Mario Polisena –Merivale High School,
Ottawa-Carleton D.S.B.
(Paul) + (Sena.)
-14 years of teaching; History, Civics,
Economics, etc.
-Department Head of CWS, Social Science
& Humanities, Business.
 Simulations:
-engage learners
-develop critical thinking and analytical
skills
-promote teamwork & cooperation through
collaboration and compromise
-are flexible and adaptable to different
audiences (Applied, Open, Academic
classes)
-are FUN!
•
•
Proper background information &
contextualisation are key.
The “Rules of Engagement” must be clear:
a) What are the student’s precise roles &
responsibilities?
b) What are the activity’s outcomes and
expectations?
c) Provide exemplars if possible.
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Adam Smith & Karl Marx on economic theory
Queen Victoria & an anti-colonialist
on the expansion of the British Empire.
Benjamin Disraeli & a Chartist leader on workers
rights and conditions.
Klemens von Metternich & Giuseppe Mazzini on
nationalism in the Austrian Empire.
A liberal leader and a radical leader on the
1848-9 Revolutions.

Giuseppe Mazzini, Victor Emmanuel II, Pius IX on
the form of government for a unified Italy.

Abraham Lincoln, Henry Clay, & Frederick
Douglass on federal power and state rights

Napoleon III & Louis-Auguste Blanqui on
the causes of the Paris Commune

Napoleon III & Victor Hugo on social
conditions in France in the 1850s
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Otto von Bismarck & a German republican on the form
of government for a unified Germany.
Alexander II, a constitutional monarchist, and Mikhail
Bakunin on the speed of political change in Russia.
Theodore Roosevelt & George Washington on foreign
wars.
Cecil Rhodes & Menelik II on the rights
of indigenous/ native Africans.


Simulations of the Peace Summits at the end of the
Seven Years’ War and the Napoleonic Wars.

Each student represents a peace delegate.
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
8 delegations are represented: Great Britain, France,
Austria, Russia, Prussia, Spain, the Netherlands, and
Portugal.
3 possible roles to play: the Chief Minister summarises
the political situation at home; the War Minister
discusses the main military contributions; the Foreign
Minister presents & negotiates demands.

Sample Class of 30 students:
 -Morgan, Mike, Sammy, Sabee, Zach
(Prussia)
 -Josh, Katrina, Tevon, Sheridan, Jessie (Russia)
 -Isaac, Paisley, Nick, Soumaya, Tamara (France)
 -Kennedy, Cassidy, Sam, Jay, Nathaniel (Britain)
 -Megan, Joy, Maria, Miranda, Alex (Austria)
 -Natasha & Kristen (Netherlans)
 -Daniel & Ben (Spain)
 -Siobhan (Portugal)
 War
Secretaries:
1-How did my country do on the battlefield? Did
it clearly win or lose the war?
2-How much did it contribute from a military
standpoint (casualties, participants, key
battles)?
3-What was its financial contribution?
 Heads
of government:
1-In what political condition are we in? Are we in
a position of strength or weakness? Are there
important political divisions to consider?
2- Have important reforms taken place in my
nation/ Kingdom in the recent past? What have
been their effects?
3-Is my nation/ Kingdom in a strong or weak
financial situation?

Foreign Ministers:

1-What key areas are you willing to give up?
Which are you not willing to?

2-What are your country’s traditional or new vital
interests?

3-Are you in a position to be an “honest broker”
to restore peace? Are you in a position to impose
terms on others?
Main Questions to discuss:
a)
What would be your state’s ideal solution to
the crisis?
b)
What would you be willing to cede or give up
(consider original trade-offs)?
c)
What type of sanctions would be the most
effective on an antagonistic state?
d)
Gather all your notes on your country (pay
particular attention to the Napoleonic Wars,
Italian & German unification movements, the
causes of World War I, Europe on the Eve of
World War I handout).
e)
Study the maps of Europe and Africa in 1914.
f)
Analyse how the war started. Who is to
blame? Is blaming one country sufficient and
fair?
g)
Analyse how the war ended. Was
Germany totally defeated?
h)
Name your country’s traditional allies
and enemies. Do you truly trust your
allies?
i)
What role did imperialism play in
starting the war? Should it be kept or
dismantled?
j)
Ask yourself the same question as
above (f) for monarchy.
k)
What are the biggest problems/
challenges faced by your country?
l)
Which country (ies) suffered the most
material damage? Whose soil was the
most affected?
4
important Ancients are put on trial by their
peers:
Pericles and Socrates in Athens;
Spartacus and Julius Caesar in Rome.
Students all have a role as an accuser or a
defender of the accused. It is essential that they
consider the accusation and make reference to
it throughout their argumentation (much like a
thesis in an essay).
The accusation: Pericles is accused of hubris and is
responsible for Athens’ loss in the Peloponnesian War.
The accusers:
1. a leading citizen of the Delian League
2. Alcibiades, a turn-coat Athenian
General
3. a Corinthian citizen, a traditional
enemy of the Athenians
The defenders:
1. a poor Athenian, who has benefited from Pericles’
reforms
2. an artist who has found employment in Pericles’
building projects
3. someone who believes that Athens is destined from
greatness

The accusation: Socrates is accused of corrupting the
youth and impiety toward the traditional gods.
The accusers:
1. a landowner whose sons are disciples of Socrates

2. Demosthenes, a powerful Athenian General
3. a priest, member of the religious caste
The defenders:
1. Plato
2. Anaxagoras
3. Aspasia of Miletus, wife of Pericles

The accusation: high treason and of resisting the
authority of Roman slave masters. CALEUM
The accusers:
1. Marcus Licinius Crassus: the General

2. Portius Metellus: a landowning patrician
3. Varus: the consul
4. Lucius Cornelius Sulla: the dictator and leader of
optimates
The defenders:
1. Crixus: slave from Gaul

2. follower of the Gracchus brothers: patricians wanting to
limit the power of the aristocracy
3. Gnaeus Papirius Carbo: General; populare; follower of
Gaius Marius.

The accusation: self-centred opportunism and
repudiating the principles of the Roman Republic.
The accusers:
1. Cato the Younger: part of optimates in the Senate

2. Marcus Junius Brutus: Senator; had allied himself to
Pompey prior to the latter’s defeat against Caesar
3. Marcus Tullius Cicero: champion of republican
traditions
The defenders:
1. Mark Antony: Caesar’s most loyal supporter

2. populare Senator: a supporter of Caesar’s reforms
3. legionnaire in Caesar’s army: someone who had gained
employment and booty through his service
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
An imperialist vs. a pacifist on WW1 involvement.
McClung vs. Premier Roblen on women’s
suffrage.
Laurier, Bourassa, Borden on WW1 conscription.
Bennett, King, Woodsworth on solutions to the
Depression.
Murphy vs. King on Persons Case.
Ralston vs. McNaughton on WW2
conscription.
Diefenbaker vs. On the Avro Arrow.
Diefenbaker vs. Pearson on the flag.
9. T. Douglas vs. Sask. doctors on medicare.
10. Smallwood vs. on Nwfld.’s entry into
Confederation.
11. Duplessis vs. Lesage on modernising Quebec
12. Trudeau vs. Lougheed on the
NEP.
13. Trudeau vs. Lévesque on
sovereignty/ the Constitution.
14. Mulroney, Turner, Broadbent on Free Trade
15. Chrétien vs. Bouchard on sovereignty.
Contact me at:
mario.polisena@ocdsb.ca