Sports+in+Canada

Usha's comments in Blue.

Your name: Jesse-Lyn Eleftheriadis

**Initial Reading and Assessment of Textbook Treatment of the Topic**
Name of Gr. 10 Textbook examined: Canada: Our Century. Our Story.

Name of more "scholarly" source examined: (I selected 2 different articles than what I had originally listed) Lensky, Helen. "Whose sport? whose traditions? Canadian women and sport in the twentieth century." //International Journal of the History of Sport//. Vol. 9. No. 1. (April 1992). p. 141-150.

Robidoux, Michael. "'Imagining a Canadian Identity through Sport: A Historical Interpretation of Lacrosse and Hockey." //Journal of American Folklore//. Vol. 115. No. 456. (Spring 2002). p. 209-225.

__Your Initial Thoughts:__

In my initial search through the text book, I noticed that there is no one chapter or section devoted to the history of sports in Canada. Instead, there are pages and paragraphs embedded within larger, more broadly themed chapters. I also noticed a distinct lack of cultural influences which undoubtably helped sports in Canada evolve into what they are today. Not surprisingly, hockey is mentioned in the first section of sports and continues to be the focus of 'sports in Canada' throughout the following pages dealing with the subject. Although hockey is heavily woven into Canada's national identity, there are other sports that only get a brief mention, lacrosse and basketball for example, even though they have origins just as rooted in Canadian history. Female athletes are also mentioned but there are only a few in comparison with the male athletes listed. The readings in this textbook only skim the surface of the history of sports in Canada but in doing this, vital information is left. Grade ten students who read this and have no other exposure to the entire narrative of sports history in Canada will suffer from misinformation. What they will get is a reinforcement that hockey is part of Canada's national identity while other sports fall to the wayside.

Thanks for your comments, Jesse. It's interesting how we might unintentionally reinforce stereotypes by focusing on certain topics. The decisions we make to include or exclude topics certainly reflect our own feelings about the relative significance of these topics. I look forward to hearing more about how you might approach this lesson. Thanks, again.

Question: Hockey has been woven into Canada's history and is an undeniable part of Canadian identity. However, l acrosse, mountain climbing, basketball and snowshoeing all have notable presence in the Canadian historical narrative. If historically relevant sports are represented equally in Canadian history, would Canadian identity change? Please provide evidence to defend your answers.

Interesting question, Jesse. I think the term "historically relevant" or maybe "historically significant" is clearer (in terms of historical thinking) than "historically superior". This is clearly a "judge the better or best". I think the second part of your question about changing Canadian identity might be best used as scaffolding for the first question rather than coming after. i.e. one of the criteria for "historically significant" may be the impact its had on Canadian identity. There may be other criteria too, though, that students need to grapple with to figure out the question of historical significance. Nicely done.

Tweaked Question:

Hockey has been woven into Canada's history and is an undeniable part of Canadian identity. However, there are other sports that also have notable presence in the Canadian historical narrative. If historically relevant sports are represented equally in Canadian history, would Canadian identity change? Please provide evidence to defend your answers.


 * Lesson Design - Initial Planning Stages**

//Identify Key Learning/ "Big Idea"/Learning Target// At the end of this lesson, students will leave the classroom with a greater understanding of the breadth of Canadian sports history, specifically the sports played during 1914 and 1929. Students will also grapple with the question of Canadian identity and why some sports are represented and have become more dominant than others. Well articulated.

//Critical Challenge//

Hockey has been woven into Canada's history and is an undeniable part of Canadian identity. However, there are other sports that also have notable presence in the Canadian historical narrative. If historically relevant sports are represented equally in Canadian history, would Canadian identity change? Analyze the five photos of sports and teams that existed in Canada from 1914-1929 and write a letter to the editor of your history textbook explaining how these sports/teams were part of Canada's past and why they should be included in modern day Canadian sports culture.

//How will this lesson help students build skills they will need for the summative assessment task for// //the unit?// This lesson will help students challenge their assumptions about sports history in Canada. Allowing students to practice their attention to detail skills while analyzing the primary documents (photos) will also be great practice for the final summative task. By engaging in a 'critique the piece' activity, students further get to work with primary documents and think critically about them in order to formulate their letters.

//What dimension of Historical Thinking will students actively engage in during this lesson?// Continuity and change is the dimension of historical thinking that will be engaged in during this lesson.


 * Intellectual Tools**

//Background Knowledge//

contributed to Canada's evolving economy. 2**. Individual Canadians and Canadian Identity.** Assess the contributions of selected individuals to the development of Canadian identity
====since 1914. **3. Research**. Distinguish between primary and secondary sources of information. **4. Interpretations and Analysis.** Draw conclusions and make reasoned generalizations or appropriate predictions on the====

Content/Skills Students will need to know: -how to work with primary documents, specifically photos -what Canadian identity is - what do they think it is? how are sports connected to it? -how to write a convincing letter using evidence to support their argument

//(New and Improved) Criteria for Judgement// 1) Criteria for determining Canadian Identity -part of Canada's past/heritage -uniting elements that Canadians of diverse backgrounds can identify with -realizing that it is a fluid and evolving concept that incorporates history while continuing to change as Canada grows as a country

//Habit of Mind// Attention to Detail

//Thinking Strategies// An 'Explain the Image' chart will be given to students following the mental set activity to help them stream their thinking and easily apply the criteria to the primary documents.

//Critical Thinking Vocabulary// Assumption will be challenged here and it is important to include this so students have an understanding. Students will need to look past their assumptions of sports in Canada in order to effectively engage with the primary resources.

Students will be presented with the following photos of Canadian teams/athletes from 1914-1929. In groups, they will be asked to answer the following questions:
 * Mind's On Activity/Mental Set**

1. What are your initial observations? (gender, class, race) 2. What country do these teams/athletes come from? 3. What is going on in the photos? 4. What do the photos tell you? 5. Is anything missing from them?

1. Form groups and have them share their thoughts and defend why they chose what they did. 2. Share with class the answers (that they are all Canadian athletes from 1914-1929), go through each sport represented and speak a little to the history.

I tried to find evidence of sports that encompassed different genders, classes and races in order to demonstrate that Canadian sports history is multifaceted and goes beyond what the textbook covers. The skills of challenging assumptions and critically analyzing photographs are what this activity focuses on and are skills that will be used in the following lesson as well as the summative assignment.