Making Canadian History Rock

Making Canadian History Rock! By Gary Simons Address your attitudes!

True or False?

1. Most Canadian history is boring 2. I’d much prefer teaching American History rather than Canadian History 3. Almost nothing exciting ever happened in Canadian history 4. US history is much more interesting than Canadian history 5. Canadian history has too many political squabbles 6. Canadian leaders are dull, stuffy and boring 7. All the good stuff happens to the Americans 8. It’s hard to make Canadian history interesting

What’s your opinion about Canadian history? Teachers have to ask themselves how they feel about Canadian History. You have to believe it is fascinating, in order to make students believe it is fascinating.

1. Stop Comparing ourselves to the US!

We get swamped by American culture and media. The US economy and population are 10X greater than Canada’s. The USA dominates the world’s international relations, trade, economics, media and popular culture. Compared to USA almost any country looks insignificant! Americans also distort their history and make it larger than life - the “Walt Disney approach”. No country can measure up to the Americans because of their massive media barrage so a direct Canada-USA comparison is totally unfair - but we still do it anyway because of our proximity to them. However . .

2. Compared to countries close to Canada in population and economy . . . We Rock!!!! Look at Canadian experiences, achievements compared to Australia, Netherlands, or Sweden. Canadian history is rich, complex, vibrant. Look at Canadian contributions to the world, Canadian achievements, Canadian issues. For a country our size, we rock! We should be very proud of what we have accomplished in areas such as arts and culture, popular culture, sports, inventions, engineering, inventors, industrialists, explorers, two world wars, human rights.

As well, Canadians have adopted different approaches to problems than Americans - less confrontation, more co-operation. This in itself is a tremendous achievement and we have to learn to celebrate it: Peaceful expansion westward, achieving independence through evolution, not revolution, pioneering international human rights, peacekeeping, peaceful atomic power, peaceful use of space, dealing with social, regional and cultural issues peacefully - these are impressive achievements!

We have our heroes, too, and our big divisive issues but we haven’t promoted them the way the US has. We don’t use massive media hype. We tend not to promote larger-than-life images. 3. Learn More About Canadian achievements yourself

Knowing more about what Canadians have achieved can build your own pride in Canada and enhance your appreciation of our History. This is the first step in making your classes rock! Where can you learn the details that make our past fascinating?

- Pierre Berton books are an excellent start

-Try trivia books like: Just a Minute ( 1994), and Just a Minute 2 , author Marsha Bolton, publisher Little Brown and Co, ISBN 0-316-10369-1

Canada Firsts ( 1992), author Ralph Nader, publisher McClelland & Stewart, ISBN 0-7710-6715-5

- Read Canadian historical novels, memoirs, books that focus on one topic/ time period in detail

- Visit “Canada Pride” websites such as: www3.sympatico.ca/taniah/Canada/index.html

- Watch the CRB Foundation/ Historica’s “Heritage Minutes” series Address your students’ attitudes

We approach the teaching of Canadian history from our own personal perspective. As students of history we often find it intrinsically interesting. To be successful with many of our students we have to step away mentally from our attitudes and try to see things from a students’ perspective.

There are many students who do not find Canadian history innately interesting. Many students have not enjoyed their past experiences in History because their teachers were not able to find a way to make it interesting - too many subjects to cover - with no understanding or personal interest in it. Mnay teachers don’t have the time or resources to do much. Canadian history becomes too many names and dates, too cut and dried. Too often teachers present Canadian history in a totally bloodless and colourless way.

Many students see all History as a set of pre-determined events, a procession of names and dates. Many teachers approach Canadian history this way because it’s easy to simply present what is in the textbook. This is how many teachers had it taught to them. It’s easy to do and it keeps History teaching simple. In many cases busy teachers hdo not have time to obtain any in-depth knowledge beyond the text book’s details

As well. Canadina History teaching methodologies have often appealed primarily to good readers and listeners with little appeal to students with visual and tactile learning styles. Traditionally, History teachers have always demanded strong reading and writing skills.

In my teaching I try very hard to address these negative preconceptions. I want to present history as if the student was there at the place and time we are studying, as if the student had to face the same choices and feel the same uncertainty as people at that time and place.

In my introduction to my 12U Canadian History course I wrote: As much as possible you will have events presented to you as people of that time saw them. In retrospect, everything in History appears to be obvious and pre-determined. To people of the time period, however, nothing was clear or obvious. History is the story of the challenges people faced, the tough decisions they made, and the consequences - good, poor, expected or unexpected.. History looks very different when you have to live through it rather than just read about it.

In my Grade Ten Course introduction I listed the aims of the course:

To help you learn more about what has happened in Canada over the last 100 years. To help you appreciate the challenges your parents, grandparents and great-grandparents experienced as they helped to build our country. To help you to understand why Canada is the way it is today. To help you feel proud about your own achievements, and about what Canadians have achieved in the last 100 years. Promote fun and success as well as good learning

1. Appeal to students’ learning styles and promote success:

We all respond best when information is presented in ways we enjoy. We all respond best when we enjoy what we are doing. We all respond best when we experience success as a result of our efforts. Why should a Canadian History class be any different? What we have to bear in mind, however, is that we have to see things from the students perspectives, not ours. What learning methods are best for the students? What makes them enjoy and activity? What helps them become successful? Our students are not simply younger versions of ourselves so we have to re-think our approach to how we teach Canadian History, to maximize their understanding and enjoyment.

We must consider such things as: - promoting more hands-on activities - find the right pace for the students, not the teacher - projecting a sense of fun, fascination, and humour - try to build a positive rapport - “ charm” your students into loving Canadian history - appealing to several learning styles in presenting information - providing social time/ team time - - being aware of learning difficulties and developing success strategies for: - students who have trouble with copying from board/overhead - students who have trouble reading or writing - students with limited attention spans - students who cannot respond to particular learning styles

2. Try to “Put the students in the shoes” of Past Canadians

“Mies Van der Rohe once observed, “God is in the details”. Learning fascinating details helps to make your lessons more engaging. It gives you a repertoire of fascinating facts and trivia. It gives you a body of knowledge to answer student questions. It helps make you a fascinating storyteller. It can help you set up better activities. Knowing the details helps you create stories that put your students in actual historical situations where they have to make choices without knowing what is the “right” answer. It makes them appreciate what people went through and the complexity of the problems people faced. It helps give students ownership of the content and makes history come alive. What makes a good story?

Laurier’s French-English problems Attacking Vimy Ridge Problems of 1919 The Person’s Case Surviving as a typical family in the 1930's Hippies vs Squares in the 1960's A Pierre Trudeau story

Create assignments that capture the same feeling - My Album of the Great War, My 1950's Teen diary, etc

3. Get Away From Teacher-centered Learning

Find ways to let the students take more control of their classroom time and how they learn:

Examples: Add Aural and Visual Appeal Student created posters, skits, videos, ”songs of the times CD collections, Powerpoint slide shows, mock web pages, newspapers, theme days like “Hippy Day”

Add Tactile-Kinesthetic Appeal Create hands-on works: models, dioramas, etc.

Use the “Net! Find ways for students to learn using the Internet - but give the students a mission Teacher prepared guided tour, Assess usefulness of web sites, Scavenger hunt

Hop on the bus! Use a field trip as a carrot. Learn first, then the trip

Go, Team, Go! Use team challenges, simulations, debates to add a little competition to learning Examples of team challenges: My own: Vimy Ridge, Dirty Thirties, “Men of Courage”, Dieppe/D-Day, Great Debates “We are Canadians” and “Canadians in the Global Village” activities Ministry of Education Course Profile documents - look for Culminating Task ideas Activities from text book Teachers’ Guides

Find History videos that rock Find videos that bring History alive - ones that make you identify with the characters and their situation, or one with a clear, quick presentation of information such as: The Killing Ground (CBC), Land of Promise series ( 1945- ), the new CBC Canadian History series, Inject occasional Hollywood videos or excerpts : All Quiet on the Western Front - The Untouchables - Grapes of Wrath - excerpts from Battle of Britain, Enemy at the Gates, Saving Private Ryan, Rebel without a Cause, This is Elvis, Forest Gump, Woodstock/ Monterey Pop, Saturday Night Fever, etc

4. Promote success strategies for tests and assignments Achieving success makes anything more fun, and this definitely applies to learning Canadian History. Find ways to give students a strong sense that you are working hard to help them become successful.

For assignments and projects: - Provide models or samples of good and poor past work to give students a clear idea of your standards and to raise their awareness of what can be achieved. - Provide clear organization and structure for each step of the process - Do trial markings with clear rubrics/ evaluation guides. - Use collaborative strategies where the students offer constructive criticism to their partners or peers - Promote creativity is some part of the activity - Do a metacognitive review: What lessons have you learned about what you’d do differently and how could you do better next time?

Some students have never learned how to be successful on tests. There are “tricks of the trade”. - teach them the art of studying and test preparation ( See the video” “Where there’s a will there’s an “A” ) - help them know what to study - give them time and help to get their notes together and fill in any missing areas - show them how to create an individual study plan based on their learning methods - teach memorization skills - teach them how to approach different types of test questions to maximize their chance of success - celebrate their successes

Find ways to review that are fun and useful, such as: - review games based on t.v. shows - pairs review challenges - test each other in a contest - row challenges - review using picture drawing, skits, etc

Success on tests and assignments can spur more enjoyment of your course!!!

5. Teacher Metacognition/ Mentoring/ Networking

- talk to your colleagues - discuss problems, challenges - share successes - - monitor your results- are there visible signs of student enjoyment as well as good learning - find/ borrow existing teaching resources: Teachers’ Guides or Resource Packages for text books Ministry Course profiles for teaching methods, activities, culminating unit tasks Resource kits such as Canadians in the Global Community series Canadian History teacher web sites such as the OHASSTA web site or the Governor- General’s award web site 6. Final Activities The “Men of Courage” Simulation

List of Resource Files:

CHC Plans About Canada Canada Firsts 1900Now and Then Report Vimy Ridge TeamWork WW1 Project Ideas 1920Changes Effective Presentations 1920 Team Work 1920 Team Evaluation Depression Today WW2 Projects 1950sWebsites Newspaper Instructions 1960sWebsites Do Your Own Thing Hippy Mind Map 70,80,90Websites Great Debates 2003 Summative Project 2P Ultimate Top Ten