Lives of men and women
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Overview
How did some aspects of daily life change in the first 100 years of Canada’s existence? In this lesson students examine statistics from several time periods to learn about Canada’s people: their location, their gender, their attendance in educational institutions and their marital status. After examining and collecting data, students will infer and generalize about the changes and consistencies in how and where people lived in Canada’s first century as a country.
Objectives
- To locate relevant information using historical documents.
- To analyse, classify and interpret information from historical documents.
- To read a variety of graphs, charts and tables for specific purposes.
- To scan written text for specific information.
- To infer and draw conclusions.
- To work collaboratively in a small group, using appropriate co-operative learning skills.
- To communicate information and understanding using a variety of communication tools, including tableaux.
- To use vocabulary specific to the topic and theme.
- To demonstrate an understanding of some of the changes in the lifestyles of Canadians between 1867 and 1967.
Suggested grade level and subject areas
Secondary
Social Studies, History, Language
Duration
10 to 20 minutes for the introduction (steps 1 to 4)
50 to 60 minutes to complete the worksheets (step 5)
20 to 30 minutes to prepare the tableaux (step 6)
50 to 60 minutes to present and assess the tableaux (steps 7 to 10)
Vocabulary (as used in the context of this lesson)
Dramatic tableaux – a drama consisting of a series of 'frozen' pictures represented by a person or group, with no dialogue, put together in sequence to tell a story. The actors in the tableaux arrange themselves in poses to represent people and ideas, and then they freeze. They hold their poses for a few seconds before moving to the next frozen picture.
Generalization – inference or general conclusion.
Rural – related to country life.
Urban – related to life in cities or towns.
Urbanization – process in which there is an increase in the percentage of people living and working in urban places.
Materials
- photocopies of student worksheets 1 to 6 for the groups and a class set of the Summary worksheet
- an overhead transparency of the Summary worksheet and the evaluation rubric
- computer lab
Canada Year Book resources
1927/1928 (PDF)
1947 (PDF)
- Table 2: Rural and urban populations, by provinces and territories, census years 1911 to 1941, page 102.
- Table 4: Urban centres with populations of over 30,000, 1941 compared with census years 1871 to 1931, page 103.
- Table 9: Sex distribution of the population, by province and territory, census years 1871 to 1941, page 113.
- Table 12: Conjugal condition of the population, 15 years of age or older, by sex, census years 1911 to 1941, page 116.
- Table 2: Enrolment in educational institutions, by provinces, school year 1944 to 1945, page 283.
1967 (PDF)
- Table 1: Numerical distribution of population and percentage change from preceding census, by province, decennial census years 1901 to 1961, page 184.
- Table 10: Sex distribution of the population and sex ratio, by province, census years 1951, 1956 and 1961, page 194.
- Table 13: Marital status of the population, by age group and sex, census 1961, page 196.
- Table 1: Full-time enrolment in elementary and secondary schools and in universities and colleges, school years 1956 to 1966, page 351.
Classroom instructions
- Present the following outline to the class:
- In this lesson, you will be working in small co-operative groups.
- Each group will examine data about a different aspect of life in Canada in its first 100 years as a country and then generalize about where and how Canadians lived.
- Each group will share its generalizations with the class through a series of tableaux, in which the actors pose while a short historical fact is read.
- Each group will then summarize what they have learned from their own research and from the reports of others.
- Divide the class into six groups (one for each worksheet topic) and assign all students in each group copies of the same worksheet to use in their online research. Explain that they will be creating and presenting tableaux to illustrate the generalizations they make from the data.
- Discuss presentation methods for tableaux with the class. Remind them of the following features of tableaux:
- There should be a series of 'frozen pictures,' with each picture demonstrating a particular aspect of the information to be presented.
- In each scenario, each person must be visible from the same camera angle and clearly visible to the audience.
- Each picture should show some depth and be related to the short historical fact being read.
- Sometimes exaggeration is helpful to the audience in interpreting the intent of the message.
- When each picture freezes, a narrator steps out of the scene and presents the narration, which should be short and dramatic.
Often a single, simple prop will enable students to step outside themselves and help others understand their tableaux more easily; some examples are a hat, a cloak or a walking stick. Encourage students to use their imaginations, with a warning to present accurate information, not fiction!
- Have students pick co-operative learning roles within each group. There should be a recorder, checker, materials manager, summarizer, reader and clarifier. There is no manager, director or 'boss,' just group members who rely on each other.
- Instruct students to complete their student worksheets using the Canada Year Book online site.
- Allow time for groups to organize and create their presentations. Circulate to assist them.
- Have each group present its tableaux.
- After each presentation, have students note the key message or generalization presented by each group. They will use the Summary worksheet for this.
- Have the class reflect on the assignment by discussing the worksheets together. Fill in the overhead or electronic version of the Summary worksheet to ensure that the class understands the important messages from each presentation.
- Use the evaluation rubric to assess the work completed during the lesson.
Enrichment
Students can reflect on the classroom discussion to determine other aspects of Canadian life to research. Students may wish to enhance their learning by using the index in each Canada Year Book to decide on research into other aspects of life in Canada during the first 100 years. Topics might include infant mortality, life expectancy or cost-of-living indexes.