LESSON PLAN

Subject: Social Studies Grade: 7 Date: March 5, 2018

Critical Inquiry Question: Should we celebrate Confederation?

Lesson: 1. What is confederation

Time: 45 mins
GLOS: 7.1 & 7.2
SLOs: From the Program of Studies

Knowledge:

 To what extent was Confederation an attempt to provide the populations of Quebec and
Ontario with increased control over their own affairs?
 To what extent was Confederation an attempt to strengthen the Maritime colonies?

 What factors led to British Columbia joining confederation?

 What factors led to Prince Edward Island joining Confederation?

 What were the consequences for, and the consequences of, Newfoundland’s Joining
Confederation?

 How did joining confederation impact the citizens of Newfoundland?

Attitude:
 Appreciate the influence of diverse Aboriginal, French and British peoples on events
leading to Confederation.
 Appreciate the challenges of co-existence among peoples

*Specific Outcomes of entire unit, not specific to this lesson*

Instructional Objectives:
By the end of the lesson students will…

Understand the aspects of confederation that will be further explored throughout

this unit.

Key Questions:
What is the focus question for this lesson? What are some related questions?

What is confederation?
What do we already know about confederation?
I have collected a box of artifacts and images on Confederation. What do you think
is in this mystery box?

Materials:

Mystery Box:
 Old map of  George Brown  Canadian Flag
Canada  Confederation  First Nations 150
 Canada park Diary  British North
pass?  Champagne America Act
 Picture of Glass  Geography of
Fathers of  Canada Baseball Canada
Confederation cap  Train
 John A.  Queen Victoria  Calendar with
Macdonald Steamer July 1st Circled
 American Flag  Canadian Ensign  Provinces
 George-Etienne  Fleur de-ly
Cartier  Canada 150 Flag  British Flag

 PowerPoint Presentation
 Cue cards for “Getting to know you” activity.

Preparation:
 Have mystery box prepared for the lesson

Lesson Procedure:
(Use numbered or bulleted steps. Indicate lesson introduction, development and
conclusion to clarify the flow of the lesson. Write it with enough detail that a substitute
teacher could teach the lesson.)

Introduction: (10 mins)

“Get to know you” activity.

This is the first lesson you will be giving this group of students. Have a PowerPoint
presentation prepared to introduce yourself to your students.
 Where you are from
 About your family
 About your hobbies
 A fun fact
 Have students answer the same questions. Post the question on the board
and give them 5 minutes to answer them on a cue card.

Body: (30 mins)

Mystery Box Activity:
 Ask students to recap what they have just finished learning in the previous unit.
o They have learned about the great migration, the rebellions of 1837
and the act of union.
 Students have been learning about the events leading up to confederation.
 Tell students that this unit on chapter 8 is where we finally get to learn about the
events of confederation
 Introduce the mystery box. Tell Students that you have gone through the chapter
and gathered items and images that represent what we will be talking about in the
chapter on confederation.
 Ask students to predict what might be in the mystery box.
 Do: Record what students are predicting on one side of the board.
o If students are having a hard time coming up with predictions ask
them to guess who, what, where, when, why?
o If they are really struggling, give them a short opportunity to browse the
textbook chapter.
 Once students have predicted what is in the box, have one student at a time take
something from the box and show it to the class. Write these items on the board,
or have a student write for you.
 After each item is pulled from the box, question students as to why each item was
chosen to be in the box, especially for those that may be unclear.
 After all the items are removed from the box, ask students how they might group
these items.

Conclusion (5 mins):
 In conclusion to the class, introduce the students to the inquiry question that will
be the overarching question to the unit.
 Everything we learn in this unit, will help us to answer the question of “should we
celebrate confederation?”
 Is confederation something to celebrate?
Assessment:

How will you know if students met your lesson objectives? What assessment tool or
strategy are you using? What are you looking for in this formative assessment?

Lesson Reflection:

This is a space for notes after you’ve taught the lesson.