Communications

Overview

In this lesson, students will examine changing developments in communications in Canada from 1867 to 1967. They will create a timeline for specific modes of communication using tables, graphs, diagrams, pictures and other visuals. Each group will create a display board that will be integrated with other group displays into a large classroom project. As they work through their projects, students will demonstrate their understanding of the impact of communications on Canadian society.

Objectives

• To understand and be able to explain major methods of communication and their connections to industrial and economic growth in Canada during the period from 1867 to 1967.
• To locate, analyse, interpret and apply statistical information from editions of the Canada Year Book from 1867 to 1967.
• To organize material for visual and oral presentations.
• To create graphs from tables of data for a display.
• To communicate ideas, concepts and information in written and oral forms.
• To work co-operatively with other students to do tasks, make decisions and develop consensus.
• To manage time effectively to complete tasks and meet deadlines.
• To demonstrate an appreciation of the impact of communications on Canadian society.

Suggested grade levels and subject areas

Secondary
History, Economics, Geography, Family Studies

Duration

15 to 30 minutes for the introduction (steps 1 to 5)
3 to 4 periods of 50 minutes to complete the worksheets (steps 6 to 9)

Vocabulary (as used in the context of this lesson)

Knot – short form for 'nautical miles per hour'; a measure of speed used in air and sea navigation as well as for submarine cables. A nautical mile is 6,080 feet.
Money order – safe registered means by which to send money by mail; usually a postal money order.
Morse code – a way of communicating letters through a series of dots and dashes that can be transmitted over telegraph wires and translated by telegraph operators.
Radio telephone – wireless telephone first used by ships. Messages went from ship to ship and from ship to shore.
Telegraph – a system that uses electrical signals for transmitting messages to a distant place via wire using Morse code.
Telephone – device for transmitting sound, especially speech, over a wire network.
Wireless – means of communicating through airwaves rather than wire.

Materials

• Student worksheet 1 (printer-friendly format)
• Student worksheet 2 (printer-friendly format)
• Student worksheet 3 (printer-friendly format)
• Student worksheet 4 (printer-friendly format)
• Student worksheet 5 (printer-friendly format)
• Student worksheet 6 (printer-friendly format)
• Student worksheet 7 (printer-friendly format)
• copies of the Instructions and explanations (printer-friendly format)
• copies or a transparency of the Group display layout (printer-friendly format) and Rough diagram of layout of classroom display (printer-friendly format)
• a variety of materials for students to create their displays
• a copy of the Evaluation rubric for the visual product (printer-friendly format) and the Evaluation rubric for the oral presentation (printer-friendly format)
• an overhead transparency, chart paper, whiteboard or chalkboard for debriefing the activity
• a computer lab

Canada Year Book resources

1907 (PDF)

• Table CC: Dominion government telegraph service, 1907, pages 427 to 429.
• Table CCI: Telegraph systems of the Dominion, 1907, page 429.
• Tables CLVII: Revenue and expenditure of the Post Office Department, 1868 to 1907, page 387.
• Table CLVIII: Operations of the money order system in Canada, 1868 to 1907, page 388.
• Table CLIX: Money orders, by province, 1903 to 1907, page 389.
• Table CLX: Number and value of postal notes received, 1903 to 1907, page 390.
• Table CLXI: Issue of postage stamps, etc., 1906 to 1907, page 390.
• Table CLXII: Mail subsidies and steamship subventions, 1905 to 1907, page 391.

1916/1917 (PDF)

• Table 61: Coast stations for communication by wireless telegraphy with ships at sea, fiscal year 1916, pages 483 and 484.
• Table 63: Business and cost of maintenance of radiotelegraph stations, by geographical area, for the fiscal years 1915 and 1916, page 485.
• Table 65: Number of telephone companies reporting to the Department of Railways and Canals, by province, June 30, 1916, with total for 1913 to 1916, page 485.
• Table 66: Telephones in use and mileage of wire, by province, June 30, 1916, with total, 1913 to 1916, page 486.
• Table 67: Wire mileage of telephones, by class of wire, June 30, 1915 and 1916, page 486.
• Table 68: Capital liability, cost, revenue and operating expenses of telephones, June 30, 1916, with totals for 1913 to 1915, page 486.

1927/1928 (PDF)

• Text: Submarine cables and radiotelegraph stations, pages 710 and 711.
• Table 68: Government-owned and licensed public commercial radio stations in Canada, fiscal year ended March 31, 1927, pages 711 and 712.
• Text: Radiotelegraphy, page 713.

1937 (PDF)

• Text: Telegraphs, pages 711 to 713.
• Table 1: Summary statistics of all Canadian telegraphs, calendar years 1920 to 1935, page 711.
• Table 2: Statistics of chartered telegraph companies, calendar years 1931 to 1935, page 712.
• Text: Telephones, pages 713 to 716.
• Table 3: Telephones in use, classified by business, residential, rural and public pay, mileages of wire and pole line, and numbers of employees, 1911 to 1935, page 714.
• Table 4: Telephones in use, by provinces, December 31, 1935, page 714.
• Table 5: Summary financial statistics of telephones in Canada, years ended June 30, 1911 to 1918, and December 31, 1919 to 1935, page 715.
• Table 6: Financial statistics of telephones in Canada, by provinces, 1935, page 715.
• Table 7: Local and long-distance calls and averages, per telephone and per capita, calendar years 1928 to 1935, page 716.
• Text: Radiotelegraphy, pages 716 to 720.
• Table 1: Government-owned radio stations in Canada, fiscal year ended March 31, 1936, pages 717 and 718.
• Table 2: Business and cost of maintenance of radiotelegraph stations for the fiscal years ended March 31, 1935 and 1936, page 718.
• Table 3: Wireless and radio stations in operation in Canada, March 31, 1932 to 1936, page 719.
• Text: The Post Office, pages 721 to 726.
• Table 1: Numbers of post offices in operation, by province, March 31, 1931 to 1936, page 722.
• Table 2: Statistics of gross postal revenues of offices collecting $10,000 and upwards, fiscal years ended March 31, 1935 and 1936, pages 722 to 724.
• Table 3: Revenues and expenditures of the Post Office Department for the quinquennial fiscal years ended 1890 to 1910, and fiscal years ended March 31, 1911 to 1936, page 724.
• Table 4: Operations of the money order system in Canada, fiscal years ended March 31, 1911 to 1936, page 725.
• Table 5: Money order statistics, by province, and total postal notes, fiscal years ended March 31, 1932 to 1936, pages 725 and 726.
• Table 6: Mileage flown and weight of mail carried by air, fiscal year ended March 31, 1936, page 727.
• Table 1: Number of publications in Canada, by frequency of issue, 1926 to 1935, page 728.
• Table 2: Circulation of daily, semi-weekly and weekly publications in Canada, 1926 to 1935, page 728.
• Table 3: Circulation of daily, semi-weekly, and weekly publications, in cities of 20,000 population or over, 1935, page 729.
• Text: The press, pages 727 to 729.

1947 (PDF)

• Text:  Telegraphs, pages 725 to 727.
• Table 1: Summary statistics of all Canadian telegraphs, 1936 to 1945, page 726.
• Text: Telephones, pages 727 to 729.
• Table 2: Telephone mileages of pole-line and wire, 1936 to 1945, 1936 to 1945, page 727.
• Table 3: Telephones in use, by provinces, 1945, page 728.
• Table 4: Financial statistics of telephones, 1936 to 1945, page 728.
• Table 5: Financial statistics of telephones, by provinces, 1945, page 729.
• Table 6: Local and long-distance calls and averages per telephone and per capita, 1936 to 1945, page 729.
• Text: Technical control and licensing, pages 730 to 731.
• Table 1: Radio stations in operation, by class, as at March 31, 1942 to 1946, page 730.
• Table 2: Private receiving licences issued in Canada, by provinces, years ended March 31, 1940 to 1946, page 731.
• Table 8: Broadcasting stations of Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) networks, as at January 10, 1947, page 741.
• Table 9: Classification of Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) programs, year ended March 31, 1946, page 743.
• Text: The Post Office, pages 744 to 751.
• Table 1: Post offices in operation, by province and territory, as at March 31, 1941 to 1946, page 745.
• Table 2: Gross postal revenues of offices collecting upwards of $10,000 for either of the years ended March 31, 1945 and 1946, pages 746 to 749.
• Table 3: Revenues and expenditures of the post office department, years ended March 31, 1927 to 1946, page 749.
• Table 4: Operations of the money order system, years ended March 31, 1937 to 1946, page 750.
• Table 5: Money order statistics, by province, and total postal notes, years ended March 31, 1942 to 1946, page 750.
• Text: The press, pages 752 to 755.
• Table 1: Numbers and circulations of daily and weekly English-language newspapers, by province and territory, 1945 and 1946, page 753.
• Table 2: Numbers and circulations of daily and weekly English-language newspapers, in urban centres of 20,000 population or over, 1945 and 1946, page 753.
• Table 3: Numbers and circulations of daily and weekly French-language newspapers, by province, 1945 and 1946, page 754.
• Table 4: Numbers and circulations of daily and weekly French-language newspapers, in urban centres of 20,000 population or over, 1945 and 1946, page 754.
• Table 5: Numbers and circulations of daily and weekly foreign-language newspapers, 1945 and 1946, page 754.
• Table 6: Numbers and circulations of publications, other than newspapers, by frequency of issue, 1945 and 1946, page 755.
• Table 7: Numbers and circulations of magazines and other publications, by type, 1945 and 1946, page 755.

1957/1958 (PDF)

• Table 3: Broadcasting stations of Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) television networks, on March 31, 1957, page 903.
• Table 5: Classification of Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) television programs, year ended March 31, 1957, page 904.
• Table 1: Estimated numbers and circulations of reporting daily and weekly English-language newspapers, by province, 1954 to 1956, page 917.
• Table 2: Estimated numbers and circulations of reporting daily and weekly French-language newspapers, by province, 1951 to 1956, page 918.
• Table 3: Estimated numbers and circulations of reporting daily and weekly English-language newspapers published in urban centres of 30,000 population or over, 1955 and 1956, page 918.
• Table 4: Estimated numbers and circulations of reporting daily and weekly French-language newspapers published in urban centres of 30,000 population or over, 1955 and 1956, page 919.

1967 (PDF)

• Text: The development of telecommunications in Canada, page 865.
• Table 1: Pole-line and wire mileage and number of telephones in use, 1956 to 1965, page 870.
• Table 2: Telephones in use, by province, 1965, page 871.
• Table 3: Local and long-distance calls and average calls per capita and per telephone, 1956 to 1965, page 871.
• Table 4: Financial statistics of telephone systems, 1956 to 1965, page 872.
• Table 5: Financial statistics of telephone systems, by province, 1965, page 872.
• Table 6: Summary statistics of Canadian telegraphs, 1956 to 1965, page 873.
• Text: Radio and television broadcasting, pages 881 to 883.
• Text: Postal service, pages 889 and 890.
• Table 12: Estimated numbers and circulations of reporting English-language, French-language and foreign-language newspapers, by province, 1964 and 1965, page 892.
• Table 13: Estimated numbers and circulations of reporting English-language and French-language newspapers published in urban centres of over 30,000 population, 1964 and 1965, pages 892 and 893.
• Table 14: Estimated numbers of foreign-language publications, 1964 and 1965, page 894.
• Table 15: Estimated numbers of magazines and related publications, by broad classifications, 1964 and 1965, page 894.

Classroom instructions

1. Present the following outline to the class:
   1. Working in groups they will research the development of a particular communications mode that was commonly used from 1867 to 1967.
   2. The research subjects are print media, telegraph, wireless communication, postal service, radio and television.
   3. Each group will produce a timeline display that will become part of a larger classroom timeline.
   4. This master timeline will show the development and sometimes decline of each of the communications modes.
   5. As each group does its research, group members will be looking for patterns over time, with respect to their particular mode, and finding possible explanations for the changes they uncover.
   6. Students will use the Canada Year Book from 1867 to 1967.
2. Have students brainstorm a list of communication technologies commonly used today, such as computers, cellphones, BlackBerrys, iPods, etc.
3. Have students describe some impacts these communication devices have on everyday life. Gradually shift the discussion to communications systems and technologies developed from 1867 to 1967.
4. Divide the class into groups. If you have a large class, more than one group can research a particular mode of communications.
5. Have the group members number off and assign them roles based on their numbers. Roles are reader, clarifier, recorder, artist, data and materials manager, and time manager. Some students may need to take on more than one role. There is no group leader.
6. Distribute and quickly review the student package of handouts.
   1. Each group's reader will read the Instructions and explanations (printer-friendly format) sheet.
   2. Clarifiers will ensure that all group members understand their tasks and time frame.
   3. Be sure that you have indicated when everything should be complete and ready for presentations.
7. Have students complete their student worksheets.
8. Have the groups present the findings about their modes of communication and present their reasons why their modes were significant to Canadians. Each group member needs to make an oral contribution to this presentation.
9. Where equipment makes it possible, students may want to use electronic presentation media. Ask them how this fits into the overall pattern of communications in Canada's history.

Evaluation

Collect the completed assignments and use the Evaluation rubric for the visual product (printer-friendly format) and the Evaluation rubric for the oral presentation (printer-friendly format) for assessment.

Enrichment

Students may further explore the themes of communications up to the present day. They may wish to compare and contrast the developments of the computer, Internet, fax machines, cellphones, BlackBerrys, iPods, and so on, with major developments in communications from 1867 to 1967.

Students could also explore the connections between communications and specific types of production and businesses, including those involved in international trade. As well, students could research the development of regulations governing communications in Canada, and they could even enter projects in local or regional fairs.