WHO ARE THE ARCHITECTS? What are the factors that led to Confederation? What is the beginning, middle and end to Canada’s Confederation story? How has the path of Confederation reinforced or created harmony and tension in Canada? What was the effectiveness of different structures of leadership in Canada’s history? How did other countries influence Canada’s path to Confederation?

STARTING WITH SELF What is one of the most important events in your life? Describe Who, What, When and Where. Why is that event so important in your life? Try to keep your response to 1 sentence.

HISTORICAL THINKING One approach to “doing Social Studies” is by using 6 benchmarks of historical thinking, conceptualised by the Historical Thinking Project:Historical Thinking Project 1.Historical Significance- What is important? 2.Cause and Consequence- How did this begin? Why does it matter? 3.Continuity and Change- What remains consistent over time and place? What doesn’t? 4.Historical Perspective- Is it possible to leave our present self behind when we investigate the past? 5.Evidence- What do sources tell us? How are sources silent? 6.Ethical Dimensions- How do we understand decisions made in the past? Can we judge past behaviours? These benchmarks can serve as lenses to help us interpret, organise, look for and understand the people, places and ideas that are our area of interest in Social Studies.

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE How do we determine if something has historical significance? We can look for these indicators (in combination or isolation): a formative event- after this point, “everything changed” part of the cultural narrative- it is part of the stories people tell about themselves part of a bigger pattern- one piece of a bigger story, an important ingredient

CAUSE AND CONSEQUENCE

CONTINUITY AND CHANGE

EVIDENCE Written or created at the time of the event Eyewitness accounts Letters, tools, artifacts Have benefit of being a source directly from the event Examples: A letter A piece of pottery Written after the event Author is relying on other information to write about event Has benefit of having time to analyze and understand Examples: Biography Summary of a battle PRIMARY SOURCESSECONDARY SOURCES

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE… “Taking historical perspective means understanding the social, cultural, intellectual, and emotional settings that shaped people’s lives and actions in the past. At any one point, different historical actors may have acted on the basis of conflicting beliefs and ideologies, so understanding diverse perspectives is also a key to historical perspective-taking. …historical perspective is very different from the common-sense notion of identification with another person. Indeed, taking historical perspective demands comprehension of the vast differences between us in the present and those in the past.”

ETHICAL DIMENSIONS

HISTORICAL THINKING ACTIVITY 1.Select 6 historical events that you consider to be of great significance to Canadian history pre-Confederation (1867). 2.Make a Timeline of these events. Your timeline should include: 1.An assessment of how each event is historically significant using the 3 indicators of Historical Significance (a formative event, part of a cultural narrative, and/or part of a bigger pattern) 2.An explanation of the event's Historical Perspective considering the event's social, cultural, intellectual, and emotional context and how it shaped early Canadians lives and actions. 3.A piece of evidence for each event - in this case a strong quote from a primary source. 3.Post your Timeline to Canvas before next class. You will need it in class.