of others the culminating
activity was designed with this precisely in mind. Students will
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have to back up their appraisals of the historical significance

of events with written justification provided with evidence to
[establish] the factual basis of social phenomena, they will
have to [identify] enduring consequences to give their
historical significance ratings their appropriate weight, and
then they will have to put his/her interpretation of social
phenomena in perspective when they are given feedback
from the teacher and other groups of students.
Culminating Activity: Collaborative Historical Significance Chart
(Note of Caution: This section is identical to the section
detailing the Culminating Activity in my Ideal Lesson Plan.
Certainly do not trouble yourself to read both)
Instructions:
Prior to the commencement of the activity, through prior lectures
and lessons students will already be well acquainted with the concept
that there is a difference between historical events that are either
significant to the course of history or revealing about the conditions or
realities of a specific era. The purpose of this assignment is to allow
students to understand why some events are included in the historical
narrative indeed, how they construct the very narrative itself and
that constructing historical narratives necessarily require an appraisal
and judgment by the historian. By appraising and judging the
importance of historical events in relation to one another, students
become historians themselves and learn some important initial
lessons about historiography.
I designed this culminating activity in a perhaps
interesting way: I began with an abridged activity I used from
the Big Six (Morton & Seixas, 2013) in an actual lesson I used.
Performing the activity with actual fourteen year olds gave me
valuable insight into what worked and what did not work. For
the most part I was pleased with the visual representation
created by this activity and I felt many students fairly
accurately appraised the historical significance of events.
However, no shortage of others decided to simply throw
numbers around and be done with the activity as soon as
possible. When challenged about a particular event some
could not provide any answer as to why they rated an event
what they did. Thus, I decided that in an ideal situation, each
and every event would have to be thoroughly justified actual
research would have to be performed, and that research and
12

justification would have to be made to other students. Thus, I

turned the activity into a group assignment with multiple
stages, where students would have to justify their appraisals
to others and would have to reappraise their justifications in
light of the appraisals made by others. Where this culminating
activity differs most from the activity in the Big Six (a brilliant
one, I might add) is in how dramatically it expands the
dynamics between students and demands thorough selfreflection - the purpose being that students create most of
their epiphanies about the nature of historical significance
amongst and within themselves with minimal interference or
overt guidance from the teacher. I also read the Broad Areas
for Learning, Cross-Curricular Competencies and SubjectSpecific Competencies thoroughly before I began designing
the culminating activity, and purposely worked backwards
from these while designing to ensure I hit key targets for
maximum coverage.
1. Students will be placed in groups of two to four.
Given that this is an ideal lesson plan one that
presumes I have all the time in the world for
assessment and marking I am not placing students
in groups to shorten my workload. Instead the
students are in groups because this activity is
precisely about the process of having to understand
enough material to justify ones analysis, consider
other peoples analysis, defer or make a case for
ones position in relation to another persons. In this
activity there are multiple instances, and in multiple
means, students will have to engage with the
historical method and consider and reconsider their
positions. As a result of this, students will squarely
be addressing Cross Curricular Competencies One
(Uses Information), Three (Exercises Critical
Judgment) and Eight (Cooperates with Others). They
will also be directly engaging with the SubjectSpecific Competencies One (Examines Social
Phenomena from a Historical Perspective) and Two
(Interprets social phenomena using the historical
method).
2. Students will be given a randomized series of historical events
from the time period in Lower Canada. Not all groups will
receive the same events; however, there will be significant
overlap. Examples of events include: The Constitutional Act of
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1791; the founding of Molson Brewery; editorials made in the

Montreal Gazette; the British rejecting the 92 Resolutions; the
shift in the economy from Fur to Timber; waves of Irish
immigration; the birth of Louis-Joseph Papineau; the
publication of the Durham Report; and so on.
The purpose of the events being randomized and for
all groups not to receive all events is for a number
of reasons: a) that groups will have to attempt to
place the events in their correct chronological
sequence (which will be reviewed by other groups
during the critique stage of the activity) b) during
the critique stage of the activity students will see
events in other groups that they were not assigned
meaning that they will have to do their own research
once again to appraise the events and to judge
whether the other group was correct or not in their
evaluations of the historical significance of events c)
having a wide distribution of events amongst groups
not just within this class but hopefully multiple
classes (either concurrently or in the past) will
provide interesting data once the teacher collects
and processes it all. If all groups received the same
events uniformly then one could expect more
uniform results. Randomization means groups will
more likely have to supply their own means of
justification (instead of maybe consulting with
neighbouring groups before the activity has even
reached the critique stage).
3. Students will have to first discover and place the events in the
correct chronological sequence. The large majority of events
will be able to be discovered in their workbooks or class notes.
However, each group will have between two and four events
that they will have to research on their own (via the use of
library, electronic and human resources) to discover the
significance of the event.
Instead of using the course book as the first, only
and final authority, students will necessarily have to
compare their appraisal of events with other
sources appraisal of events. Using outside sources
will require either or both library or computer lab
time. Students will also engage with the Media
Literacy Broad Area of Learning if they are to gauge
the veracity and legitimacy of the sources they are
14

using. Given that it is 2015, it is likely most of these

resources will be procured electronically. There will
be a sufficient number of events provided that
students may wish to divide the work up amongst
themselves, which plays directly into [plan] and
[carry] out work with others subsection of
Competency Eight: Cooperates with others. The
underlying purpose of this part of the activity is to
communicate that:
Framing questions that promote critical
thinking will likely enhance a student's
understanding of history. However, historical
thinking is more than simply thinking critically.
Historical thinking affects students' very
understanding of the discipline. The need to
think historically in order to understand the
discipline arises because history inevitably
consists of partial accounts constructed for
specific purposes (Denos, 2008).
4. Students will appraise each event on a scale of zero to seven
(zero being entirely historically insignificant, seven being of
direct importance to nearly every person in relative proximity
during and/or after the event). Importantly, they will have to
justify their appraisal. If an event registers only a one on their
scale, the students will have to describe why they believe the
event is of little particular importance. If an event registers a
six the students will have to detail what happened
subsequently that made the event so profound. Students will
require cooperation, coordination, debate and consensus
building to agree on a finalized rating and justification for
each event.
In the greatly shortened version of this activity I did
for my real time lesson plan I let students rate
events on a scale of zero to five. I feel that this
limited things too much, that too many events were
rated a three or four that should probably have had
more of a spread between them, and that seven
would be a more appropriate number to use than
five. Due to time constraints I also had students
simply explain to me (in four and two sentences
respectively) what they thought was the most and
least significant events they were assigned. This
made the assignment easier but far less satisfying
15

for the teacher and certainly less profound for the

student. Students were not given enough time (or
desired to invest their available time) in properly
researching their answers so they could provide a
full explanation and justification for their ratings of
historical significance. In the ideal lesson plan
students will have no other recourse. Each and
every appraisal of the historical significance of an
event will have to be justified, and justified well.
This section has high pertinence to Cross Curricular
Competency One (Uses Information) and Three
(Exercises Critical Judgment) and maybe even a bit
of Two (Solves Problems) as well as Subject-Specific
Competency One (Examines social phenomena from
a historical perspective) and Two (Interprets social
phenomena using the historical method). This
directly relates to the Subject-Specific Competency
One: Examines Social Phenomena from a Historical
Perspective. Students are beginning to be asked to
not just learn about but rather consider historical
phenomena and its relation to other events in
history, or the course of history as necessarily
understood in the form of narrative.
5. Students will then chart their results on a Cartesian plain. The
X-axis will represent chronological time, the Y-axis will register
their zero-to-seven rating of the event based on historical
significance. Students will hand in their charts, along with
their explanation and justification of their rating of each event
to the teacher.
This stage allows students to visually represent
what they have gathered, to see what it looks like
and then maybe to allow for modifications if
something seems out of place.
6. The teacher will give a preliminary evaluation of each groups
project. The data from the charts will be collected and
gathered. The teacher then will take the charts, standardize
how the chart will look, remove any information that will
indicate who created the chart, and distribute the charts to
another group. Each group will then have a chart that is not
their own.
Importantly, when students hand in their charts and
justifications to the teacher it provides an
16

opportunity for formative assessment to let the

teacher see if the groups are on the right track, if
there are confusions or further guidance or insights
that can or should be provided. Also, this allows the
teacher to register the data from all the charts to
see how substantially things change individually
within a group and amongst the class(es) - after the
critique stage. The purpose in removing any
identifying information is so a group is unaware of
which other groups chart and justifications they
have (only the teacher will know who has which
chart) as to best remove any sort of bias for
instance, if they know they received a chart from
either known smart or struggling students they
may be more or less inclined to offer critiques.
7. The group will then critique another groups chart. Is there an
event that the members of a group feels is rated incorrectly?
The students will then justify, through research and
argumentation, why they hold their view. If students agree
with another groups rating of an event they will also have to
justify their agreement. It will require further research to base
a new evaluation if students encounter an event that they
were not asked to evaluate upon their initial assignment. The
students will hand in their critiques to the teacher.
What this stage is meant to simulate is peer review.
What is being developed is a community of
appraisal, whereby the most persuasive or wellsupported arguments are more likely (though hardly
guaranteed) to win out over ill-considered ones.
Students will have to re-evaluate their assumptions
and appraisals in light of other peoples
assumptions and appraisals. The student may
wonder, Where did you get this information? Why
do you think it is valid? At this stage they will also
receive events that they themselves were not
assigned initially necessitating further research by
the group. Will their sources of information confirm
or question another groups source of information?
How will students establish which is most
authoritative? What does authoritative even
entail? All questions that students will undoubtedly
be confronted with fairly naturally if they follow
their initial instructions correctly.

17

8. The teacher will then return the charts to their initial creators
along with the critique they received from another group. At
this point the group can either alter their rating of the
historical significance of an event based upon the critique
they received. To do so will require a reflection on how the
critique altered their perspective. If they desire to maintain
their initial rating, the group will have to provide a further
justification in light of the critique being put forth. The group
will then hand in their assignment to the teacher for final
evaluation.
The purpose of another reflection is that it requires
groups to engage with the critique provided by
another group. They cannot just change their
appraisal of the historical significance of an event,
or opt to keep it the same, simply because it is
easier to or because a group has made a slightly
persuasive argument. Instead, the groups have to
re-evaluate, and communicate their process of reevaluation to the teacher. This is, of course, more
material to use for summative evaluation.
9. The teacher will gather and collate the data received following
the critique and reaction to the critique. The teacher will then
present to the class the class average given to each rating
prior to the critique and the class average given to each
rating prior to the critique. Whether there is a significant shift
or not in the ratings will tell an interesting story about how
history is constructed - regardless of the result. If there is
multiple classes (either simultaneously or in past years) they
can be compared and contrasted; averages can be
discovered. If there are particularly substantive differences in
particular ratings the teacher can explicate the rationale given
for why this is so.
The very fact that the data will likely move around
will emphasize how history is subjectively
constructed. At the same time, it is unlikely that
there will be huge variations of the ratings of the
historical significance of events outliers will likely
be averaged out (this is partially why groups will
be assigned many random events, but not all the
events that will be presented to the class: to help
average out outliers). This means that some
narrative emerges from the collective work
pursued by all. This relates, in many ways, to how
18

history is collected, verified, analyzed and weighted

by professional historians.
10. Students will be asked to give a short written reflection on
both why they believed the data shifted or stayed the same
and what the purpose of this exercise was meant to convey.
A final culminating reflection that helps the teacher
understand what the students gained or learned
from the process. What is being gathered from this
activity has profound implications on how students
understand the historical method itself.
Students will be evaluated on the following:
Components:
50% - Group chart and event-rating justifications
25% - Critique of another groups chart
15% - Justification of adjustments made or for maintaining
chart
10% - Reflection on assignment
Each component is weighted differently depending
on the amount of work and thought that must go
into each stage (it would be misguided to weight
them equally). This is my own subjective breakdown
of how much each section should be worth for the
overall mark on the assignment.
Criteria (each of the components will be individual graded by:
Accuracy i.e. Are the events placed in the correct
historical sequence? Do the ratings make plausible sense?
Is the evidence provided for justification correct or
accurate?
Demonstration of understanding i.e. Are the justifications
for the ratings generally fair and well considered? Is strong
and/or convincing evidence provided? Do students
demonstrate an understanding of the relationship of events
to one another?
Each of the components will be equally graded on
these two criteria. The purpose is not to find
absolute accuracy (as no such thing is possible in
history writing) but general accuracy i.e. I dont
want to see a student rate the British rejection of

19

the 92 Resolutions as a zero and the outbreak of the

Rebellions a seven when one event directly led to
the other. Basically, some sense needs to be made,
and it needs to backed-up with evidence and logical,
persuasive argumentation both within a group,
amongst a group and between groups.

Lesson #1: How did the province of Quebec Transform

politically at the end of the 18th Century
Progressions of Learning:
The idea of nationhood in Quebec today 1.0
Communication of liberal ideas 2.1
Political organization of the colony 2.2
Interests of social groups 2.3
Political and social tensions 2.4
Concepts of nationhood and debates on social issues in Quebec Today
3.0
Objectives (SWBAT)
Learn about the arrival of the Loyalists into the Province of
Quebec
Understand the social tensions that the arrival of the loyalists
created that led Great Britain to draft the Constitutional Act of
1791
That the Constitutional Act of 1791 divided Quebec into Upper
and Lower Canada
Launch of the first parliamentary system in Quebec and the
inherent problems with its design
Plan for Learning Activity(ies) or Task

Lecture (15-20 Minutes)

Think-Pair-Share Explain the impact of the arrival of the
Loyalists on Lower Canada? Students will be assigned different
groups: French Elite, French Middle-Class, French-Working Class,
English Merchants, Arriving Irish immigrants, British
Administration and the Loyalists themselves. (20 Minutes)
Workbook activities (20 Minutes) Answer questions as directed
by the QEPs assigned workbook.
Review workbook answers (10 Minutes)
Exit Questions (2 Minutes)

20

There is a great deal of material to cover in this unit, and

this particular lecture is perhaps the most information-heavy
lesson of all. This lesson sets the table for much of the
subsequent events that follow. Hence, it is important that
students have a firm understanding of this lesson before
moving forward. The purpose of the Think-Pair-Share activity
is to demonstrate the dynamics that adding an outside group
with particularly relationships with other groups had on
subsequent groups. The notion is to increase the variables and
dynamics of this time period hopefully as a means of
deemphasizing approaches that can lead to a deterministic
impression of history.
Lesson #2: What economic changes occurred in Lower Canada
at the beginning of the 19th century?
Progressions of Learning:
Interests of social groups 2.3
Political and social tensions 2.4
Objectives (SWBAT)
Understand the reasons for the decline of the fur trade and the
rise of timber trade
Understand how transportation and infrastructure were being
modernized and how Lower Canada was beginning to gradually
transforming itself from a rural backwoods into an increasingly
industrialized economy
That a small class of English Canadian financial bourgeoisie
made their fortunes on this shift
Plan for Learning Activity(ies) or Task

Lecture (20 Minutes)

Logging Activity (20 Minutes) Students (in groups) have to
devise and articulate each step in bringing logs from the Lower
Canadian boreal forest to market in the United Kingdom before
the use of railways, steam power, developed transportation
infrastructure (roads & bridges, etc.), electricity or combustion
engines.
Workbook activities (20 Minutes)
Review Workbook answers

21

There are less details and dynamics to understanding the

economy of this period essentially timber rises as the fur
trade declines but the emphasis in this lesson should be on
the fact that the economy is playing an increasingly overt role
in determining the politics and quality of life of this era. The
purpose of the logging activity is to place the students in the
position of understanding the hardships and consequences of
laboring and trading in a preindustrial society and, in turn,
better understand what the advent of industrialization and
modernism meant to society.
Lesson #3: Why did rebellions break out in Lower Canada?
Progressions of Learning:
The idea of nationhood in Quebec today 1.0
Communication of liberal ideas 2.1
Political organization of the colony 2.2
Interests of social groups 2.3
Political and social tensions 2.4
Concepts of nationhood and debates on social issues in Quebec Today
3.0
Objectives (SWBAT)
Understand the political and social tensions which led to the
Rebellions
Understand the use of the press, and the growing middle class
which formed the receptive basis, for the spread of liberal ideas
and ideals
Understand the rise of nationalism throughout the western world
Understand the reasons for the Patriotes submitting the 92
Resolutions, and the reasons why the British rejected it.
Understand why rebellions broke out in Upper and Lower Canada
as a result and why they were more fiercely fought in Lower
Canada
Plan for Learning Activity(ies) or Task

Lecture (25 Minutes)

Mind-Map Activity (20 Minutes) In groups students will
associate liberal ideals and the social tensions of the era with
particular individuals or groups. After students have done a
certain amount of work, they will hand off to another group who
will add information that the first group has forgotten and hand it
back to that group.

22

Workbook activity (15 Minutes)

Exit Question Is there anything that is not understood about the
reasons and events that led to the rebellion?

Understanding why the Rebellions happened requires also

understanding not just the political and economic dynamics of
the era but also the thoughts and ideas that were becoming
increasingly common (particularly amongst the small but
rapidly growing French and English middle-classes). Would the
Rebellions have happened in an era say, just some hundred
years previous - where many fairly powerful people did not
believe they had an inalienable right to freedom of speech,
assembly and representation? These ideas essentially, the
mainstreaming of enlightenment ideas and values are crucial
to this era, and any understanding of this era is certainly
incomplete without understanding their significance. Hence,
the mind-map is intended, as much as possible, to draw
parallels between these ideas and the people who embodied
and carried them out. The exit question is intended to ensure
there are few misunderstandings about these questions
heading into subsequent lessons. Curiously, the workbook
leaves out much of the prevailing values and impressions of
the French during this period (especially strange since the
workbook was written and published with the approval of
Quebecois historians and educators), pointing to the fact that
teachers are severely undermining the depth and breadth of
their teaching if they teach from the supplied workbook alone.
Sources such as Michel Ducharmes Interpreting The Past,
Shaping the Present, and Envisioning The Future:
Remembering the Conquest in Nineteenth-Century Quebec
(2012) are an invaluable source for bringing a more
sophisticated and nuanced impression into the classroom
especially considering the often heavy handed, pat and
simplistic ways things are often communicated in the
curriculums workbook.
Lesson #4: What were the results of the rebellions in the two
Canadas?
Progressions of Learning:
The idea of nationhood in Quebec today 1.0
Communication of liberal ideas 2.1
Political organization of the colony 2.2
Interests of social groups 2.3
23

Political and social tensions 2.4

Concepts of nationhood and debates on social issues in Quebec Today
3.0
Objectives (SWBAT)
Understand why the Durham Report was written and why the
British accepted one key recommendation while ignoring another
key recommendation.
Understand why the British decided to join Upper and Lower
Canada into the Province of Canada with the Act of Union 1840
Understand the reasons why the Reform Party was founded, on
which basis and why the British presumed it would not happen
(or work).
Understand The rise of free trade in British policy
Understand why the British were suddenly willing to grant the
Province of Canada Ministerial Responsibility.
Plan for Learning Activity(ies) or Task

Answer Exit Questions and Review Answers from Last Class (1020 Minutes)
Lecture (10-20 Minutes)
Contingency Activity (Rest of Class) - Students will create a
timeline of events as they happened but try to imagine ways and
means by which history could readily have headed in a different
direction.
Inform that there will be a very short quiz next class.

The previous lesson did not allow for enough time to

address and wrap up all the material from the previous lesson,
hence some material will run into this lesson. Hopefully, by
now, students will have a fairly firm understanding of the
major political, economic and ascendant philosophical
dynamics and ideas from this era. The purpose now, in the
Contingency Activity, is to demonstrate this through playing
with the historical events and dynamics of the era. The
students will be asked to imagine the ways in which history
could have readily headed in a different direction. What if the
emerging middle-classes did not believe they were entitled to
proper representation? How would this era look then? These
are the types of questions that I hope students will begin to
grapple with. Again, this is intended to make history seem less
deterministic and underline the fact that there are always
multiple potential outcomes to events. It is also intended to
question the sort of presumption of truth that derives from the
24

authority that comes from reading history in a linear,

sequential, state-approved text. As Osborne (2008) states:
Overwhelmingly, the story of nation-building was
presented precisely as story, with all the authority of
narrative. The impression was created that, not only was
this the way things happened, but also that they could
have happened in no other way. Despite the urging of a
few pedagogical innovators, no scope was allowed for
historiography or interpretation. History was the story of
what happened, plain and simple. From a student's
viewpoint, one could not do much with a story, or at least
not with stories as presented in textbooks, except to
learn them and to learn from them, for the stories often
carried a moral message. Even at their best, however,
textbook narratives were not designed to be questioned.
They were intended to entertain, to excite, and above all,
to instruct. Their very form reinforced the perception
that history was a body of information to be learned, a
perception that was confirmed by the reduction of
political education to the memorization of civics. By and
large history was something before which a student
stood powerless.
While I believe the culminating activity does a better job than
even this activity in battling against the aforementioned
dynamics and tendencies, the purpose of the Contingency
Activity is to introduce and engender a quality in students
whereby they engage with history in its rich dynamics, engage
with the texts and other sources to build a historical schematic
in their heads, and to understanding the competing quality of
information that derives from separate sources with their own
interests and perspectives. The idea is to pull apart history
and analyze its various strands and begin to grapple with the
epistemological qualities from which these strands ultimately
derive. Unless this is embraced, there is little purpose in
undermining master narratives through simple teacher-based
stand-and-deliver lessons because all that entails is students
shifting from one unquestioned authority (the text) to another
(the teacher).
Lesson #5: How was the Dominion of Canada formed?
Progressions of Learning:
The idea of nationhood in Quebec today 1.0
25

Communication of liberal ideas 2.1

Political organization of the colony 2.2
Interests of social groups 2.3
Political and social tensions 2.4
Concepts of nationhood and debates on social issues in Quebec Today
3.0
Objectives (SWBAT)
Understand the causes of the federal union: political, economic
and for security.
Understand the events that led up to confederation; the
dynamics of the Charlottetown and Quebec City conferences
Understand the reaction to the brewing project for confederation
Understand the signing of the British North America Act and what
it meant the establishment of an not-entirely sovereign
Canadian state
Plan for Learning Activity(ies) or Task

Short multiple choice quiz Ten Questions (10 Minutes)

Lecture (10-20 Minutes)
Workbook Activities (40 Minutes) From material covered last
lesson as well as this one.
Review Workbook Answers (10 Minutes)

The main purpose of the multiple choice quiz students

answering very basic and essential questions about issues and
events of this era is to mostly serve as a formative
assessment, as a means of understanding the general level of
understanding before heading into more complex and
sophisticated work. If there are certain trends (say, certain
questions that are tripping students up) then it indicates that
further instruction needs to be given before the next lesson
can be properly initiated. Given that the previous lesson was
dominated by the Contingency Activity, this class will
inevitably have to grapple with learning material from the
workbook to ensure that there is an adequate level of
coverage of material before beginning the weighty next
lesson. More than anything, it is imperative that the teacher
uses this class to ensure students are where they should be in
terms of understanding the course before commencing the
next lesson. The next lesson will be quite difficult (though
certainly not impossible) for students unless they have a
decent understanding of the course material to date.

26

Lesson #6: Exploring Historical Significance in the History of

Lower Canada
Progressions of Learning:
Communication of liberal ideas 2.1
Political organization of the colony 2.2
Interests of social groups 2.3
Political and social tensions 2.4
Objectives (SWBAT)
(See Ideal Lesson Plan)
Plan for Learning Activity(ies) or Task

(See Ideal Lesson Plan)

See the Ideal Time Lesson Plan for a very detailed account of
this lesson.

27

MATL Learning Plan (Real Lesson Plan)

Title of
lesson
Subject:
Lesson #

Exploring Historical
Significance in the History
of Lower Canada
Secondary Cycle Three
Canadian Hist.
14

Grade
level

Time
frame

One Class 75 Minutes

Learning activities:
A. Hook (20 Minutes)
Ask students to recall their strongest, or one of
their strongest, childhood memories. Have them
write it down.
Ask them to answer the following questions: How
old were you? Where were you and what were
you doing (i.e. the context surrounding the
memory)? Why do you believe this memory
particularly sticks out in your mind?
Ask students if anyone wants to share their
memories. After hearing a memory, the teacher
asks follow up questions that heighten the sense
of why some memories are remembered while
others are entirely forgotten. The teacher asks
questions such as: what did you have for dinner
the night before your memory happened?;
what was the weather like the weekend after the
memory?; when was the next time you saw
your grandparents after the memory happened?
etc. etc.
More likely than not a pattern will emerge. The
memories are retained because they have some
lasting significance: they either had some
substantive impact on the individuals life or the
reveal something interesting to the individual
about themselves or their lives. History, the
teacher will mention, works in much the same
way.
B. Introduce The Concept of Historical Significance
(20 Minutes)

28

Relevance:
Students connect that the way
memories are constructed through
significance and narrative is very
similar to how history is constructed.
Many parallels will be illustrated.
Essential Question(s):
What is historical significance? What is
historically revealing? How do they
differ from each other?
Student will know:
The historical background and context
of the events of this time period, from
which they will begin to construct
significance from and begin to
understand history in ways that are no
deterministic.
Students will understand that:
Historical significance is contingent on
the subjective appraisal of the impact
of events that happened as a
consequence of a particular event
taking place.
Cross Curricular Competencies:
Competency 1: Uses Information
Competency 3: Exercises Critical
Judgment
Broad Areas of Learning:
Citizenship and Community Life knowledge of local and international
conflicts.
Universal Design for Learning:
Multiple means of representation,

Slides are presented to demonstrate the

difference between that which is historically
revealing and that which is historically significant.
An example of historical significance would be
something that significantly alters the course of
history, that because this one event happened,
many other significant subsequent events took
place that things are different forevermore
because this event took place. Examples to be
used: Hitler invading Poland; Cartiers exploration
of the New World (though make the point that it
could very well be argued that if Cartier hadnt
explored Canada first than someone else simply
would have); Gunter Schabowski, an otherwise
not particularly notable high ranking apparatchik
in the GDR, tells Berlin Wall guards not to fire
upon people attempting to cross border
precipitating the fall of the Berlin Wall and the
reunification of Germany; Alexander Fleming
discovers Penicillin.
The point to be made is that the size of the
gesture that creates a historical event is not what
is being measured or what is particularly
important: Alexander Fleming worked in a lab
mostly by himself and ended up discovering a
medicine that has had a direct impact on
hundreds of millions of lives. Schabowski knew he
was diverting away from historical precedent but
was very unlikely to be aware that he was
unleashing a powerful chain of events. Hitler
deciding to invade Poland, however, involved a
massive mobilization of soldiers and war
machinery though by all accounts it was his
decision alone as to when or if it was to take
place. These events are not equally historically
significant, but what it demonstrates is that
differing levels of intent and foresight do not
indicate historical significance: instead, the
impact these decisions, actions and events have
during and after they occur tells you far more
about their historical significance than anything
that could be understood in the present of when
these things occurred.
Next, the concept of that which is historically
revealing or noteworthy is introduced. Whereas
historical significance is determined by the fallout
of the event, that which is historically revealing
may tell you much about the circumstances or
the zeitgeist surrounding an event or time period
but the extent to which they had an impact on
subsequent events could be considered limited.
To make my point a perhaps somewhat shocking
example will be used: the assassination of Martin
Luther King Jr. This is a highly noteworthy
(because MLK was a very noteworthy historical

29

expression and engagement.

Further considerations:

FORMATIVE - Assessment FOR

learning:
Discussion during hook, questions and
inquiries during introduction of the
concept of historical significance and
circulating and seeing how students a
beginning the assignment.
FORMATIVE - Assessment AS
learning:

SUMMATIVE - Assessment OF
learning:
Students will eventually hand in the
Historical Significance Timeline for
marks. They will be graded on their
understanding and their general
accuracy.

figure, especially for symbolic reasons) and

revealing (about the nature of American racism,
race relations in the 1960s, the turmoil of the
summer of 1968 throughout the west, and so on)
but, aside from some ensuing riots which left a
number of people dead, the event did not
significantly alter the course of history, nor were
there subsequent significant events (aside from
aforementioned riots) that happened as a result
of the assassination. Other examples to be used:
Khrushchev bangs his shoe on the desk at the UN
(demonstrating Khruschchev, and the Soviet
Unions, unwillingness to allow the west to
dominate the UN agenda and bend it to their
will); Princess Diana marries Prince Charles and
Pierre Trudeau becomes friends with Fidel Castro
(demonstrating Canadas willingness to establish
their own foreign policy that differs from that of
the United States).
C. Instructions for the Historical Significance
Timeline (10 Minutes)
Get the students to sort the events provided to
them in chronological order
Have the students rate, on a scale of 0-5, the
historical significance of each event
Have the students create a Cartesian Plain (an X
Y graph) with Time on the X axis and
Significance on the Y axis
Ask them to write at least 4 sentences on why
they picked a certain event as the most
historically significant
Ask them to write at least 2 sentences on why
you picked a certain event as the least
historically significant
Give a demonstration of what the assignment is
supposed to look like using well-known events
leading up to and during World War II. Use two of
these events to demonstrate how to answer the
most and least significant events questions.
Provide students with the events that they are to
rate, which are the following: Louis-Joseph
Papineau becomes leader of the Parti Canadien;
The Quebec Act; Samuel de Champlain explores;
The Battle of the Plains of Abraham; Fur falls out
of fashion in Europe; Great Britain denies the 92
Resolutions; John Molson founds Molson Brewery;
Large waves of new Irish settlers begin arriving in
Lower Canada.
D. Work on Activity (20 Minutes)

Have students begin the process of composing

30

their Historical Significance Timeline. They will be

provided with time to finish their assignment in
subsequent classes.
E. Review Quiz Results (5 Minutes)

Results will be contextualized, quizzes will be

handed back.

MATL Learning Plan (Ideal Lesson Plan)

Title of

Exploring Historical

31

Grade

lesson
Subject:
Lesson #

Significance in the
History of Lower
Canada
Secondary Cycle
Three Canadian
Hist.
6

level
Time
frame

One Class 75 Minutes

Learning activities:
E. Hook (30 Minutes)
Ask students to recall at least three of
their strongest, or one of their strongest,
childhood memories. Have them write
them down.
Having students do three instead of
just one allows for students to see
the pattern of significance in their
own memories play out more
substantively. The point of this
exercise was generally understood
when multiple stories were
presented to the class in the real
lesson plan, but it also seemed like
the purpose of this exercise to the
students was to give the most
interesting or entertaining stories
(something I anticipated but
perhaps ended up getting in the
way of the exercise). Having
students have to more deeply
reflect on their own experiences
and their own memories would
likely heighten their understanding
of how this later relates to
historiography.
Ask them to answer the following
questions: How old were you? Where
were you and what were you doing (i.e.
the context surrounding the memory)?
What did you have for dinner last
Tuesday? Why do you believe this
memory particularly sticks out in your
mind? Do you notice any patterns or
similarities between your memories?
Why do you think we remember certain
things and forget other things?
I get the sense that students were
somewhat confused as to why I
wanted them to retrieve some of
this information and write it down
when I asked them to during the
ideal lesson plan. Ive therefore

32

Relevance:
Students connect that the way memories are
constructed through significance and narrativ
is very similar to how history is constructed.
Many parallels will be illustrated.
As mentioned in the unit plan, some of
these notions will seem very familiar, even
banal or commonplace to students the
important thing is to really emphasize the
extent to which this has suggestions far
beyond that envisioned by cursory
notions, that this has profound
philosophical, epistemological and
historiographical implications. Hopefully
the skilful communication of the teacher
and the basis of the culminating activity
will provide launching points for students
coming to realize this for themselves
instead of simply being told by the
teacher.
Essential Question(s):
What is historical significance? What is
historically revealing? How do they differ from
each other?

Students, by this lesson, will have already

learned that these events happened and
will have some understanding as to the
reasons why. The point of this lesson and
the culminating activity is to parse and
pull apart the sequential authority of the
knowledge they have gathered and to
question how this information, in a course
book or in notes, remains flat that each
event seems, more or less, as important o
profound as anything else written in the
course book. You cannot tell the
profundity or significance of an event by
how much is written about it in the course
book. That is the purpose of these
essential questions to infuse some
dynamism and engagement into the
material, to have students act increasingl
more as historians.
Student will know:

bulked up the questions Ive asked

and perhaps made it more clear
what the purpose of this hook is
before I spell it out for them. I also
want them to reflect on the nature
of memory before we reach class
discussion. During my real time
lesson plan I would not have had
the time to allow students to dwell
on these questions longer.
Ask students if anyone wants to share
their memories. After hearing a memory,
the teacher asks follow up questions
that heighten the sense of why some
memories are remembered while others
are entirely forgotten. The teacher asks
questions such as: what did you have
for dinner the night before your memory
happened?; what was the weather like
the weekend after the memory?; when
was the next time you saw your
grandparents after the memory
happened? etc. etc.
It was at this time that students,
during the real time lesson plan,
began to understand what I was
attempting to get at that I was
attempting to show what the
criteria is that allows your brain to
retain or ignore certain events.
However, since time was already
running fast I could only do this in a
small handful of cases. It would
have been nice to give more
students attention in this regard.
Some students also, perhaps
characteristically of certain
fourteen year olds, claimed they
could remember more than I
suspect that they could that they
were essentially making things up.
It would have been fun (if not
funny) to challenge these students
a little further ask them things
that everyone knows it would be
impossible to remember. Again, due
to a lack of time I did not pursue
this issue further. In my ideal lesson
plan I would.
More likely than not a pattern will
emerge. The memories are retained
because they have some lasting
significance: they either had some
substantive impact on the individuals

33

The historical background and context of the

events of this time period, from which they will
begin to construct significance from and begin
to understand history in ways that are not
deterministic.
Much of this background knowledge will
be understood from past lessons, howeve
in this lesson students will still have to
engage with, and add to, what they
already know. It will be impossible to do
this activity based on prior knowledge
alone, this is by design.
Students will understand that:
Historical significance is determined by the
subjective appraisal of the impact of events tha
happened as a consequence of a particular
event taking place.
This is what students would hopefully tak
from this lesson: a thorough
understanding of the difference between
historical significance and that which is
historically revealing not simply because
they have been taught from above but
because they have engaged with the
material and gleaned this understanding
themselves.
Cross Curricular Competencies:
Competency 1: Uses Information
Students will be required to engage with
not only the course book readings and
their class notes but will also have to
research material for themselves using a
variety of sources. They will have to
evaluate the veracity and authority of the
claims being made by sources. They will
base their judgments and appraisals of
historical significance on their utilizing
evidence from information gathered.
Competency 3: Exercises Critical Judgment
The students that best deploy and base
their arguments upon the information the
have gathered will likely form the most
persuasive arguments. Students will be
required to deeply engage in critical
reflection and judgment on multiple
occasions (when students first have to
evaluate the historical significance of
events, when they critique another group
when they have to receive and adjust thei
evaluations in light of another groups
critique, and finally when they are asked
to reflect upon the entire activity and its
purpose).
Competency 8: Works with others
Students will be engaging in continuous

life or the reveal something interesting

to the individual about themselves or
their lives. History, the teacher will
mention, works in much the same way.
A pattern did emerge when I
performed this and it did work
reasonably well. However, if I was
permitted to allow students more
time to construct this hook on their
own, as my ideal time lesson
allows, then it might make a more
profound point through their own
revelation instead of me having to
tell them what I want them to
understand.
F. Introduce The Concept of Historical
Significance (40 Minutes)
Students will be asked to write down any
five historical events they wish.
Having students provide their own
examples that will be used to
determine what historical
significance and historically
revealing are allows them to take
some form of ownership (or at least
connection) of the lesson. It can
also be a means of the teacher
understanding what students are
thinking, how their thought process
is playing out etc.
The teacher will solicit examples from
students; perhaps making note of events
that most fit the pattern that the teacher
is attempting to establish.
Due to time constraints in my real
time lesson plan I simply provided
quick examples as to move things
along at a fast enough pace.
Unfortunately the examples I used
may not have been the best for
instance, if youre fourteen and
dont even know that there was
ever a Berlin Wall that fell (which
many in my class had no knowledge
or understanding of), then what is
the profundity in knowing it
happened through a bureaucratic
decision made by an unknown
apparatchik? This demonstrates the
use of having students solicit their
own examples - you can have
students the significance or
revealing quality of events as they
know them, not as the teacher

34

group work during the culminating

assignment. It will require strategizing
their work process (if they are to do
everything together or each focus on
separate parts), managing conflicts in
different understandings that may arise,
as well as engaging with the work of
others and offering suggestions and
evaluations based upon their use of
evidence.
Broad Areas of Learning:
Citizenship and Community Life - knowledge of
local and international conflicts.
Universal Design for Learning:
Multiple means of representation, expression
and engagement.
Students will have opportunities to
communicate orally with the class (in the
hook, in the demonstration of the concept
of historical significance, and finally in the
instructions for the culminating activity)
as well as with each other (especially in
the group work whereby consensus needs
to be obtained in appraising historical
significance) and with each other (in
groups and, later, between groups).
Students will be able to express their
understanding with the class, amongst
themselves, and finally to the teacher.
There is no proper way to justify ones
answers, no authoritative source that
students can rely on. Instead, they will be
called upon to justify why the believe a
source is authoritative. There is no
objective in this assignment, instead it is
based upon the aggregation of subjective
judgments.
Further considerations:

FORMATIVE - Assessment FOR learning:

Discussion during hook, questions and inquiries
during introduction of the concept of historical
significance and circulating and guiding the
students as they are doing the assignment.
Luckily, this culminating activity provides
ample time for students to work on their
own in groups. Hopefully this would allow
the teacher to float and provide
assistance.
FORMATIVE - Assessment AS learning:
Students will receive feedback from the teache
after they hand in the initial group chart prior t

knows them. It also fosters more

student engagement and
involvement whereas during my
real time lesson plan this was
essentially just teacher stand-anddeliver.
After a dozen or so examples are
gathered (and, optimally, written down
for everyone to see), the teacher will ask
the class why a certain event was
important. The teacher will attempt to
compel answers that reveal that
something is important if it has a
significant impact on subsequent
events, if it impacted many people, or if
it tells us something about the era (how
people lived, what their values were, the
conditions and structures of the era,
etc.).
Again, the point is to allow students
to make as many connections as
possible with as minimal teacher
intervention or guidance as
possible. This permits students to
take more ownership over the
learning process. However, the
teacher still may be necessary to
guide the lesson in the right
direction, have students question
their certainties, have students
justify their answers, bring forth
the inherent questions and
contradictions, etc.
The point to be made is that the size of
the gesture that creates a historical
event is not what is being measured or
what is particularly important. These
events are not equally historically
significant, but what it demonstrates is
that differing levels of intent and
foresight do not indicate historical
significance: instead, the impact these
decisions, actions and events have
during and after they occur tells you far
more about their historical significance
than anything that could be understood
in the present of when these things
occurred. Historical significance will then
be understood as that which changes
the course of history.
This directly relates to the SubjectSpecific Competency One: Examines
Social Phenomena from a Historical
Perspective. Students are
beginning to be asked to not just

35

the critique stage. Students will also provide an

receive feedback during the critique stage of th
activity.
Importantly, this assignment allows
students to be their own sources of
feedback. Their working together will
hopefully allow the teacher to back away
from the learning process and allow
students to take more responsibility and
perhaps allow for more engagement and
enthusiasm on behalf of the students. A
large part of the point of this exercise is t
let the students take command of things,
to have them have to piece things
together for themselves, to not simply
look for a teacher to provide them with al
the answers.

SUMMATIVE - Assessment OF learning:

Students will eventually hand in the Cooperativ
Historical Significance Chart for marks. They wi
be graded on their understanding and their
general accuracy.

Components:
50% - Group chart and eventrating justifications
25% - Critique of another groups
chart
15% - Justification of adjustment
made or for maintaining chart
10% - Reflection on assignment
Each component is weighted differently
depending on the amount of work and
thought that must go into each stage (it
would be misguided to weight them
equally). This is my own subjective
breakdown of how much each section
should be worth for the overall mark on
the assignment.

Criteria (each of the components will be

individual graded by):
Accuracy i.e. Are the events
placed in the correct historical
sequence? Do the ratings make
plausible sense? Is the evidence
provided for justification correct
accurate?
Demonstration of understanding
i.e. Are the justifications for the
ratings generally fair and well

learn about but rather consider

historical phenomena and its
relation to other events in history,
or the course of history as
necessarily understood in the form
of narrative.
Next, the concept of that which is
historically revealing or noteworthy is
differentiated from that which is
historically significant. Whereas
historical significance is determined by
the fallout of the event, that which is
historically revealing may tell you much
about the circumstances or the zeitgeist
surrounding an event or time period but
the extent to which they had an impact
on subsequent events could be
considered limited. To make my point I
will use examples as supplied by the
students previously (certainly it would
be wise for the teacher to write down
and make note of certain events that
can be used later to demonstrate that
which is historically revealing as
opposed to historically significant it
should be very likely for students to
have provided one. If not, the teacher
can readily supply one.)
Once again, the purpose is for
students to create their own
eureka! moments instead of
having the answers supplied to
them before they have had a
chance to consider the question.
When I did a more limited version
of this explanation in my real time
lesson plan the students made note
of what I am saying as though I was
commanding them from atop Mount
Olympus. The purpose is not for me
to tell students that things are
historically significant because
other more authoritative people say
so, but rather for them to discover
for themselves almost
solipsistically, within their own
means of self-justification and selfsatisfaction that certain events
are more significant than others,
that certain events are more
revealing than significant, and so
on.

G. Instructions for the

Collaborative
36

considered? Is strong and/or

convincing evidence provided? D
students demonstrate an
understanding of the relationship
of events to one another?
Each of the components will be equally
graded on these two criteria. The purpose
is not to find absolute accuracy (as no
such thing is possible in history writing)
but general accuracy i.e. I dont want t
see a student rate the British rejection of
the 92 Resolutions as a zero and the
outbreak of the Rebellions a seven when
one event directly led to the other.
Basically, some sense needs to be made,
and it needs to backed up with evidence
and logical, persuasive argumentation
both within a group, amongst a group and
between groups.

Historical Significance Chart (One

Hour)
Students will be placed in groups of two
to four. (5-10 Minutes)
Given that this is an ideal lesson
plan one that presumes I have all
the time in the world for
assessment and marking I am not
placing students in groups to
shorten my workload. Instead the
students are in groups because this
activity is precisely about the
process of having to understand
enough material to justify ones
analysis, consider other peoples
analysis, defer or make a case for
ones position in relation to another
persons. In this activity there are
multiple instances, and in multiple
means, students will have to
engage with the historical method
and consider and reconsider their
positions. As a result of this,
students will squarely be
addressing Cross Curricular
Competencies One (Uses
Information), Three (Exercises
Critical Judgement) and Eight
(Cooperates with Others). They will
also be directly engaging with the
Subject-Specific Competencies One
(Examines Social Phenomena from
a Historical Perspective) and Two
(Interprets social phenomena using
the historical method).
Students will be given a randomized
series of historical events from the time
period in Lower Canada. Not all groups
will receive the same events; however,
there will be significant overlap.
Examples of events include: The
Constitutional Act of 1791; the founding
of Molson Brewery; editorials made in
the Montreal Gazette; the British
rejecting the 92 Resolutions; the shift in
the economy from Fur to Timber; waves
of Irish immigration; the birth of LouisJoseph Papineau; the publication of Lord
Durhams Report; and so on. (5 Minutes)
The purpose of the events being
randomized and for all groups not
to receive all events is for a number
of reasons: a) that groups will have
to attempt to place the events in
their correct chronological

37

sequence (which will be reviewed

by other groups during the critique
stage of the activity) b) during the
critique stage of the activity
students will see events in other
groups that they were not assigned
meaning that they will have to do
their own research once again to
appraise the events and to judge
whether the other group was
correct or not in their evaluations
of the historical significance of
events c) having a wide distribution
of events amongst groups not just
within this class but hopefully
multiple classes (either
concurrently or in the past) will
provide interesting data once the
teacher collects and processes it
all. If all groups received the same
events uniformly then one could
expect more uniform results.
Randomization means groups will
more likely have to supply their
own means of justification (instead
of maybe consulting with
neighbouring groups before the
activity has even reached the
critique stage).
Students will have to first discover and
place the events in the correct
chronological sequence. The large
majority of events will be able to be
discovered in their workbooks or class
notes. However, each group will have
between two and four events that they
will have to research on their own (via
the use of library, electronic and human
resources) to discover the significance of
the event. (70-140 Minutes)
Instead of using the course book as
the first, only and final authority,
students will necessarily have to
compare their appraisal of events
with other sources appraisal of
events. Using outside sources will
require either or both library or
computer lab time. Students will
also engage with the Media
Literacy Broad Area of Learning if
they are to gauge the veracity and
legitimacy of the sources they are
using. Given that it is 2015, it is
likely most of these resources will
be procured electronically. There

38

will be a sufficient number of

events provided that students may
wish to divide the work up amongst
themselves, which plays directly
into [plan] and [carry] out work
with others subsection of
Competency Eight: Cooperates with
others.
Students will appraise each event on a
scale of zero to seven (zero being
entirely historically insignificant, seven
being of direct importance to nearly
every person in relative proximity during
and/or after the event). Importantly,
they will have to justify their appraisal. If
an event registers only a one on their
scale, the students will have to describe
why they believe the event is of little
particular importance. If an event
registers a six the students will have to
detail what happened subsequently that
made the event so profound. Students
will require cooperation, coordination,
debate and consensus building to agree
on a finalized rating and justification for
each event. (70 140 Minutes)
In the greatly shortened version of
this activity I did for my real time
lesson plan I let students rate
events on a scale of zero to five. I
feel that this limited things too
much, that too many events were
rated a three or four that should
probably have had more of a
spread between then, and that
seven would be a more appropriate
number to use than five. Due to
time constraints I also had students
simply explain to me (in four and
two sentences respectively) what
they thought was the most and
least significant events they were
assigned. This made the
assignment easier but far less
satisfying for the teacher and
certainly less profound for the
student. Students were not given
enough time (or desired to invest
their available time) in properly
researching their answers so they
could provide a full explanation and
justification for their ratings of
historical significance. In the ideal
lesson plan students will have no
other recourse. Each and every

39

appraisal of the historical

significance of an event will have to
be justified, and justified well. This
section has high pertinence to
Cross Curricular Competency One
(Uses Information) and Three
(Exercises Critical Judgement) and
maybe even a bit of Two (Solves
Problems) as well as SubjectSpecific Competency One (Examines
social phenomena from a historical
perspective) and Two (Interprets
social phenomena using the
historical method).
Students will then chart their results on
a Cartesian plain. The X-axis will
represent chronological time, the Y-axis
will register their zero-to-seven rating of
the event based on historical
significance. Students will hand in their
charts, along with their explanation and
justification of their rating of each event
to the teacher.
This stage allows students to
visually represent what they have
gathered, to see what it looks like
and then maybe to allow for
modifications if something seems
out of place.
The teacher will give a preliminary
evaluation of each groups project. The
data from the charts will be collected
and gathered. The teacher then will take
the charts, standardize how the chart
will look, remove any information that
will indicate who created the chart, and
distribute the charts to another group.
Each group will then have a chart that is
not their own.
Importantly, when students hand in
their charts and justifications to the
teacher it provides an opportunity
for formative assessment to let
the teacher see if the groups are on
the right track, if there are
confusions or further guidance or
insights that can or should be
provided. Also, this allows the
teacher to register the data from all
the charts to see how substantially
things change individually within
a group and amongst the class(es) after the critique stage. The
purpose in removing any
identifying information is so a

40

group is unaware of which other

groups chart and justifications
they have (only the teacher will
know who has which chart) as to
best remove any sort of bias for
instance, if they know they
received a chart from either known
smart or struggling students
they may be more or less inclined
to offer critiques.
The group will then critique another
groups chart. Is there an event that the
members of a group feels is rated
incorrectly? The students will then
justify, through research and
argumentation, why they hold their view.
If students agree with another groups
rating of an event they will also have to
justify their agreement. It will require
further research to base a new
evaluation if students encounter an
event that they were not asked to
evaluate upon their initial assignment.
The students will hand in their critiques
to the teacher.
What this stage is meant to
simulate is peer review. What is
being developed is a community of
appraisal, whereby the most
persuasive or well-supported
arguments are more likely to win
out over ill-considered ones.
Students will have to re-evaluate
their assumptions and appraisals in
light of other peoples assumptions
and appraisals. The student may
wonder where did you get this
information? Why do you think it is
valid? At this stage they will also
receive events that they
themselves were not assigned
initially necessitating further
research by the group. Will their
sources of information confirm or
question another groups source of
information? How will students
establish which is most
authoritative? What does
authoritative even entail? All
questions that students will
undoubtedly be confronted with
fairly naturally if they follow their
initial instructions correctly.
The teacher will then return the charts
to their initial creators along with the

41

critique they received from another

group. At this point the group can either
alter their rating of the historical
significance of an event based upon the
critique they received. To do so will
require a reflection on how the critique
altered their perspective. If they desire
to maintain their initial rating, the group
will have to provide a further
justification in light of the critique being
put forth. The group will then hand in
their assignment to the teacher for final
evaluation.
The purpose of another reflection is
that it requires groups to engage
with the critique provided by
another group. They cannot just
change their appraisal of the
historical significance of an event,
or opt to keep it the same, simply
because it is easier to or because a
group has made a slightly
persuasive argument. Instead, the
groups have to re-evaluate, and
communicate their process of reevaluation to the teacher. This is, of
course, more material to use for
summative evaluation.
The teacher will gather and collate the
data received following the critique and
reaction to the critique. The teacher will
then present to the class the class
average given to each rating prior to the
critique and the class average given to
each rating prior to the critique.
Whether there is a significant shift or not
in the ratings will tell an interesting
story about how history is constructed regardless of the result. If there is
multiple classes (either simultaneously
or in past years) they can be compared
and contrasted; averages can be
discovered. If there are particularly
substantive differences in particular
ratings the teacher can explicate the
rationale given for why this is so. The
very fact that the data will likely
move around will emphasize how
history is subjectively constructed.
At the same time, it is unlikely that
there will be huge variations of the
ratings of the historical significance
of events outliers will likely be
averaged out (this is partially why
groups will be assigned many

42

random events, but not all the

events that will be presented to the
class: to help average out
outliers). This means that some
narrative emerges from the
collective work pursued by all. This
relates, in many ways, to how
history is collected, verified,
analyzed and weighted by
professional historians.
Students will be asked to give a short
written reflection on both why they
believed the data shifted or stayed the
same and what the purpose of this
exercise was meant to convey.
A final culminating reflection that
helps the teacher understand what
the students gained or learned
from the process. What is being
gathered from this activity has
profound implications on how
students understand the historical
method itself.

43

Citations

Becker, C. (1932). Everyman His Own Historian. The Life of Reason

(68), 221-236.
Case, P., & Clark, R. (2008). Four Defining Purposes of Citizenship
Education. The
Anthology of Social Studies: Volume 2, Issues and Strategies for
Secondary
Teachers. Vancouver, BC: Pacific Educational Press, 25-31.
Denos, M. (2008). Portals to Understanding: Embedding Historical
Thinking in the
Curriculum. The Anthology of Social Studies (2), 97-106.
Ducharme, M. (2012). Interpreting the Past, Shaping the Present, and
Envisioning
the Future: Remembering The Conquest in Nineteenth Century
Quebec.
Remebering 1759: The Conquest of Canada in Historical Memory.
Toronto, ON:
University of Toronto Press, 136-160.
Morton, T., & Seixas, P. (2013). The Big Six: Historical Thinking
Concepts. Toronto,
ON: Nelson Education.
Novak, M. (2013). Writing from Left to Right. New York, NY: Image.
Osborne, K. (2008). The Teaching of History and Democratic
44

Citizenship. The
Anthology of Social Studies: Volume 2, Issues and Strategies for
Secondary
Teachers. Vancouver, BC: Pacific Educational Press, 3-14.

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