EDU1150Y Intermediate/ Senior History
Lesson Plan: Canadian Conscription Crisis WWI
Lesson plan
Grade: 10 Course: CHC2D Topic/ Unit: 1 1914-1929
Initial Planning Stages
Identify Key Learning/ Big Idea/ Learning Target
Students will understand that....
English Canadians supported conscription and felt it was a necessary contribution to a faltering
war effort. However, strong opposition was felt by French Canadians and farmers who felt it was
an oppressive act dishonestly passed by a government more British than Canadian. Prime
Minister Borden’s decision to implement conscription bipolarized the country along language
and provincial lines and it had a minimal impact on Canada’s war effort.
Frame Critical Challenge
Critic the Piece
Do you think that English Canadians and French Canadians had valid reasons for supporting or
for opposing the Military Service Act?
Building skills for the summative assessment
This lesson will help kids be successful in the summative task because they will practise creating
political cartoons.
Dimension of Historical Thinking
Students will actively engage in historical perspective- taking
Intellectual Tools
Background Knowledge
Ministry Expectations
Overall Expectations
- Analyse the development of French- English relations in Canada, with reference to key
individuals, issues and events.
Specific Expectations
- Assess the influence of Great Britain on Canada’s participation in war (WWI)
- Students will be able to: describe how the conscription crises of World War I created
tension between English Canada and Quebec
- Identify different viewpoints and explicit biases when interpreting information for
research or when participating in a discussion
Content:
1) General idea about Canada’s population demographic (1911 Census 55.5% British origin,
28.6% French, 5.9% Other European, etc)
2) Aware of Canadians initial reaction to the war (first three week 45,000 signed up, belief it
would be over by Christmas)
3) Aware of Canada’s relationship to the war (not Canada’s war but fighting to support
mother land because Canada was a British colony
4) The Changed nature of the war (over by Christmas to war of attrition, trench warfare)
5) The extent of Canada’s contribution up to 1916 (sending soldiers “The Canadian
expeditionary forces,” battles, Canadian women who participated in Nurse Services etc.
Wheat export, munitions, military ship building, victory bonds, etc )
6) The reason for dwindling volunteers (people aware of the horrors of trench warfare and
the large number of casualties
Skills:
1) Previous introduction to primary sources such as propaganda posters, letters (soldiers,
family etc)
2) Previous introduction to differences between secondary and primary sources
3) Basic understanding of what a fact, opinion, perspective and argument
Criteria for Judgement
(Criteria to assess the validity of Arguments for or against conscription)
1) There is a strong opinion
2) The opinion is backed by a strong argument
3) The argument is grounded in proof and is justifiable
4) The proof/ evidence is related and reliable
Habit of Mind
Open mindedness:
Students will practise being open minded. This will help them be successful with this activity
because it will help them understand the reasons behind why certain groups supported or
opposed the military service act.
Thinking Strategy
Graphic Organizer (Reactions to Conscription)
Critical thinking Vocabulary
Perspective
Argument
Fact
Opinion
EDU1150Y Intermediate/ Senior History
Lesson Plan: Canadian Conscription Crisis WWI
Lesson plan
Grade: 10
Course: CHC2D
Topic/ Unit: 1 Conscription Crisis
Duration: 90 minutes
Preparations:
- Tables in fours (4 to 5 persons pre table)
- Agenda on the board
- Set up and borrow power point projector, screen
Bring
- My computer
- Power point presentation (Appendix A)
Handouts
- Photocopied Worksheet 1.1 (30 copies) (Appendix B)
- Photo copied speech excerpts (20 copies) (Appendix C)
- Definitions Handout (Appendix D)
- Textbook Canada: Face of Nations
- Chart paper, markers
Purpose and
timing
Before Class
1.Anticipatory
Set (a.k.a
“Minds of”)
2 min (Think)
3 mins
Instructional Strategies: What will students do?
Agenda on the Board
1) Decode the Puzzle
2) Mini Lecture/ discussion
 Enlistment/Casualties questions
 Handout 1.1 worksheet
3) Definitions/Key words
 Conscription (Military Service Act)
 Union Government
 The Military Voters Act
 The War Time Elections Act
 Exemptions
 Perspective, Fact, Opinion and Argument
4) Activity 1 (Reaction to Conscription)
 Looking at political speeches
 Perspective, opinions, facts, arguments
5) Activity 2 (Creating a Persuasive Cartoon)
 One viewpoint
 One reason/argument
 Pick the strongest argument and collectively create a rough
draft of a persuasive cartoon
1) Decode The Puzzle
* Think- Group- Share
Create a convincing hypothesis
- Identify what the possible message is?
- what audience this is intended for?
Resources
Required
Propaganda
Poster
(Instructions
for Task)
(Group)
5 mins (share)
- possible reasons for creating it?
2.Sharing
Objectives
a) Today we will be looking at the Conscription Crisis
b)Review Agenda
b) Today’s lesson will be helpful: for the summative task because it will
teach students the historical thinking; historical perspectives- taking. It
will help them to create a Political Cartoon
a)Mini Lecture/ Discussion
 Borden’s “broken promise”
 Conscription- what it is? Why it was implemented?
Discussion Question
Look at Enlistment/Casualty chart page, 63 of Canada: faces of Nations
(power point as well)
Think- Group- Share
Ask Question: what do you notice about the number of enlistments
versus casualties as you proceed from month to month? What would be
the concerns of the Canadian government about these figures?
Resume Lecture
 Who supported it? Who opposed it?
Exploration of perspective reasons: English Canadians, French
Canadians and Farmers
Introduce today’s Task:
Critical challenge Question: Do you think that English Canadians and
French Canadians had valid reasons for supporting or for opposing the
Military Service Act?
Cover election of 1917, Union government, , laws passed: The Military
Voters Act, the War Time Elections Act, exemptions (framers), Outcome
5 mins
3.Input/
information
5 mins
5 mins
10 mins
4.Modeling
5 mins
a) Introduce: the graphic organizer and how the students should
use it. Students should draw on opinions, arguments, and facts to
answer questions
b) provide an example from speech excerpts to teach students how
it use graphic organizer
Example:
Under What beliefs formed the basis for view?
Robert Borden said: “we are in a crisis, emergency situation, we need
more men to fight off Germans” (opinion)
Write: in point form
- Canada was involved in a world crisis WWI which was viewed
as an emergency situation
- Felt country needed to send more men to aid the allied forces in
fighting off the Germans
How did people show support:
Textbook: supporters of Borden said “a vote for Laurier was a vote for
the German Kaiser”
Write in point form
- English Canadians supported conscription by voting for Union
Government in the 1917 election
Picture of
Recruitment
Rally in
Toronto
Definition of
Conscription
Chart:
Canada’s
Enlistment/
Casualty
Rate 1917
English
Canadian
Propaganda
Poster
French
Canadian
Political
Cartoon
Worksheet
1.1 Graphic
Organizer
Speech
excerpt
handouts
Practise
(guided and
Independent)
25 minutes
Checking for
understanding
20 mins
Activity 1
Think- Pair- Share
a) Handout political speeches
Using both the secondary source Canada: Face of Nations page 63 and
64, the speeches, and the lecture material
(Think)
Students will be asked to fill in worksheet 1.2
(Pair)
Share answers with one another to fill in chart and gain greater
understanding of the various reactions to conscription
(Share)
Teacher will ask students to share their answers with the class
Circulate the room, help groups, listen to make sure students understand
the activity and what is required of them
Textbooks,
worksheet
1.2
Activity 2
In groups of 3 or four people students will be assign one perspective
French, English or Farmer position. (pretend they are a political
cartoonist expressing their particular viewpoint in a paper of the time
pertaining to conscription)
Power point
examples of
the political
cartoons.
Photocopied
speeches
Photocopied
support
documents
Chart paper
5. Closure
5 minutes
a) In their groups students are to identify one reason that they think
Markers
is the most valid and compelling from previous worksheet
b) They are to use that reason and depict reason in cartoon format
c) Together create a rough draft for a political cartoon (stick
people, key phrases, actions etc)
Purpose is for students to generate ideas cooperatively that will help
with the summative assessment where they will have to individually
create political cartoons
Remind Students what they did today
- Today we looked at three different perspectives concerning the
Military Service Act.
- We assessed and investigated these views by looking at
secondary sources, primary sources (speech excerpts) and
statistics.
- These facts, opinions, and arguments helped us understand these
views.
- We were able to practise the skill of historical perspectivetaking by using the information we gathered to create a rough
persuasive political cartoon that will aid your success in the
summative task.
For homework: I want you guys to reflect on what you learned because
we will build on the understanding gained today in future lessons
leading up to the summative task.