Homesteaders: How will you survive?
A Collaborative Inquiry Project – September 2010
Black Gold Regional School Division
Facilitator’s Guide
Preparation:
- Configure students into 6 groups and assign each group a letter – A through F
- Suggestion: Homestead information may be supplemented by physical artifacts. For example, soil samples,
rocks/minerals, vegetation:
Materials
Location &
Checklist
Introduction
All materials are
found on the
HOME page.
Lesson Progression & Teacher Information
1. Introduce the scenario to students.
2. With an elbow partner or small group of three, students brainstorm key words that
describe what it must have been like for families to have to start their lives from scratch
– What factors would pioneers need to consider when starting a new life in a new
land?
3. Student share their best ideas with the class (perhaps jotting their best idea on the
board or an Etherpad).
4. Introduce the idea of the Pioneer Family Groups. Introduce the focus for the webquest:
o What will your life be like on your new homestead?
5. Assign students their family groups in preparation for beginning the webquest next
day.
Homestead Legend:
A = Interior Plains
B = Cordillera
C = Canadian Shield
D = Atlantic
E = Great Lakes
F = Arctic
Step #1 – Learn About Your
Homestead
All materials are
found on the
individual
family/homeste
ad pages.
Web resources
may be
supplemented
with physical
artifacts.
Step #2 – Survival Plan
All materials are
found on the
SURVIVAL PLAN
page.
NOTE: Student groups should not know the region where their homestead
is located. They must deduce their location based on the geographical
characteristics of their region.
1. Together with their group members, students will examine materials to learn about the
geographical traits of their homestead land. As they look at the resources available for
their homestead, students should discuss the question:
In what region of Canada is my homestead located?
Facilitation Suggestions:
It may be helpful to have students take notes on the characteristics they notice about
their region. That way, they have a hard copy of information to refer to during the next
task.
Please see the SURVIVAL PLAN page for the lesson progression.
Facilitation Suggestions:
#1 – Identify Homestead Region – Students may need to do additional research to identify the
region in which their homestead is located.
#2 - Where is my homestead? Handout – this is an opportunity to give comment-only feedback
to students regarding their conclusions. Feedback may come in the form of written comments
or a quick student/teacher conference.
#3 – Build Criteria for Survival Plan – Together with an elbow partner or small group of 3,
students brainstorm ideas for the question: What did pioneers need to plan for in order to
survive? Student groups share ideas as a class – Teacher records ideas on the board. As a class,
narrow ideas down into ESSENTIAL elements of a survival plan. Teacher transcribes the list onto
a class poster and/or student handout so that they may use the criteria as a self-assessment
checklist.
o Example co-created criteria:
 Type of shelter/materials available in the area to build it
 Food/Water sources:
 Available plants/trees
 Animals found in the area
 Water sources (for drinking and transportation)
 What job will we do to survive in this area?
 Ex. farmer, miner, fisherman
 Climate – how does it affect our life?
 Plan needs to include ONLY stuff available in my region
#4 Survival Plan Creation – Survival Plan Organizer is designed for students to identify the
reasons for why they are making specific survival choices.
ICT Connections:
- Use VUE, Inspiration, or Etherpad for brainstorming
o If students complete brainstorming electronically, they may be less likely to lose it.
- ICT Extension: Students can create a list of keywords to assist their internet research.
Step #3 – Presenting Pioneer Lifestyles
All materials are
found on the
PRESENTATION
PLAN page.
Please see the PRESENTATION page for the lesson progression.
Facilitation Suggestions:
-
#1 – Build Criteria for Presentation – Together with an elbow partner or small group of 3,
students brainstorm ideas for the question: What makes a great presentation that shows our
pioneer lifestyle? Student groups share ideas as a class – Teacher records ideas on the board.
As a class, narrow ideas down into ESSENTIAL elements of a great presentation. Teacher
transcribes the list onto a class poster and/or student handout so that they may use the criteria
as a self-assessment checklist.
NOTE: Teacher should tailor presentation criteria to coverage of Program of Studies learner
outcomes. Please see the end of the Facilitator’s Guide for curriculum connections. Criteria can
then be used to create a rubric for assessment.
ASSESSMENT SUGGESTION: Students should be marked INDIVIDUALLY based on
their personal contribution to the survival plan/presentation. Ex. Sally was
responsible for making decisions about food and water sources, and also
completes that part of the presentation. Sally’s mark should not be affected by
her peers’ contributions to the presentation.
NOTE: If the project format is open to student choice, students may choose the format that is
most appropriate for their survival responsibilities (ex. diary format, photostory presentation,
diorama and explanation, skit, etc.)
Formative:
Assessment Suggestions
-
-
Build periodic opportunities for comment-only feedback into the project:
o
Peer collaboration
o
Structured student self-assessment activities; prompt students to show
specific evidence from their work that proves their self-assessment is
accurate
o
Quick conferences with teacher
o
Students submit draft work or worksheets for comment-only written
feedback
Assess student progress via co-creating criteria – Do the students seem to be
identifying ideas that are on-track?
Summative:
-
Assess the presentation in terms of whether or not the student demonstrates a
deep understanding of the learning outcomes.
-
Assess the presentation in terms of whether or not the student demonstrates a
deep understanding of the appropriate skills outcomes.
-
Use the co-created criteria lists to create an outcome-based assessment rubric
o
Distribute this rubric to students BEFORE summative assessment, and allow
them to use the rubric to make changes to their work.
Program of Studies – Social Studies 5 Connections
5.1.1
value Canada’s physical geography and natural environment:
• appreciate the variety and abundance of natural resources in Canada (ER, LPP)
• appreciate the diversity of geographic phenomena in Canada (LPP)
• appreciate how the land sustains communities and the diverse ways that people have of living with the land
(GC, LPP)
5.1.2
examine, critically, the physical geography of Canada by exploring and reflecting upon the
following questions and issues:
• How do landforms, bodies of water and natural resources affect the quality of life in
Canada? (LPP)
SKILLS OUTCOMES
5.S.1 5.S.1 develop skills of critical thinking and creative thinking:
• generate original ideas and strategies in situations of individual and group activities
5.S.2 develop skills of historical thinking:
• use photographs and interviews to make meaning of historical information
5.S.4 demonstrate skills of decision making and problem solving:
• determine when a decision needs to be made in dealing with problems and issues
• collaborate with others to apply strategies for decision making and problem solving
� use data gathered from a variety of electronic sources to address identified problems
5.S.5 demonstrate skills of cooperation, conflict resolution and consensus building:• work collaboratively
with others to achieve a common goal
� retrieve data from available storage devices, such as a shared folder, to which a group has contributed
5.S.7 apply the research process:
• draw and support conclusions, based on information gathered, to answer a research question
� access and retrieve appropriate information from the Internet by using a specific search path or from given
uniform resource locators (URLs)