Social Studies 7 Who were the Confederation Leader April 13/14, 2021

Stage 1: Desired Results

Focus Who were the leaders?

Questions: What were their positions on Confederation issues?

GOs: 7.1 Toward Confederation

Students will demonstrate an understanding and appreciation of the distinct roles
of, and the relationships among, the Aboriginal, French and British peoples in
forging the foundations of Canadian Confederation.

SOs: 7.1.3 Students will compare and contrast diverse social and economic structures
within the societies of Aboriginal, French and British peoples in pre-Confederation
Canada by exploring and reflecting upon the following questions and issues:
• What role did the British government play in the settlement of North America?

7.1.6 Students will assess, critically, how political, economic and military events
contributed to the foundations of Canada by exploring and reflecting upon the
following questions and issues:
•To what extent was Confederation an attempt to provide the populations of Québec
and Ontario with increased control over their own affairs?
7.S.1 Students will develop skills of critical thinking and creative thinking:
• evaluate, critically, ideas, information and positions from multiple perspectives

Learning Students will assess the impact of major political acts leading up to Confederation
Objectives from the perspective of English Canadians, French Canadiens, and Indigenous
Peoples.

Stage 2: Assessment Evidence

Formative Assessment Through class discussion

Stage 3: Learning Experience

Prior to Lesson: Prepare slides Resources: notebooks, pencils, whiteboards,

laptops, Google Slides

Time Content/Description

20 min Introduction:
Continue reading Bully Boys
Timeline review since the Great Migration, including key Confederation issues

30 min Learning Activity 1:

▪ Direct instruction and fill in the blank notes about the fathers of Confederation
▪ John A MacDonald wanted a country from sea to sea, where was the majority of the
population of Canada located in the 1860s? What was West of that? Who lived there? (If
 Social Studies 7 Who were the Confederation Leader April 13/14, 2021
students are struggling to recall, remind them of the fur trade, and also the Royal
Proclamation and the “Indian Line”)
▪ He believed in accommodating “people” to achieve agreement - “People” is in
quotation marks - did he believe is accommodating ALL people? Who might be included
in the list of people he would accommodate? Who might be excluded? Remind students
of the editorials they viewed earlier in English with two perspectives on the vandalism
of a John A MacDonald statue.
▪ Cartier - review what a republic is and loyalists. Why might Cartier be concerned about
protecting the French language and Catholic religion in Canada? (Students should
connect to the Act of Union and Royal Proclamation)
▪ Brown - review American annexation and editorial cartoons with cousin Jonathan, how
was cousin Jonathan portrayed in the cartoon showing Confederation being signed like a
marriage certificate? How might expanding west prevent American annexation?
▪ Taché - What similarities do you noticed between he and Cartier? What differences?
▪ What do they have in common? What differences?

15 min Consolidation:
▪ As a class review the fathers of Confederation editorial
▪ What do you see? Body language, caricature, words, language.
▪ Why might the author have spelled some words incorrectly? (i.e. genuine) What effect
does this have?
▪ What is the author’s opinion about the fathers of Confederation? (if students aren’t
picking up on it - has anyone ever told you that you look like one of your parents? Does
this child resemble one of the fathers?)

Stage 4: Reflection

How the students responded to the lesson as planned and taught:

Students were engaged in this lesson. They had many thoughts on the topic of John A.
MacDonald. We could have spent a whole class on him. They also really enjoy interpreting
editorials. One comment during the activity, “I wish we could just do this all the time in social!”

Specific strengths of the lesson plan and delivery:

As we review more recent information, I write key points on the white board. Students have both
the words for the key points on the board AND the timeline as prompts.
Asking students to determine who John A MacDonald believed in accommodating reinforces the
habit of considering multiple perspectives and reading into what is written in their textbook.
Making connections consistently back to previous learning helps to solidify existing knowledge,
support ongoing learning, and reinforce the theme of cause and effect.

Specific weaknesses in the lesson plan and delivery:

This was a long period of sitting at their desks.

What must be addressed to improve this plan?

Vary the activities so more movement could be involved. Perhaps altering one of the activities to
allow them move into groups to work.

How I have grown from this teaching experience:

This lesson showed that even when a lesson has students sitting in their desks for 73 minutes,
having interesting and relevant questions for them to discuss can keep them engaged.