Designing Effective
Curriculum
Through a Five Step
Planning Process
Targets
Evidence
Scaffolding
Achievement
Next Steps
Template #1: Identifying Learning Targets
Course: Academic History
Grade: Grade 10
Invitations to Think Critically
h
1. Considering the role played in WWI and the sacrifices made, did Canada do enough to
earn the respect of the world and a place as a major power on the world stage?
2. Did the changing economy in the 1920s and 1930s impact the social movements which
would come about during this period?
3. How independent was Canada’s role in WWII when compared to exterior political and
social influences?
4.Did Canada build a peacekeeping image for itself during the post- war period until
repatriation? Or is the peacekeeping image a myth?
Course Specific Enduring Understandings
Key Concepts/Terms
Social Goals
-
Work collaboratively
Understanding/ respecting all
perspectives
Positively participating in
classroom activities
Mastering presenting skills
-
Changing nature of warfare
Alliances
- Cold War
Conscription
- peacekeeping
Treaty of Versailles/ League of Nations
Suffrage
Prohibition
- Military Contributions
Economics
Rise of consumerism
Political parties
- Canadian media
COURSE
ASSESSMENTS
Appeasement
Race/prejudice
Rise of Hitler
Home front
Propaganda
Charter of Rights and Freedoms
Transformation of Quebec
Collective Security
bipolarity
Academic Goals
-
Learn how to formulate different
types of questions
Gather information on Canadian
history for various sources
Distinguish between primary and
secondary documents
Evaluate credibility of resources
Analyse information using
historical theories and concepts
Draw conclusions using gathered
evidence
Template #2: Determining Appropriate Evidence
Product/Task
Canadian Independence
Project
The year is 1920. You and your
group members serve as
representatives of Canada on the
League of Nations board. You
have been asked to present a
proposal to the League of Nations
regarding whether or not Canada
should be an independent nation
because of its role in the war. Your
group must decide whether they
feel Canada is ready to become
independent or not and make a
presentation on your findings.
Enduring Understandings
Addressed
Social Goals Addressed
Academic Goals Addressed
- Changing nature of warfare
- Alliances
- Conscription
- Treaty of Versailles/ League of
Nations
-work collaboratively
- mastering presenting skills
- Gather information on Canadian
history for various sources
- Distinguish between primary and
secondary documents
- Evaluate credibility of resources
- Draw conclusions using gathered
evidence
- suffrage
-economic changes
- prohibition
- unions
-rise of consumerism
- political parties
- independent work
- time management skills
- analyze how changing economic
and social conditions have
affected Canadians since 1914
- analyze the contributions of
various social and political
movements in Canada since
1914
- interpret and analyze
information gathered through
research, employing concepts
You must effectively demonstrate
whether Canada does or does not
deserve to become independent
based of their contributions to the
war
Time Capsule
Pretend that you are living in
1920s and 1930s. After 20 years
over
extreme economic highs, as well as
lows, you decide to capture you
experiences in a time capsule.
Individually, all members of the
class
and approaches appropriate to
historical inquiry
will be expected to create a time
capsule. This time capsule should
represent your life in the 1920s
and 1930s: who you are as a
person,
your family, your job/ work life. In
the time capsule you will be
expected to include:
1) a newspaper article from either
the 1920s or 1930s
2) pictures of yourself during this
period
3) 2 diary entries which you have
written, one during the 1920s and
one during the 1930s
4) a recording of a radio broadcasr
from either the 1920s or 1930s (
using appropriate language from
the 1920s and 1930s)
5) your most valuable posession
with a letter describing its
importance to you
WW2 Symposium
It is late February, 1945. You, as
well as the rest of your class, are
high-ranking members of the
Canadian Armed Forces who have
been fighting overseas throughout
World War 2 in various battles,
including Hong Kong, The Battle
of Britain, The Dieppe Raid,
Italian Campaign, and part of the
transport of supplies across the
- appeasement
- rise of Hitler
- propaganda
- race/prejudice
-battles (D-Day, Dresden
bombings)
- war at home
- Positive participation in
classroom activities
- Work collaboratively with peers
- Improve critical thinking
- Assess Canada’s participation in
war and contributions to
peacekeeping and security
- Formulate questions on topics
and issues in the history of
Canada since 1914 and use
appropriate methods of
historical research to locate,
gather, evaluate and organize
relevant information from a
variety of sources
- Communicate the results of
historical inquiries, using
appropriate concepts and a
Atlantic Ocean. There is some
controversy over the recent
Dresden bombings which Canada
also participated in. This seems
like a cruel terror strategy to some.
Canada’s top generals have
summoned a group of experienced
officers (members of the class)
from the army, air force, and navy
to have a general discussion on
how justly Canada has been
fighting in WW2. This will help to
decide whether or not Canada
should try to change its military
strategy from now on. The class
will be divided into Army, Navy,
and Air force. You will have to
know about the battles that your
branch of the Armed Forces has
fought in to be able to contribute to
this important discussion and
judgement. At the end of the
general discussion of the
symposium, you will talk with the
members of your branch of the
Armed Forces to come up with a
common decision on whether your
branch has been fighting
completely justly, and why, OR
that it has not been fighting
completely justly and how its
military strategy could be changed
to do so. These recommendations
will be read to the class by a
representative from each group.
variety of forms of
communication, knowledge,
thinking, communication and
application.
Talk Show- Round Table
Discussion
For this assignment, students will
examine whether or not Canada's
image as a peacekeeping country is
myth or reality. Students will be
placed in groups of five, with two
students arguing that Canada's
image as a peacekeeping nation is
myth, while two others will argue
that it is reality. The fifth student
will serve as the “talk show host”,
and will ask questions that will
facilitate the discussion around
this issue. The questions asked
should revolve around the major
themes and issues touched upon in
the unit, and students should pull
in examples from the unit's
content, as well as from outside
sources, in order to support their
side's position. Each group will
hold their talk show in front of a
“live studio audience” (the class).
-
Cold War (bipolarity)
Peacekeeping
Collective security
Charter of Rights and Freedoms
- Work collaboratively
- Understanding and respecting all
perspectives
- Positive participation in
classroom activities
- Analyze the development of
French-English relations in
Canada, with reference to
individuals, issues and events
- Explain how local, national and
global influences have helped
shape Canadian identity
- Analyze the impact of external
forces and events on Canada and
its policies since 1914
- Communicate the results of
historical inquiries, using
appropriate terms and concepts
and a variety of forms of
communication
- Assess Canada’s participation in
war and contributions to
peacekeeping and security
Template #3: Planning Scaffolding
Product:
Independence Proposal
Product:
Time Capsule
Product:
Symposium
Product:
Talk Show
Assessment Targets:
K/U, T/I, C, A
Assessment Targets:
K/U, T/I, C, A
Assessment Targets:
K/U, T/I, C, A
Assessment Targets:
K/U, T/I, C, A
Resume for Canadian
War Hero
Technology Buyout
Activity
Conscription
Debate Activity
Enduring
Understandings
Picture Dictionary of
1920s/30s slang
Diary Analysis:
WLMK vs. Bennett
Newspaper Article and
Headline Activity
Reflection on Home Front
Experience
Ongoing Journal
Newspaper editorial
Independence poster
for Quebec
Letter home from
Battle
Value-added Timeline
Habits of Mind
Perseverance Open Minded Curious
Fair Minded Full Minded
Enemy Aliens
Lecture (Residential
Schools, Famous 5)
Analysis of Primary
Documents of Battles
Value-added Timeline
Women’s rights
Poem Analysis
Lessons (Home Front
Lessons (Korean War,
Politics, Battles)
War Media
Product:
Home Front Quiz
Assessment Targets:
K/U, T/I, C, A
Facebook Assignment
For Famous Five
Product:
Quiz on Rights of 20s
and 30s
Assessment Targets:
K/U, T/I, C, A
Canadian Scrapbook
NORAD, Peacekeeping)
Primary Document
Analysis (Norman Bethune)
Product:
Mid-Point Quiz
Product:
Mid-Point Quiz
Assessment Targets:
K/U, T/I, C, A
Assessment Targets:
K/U, T/I, C, A
Template 4: Rich Summative Assessment Task Planning Template
Grade: 10
Group/Individual: Individual
Topic/Theme: 1920s and 1930s
Audience: Class
Enduring Learnings/ Curriculum Outcomes:
- analyze how changing economic
and social conditions have
affected Canadians since 1914
- analyze the contributions of various
social and political movements in
Canada since 1914
interpret and analyze information
gathered through research,
employing concepts and approaches
appropriate to historical inquiry
Product
Time Capsule
Subtasks
1920s and 1930s picture
dictionary
Lesson: the development of the
radio and the implications which
Supporting this had on society. Include
Lessons
YouTube clips of radio
broadcasts.
(Focus on
Lesson: exploration of fashion
literacy,
social goals during the 1920s and 1930s and
how this changed based on the
and
economic times. (Group Work)
academic
goals)
Lesson: examination of the
growth and development of
particular musical genres during
the 1920s and 1930s (Group
Work)
Diary Entry
Lesson: look at the political policies
of William Lyon Mackenzie Kingpower point, secondary sources, as
well as his personal diaries
Lesson: look at the political policies
of R.B. Bennet – power point,
secondary sources, as well as his
personal diaries
Lesson: Look at the societal
reception of King and Bennet
through newspaper articles.
Compare how they were different
and similar
Newspaper Article and Headline Activity:
Students are to create their own article and headline on
any topic relating to the 1920s or 1930s
Lesson: Stock Market Crash. Students will be taught
about the stock market, the stock market crash and
implications on society. They will examine the stock
market crash through magazine articles and newspapers
Lesson: Students will learn about the development of
articles.
numerous inventions in the 1920s. They will be provided
video evidence of these inventions as well as
advertisements. In pairs students will write a review of
one of the inventions they learn of.
Lesson: The 1920s Boom. Students will be taught about
the factors which influenced the economic boom. They
will be asked to analyze political cartoons and explore the
cross Canadian feelings about the economy in the 1920s
1. What form will the final evaluation take?
The final evaluation will take the form of a written exam. The questions on the exam will include some that require recollection of
knowledge that the students were required to know throughout the course. The main task of the questions in the test though is for students to
use their knowledge as well as understandings from the course and apply them to related historical problem solving. This will ensure that
students have learned skills and formed enduring understandings for the long term. The questions will allow students to make connections
between units, such as the 1920’s 30’s and WW2. They will also allow for students to make connections between those units and the current
world situation. Students will be able to place themselves in that context. The students should therefore have a meaningful and lasting
learning experience from this test.
2. How does the summative assessment plan reflect careful consideration for the four lenses (achievement chart, grade level, destination
and discipline)?
Specific knowledge to be gathered and overall concepts to be understood are listed in each summative assessment section. For the
World War 1 Canadian Independence Project, students must know content about things such as alliances, conscription, and the Treaty of
Versailles, the 1920’s and 1930’s Time Capsule project requires knowledge of things such as suffrage, political parties and unions, the WW2
symposium about the rise of Hitler, appeasement, battles such as the Dresden bombings and D-Day as well as the war at home, finally the
Post-War Talk Show-Round Table Discussion requires knowledge of topics including the Cold War, peacekeeping, as well as the Charter of
Rights and Freedoms. The knowledge required in each unit is scaffolded and used in the summative assessments mentioned above. The
learning targets at the beginning of the plan provide the structure and direction that students take in completing the summative assessment
tasks. For instance, the WW2 Symposium as the summative assessment for the WW2 unit would have the learning target of being able to
answer how independent was Canada’s role in WWII when compared to exterior political and social influences. Students form understanding
about specific knowledge in organizing and relating it towards answering each learning target through completion of the summative
assessment tasks.
Each summative assessment requires different kinds of thinking, processing and information gathering. The WW2 symposium and PostWW2 era talk show require careful preparation for creative, on the spot thinking skills. The Canadian Independence Project requires longer
deliberation about how various historical sources may impact their own ideas. The Time Capsule Project requires students to think of how to
structure and expand on knowledge of historic fact to create a complete representation of an aspect from the 1920’s or 1930’s in a newspaper
article. They must also creatively think about which photos represent written topics about those times well.
The WW2 symposium and Talk Show-Round Table Discussion target verbal communication very well. The Canadian Independence
Project focuses on written communication. The Time Capsule project requires written and visual communication, in the writing of the 1920’s
or 30’s newspaper article and gathering of photos representing those periods for the visual scrapbook.
The kinds of applications of knowledge and skills are diverse throughout each of the summative assessment tasks. Students are required
to make various connections throughout units. This builds broader understanding. The Treaty of Versailles appears again in the WW2 unit.
The changing nature of warfare discussed in WW1 may be reintroduced in the WW2 section. Students may apply that knowledge to
speculation about questions regarding broader trends in the development of modern warfare. Connections can be made to current wars.
The summative assessment plan is suitable for the grade level and destination of grade 10 Academic Canadian History Students. The
various tasks required of students include ones that are traditionally academic, such as lengthy written work which may present conclusions
based on careful longer term research. Strong Critical thinking skills are required throughout in these types of tasks. This type of work
prepares students for senior level university courses, and possibly a university bound plan. From this summative assesment plan, students
should be able to begin to consider how the history they learned largely shapes the image of Canada. They may consider Canada’s evolving
image on the world’s stage and current image in relation to the history they learned.
3. How is formative assessment being provided?
Formative assessment is provided by tasks which scaffold knowledge and skills required of students to successfully complete the
summative assessments. From those formative assessment tasks, the teacher finds out about what kinds of supports and challenges individual
students need. The student is informed about those things through dialogue with the teacher and meaningful written feedback. The elements
of formative assessment in this plan include making a resume for a Canadian war hero, a WW2 letter home from a battle, an analysis of a
poem from the post WW2 era, a Canadian WW2 era scrapbook, an assignment involving facebook, learning 1920’s and 1930’s slang, and
making a poster about Quebec independence. The formative assessment tasks listed in the plan attempt to target a variety of talents, interests
and strengths that a student may have in this class. If a student appears to have less difficulty showing understanding in a particular way, then
more opportunities can be given to him/her in that direction.
4. How will the evidence gathered be used to determine the student’s grade?
The evidence gathered that will be used to determine students’ grades will be based upon how well each student follows the criteria of
each of the units’ final products. For example, unit two’s final product is a time capsule. As such, the evidence that will be gathered to
determine students’ grades would be the actual components of the time capsule itself. The contents will be evaluated on criteria such as: the
contents of the capsule show an accurate knowledge and understanding of the 1920s and 1930s, the contents of the time capsule convey an
authentic sense of the history of the period under study, the contents of the time capsule convey an authentic sense of the issues of the 1920s
and 1930s. Thus, the evidence that will be gathered through examining what the students’ have included in their time capsules will be used to
determine the students’ grade. A similar procedure will be used to determine students’ grades for the other three units.
5. How will the assessment plan and grading practice be communicated to parents?
The assessment plan and grading practice will be communicated to parents in the following ways: Firstly, a hand out can be created that
will explain how the assessment plan meets the curriculum, and how the sub-tasks and supporting lessons done beforehand help adequately
prepare the students to be able to do the final product. As well, the grading practice can also be included on the hand out, in which the criteria
the students will be evaluated on can be listed, as well as how the plan addresses the different areas of the achievement chart. This handout
will be given to the students at the beginning of each unit, so that students can then give the handouts to their parents. This will ensure that
parents are aware of the tasks for each unit, as well as how their child will be assessed and evaluated. Also, if deemed necessary, one could
require students to return the handouts with their parents’ signatures. This will guarantee that there is no issue regarding whether parents were
made aware of the assessment plan and grading practice.