The Halifax Explosion: The Movie Lesson/Activity

I did this activity with a CHC2P class and found it to be very successful. At the beginning of class, we watched the Historica Heritage Minute clip on the Halifax Explosion. I had given them no context for the clip, so the short video had them asking me where this event took place, if it was part of the First World War, and what exactly happened? As a class, we tried to decode the Heritage Minute, looking at how emotion, action, and fact were combined into a captivating narrative. Building on their growing excitement, I launched into a scenario: they were filmmakers wanting to make a movie about the Halifax Explosion and had to develop a proposal to share with their potential producers. But first, of course, they would have to do some research to make sure their film was historically accurate. I handed out their filmmakers package (attached) and they set out to make their movies. My associate teacher was fond of the textbook, so I had been encouraged to use it. I front-loaded the research/textbook work at the beginning of the handout package so that a) students would have the information at their fingertips while they developed their movie, and b) so that even if some students werent able to finish the assignment, they would at least have the basic facts that they would need to know for the course. The rest of the assignment is differentiated (writing, visuals, music) to engage a variety of students in the learning goal: using the historical inquiry process to understand what happened during the Halifax Explosion and to infer how people may have felt about the event. They are also developing their ability to determine and present for a specific audience, a cross-curricular goal that brings the Ontario English Language Arts Curriculum into the classroom. This activity could be extended by having students actually film a trailer for their movie proposals. I intended it to be simply an in-class activity, but I had students ask me if they could bring it home to finish. For a group that had such an aversion to homework, I was quite excited by their enthusiasm.

--Growing Success (Best Assessment Practices) Assessment of learning (formative): I collected this assignment to check for overall understanding. Were they able to distill the textbook narrative into a few key points? Did their film consider the audience (high school students) while still connecting with historical events? We were also focusing on building the skills of using evidence to back up a claimimportant for both history class and (at the time) their upcoming OSSLT. Assessment for learning: Which students responded best to which tasks? Who are the visual/aural learners? Who likes to write? How can I differentiate my subsequent lessons to draw on the strengths of each student?

Curriculum Links Strand A: (A1) Historical Inquiry Strand B: (B1) Social, Economic, and Political Context

Historical Thinking Concepts Historical Perspectives: Taking the perspective of historical actors means inferring how people felt and thought in the past. ... Valid inferences are those based on evidence.1

Peter Seixas and Tom Morton, The Big Six Historical Thinking Concepts (Toronto: Nelson Education, 2013), 11. Many of these thinking concepts are built right into the new Canadian and World Studies curriculum.
1

The Halifax Explosion: The Movie A movie company has recently approached you to pitch (suggest and describe) a lm based on the events of the Halifax Explosion. They want to create a movie that will tell a good story but also be factual enough to be shown in schools as part of future history classes. Your job: Learn about the event and create an outline for a hit movie based on the Halifax Explosion. ____________________________ 1. Read the account of the Halifax Explosion on pages 99 & 100 of your textbook. As you read, make note of the key points/events of the explosion and aftermath below. Events of the Explosion (pg 99) Aftermath (pg 100)

2. Movie Title: ________________________________________________________ 3. Consider your major characters, choosing names and roles for each. Think about the different types of people affected by the explosion (pg 99). Don!t forget to cast an actor to play each person. Character/Role Actor

4. What genre (action, thriller, etc.) will your lm t into? Choose one and explain why this will appeal to a class of high school history students. __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ 5. Filmmakers often use storyboards to sketch out the plot of their lm before shooting it. In the organizer below, do a quick sketch of 6 different scenes in your movie, briey describing the action in the lines provided under each box. **In each scene, include a reference to at least one historical fact from the Halifax Explosion.

6. In movies, music has a huge part in creating the mood of the story. Briey describe the soundtrack of your movie (either specic songs or a general description of the type of music). Explain how these songs will enhance the mood of your lm. Songs/Soundtrack How they relate to the mood

7. Why would this movie appeal to Canadian high school students? Give at least one reason. __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ 8. Pitch your movie. Why should the producers put millions of dollars into creating your movie? In what ways will the lm cover the historical material in an entertaining way? Give three reasons why the lm should be made. Back up your statements with clear examples to convince the producers that your movie is worth making. __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________