Technology+-+1920s

Usha's comments in Blue.

Your name: Karina Motalleb

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

Quinlan, Don, Doug Baldwin, Rick Mahoney, and Kevin Reed. __The Canadian Challenge__. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2008.

Name of more "scholarly" source examined:

Riendeau, Roger. __A Brief History of Canada__. New York: Facts on File, 2007.

__Your Initial Thoughts:__ Please provide a **brief** (5-10 sentences) initial assessment of the textbook's treatment of the subject. We have not developed any particular criteria by which to assess the textbook so this is really simply you initial reactions, feelings, questions about what you have read. Thanks!

The academic textbook lists telephones, air travel, the radio, and the discovery of insulin as the major innovations of the 1920s and discusses the role of the automobile in a section devoted to the economy of the 1920s. By separating automobiles from the section on innovation and by ignoring the important role that metal mining played in the invention of the radio, the textbook fails to acknowledge the overlap between technological innovation and the economy in the 1920s. The textbook overemphasizes the role of the radio in creating a sense of Canadian identity and does not acknowledge that more than three-quarters of radio programs broadcasted in Canada were American. Excluding this information gives students the impression that the radio unambiguously unified the nation. A more accurate way of demonstrating to students that the radio was a boost to nationalism would be to discuss the role of the radio in popularizing the National Hockey League (NHL). Very interesting, Karina. I guess the decision a teacher might have to make is whether to provide this conclusion for students or find a way for them to uncover the discrepancy as you have.

The textbook features a photo of Banting and Best, the discoverers of insulin, in order to break up the monotony of written text. However, this one photo is still not all that interesting and it is up to the teacher to help students better relate to what they are reading about in their textbook. For instance, the teacher could provide students with photographs of the inventions and with visuals of how these inventions were being used by Canadians in the 1920s. The textbook asks students an opinion question and also invites them to reflect on the role of the radio today in comparison to its significance in the 1920s. These are good questions that inspire student learning, but it is up to the teacher to decide how students should go about answering these questions. For example, he/she could ask these questions of the class as a whole or have students discuss these questions in groups. The teacher could also assign a project, to be done individually or in groups, asking students to trace the changing role of certain innovations from the 1920s to the present.

Thanks, Karina. Lots of interesting ideas to work with here.

Question: Did the radio unify the nation and create a sense of Canadian identity, or did the radio contribute to the Americanization of Canadian culture? (This is a type 3 question that invites students to "judge the better or the best.") This is a very well framed critical question, clearly a judge the better or the best. My only concern is that it doesn't address the other technologies you talked about above. Maybe as students move through the lesson, they could use the same basic structure for the critical question (i.e. did the technology help or hurt...) for a variety of different technologies? What do you think? Would that work?

Yes, this question can definitely apply to the other technologies. Revised critical question: Did the technologies/innovations of the 1920s (ie. radio, telephone, aviation, automobile, insulin) unify the nation and create a sense of Canadian identity or contribute to the Americanization of Canadian culture? Better - is unity/identity/Americanization applicable to all of these technologies? You might need to read further to decide that but it's something to consider. If not, you might just tweak the second half of your question so it asks students to consider the impact of the technology on something more generic (e.g. improving Canadian lives...) that can be applied to all the technologies. Then maybe unity/identity/Americanization are possible criteria for students to consider. Just a thought.

**Identify Key Learning / “Big Idea” / Learning Target** Canadian identity has evolved and continues to evolve. good choice

**Frame Critical Challenge**Which of the technological and scientific innovations has had the most significant impact on Canadian lives? well-framed Write a news article dated January 1st 1930 highlighting the significance of this innovation on the lives of Canadians at the time.

**How will this lesson help students build skills they will need for the summative assessment task for the unit?** This lesson will help students develop the skill of critical inquiry, which requires that they make reasoned judgements based on criteria to arrive at their own justifiable conclusions. yes - but consider the final summative task that the students are working towards for this unit - i.e. the newspaper spread with various components. Do you think this lesson might help prepare them in any way directly for that task. They don't necessarily need to DO part of the task but could you help them build some skills or understanding of some part of the newspaper spread through this task that would help them? This subtask allows students to practise writing a news report so that they are better prepared for the newspaper spread that they will have to do for their summative assessment task. yes - good. You might find they don't have time to write the whole article but can probably plan it or get started on it at least during the lesson.

**What dimension of Historical Thinking will students actively engage in during this lesson?** This task will allow students to develop their ability to assess historical significance.

**Background Knowledge** Students will have to be able to //describe// the technological and scientific changes of the 1920s before being able to //assess// and //judge// the most significant innovation. good start - also select the specific expectations from the curriculum that will be addressed during this lesson This lesson will allow students to assess the impact of scientific and technological innovations on the lives of Canadians since World War I, a requirement listed under Change and Continuity in the curriculum.

**Criteria for Judgement** Criteria for Assessing Significance: __Prominence at the time__. To what extent was the innovation important at the time of its occurrence? __Consequences__. //Magnitude//. Did the innovation’s impact result in major changes? Did it contribute to a sense of national identity? //Scope//. Did the innovation impact a lot of people in a large area? Did it unify Canadians or only a segment of the population? //Depth of Impact//. Were the effects of the innovation long-lasting? Did the impact affect subsequent events/people/trends? Is the innovation still unifying Canadians and providing a sense of Canadian identity? __Historical Prominence__. //Remembered//. Does the innovation have an iconic status? Has it been memorialized in history and in popular culture? //Revealing//. Does the innovation reveal something about the 1920s? Does it epitomize the culture/society of the time? yes - good - you might not need all of these but they are all good.

**Habit of Mind** This task is meant to provide students with the opportunity to be critically minded.

**Thinking Strategies** Students will use a decision making matrix and a rating scale to sift through background information.

**Critical Thinking Vocabulary** In order to be successful in this task, students will have to practice making judgements – the act of deciding or judging based on reason, evidence, and clear criteria.

**Without giving any background information, show students two photos:** photo a: Captain Fred McCall with Stinson-Detroiter airplane, Calgary, Alberta photo b: First airplane at Huxley. Pilot, Jack Fraser on barnstorming tour came to Huxley to visist Jack Robertson. Frank Bizzell, left, with hands behind back (images provided by Glenbow Archives www.glenbow.org/collections/search/) **Ask the following questions:** **Who** is in the image? **What** are the people doing? **Where** does the image take place? **When** did the action in the image take place? **Why** is the action happening?