Queen's Own Rifles

The Queen's Own Rifles site contains great historical summaries of Canadian conflicts from a military perpective. In particular, the one that I have linked here is on the Northwest Rebellion

A bit annoying to navigate through by selecting "next" "next", but very readable and informative, and a good source of primary sources to use in class. Check it out.

With Wolfe in Canada

With Wolfe in Canada by G.A. Henty

I enjoy reading historical fiction, and in particular books by GA Henty. They are written awhile ago so the language and opinions are outdated, but that just makes it more interesting. This story follows a young man from Europe to America in the war against France for Canada. He ends up playing a pivotal role in the Battle on the Plains of Abraham. This obviously takes place before 1815 (the starting point for Socials 10) but provides good context. 

Of particular interest in this story is the use of the word "Canadian". Written from a British perspective, "Canadian" refers to the French/Metis fur traders and their First Nations allies. It talks from a pejorative British perspective about how the "Canadians" have taken on First Nations customs, and for example do not always follow European rules of war. So how to respond in kind? Ask the Iroquios to do it... Interesting.

Here is the amazon link:

WITH WOLFE IN CANADA: The Winning of a Continent

Postage Stamps 1870-1897

The stamps from my album pictured here (catalogue values of $16, $1, $3, $2, $2, $5, $16, $8) are part of a series (stamp numbers 34-45) that were issued between 1870 and 1897. There are also both 8cent and 10cent issues that I don't have. 


How boring are these stamps? Not only the same person, but the same image, for 27 years! Of course, this was standard practice for countries within the British Empire, but still... what happened to the Beaver stamp, and images of Jacques Cartier? Maybe because the French are now outnumbered (only one province out of several) and it is safer to use only British images? Whatever the reason, it doesn't make for interesting viewing (or collecting).

European History Review

Socials 10 starts in 1815, and there is some prior context that students should know in order to understand what was going in Canada by 1815. I always start with a map of Europe locating England, France, and Spain and then a quick review of European history. Students usually enjoy reviewing this stuff quickly and seeing how it all fits together. Here are my key points:

A. The British Monarchy

          King Henry 8th

          Queen Elizabeth 1st

                  Sir Francis Drake

                  Sir Walter Raleigh

B. Revolutions

          The English Revolution

                  King Charles vs. Oliver Cromwell

          The American Revolution

          The French Revolution

C. Colonialism

          Spain

               Christopher Columbus

          France

               Jacques Cartier

          England

               Sir Walter Raleigh

Britain Won:

     The Battle of Trafalgar

     The Battle of Waterloo

Here is a copy of my powerpoint lesson. Feel free to modify and use:
European History Review

American Imperialism

L'IMPÉRIALISME AMERICAIN

Encore un pas et...

Americans rebelled against the imperialism of Britain to become their own country: a bulwark of "freedom and democracy" against the old world of empire-building. Ever since that successful revolution, they have been accused of doing the same thing to others. In this cartoon, we see Uncle Sam (a caricature of the stereotypical American) stepping on the Philippines and Cuba on his way to Canada.

This is a great introduction to topics that ought to help tie together historical concepts. It should raise questions such as:
1) What other countries do the US control?
2) Is what America did the same as what Britain did in building the British Empire?
3) Is imperialism (empire-building) a good thing or a bad thing? (think hard before you answer, and consider the consequences)
4) Why didn't the US take over Canada?
etc.etc.

Many of the cartoons that I use in class were taken from this book by Charles Hou (former Socials 10 teacher in BC):

Great Canadian political cartoons, 1820 to 1914

First Postage Stamps After Confederation

The stamps pictured here (catalogue values of $169, $100, and $42) are part of a series (stamp numbers 21-33) that were issued between 1868 and 1875. The stamps have different values and colours but are all the same image. The new Dominion of Canada chose this bust of Queen Victoria as the symbol for its first postage stamps. This is normal - most countries pictured the current Head of State on both coins and postage stamps. It's just not quite as interesting as the beaver image used in 1851. Since Prince Albert passed away in 1861, it was no longer necessary to put his image on a stamp.

Unsolved Mysteries

Unsolved Mysteries

This site is very well done. I have never gone through any of the mysteries with a class, but I have explored some of the cases myself and they are interesting with well-developed activities attached. Many of them would fit into the Socials 10 curriculum (if you have the time to spare - which I am not sure that you would) But this would be a great enrichment activity, or just something different to try. If you do, let me know how it goes.

Boer War

(1900) JOHN BULL: Comme ces Canadiens se souviennent bien, comme ils sont reconnaissants de la tendresses que j'ai témoignée à leurs pères!

John Bull is a caricature of the stereotypical Englishman. As John Bull sends French troops to go and fight against rebels in South Africa (the Boer War), this cartoonist asks us to remember the patriots who were hanged after the Rebellions of 1837-1838. Why would French-Canadians want to go and fight for the oppressors oversees? 

Many of the cartoons that I use in class were taken from this book by Charles Hou (former Socials 10 teacher in BC):

Great Canadian political cartoons, 1820 to 1914

A Short History of Canada

A Short History of Canada: Sixth Edition

When you pick up this book, I am not sure that "short" will be the word that comes to mind. Desmond Morton tries to write a complete narrative of events from 1812 to the present. Interesting that he starts his "history of Canada" in the same year as the Socials 10 curriculum. I stopped reading at the half-way point when he gets to the depression, since I am more interested in the history up to 1915. It was a good refresher on Canadian history, and brought to light a few things for me that were missing from the textbook. Morton doesn't hesitate to throw in some analysis, and is fair and balanced in his approach.
However, a have a few criticisms of this book:
1) a bit too detailed on the politics that bogs down the reader, I found myself skimming these sections
2) a bit brief on the interesting stories (I know that there is a lot of ground to cover, but a few interesting asides would help)
3) often assumes previous knowledge when talking about something
I would recommend this book for someone who has a good knowledge of Canadian history and needs a refresher or wants to see if they are missing some interesting details. Maybe it has been 10 years since teaching Socials 10 and you get assigned a block. This would be a good read from a well-respected historian. 

Pocahontas

Pocahontas (Two-Disc 10th Anniversary Edition)

Amazing how much we can learn by studying a kid's cartoon. This movie is based the true story of John Smith's encounter with Pocahontas, but of course the story has been disneyfied to make it appropriate for kids and to convey a certain message. However, what message are kids getting by watching it? What themes does the movie promote? How does it interpret history?

I taught a few semesters of Humanities 9 and this was my favorite assignment that met criteria for English in terms of interpreting media and caricature and met criteria for Social Studies in terms of First Nations history in North America. It doesn't fit directly into the time period for Socials 10, but I like the assignment so much that I still include it at the beginning of the course. I use it as a) review b) examining stereotypes c) context for why North America was like it was by 1815. 

I have to admit that the most common confusion students have by the end of the course in term of Pocahontas is that story happened in Canada. No, it happened in the United States. How does it relate to Canadian history then? Well, it is the story of contact between the English (who later conquered Canada) and the First Nations people. Of course, part of the reason why the people of Virginia later rebelled against Britain to help form the United States was because they didn't agree with Britain's policy towards the First Nations people (the Royal Proclamation of 1763). 

Pocahontas (Two-Disc 10th Anniversary Edition)

Sandford Fleming

I associate Sandford Fleming's name as an inventor of standard time (the clock in Greenwich and the concept of "time zones"). I guess that is the first thing I learned about him in a picture book in grade school. When I started teaching Social Studies, I was reminded that Fleming was Canadian. In fact, he was a well-known surveyor for the railroad and eventually engineered much of the Canadian Pacific Railroad.
What recently peaked my interest in Samuel Fleming, however, was when I came across an interesting factoid. Apparently, it was Fleming that designed the image of the beaver on Canada's first postage stamp. I have already posted some thoughts about Canada's first stamp (and the first stamp to picture an animal), but I didn't know that it was designed by Sandford Fleming. I wonder if the image itself was his choice, or if he just designed it?

The "Myth" of 1812

Being 2012, the government of Canada is planning to spend 28 million dollars this year to commemorate the War of 1812. This article in the Globe and Mail explains the "myth" that the War of 1812 was somehow foundational to our Canadian national identity. The author explains that our current government is capitalizing on this "myth":

History is once again there for the taking in the Conservatives' eyes, a perfect confection of flag-waving patriotism, swaggering belligerence, old-fashioned loyalty and long-gun longings.

 I have to admit that this "myth" lines up pretty well with the summary of the War of 1812 that I provide in my Social Studies class. I typically explain how the War of 1812 shows how French, English, and First Nations could have something in common that brought them together to define our nation in its earliest form as "not-American".

So why does the article claim that this paradigm is a "myth"? Apparently, the role of the Canadian militia has been over-exaggerated. The War of 1812 was really just an after-shock from the American Revolution. Proof? No Canadians were even present during the peace-negotiations in Belgium. The article also reminds us that Canadians weren't even really Canadians yet. In 1812, the term "Canadian" referred to French-Canadians and their First Nations allies. The English people who lived in the region were either British army or simply immigrants from other lands.

Debunking a "myth" makes for a good headline, but I still prefer elements of the "myth". Why did the French-Canadians not join the Americans in rebelling against Britain? Why did many First Nations people fight alongside the British army in the War of 1812? Didn't America represent "freedom and democracy", the "rights of man" and freedom from tyranny? Not to those living in the north. The fact is that they preferred an alliance with the British crown over the republicanism of the United States. This DOES bind together our national history as being not necessarily "pro-Canadian" but definitely "not-American", and should be a source of national pride to be celebrated.

After all, if we are not to some small extent "anti-American" then for what purpose is our distinct identity? If we aren't better alone, then why not just join the United States? Of course, this leads to great discussion in Social Studies class: "so what makes us better than Americans today?"

I recommend reading this entire article, and sounds like there will be lots of interesting resources to look forward to this year on the War of 1812.

Forgotten Patriots

This book follows the lives of several people who were involved in the rebellions of 1837-1838. It gives a good summary of what happened in the rebellions and then focuses on the response of the government.
I had intended to only read the first few chapters, as I was more interested in the history of the rebellions than in Australia, however the stories captured my interest and I read on as the book followed the lives of convicts as they were sent to Australia and even as some managed to return.

I am not sure if there is any content that I will actually use in the classroom, although you could tell some interesting stories about what happened to some of the rebels. But this book is interesting enough that an interested high school student could read themselves as an interest-project. I usually give the option of doing a book review for extra credit, and this one would qualify.

Here is the amazon link for more information: Forgotten Patriots

Doukhobors

WELCOME TO THE DOUKHOBORS!

Jack Canuck - Welcome to happy homes in the freest land on earth, and may you all live long and prosper!

I like the details included in the background: "Adamzad the Suicide - Shedding his own best blood"

The history of Doukhobors in Canada is very intriguing, but perhaps a little off-topic for Socials 10. It is a chance to talk about an example of immigration from Eastern Europe in general or about the Russian Revolution that led to emigration of religious minorities from the area. It is interesting to note which immigrants Canada encouraged and why...

Of course, what students will usually fixate on with this cartoon is "Jack Canuck". They often only associate "Johnny Canuck" with the Vancouver Canucks hockey team, and don't realize it was based on a caricature of the stereotypical Canadian.

Many of the cartoons that I use in class were taken from this book by Charles Hou (former Socials 10 teacher in BC):

Great Canadian political cartoons, 1820 to 1914

Postage Stamps 1851-1867

Between 1851 and 1867, Canadian stamps just continued to alternate through four different images that I have previously posted about: The Beaver, Prince Albert, Queen Victoria, and Jacques Cartier. The only stamps that I have in my personal collection are #14,#15,#17(incorrectly labelled in picture), and #19 pictured above. The catalogue values of stamps in this condition are about $100, $40, $160,and $330 respectively, which means that you could realistically sell them for about 10% of that listed price
The real question is why was Canada making postage stamps at all before 1867... Isn't that when we became a country? Perhaps this is one more piece of evidence that our emergence as an independent country was (and still is?) a gradual process. When did our country really start anyways?
1534 - Jacques Cartier dubbed the region "canada"
1763 - Treaty of Paris after England gained possession of the region
1791 - Upper and Lower Canada formed as colonies
1812 - Canadians united in anti-American resolve
1840 - The Act of Union between Upper and Lower Canada
1851 - Canada issues its first postage stamp with an image of a beaver instead of the Queen
1867 - Confederation (Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia)
1871 - Canada added Rupert's Land and British Columbia (sea to sea)
1912 - Provincial borders become essentially what they are today
1980 - Pierre Trudeau repatriated constitution
2??? - Canada becomes a republic



1 - Beaver              (mint $62 094.25, used $1688.30)
2 - Prince Albert     (mint $66 175.60, used $2611.05)
3 - Queen Victoria   (mint $159 958.50, used $231 677.00)
4 - Beaver              (mint $2139.55, used $326.50)
5 - Prince Albert     (mint $36047.70, used $2149.70)
6 - Queen Victoria          n/c
7 - Jacques Cartier   (mint $13055.25, used $2661.75)
8 - Queen Victoria   (mint $1409.45, used $953.13)
9 - Queen Victoria   (mint $12421.50, used $4629.35)
10 - Prince Albert    (mint $26211.90, used $8365.50)
11 - Queen Victoria  (mint $5196.75, used $2626.75)
12 - Beaver             (mint $19189.09, used $1597.95)
13 - Prince Albert    (mint $31053.71, $10672.35)
14 - Queen Victoria  (mint $630.45, used $133.35)
15 - Beaver             (mint $775.20, used $53.50)
16 - Prince Albert    (mint $18970.50, used $8264.10)
17 - Prince Albert    (mint $1583.35, used $236.00)
18 - Queen Victoria  (mint $1315,65, used $220.55)
19 - Jacques Cartier  (mint $1869.60, used $332.35)
20 - Queen Victoria  (mint $1072.30, used $439.55)

Snapshots of 19th Century Canada

I really appreciate this series of resources called "critical challenges" and have used ideas from them in different courses. They come with very workable lesson plans, nicely laid out handouts, information sheets, marking sheets, etc.. Usually more than you need.

This book really has two big ideas.
1) Writing a journal entry/diary about a given event
2) A "report card" for English, French, Immigrants, and Natives
(starting in 1815 and progressing through nine selected events to 1915)

The journal entry/diary lesson gives great ideas on how to improve student-work and could really be used for any topic. Ideally you do it twice in the course so that students can try it, be assessed, and improve. I usually do a journal entry assignment around immigration and students choose (potato famine, underground railroad, loyalist) and then later in the course around gold rush and students choose (Fraser, Cariboo, Klondike).

The "report card" concept is something I work into my first unit "what was Canada like in 1815" and last unit "what was Canada like in 1915". However, I have never tried maintaining the concept throughout the course and making a big timeline. To be honest, while I like the nine events chosen in the book, there are only three of them that I usually teach about. I wish maybe that different events were chosen to make it more useful.

Anyhow, I highly recommend checking this one out for some good teaching ideas. Looks like they only sell a digital copy now on the critical challenges website.

Indian Wars

THE GREATEST NATION ON EARTH

We hold that life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are the inherent rights of every man! (?)

It takes a minute to make out what is happening in this drawing, but the guns are obvious. This is a political cartoon depicting the Indian Wars in the United States (think Dances with Wolves).

Clearly many Canadians held to a sense of moral superiority that we would be better than the Americans in our treatment of First Nations people. The Americans were killing, and we were negotiating in the British tradition. Of course, by negotiating dishonestly and creating conditions that led to starvation one could argue that Canadians had no right to claim the moral high ground. But I guess that is part of our National identity in Canada: "at least we are better than the Americans!"

It is ironic that the United States claims to be defenders of freedom and the rights of man when you look at events in their short history such as slavery and "Indian Wars". (perhaps some more current events as well?)

The cartoon also gives the opportunity to highlight the different slogans of our two countries as well.

The United States: "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness"

Canada: "Peace, Order, and Good Government"

This always leads to a good discussion about the difference between our two countries, and what defines us as Canadians. 

Many of the cartoons that I use in class were taken from this book by Charles Hou (former Socials 10 teacher in BC):

Great Canadian political cartoons, 1820 to 1914

I Have Lived Here Since the World Began

I Have Lived Here Since the World Began: An Illustrated History of Canada's Native People (Arthur J. Ray)

I was forced to buy this book for one of my university courses (Native-White Relations in Canada) and it was definitely under-appreciated at the time. It is a thick book that I didn't crack open until I started teaching Socials 10 and was looking for more interesting sources about First Nations people in Canada.

This book is essentially a textbook of Canadian history written from a First Nations perspective. It includes fascinating quotes and oral history accounts. In particular, I found the time period from 1500-1850 enlightening because I have little information from other sources. (Not to mention, the Socials 10 textbook talks about First Nations people in the Prairies and in BC, but nothing about the East - I guess that is assumed to be history prior to 1815?)

The book also covers more recent history such as the rebellions and residential schools. I have taken some of the quotes that the book provides at the beginning of each chapter, and use them as examples of primary resources: for discussion starters or written questions.

Disclaimer: the copy pictured above and listed on amazon now says that it is "revised and expanded" since the one I have. 

An Illustrated History of Canada's Native People: I Have Lived Here Since the World Began

Atlas of Canada

Ever get frustrated looking for good maps to draw on or label? Are you diving into the filing cabinet to find the master and hoping you kept one? Are you searching on google images for blank maps? Are you using out-of-date blackline masters from the textbook teachers guide?

These are all things I was doing when the geography unit came around until I started checking out the online Atlas provided on the government website. There are lots of cool things on the atlas, and I will do a separate post about "toporama", but for good outline maps you should click on "reference maps". You can print off an outline of Canada with lots of different options (such as with the rivers or without, or with the capitol cities or without, or even with longitude and latitude lines). I also use the outline map of BC when that unit comes along.

I no longer have to worry about my outline maps getting out of date or keeping master copies. I just follow the links and print 30 copies when I need them.

Casualties of National Policy

SIR JOHN: (les pieds sure les Métis et le drapeau français): Allons, messieurs les sauvages, Voue êtes rendus au bout de mon territoire. Vous allez sauter dans l'eau du Pacifique ou travailler avec le reste des colons. Choississez.

Looking at what happened to the Métis and First Nations people in the settlement of Canada is not simply an exercise in historical revisionism. Not simply putting our current values and expectations and sense of justice on people of the past and blowing things out of proportion. Obviously someone (at the very least the author of this cartoon) realized that some injustice was transpiring in 1885.

The people of Québec sympathized with the Métis, as people who shared a common language and religion. (religion was likely the stronger of the two binds) The cartoon seems to indicate that the Métis got a worse shake than First Nations. They were trampled on, while the First Nations were simply displaced. But then asks the question of how far they can continue to be displaced before they are also eliminated...

Looking at political cartoons is valuable exercise in class. It allows you to discuss
- caricature and stereotype (in this case, John A MacDonald's nose)
- inferencing (in this case, the French flag and CPR in background)
- political events (in this case, National Policy)
- authorship and bias (this one was published in Québec)
- what people were thinking at the time (some people realized injustice was occurring at some level)
- French review (I get to practice my French accent)
etc.

Many of the cartoons that I use in class were taken from this book by Charles Hou (former Socials 10 teacher in BC):

Great Canadian political cartoons, 1820 to 1914

Jacques Cartier

Continuing my series on Canadian postage stamps, the next image that Canada recognized (after the Beaver, Prince Albert, and Queen Victoria) was Jacques Cartier. Probably a good choice, since he was the one that named this region "Canada". This particular stamp pictured above has a catalogue value of $332.35.

The word "kanata" was the Iroquois word for "village", but Cartier believed it referred to the entire region and thus the name of our country was born. Of course, for awhile it was dubbed "New France" as Samuel de Champlain and others brought settlers from France. But the name "Canada" stuck once Britain gained sovereignty.

I find that most high school students know all about New France, but don't really understand why they learned about it or what it means. They have a paradigm of "Canada as an English country with a French problem in Quebec"that is not easily challenged.

However, from Jacques Cartier to the Plains of Abraham the region now called "Canada" was French. French-Canadiens are the original Canadians who named and defined the region.

Historica

The historica site features one-minute videos on Canadian history topics. Do not expect large (and more helpful) themes like "National Policy", but you will find interesting biographies and short summaries of events in our past. Of interest to Socials 10 content, you will find a one-minute video on topics such as:
- The Underground Railroad
- Louis Riel
- Laura Secord
etc.

If you click on the "education" link, there are "lesson plans" provided for various topics. I didn't find these too helpful (how much of a lesson can really be based on a one-minute video?) but they did give some ideas to explore.
I personally have used these videos when doing a lesson on Prairie settlement. It also provides some examples of women in our history that is lacking in the textbook. Search for your topic and you never know.. there may be a helpful one-minute video to add into your lesson!