Battles+of+WWI

Usha's comments in Blue.

Your name: Karan S.

===**Initial Reading and Assessment of Textbook Treatment of the Topic** ===

Name of Gr. 10 Textbook examined:

Name of more "scholarly" source examined:

__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!

Name of Gr.10 Text Examined: //Canada: Our Century, Our Story//

Name of more "scholarly" source examined: //Canada's triumph: Amiens, Arras, Cambrai, August-September-October, 1918// by James, Fred.

__Initial Thoughts:__ Overall, I believe the Grade 10 textbook provided adequete "snapshots" of several major battles in World War I. The battles are described in a markedly Canadian context, with references to other nations. It is interesting to note that the Battle of Vimy Ridge, Canada's "nation-making moment," is given much more room than the other battles. While the descriptions are brief, I do not think they are oversimplified to the point of distortion. They include battle maps and primary source excerpts, which I believe are useful for overall understanding. The major points of each battle are highlighted, and perhaps encourage students to delve deeper through homework/projects given by the instructor. However, I think it it is important to note that certain battles that Canadians were //not// a part of were only mentioned in passing, i.e. the Battle of Verdun. Additionally, there is little evidence/acknowledgement of differing interpretations of historical evidence, which I find problematic but unsurprising. In comparision, the scholarly source provided more in-depth analysis of Canadian particiaption in World War I battles. However, I think it is important to note that scholarly sources are often much "dryer" and go into complex detail about events, which probably make them unfeasible for day-to-day instructional use.

Thanks for your comments, Karan. I think your observation that the text does not acknowledge differing interpretations of historical evidence is very interesting. It would certainly be interesting to have students consider whether, indeed, these battles deserve the hallowed places of honour they are usually given.

Critical Question: **Taking into account the often meager gains, to what extent was Canadian participation in the major, costly battles of World War I significant?**

**A) Imagine you are a hired by the Canadian Government to create a propaganda poster encouraging more men to volunteer for the Army. What ideas/values would you include or emphasize in your poster?**

**B) You are a pacifist against the war, and are secretly creating/distributing anti-war pamphlets in Ontario. What ideas would you include/emphasize in your writing? Why?**

** Karan, your question above is clearly a critical question - a "critique the piece". Nicely done. Your second part (A and B) are also critical tasks. My concern is whether you would really do both. I'm not sure A and B directly scaffold the question. All in all, I think you might have 2 good but different ideas here and it might be best to decide which one to pursue. **

**Identify Key Learning / "Big Idea" / Learning Target**
While learning about the war's overall devastation, students will appreciate and understand the high cost of Canadian involvement in the major battles of World War I. This learning will allow for critical analysis of Canada's participation in the conflict, as well as examination of the scope and consequences of the war on other major participants.

Frame Critical Challenge
Assess the high cost in human lives and economic devastation that resulted for all participants in the major battles of World War I. Taking into account the often meager gains, to what extent was specifically Canadian participation in the major, costly battles of World War I significant? good (although the way the question is worded makes me think you already have an answer in mind - i.e. it was insignificant or not worth it - as long as you're willing to entertain all possible reasoned answers to this question, though, it is a good challenge.

How will this lesson help students build skills they will need for the summative assessment task for the unit?
By looking at certain primary and secondary sources on the major battles of World War I--the Somme, Verdun, Vimy Ridge, etc. students may be better prepared to write a news article regarding one of the battles, or create a political cartoon. Alternatively, students could create a strategic map or historical timeline of events in a particular battle, though the instructor would have to be careful about maps/timelines being copied from available textbooks.

What dimension of Historical Thinking will students actively engage in during this lesson?
The major dimension of Historical Thinking that students will actively be engaging in is Historical Significance. In addition to assessing the scope and consequences of the conflict as a whole, by looking at primary and secondary information students will decide whether the Canadian Army's role in the major battles of World War I was significant. The criteria to define "significant" will be given to students very early in the lesson.

Background Knowledge
Specific Expectations that will need to be addressed (directly from curriculum document):

-explain the causes of World War I and World War II and how Canada became involved in these two wars -describe Canada's and Canadians' contributions to the war effort overseas during World War I and World War II (e.g. Ypres, Vimy Ridge, Passchendaele,)...
 * Canada's Participation in War, Peace, and Security** (p.47 in //Canadian and World Studies, The Ontario Curriculum Grades 9 and 10//):

-distinguish between primary and secondary sources of information -evaluate the credibility of sources and information
 * Research** (p.52)

Students will need to be able to look at a body of historical evidence and come up with a reasoned judgement regarding a question that could be argued either way.

Criteria for Judgement
Students will need criteria for defining the word "significant," as the word will define the overall question.

//Anthology for Social Studies// (p.101) Criteria for Assessing Significance: -Prominence at the time--To what extent was the event important at the time of its occurrence? -Consequences: Magnitude/Scope/Depth: Did the participation in battles result in major changes? Did participation affect a few people or many? Did participation in these battles have a long-lasting effect on Canada and Canadians? -Historical Prominence--Is Canadian participation in the many battles widely remembered? Good - you might want to whittle these down a bit (you might not need all of them)

**Critical Thinking Vocabulary** In order for students to be successful, by the end of this lesson they must be familiar with the concepts of **judgement** (deciding based on reason, evidence, and criteria whether or not Canada's participation in the battles of the WWI were significant) and **critique** (evaluating primary and secondary sources, and recognizing the strengths/weaknesses of presented arguments)


 * LESSON PLAN ATTACHED:**