Social Studies 9 April 9, 2018 The Great Migration and Heritage inquiry Project

Back to Canadian History:

A review of Canada and England 

Why Come to Canada? What where the pull factors that drew people to Canada?

Example of houses early settlers built: 

 

A discussion of the Great Migration.

Document to go with Migration
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HERITAGE INQUIRY / Skookum Stories

The immediate value of the Heritage Inquiry is that students connect their own identity to the curriculum. In our experience this is the most effective engagement possible (not just for Heritage but in any area) -- when students connect what they are learning in school to their values, background, interests, ideas that ground them to past, present, and future, we see students for who education is meaningful.

Student Resources for conducting Heritage Research

Canada GenWeb Project
Canadian Wartime Letters and Images
Canadian Gov't  - Family History Records
Genealogy.com Family Surname Forums
Rootsweb Family Search Engine
Rootsweb - variety of family research tools
Search early Canadian Census records
A Guide to Genealogy (US based, but good resources)

What kinds of things can students put into a Heritage Project?

Found (e.g. reproduced) or original: coins, stamps, letters, maps, flags, drawings, recipes, ribbons, medals, and of course photographs.
A Heritage Project may included interviews (clips, quotes, transcripts, summaries), family trees (charts or diagrams), gathered stories, interpretation of evidence, visual displays (e.g. posterboard), digital presentation (e.g. slideshow, video, website), or a "performative response" (dramatic reenactment, music, dance, original art).

Pretty much every school library has a fantastic collection of books related to Canadian and World history.  The problem is not "can I find something?" but "where do I begin?"  Your teacher-librarian, Ms Clark,  will be the most useful resource as you select titles to aid you in your research.  I would also recommend using our course textbook and other reference books and textbooks that we have in the school.  

Examples of Heritage Projects and results of inquiry

How does "Inquiry" fit in?

Like any good project, the focus should not just be about finding stuff to collect and display, but about powerful questions and good storytelling.  Students will learn a surprising amount simply from conducting the research and assembling a project, but the next level is achieved when they ask big questions about the work they are doing and find a way to demonstrate their learning through their project presentation.  Powerful questions do not have to be complicated.  Consider these -- some are simple, some are not, but they are all powerful:
What did World War II mean to my grandparents?  How did my family experience poverty in the 1930s and 40s?  What can my own family evidence tell me about how the values, goals, and expectations of teens in the 1950s differ from what they are now? Are values, goals and expectations actually tied to entire generations or are they a result of individual families and their circumstances? What role do grief, fear, hope, and joy play in the lives of my ancestors? What connections can I make between the stories that stand out as I conduct heritage research? How much were the lives of ordinary people affected by global events and famous leaders of their time? Looking back at what impresses (or depresses) me about the stories I've gathered, what do I think I would like to pass on to my own children? Is there a "geography" to my heritage -- what role does "place" play in how the stories unfold?

Time Frame. (2 classes and the rest done at home).  There will be aspects of it due along the way to keep you all on track.  Presentations over 2-3 classes.