National Gallery of Canada's Online Resources for Teachers: An Overview

M.C. Escher Mindscapes is one of the many online showcases
at the National Gallery of Canada

The National Gallery of Canada, located in Ottawa, Ontario, is a fantastic gallery and I urge anyone who is in Ottawa to take your students to see it. Galleries give students a tremendous opportunity to see art of different mediums, cultures, and time periods, and all usually with the help of a docent to focus their viewing of the pieces. However, for those that aren't in the Ottawa area, the National Gallery still provides educators with opportunities to show their students some amazing art through their online resources. 

The online showcases are a way for teachers to show their students some of the permanent collections of the gallery without making the trek to Ottawa. The showcase doesn't just show the artwork but also has interviews with some of the artists, historical background, and explanations for some of the pieces. Its not quite as fun as going to the gallery itself, but it does make art accessible when you simply can't make it to the gallery.

All three overall curriculum expectations can be addressed through the activities and the online showcase on the website. There are several games/online activities students can play on the site that go beyond simply colouring or decorating an image. There are games about recognizing features and symbols in paintings called Eye Spies and Stories in Art respectively. Students are able to learn about the elements and principles of design. They also have the opportunity to reflect on pieces of art and to appreciate the historical and cultural context of those pieces of art. 

The activity I'm most excited about is the Canadian Landscapes activity, which organizes paintings of Canada's landscapes into the many faces of Canada (urban, rural, wilderness). I think this activity would be a good starting point for some cross-curricular exploration of Visual Arts and Social Studies. Students could learn about the different geographic regions of Canada and then create a painting of a region of their choice. 

"Balsam Ave, Toronto." William Kurelek. 1973. Mixed Media

For older students, there are a few activities available as well, one of which is called Deconstructing Art. This activity takes several paintings and then helps students pull apart different sections of those works such as the elements, perspectives, and themes of the painting. I like this activity because its visual organization makes it easy to break down the elements of a painting, even if you aren't a proficient artist or critic. 

I like that the emphasis for much of the resources and lesson plans on the site is about having a personal connection to the artwork in addition to gaining historical and cultural context. I'm a fan of art history and criticism, but not every student is, nor will every student go onto keeping art in their lives after they're finished school. That's why it's important to make sure students have a personal connection and see the value in art. Even if they may not be frequenting galleries or creating art of their own, if they have positive memories of art or can at least gain some enjoyment from viewing art, then you as an Arts teacher has done a good job! 

Ultimately, it all depends on how creative the teacher is when using these activities and lesson plans in the classroom, but the National Gallery lays a good groundwork through their online resources. Even without a field trip, students can have some fun and learn something of value through the National Gallery.

You can access their website here and go to "Learn" to see all the education specific games, podcasts, and showcases. 

Grade 4 Early Societies Unit Plan!

Raphael. "School of Athens." 1509-1511. Apostolic Palace,
Vatican City.

Have I got a treat for you! As our final assignment for the Social Studies course at Brock University, my group members and I have compiled a 12 lesson unit plan for the Grade 4 Early Societies strand. Most of these lessons are longer than one hour, so will provide your students with weeks, even a couple months (depending on how you organize the class schedule) of fun and exploration of world civilizations. You can access the unit plan and the links to the individual lessons here.

The Big Idea for the unit is: how has the environment impacted the development of societies? This unit plan is strongly influenced by the ideas of Jared Diamond from Guns, Germs, and Steel fame. For those unfamiliar with Diamond's work, the Reader's Digest version of his thesis is that gaps in power and technology between civilizations is influenced by environmental differences. Students will have opportunities to explore this idea through a variety of assignments that involve collaboration, technology, integrate other subjects such as Language or the Arts, and allow students to choose their own adventure through inquiry projects.

There are so many fascinating civilizations to study that our group tried to pick societies from multiple continents so students would not have a purely Eurocentric exposure to early societies. We chose to do lessons on Egypt, Greece, Mayans, Medieval England, and Medieval China.

Our culminating assignment will also knock yours (and hopefully your students') socks off. Students get to create their own civilization!! Based on everything they've learned about ancient and medieval societies, they can take the best and leave out the worst of these societies. So many fun questions they'll get to consider! What continent will their civilization be on? How important will art, culture, or trade be to the civilization? What sort of government will it have? I kind of want to do one for fun!

Will your students choose to make a democracy or become a
despot?

Please feel free to contact me if you use any of the lessons or if you make any changes to the lessons for your own classroom. I am always learning and on the hunt for ways to be a better teacher and give students a better learning experience!

8P10 Course Reflection: The Benefits of Self-Reflection and Blended Learning

"We don't receive wisdom; we must discover it for ourselves after a journey that no one can take for us or spare us."
--Marcel Proust, In Search of Lost Time 


This has been a very eventful semester for me as I've been working like a madwoman to get my ducks in a row before my son was born on the 12th. By and large I accomplished my goal of getting all the major assignments done ahead of time, it's just small things such as this blog post/course reflection that I have to take care of now. My ability to get things done ahead of time was helped quite a bit by the blended learning of this and some of my other courses.

Since Cooper was born, I've been thinking a lot about accessibility. Armed with a stroller, I have a newfound appreciation for any store or establishment that has a ramp! Blended learning and a tech-friendly classroom is my academic ramp because it allows me to participate when my health and familial responsibilities make it difficult for me to physically be in class. I think blended learning could serve the same purpose in a Junior/Intermediate classroom.

Now, it is unlikely that any student in a J/I class is going to have a baby to take care of, but there are many other reasons why a student may need to video conference into class or do their learning at their own pace online. Maybe they get injured while playing sports or have to get their appendix removed. A classroom where the teacher uploads assignments and course material online would give those students the opportunity to keep up with their homework.

For students that struggle with participating in class, perhaps due to shyness or because it takes them longer than average to collect their thoughts, having a forum set up where they can add their thoughts gives those students a chance to make their voice heard, but in a way that might be more comfortable for them because they can save their responses, edit them, or completely rewrite them until they're perfect.

Equity and Inclusive Education applied to the Social Studies Classroom

"It is never too late to give up your prejudices."

--Henry David Thoreau, Walden 

"Christian, Jew, Muslim, shaman, Zorastrian, stone, ground, mountain, river, each has a secret way of being with the Mystery, unique and not to be judged."

--Rumi

This almost goes without saying, but people like it when they can relate to their environments and what they're learning. Inclusive education can heighten student and even parent engagement and a good teacher should be trying to get to know their students and their students' backgrounds anyways. I love incorporating things into the classroom that I know about students e.g. making reference to jokes or music they like or acknowledging their background. For example, if I know that many of my students are Muslim, I know not to bring any gelatin or Jello products as treats because they are not halal. 

The Ontario Equity document states that when students see themselves reflected in their studies, they are more likely to stay engaged and find school relevant. Learning about different cultures around the world and in Canada through the Social Studies curriculum can help students feel more connected to the world around them. Taking care to acknowledge the many groups that contributed to the formation of Canada can help students see that the multiculturalism they may take for granted had not always been present in Canada. 

It was through the efforts of many diverse individuals and groups that gave us all the privileges we experience now as Canadians. Teaching students that Canadian culture is complex and varied rather than homogenous can also give students a greater appreciation for others who may be Canadian, but express it differently than they do. Developing empathy for others is part of the “Attributes” section of the Citizenship Education Framework, and inclusive education can aid in its development.

Even if you teach in a school where the population is homogenous, such as in a rural area, it is still important to acknowledge and teach about Canada's diversity. Why? Well, on the off chance those students ever leave that community, say for postsecondary education or to travel, they will still be familiar with cultural diversity and sensitivity.

How Could This be Incorporated into a Social Studies Unit?

I think inclusive education could be integrated into the Grade 6 unit “Communities in Canada, Past and Present” because one of main objectives of the unit is to look at different groups that contributed (and continue to contribute) to Canada’s identity in the past and present. A1.2. requires students to evaluate the contributions of various ethnic and religious groups in the formation of the Canadian identity and of course, the A2 Inquiry expectations will allow students to investigate cultural groups in Canada further. 

Depending on how the teacher wanted to organize the unit, the student may be able to do a project on an ethnic or religious group of their choosing (maybe even their own if they desired) to learn about how community members before them influenced the life they have today. Not only that, but their investigations about why certain groups chose to immigrate to Canada gives students a greater global consciousness and can help them relate these situations to modern events e.g. Syrian refugees coming to Canada.  

Primary Documents in the Social Studies Classroom: Not just for scholars anymore!

Whether this is accurate or not, whenever I think of a historian, I can't help but think of a man or woman in a tweed suit, with big glasses poring carefully over yellowed documents in the backroom of some library or government office, using tweezers to turn the pages so as not to disrupt the integrity of the primary sources they're investigating. However, thanks to an increasing amount of resources being put online and the increased knowledge of restoration and preservation of artifacts, you don't need that PhD and tweed suit to investigate the past in a hands on way! Students, even students as young as primary grades can have encounters with the past through primary documents.

Primary documents are an interesting and fun way to make history come alive for students. Rather than reading about events that happened through a textbook (and thus a historian’s interpretation of that event), students can piece together for themselves what happened and even assess multiple resources about the same event to try to find “the truth” or at the very least figuring out what most likely happened. 

Why Should Students Read Primary Documents? 

Primary documents help students develop the ability to analyze the value of resources, asking questions like: what is a credible source? Is this document written by a credible source? What does the author have to gain (if anything) by producing this document? Considering the vast amount of content students must parse everyday in the Internet-age, being confident in assessing primary documents is a useful skill (especially considering so many "studies" put online that are neither peer-reviewed, nor properly executed).

Primary documents also allow students to work on essential language arts reading strategies, such as making inferences, predictions, and connections. In a textbook, the author will usually explain an event explicitly and lay out step-by-step how various groups may have been affected. While it is useful to have that clarity, primary documents can be used in conjunction with the textbooks for students to compare and contrast the official narrative of the textbook with the narrative they read in primary documents.  

How Could Primary Documents be Incorporated into a Unit? 

How I would like to incorporate primary documents into a social studies unit in a classroom of my own would be through early explorer narratives and diaries for the Grade 5 “First Nations and Europeans in New France and Early Canada” strand. Looking at excerpts from the diaries of Cartier and Champlain can give a more insight into how rough the journeys across the Atlantic really were, and can give an interesting view of the European perspective of first contacts with the First Nations. 

I think of that exchange between Iroquois chief Donnacona and Cartier after Cartier and his men had erected a cross claiming the land for France as a good excerpt to read. Cartier’s account is far from an objective account, and students can have the opportunity to compare and contrast the description of this exchange in their textbook and in Cartier’s diary. They can also develop their predicting, inferencing, and empathy in imagining what they perspective looked and felt like to Donnacona. 

"Hey, you don't mind if we set up a giant cross and kidnap your sons do you?"
First encounter 1534. Retrieved from
https://jacquescartier1534.wordpress.com/first-encounter-with-people-in-1534/

There are also other interesting (read: depressing and appalling) sections of the journal that describe Iroquois people being kidnapped to be taken to France to show the King what Cartier had discovered. If students read that and then read how those situations are described in textbooks and official narratives, which mention nothing of forcible seizure and make it appear like Iroquois trotted happily onto Cartier's boat, waving goodbye to their family, excited for the adventure, it will certainly be food for thought. There's a link to the journal here, but there are also nicer translations available in print form. 

These narratives can be linked to Language Arts, looking at both reading texts and media literacy. Explorer narratives and adventure novels were historically very popular genres with strict conventions that portrayed aboriginal peoples in specific ways. This can be an introduction into the portrayal of aboriginals and other minorities in the media historically and today if you chose to use social studies as a starting point for conversations in other subjects.  

Let me know ways you'd like to use primary documents in the classroom or how your students feel about these more hands-on historical investigations!

Environmental Education in Ontario Social Studies

"The frog does not drink up the pond in which it lives."
--Proverb

Environmental education in the social studies is increasingly essential given recent developments in climate change research and the difficulty in distributing resources to an ever-growing global population. Students need to develop green habits that they can share with others and carry on into adulthood. 

Environmental education gives students a greater connection to local and global communities, helping increase their sense of place and involvement. It enhances critical-thinking and problem-solving skills in the process. Environmental education is linked with field work, which develops valuable skills and can be connected with other disciplines, giving students a more interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary education. With the proper educational framework, students can move from awareness to action in regards to caring for the environment. 

Environmental education is also beneficial because it has connections to other ministry initiatives, such as the inclusion of aboriginal history and culture into the curriculum. It also is in alignment with Foundations for a Healthy School framework, which emphasizes a healthy physical environment and supportive social environment for successful learning. On average, children like to be helpful and feel like their actions are important, and by having them participate in environmental initiatives in the school and the larger community, it can give a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction that they are making a positive impact in the world.

What Might it look like in a Classroom?

Environmental education and field study could be aligned with the grade 7 Geography curriculum through the A2 inquiry expectations, where students must “guide investigations into the impact of natural events and/or human activities that change the physical environment.” Students could look at their local community and investigate through analyzing maps, climate graphs, and census data how the environment has changed in their local community over time, and how these changes occurred e.g. did the building of a dam change the local habitat, has there been a decrease in availability of arable land due to new housing developments, etc. 

Apart from developing their data analysis and spatial skills, this inquiry could be supplemented with visits to various natural habitats or historic sites in the area to compare and contrast how humans lived in this area before and how they live now. This incorporates many skills and concepts of both Geography and even History, while addressing Environmental education in a hands-on way. 

Remember too that Environmental education allows a great cross-curricular opportunity with Science, as Environmental education and stewardship is a major component of the Ontario Science curriculum as well. There are many ways to bring up the environment when teaching students, we do all live on Earth so it's kind of hard to avoid really. Any of the Social Studies strands could theoretically involve Environmental education; it's just time to get creative and see what you can do to incorporate those values and concepts. 

Salt and Pepper Science

No, not with them.

Yes, these ones.
Retrieved from http://goo.gl/04ZuPC.

Whether you're investigating it in a classroom, or using it to irritate your brother, static electricity is a lot of fun. It seems almost like magic sometimes watching a little blue spark jump from your finger to another person's (makes you feel a little like a Sith Lord) or watch materials move seemingly on their own. 

For our Science class at Brock University, Amanda Walker and I demonstrated a motivational demo involving salt, pepper, spoons, and the wonders of static electricity. Kudos to Amanda to searching through some science experiment resources to find it. Here is the full demo outline with full scientific explanation of the demo and guiding questions you can ask your students throughout and after the procedure. Now you too can make pepper move seemingly by itself, right from the comfort of your home or classroom!  

Try with your students, or with your children when you're stuck inside on a rainy day. There is minimal clean up and it is a way to get kids interested in atoms and electricity.