Joanna Maxwell
Lesson Plan
Usha – Canadian History
October, 22, 2010
Lesson: Treaty of Versailles
KEY LEARNING
Students will analyse the end of WWI, in particular, the creation of the Treaty of Versailles.
They will look at Prime Minister Borden’s Canadian foreign policy and autonomy in the world
post WWI.
CRITICAL CHALLENGES
The students will critically examine the role that Canada, in particular Prime Minister Borden,
had in the peace talks and the creation of the Treaty of Versailles. They will be expected to
determine whether Canada simply followed Britain by signing the Treaty or fought for our
autonomy and achieved it. Students will be given a choice of two challenges:
Challenge #1: Create a front page newspaper article for the Toronto Star explaining the creation
of the Treaty of Versailles, making sure to comment on the influence Canada had in the peace
talks.
Things to be included are:
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Prime Minister Borden’s speech and influences in Europe
Brief explanation of the Treaty and clauses.
Stipulate whether the article is for or against for the way in which Canada handled itself
during the peace talks. Take a stance on whether you are for the Treaty. Should the
Canadian government have signed it? Did Borden do a good job for Canadians?
Or
Challenge #2: Create a political cartoon based on Borden or the Canadian government‘s role in
the peace talks and the Treaty of Versailles. Indicate whether you are for or against the handling
of the Treaty negotiations by Canada. Write a paragraph below the cartoon explaining why you
chose the image you did and your justification for the stance t you have taken.
(The reason I have given the students a choice in assignment was because of the way that
students learn. Some are very strong at writing and the newspaper would be a great choice for
them. There are others who are very artistic and, therefore, a cartoon would connect with their
learning style).
EXPECTATIONS FROM CURRICULUM
Communities: Local, National, and Global and Change and continuity
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This unit will show how global influences affected world foreign policy from 1914 to
1920.
It will also look at Canada’s role in the peace negotiations and external forces in the
world that affected Canada in our pursuit of autonomy.
It will also analyse how the Treaty led to Canada having a stronger influence in the world
due to its sacrifices in WWI.
-2Methods of Historical Inquiry and Communication
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By analysing primary sources, including the Treaty itself, students will hone their
research and critical thinking skills.
EXPECTATIONS FOR LEARNING
By the end of these lessons the students will have an understanding of Canadian foreign
policy from WWI. They will be able to explain the difference in Canada at the time of
entering the war as a colony to fighting for autonomy based on the sacrifices they made.
They will be able to discuss Prime Minister Borden’s push against Britain and critically
consider whether Canada achieved its goal on the world stage.
BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE (CONTENT AND SKILLS)
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Causes of WWI – alliance system imperialism, nationalism, political events, tension
globally.
The experiences from the war and how it affected each country and their respective
political leaders.
Canada’s role in the world and as a British colony prior to 1914
How to create a front page article and headline to engage the reader.
The requirements for creating a political cartoons
Canadian involvement in WWI and the sacrifices that it made.
How Canadians identified themselves prior to the war.
Analyzing primary and secondary sources – finding the main points and thesis, etc.
CRITERIA FOR JUDGMENT
Questions to be considered while judging/grading the peace process and Canadian influence in
the creation of the Treaty of Versailles:
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What was the Allied leader’s motivation when entering the peace negotiations? Did they
let their biases and emotions lead them?
Did Prime Minister Borden and the Canadian government simply follow what Britain
expected them to do or did they fight for the best interest of the Canadian population?
In particular, did Canada have any say in the proceedings? If so, did they achieve what
they set out to do in regard to their foreign policy?
Did Canadian involvement in the war justify Borden’s fight for the right to sign the
Treaty independently from Britain?
HABIT OF MIND
Critically Minded, Inquiring mind, Consultative.
Each student will have to use the above habits of mind for this task. They need to critically
analyse the information surrounding the writing of the Treaty of Versailles to understand how
this affected the world’s foreign policy in the years that followed. Through inquiry, students will
ascertain the reasons why Canada made the choices that it did and determine whether these
choices were positive or negative.
-3KEY THINKING STRATEGIES
Students will have to compare choices made in the Treaty’s creation. They will also have to
analyse world foreign policy after WWI and how the Treaty affected this and lead to WWII.
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Think/- Pair -/Share
Placemat – in groups of 4 students will analyze Borden’s speech and put down their
views on the main points.
Class discussions in groups of four.
Circle discussion – using talking stick to give everyone a chance to discuss their feelings
about Canadian policy and the Treaty of Versailles and share their projects with each
other.
Analysing primary sources from the time.
Analysing secondary sources about this issue.
CRITICAL THINKING VOCABULARY
This task will focus on the following critical thinking vocabulary: Analysis, Critique, and
Judgement.
RESOURCES
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Chart paper
Markers, Crayons, Scissors, etc.
Photocopies of hand-outs with the main clauses of the Treaty
Photocopies of Borden’s speech and document.
Projector and laptop to show political cartoons
Examples of front pages from newspapers both modern and historical.
Talking stick for circle discussion.
CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT
The class will be broken into groups of about four; this will allow them to share with their peers
their ideas about Canada and the Treaty of Versailles. They will share their newspaper or
cartoon with the class and explain briefly why they chose to agree or disagree with the role that
Borden had. This will also allow every student in each group an opportunity to analyze the
primary sources.
At end of the unit of lessons, the students will sit in a circle with desks pushed in and have a
circle discussion. This will afford them an opportunity to formulate and critique their own
opinions while listening to the opinions of others.
-4THE LESSONS (3 DAYS)
Time
Strategy/Instruction
Day One
20 minutes
Mental Set – Story
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25 minutes
Background knowledge
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15 minutes
5 minutes
Lecture on the Treaty of Versailles
Discuss Canada’s role in the world at the end of the war and the sacrifices made
by Canadians during the war.
Talk about Borden’s aim for Canada on the world stage.
Think-Pair-Share
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10 minutes
Hand the story out and read it out loud. The students can make notes while the
teacher is reading.
Have them look at the questions at the end of the story and think about how they
would feel.
Go around the class and ask them to share their thoughts.
Look at newspapers and what makes a good headline.
Analyze political cartoons and what makes them such.
Explain to the students the assignment that we will be working on and the choice that
they have to make. Let them know that they will have time to work on this in class but
they have to do some work at home because it is due the day after the fourth class.
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Give out homework for the next day.
o Give them the clauses of the Treaty to review.
o Give them the political cartoon and headlines from this time for the
Treaty of Versailles for them to analyze and start to think about their
project.
Day Two
25 minutes
Give them Borden’s speech to read.
20 minutes
Placemat
In their groups get the students to create a placemat of their ideas from the article and the
main ideas
30 minutes
Placemat Con’t
Have students put up their placemats on the walls and ask them to discuss with the class
their views.
Note:
If they finish the placemat early, they may work on their projects.
-5-
Time
Strategy/Instruction
Day Three
25 minutes
Circle Talk
Each student takes the talking stick and tells the others what they are doing for their
assignment. Anything they might have done can be shared with the class. They can also
talk about whether signing the Treaty as an independent nation created autonomy for
Canada.
40 minutes
Working on their project. Giving them class time to work on the project and create their
draft. This way they can finish the final one that night to hand in the next day. If they
finish this during the class they are allowed to hand it in or they can wait until tomorrow
to finish it.
10 minutes
Wrap-up conclusion
Talk about how WWI, on a whole, helped create a Canadian Identity and how the Treaty
and Borden’s persistence pushed Canada into a new era for foreign policy. Leading into
the League of Nations and the Treaty of Westminster.
-6TREATY OF VERSAILLES MENTAL SET
There were these three guys that used to hand out together in the field behind their inner
city high school; Gerry, Bobby and Chuck. They didn’t really like each other to much but had
felt the need to form an alliance to protect each other from the other students in the school that
may want to attack them individually. They believed that they were stronger together.
One day while Chuck and Bobby had run to the washroom, Gerry was walking across the
track field with his lunch to eat on the bleachers and was jumped by Rick. Rick was a bit of a
bully who thought of himself as a toughest guy in school but who was considered by the teachers
to be a good student. While Gerry was on the ground fighting Rick Bobby came out of the
school and noticed the fight. When he saw that Gerry was involved he jumped in and joined.
Rick’s friend Jon, who had been sitting by watching the fight but not getting involved,
then decided that he needed to jump in as well as two against one would lead to Rick getting
plummeted. So he joined in.
At this point Chuck exited the school and goes to watch the fight occurring in the field.
When he sees that it is Bobby and Gerry fighting Rick and Jon he joins the fray. To add fuel to
the fire, Rick and Jon’s friend Chris comes out of him portable for lunch only to see his friends
fighting and jumps in. It’s now three against three with even odds.
During this fight a few other people jumped in to help end the conflict. Christopher tried
to help Rick and ended up with a broken nose and lots of bruising. Austin also jumped in and
ended up very sore and bruised. Adam, held back for a while and just as the fight looked like it
was going to end jumped in and managed to separate the fighters, but got a black eye as a reward
for helping.
Mr. Smith the VP is called to the scene by the teacher on duty and proceeds to take all the
guys to his office. He attempts to find out who started the fight and has no luck. He knows that
Rick and his friends are A students and has never had problems with them. In the past, however,
he has had issues with Gerry alone so he blames him for the fight even though Gerry is adamant
that he was simply crossing the field to eat lunch and Rick threw the first punch.
Mr. Smith decided to let Rick and his friends chose Gerry’s punishment, as he was
thought to have started the fight. Gerry’s punishment is harsh. He is suspended for a week and
-7has detention for a month after that when he gets back. He also has to bring a note home and is
grounded for a month with all his privileges removed by his parents. Chuck and Bobby on the
other hand simply get a warning and are sent on their way. Rick and his friends don’t even get a
warning. They are sent back to class without as much as a talking to. The innocent bystanders
who jumped in to end the fight all got nothing as well, except for Austin who was thanked by the
VP for his help in separating the students fighting.
Questions:
1. How do you think it would feel to be Gerry in this situation?
2. Is there anything that Gerry could have done differently to avoid being punished?
3. What do you think about Rick’s behaviour?
4. Have you ever been accused of starting something when you hadn’t?
5. What about the students who attempted to help end the fight, should they have been
thanked as well?
(Note: this will be handed out of the students to follow along with me)
-8POLITICAL CARTOONS – TO SHOW TO CLASS FOR EXAMPLES
Source: http://www.historyonthenet.com/WW1/versailles.htm
http://blog.ounodesign.com/tag/vancouver-2010-olympics/
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http://politicalgraffiti.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/toyotastone.jpg
- 10 BACKGROUND INFORMATION TO BE LECTURED
These are not being handed out.
TREATY OF VERSAILLES
(1919)
Versailles, Treaty of, 1919. This was the treaty between Germany and the victorious
Allied nations (including Canada ) which brought the World War to a formal close. It was signed
in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles on June 28, 1919. The terms of the treaty affected Canada in a
direct way only slightly. Canada obtained a small share of the indemnities to be paid by
Germany; but otherwise she asked for, and obtained, no direct benefits from the treaty in land or
money. She did benefit from it, however, in the enhancement of her national status. In the Peace
Conference in Paris, Sir Robert Borden insisted that Canada should have the same representation
as Belgium and other small countries at the Conference; and in the end Canada was given, with
the other overseas Dominions, representation on the British Empire delegation to the Conference.
She was given two seats in the Conference, and these were occupied alternately by Sir Robert
Borden, Sir George Foster, the Hon. A. L. Sifton, and the Hon. C. J. Doherty. When the Treaty
of Versailles came to be signed, Borden insisted that it should be signed separately on behalf of
Canada. Opposition to this proposal arose in the United States delegation, which maintained that
if Canada and the other British Dominions signed separately, the British Empire would have six
votes in the proposed League of Nations, whereas the United States would have only one.
Eventually, the problem was resolved by having the British Empire delegation sign for Great
Britain, and the representatives of the British Dominions sign underneath, the names of their
respective countries being indented under that of the British Empire. Canada thus, as a result of
the treaty, obtained separate representation in the Assembly of the League of Nations, and even
obtained the recognition of her right to have her representative elected to the Council of the
League, with the result that the representative of Canada was actually elected to the Council of
the League in 1927.
Source : W. Stewart WALLACE, ed., The Encyclopedia of Canada, Vol. VI, Toronto,
University Associates of Canada, 1948, 398p., pp. 236-237.
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The Paris Peace Conference in session. Sir Robert Borden is seated on the right in the
second seat from the end of the table. (this will be shown to the class)
Source: http://www.international.gc.ca/history-histoire/world-monde/1914-1921.aspx?lang=eng#peace
MAKING PEACE
Divisions of the Canadian Corps assaulting the German position on Vimy Ridge, April 9,
1917.
When the Imperial War Cabinet resumed its meetings in June 1918, Borden was harshly
critical of the British high command for its conduct of the war. Lloyd George, who had his own
differences with the generals, suggested a committee of prime ministers to examine the war
effort. Potentially, this placed the dominion politicians in a position of great influence. But the
committee quickly became irrelevant when an Allied breakthrough, with Canadian and
Australian troops in the vanguard, brought the war to an end much more quickly than expected.
Borden also took the opportunity to reiterate his demand for a voice in foreign affairs. "Unless
- 12 [Canada] could have that voice in the foreign relations of the Empire as a whole," he warned,
"she would before long have an independent voice in her own foreign affairs outside the
Empire."
Following the Armistice of November 11, 1918, Borden returned to London determined
to have Canada play a role in the peace negotiations commensurate with her role in the war and
the casualties she had suffered. He had already told Lloyd George that "the press and people of
this country take it for granted that Canada will be represented at the Peace Conference" and that
"the national spirit of the Canadian people" would have to be satisfied. Canada's soldiers had
proved at least as capable as any other; in the final push to victory, the battle-hardened
Canadians had functioned as elite shock troops under the leadership of a Canadian general,
Arthur Currie.
Canadian victories, particularly the capture of Vimy Ridge in April 1917, gave Canadians
a new sense of pride and confidence. The Canadians had done what the French and British had
failed to do. "Vimy Ridge," as one participant commented, "was the first battle in which
Canadian divisions fought as a whole, and it was purely a Canadian effort." Canadian
nationalism was given a boost, but it was an English-Canadian nationalism that French Canada
did not share.
Lloyd George at first resisted separate representation for the dominions, but quickly
backed down in the face of Canadian and Australian determination to accept nothing less than
the status granted small nations such as Belgium, whose contribution to the Allied war effort was
smaller than theirs. He offered the dominions their own delegations to the peace conference
combined with representation on the British Empire delegation. Lloyd George had to convince
the Americans, who were reluctant to accept what they considered to be extra British votes, but
his persistence was rewarded.
While the dominions got their delegations, they had little real influence. All major
decisions were taken by the big powers -- Britain, France, Italy and the United States. The most
important Canadian achievement was the recognition of her status as an independent country in
her own right; or, as the more cautious Loring Christie phrased it, that Canada was "in some
degree an international person." This was underlined when the dominions all independently
signed the resulting Treaty of Versailles, even though the British signature covered the entire
- 13 Empire. Borden even insisted that the Canadian Parliament approve the treaty before the British
could say that it had been accepted by the Empire.
Source: http://www.international.gc.ca/history-histoire/world-monde/19141921.aspx?lang=eng#peace
Other Resources
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Globe & Mail article – Making Peace – hand-out for class (see PDF documents this is on
three different pages)
Borden Speech Article (see PDF document)
Web site to show for clauses of the Treaty - to show the class.
http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0215466/treaty_of_versailles.htm