Digital Collections

Topic #5 Canada Today

Time: 2-5 period(s)

Objectives:

1. Students will recognize that Canada is a multicultural country made up of people with a variety of languages, religions, and customs.
2. Students will learn to value the diverse, dynamic, and changing cultures of Canada's Native peoples, the founding peoples, and subsequent immigrants, which have shaped the Canadian identity.
3. Students will recognize the contributions made by people from other countries to Canadian society.
4. Students will be able to determine the value that differences in culture bring to Canada.
5. Students will be able to apply simple statistical analysis tools to analyze a set of data.
6. Students will learn to evaluate recorded information and assess the reliability of specific sources of information.
7. Students will be able to speak coherently and correctly about the topic of cultural diversity in Canada.
8. Students will become comfortable with interpreting and using information from the World Wide Web.

Resources:

1. Digital Collections: Magic Assembly: Storefronts to Culture
   ( http://www.schoolnet.ca/collections/magic/mhome.html )
2. Canadian Geography textbook.

Purpose: To learn more about Canada's multicultural society, the benefits and contributions that various cultures bring to Canada.

Ideas:

1. Have students use the site Magic Assembly: Storefronts to Culture
   ( http://www.schoolnet.ca/collections/magic/mhome.html ) to examine the different cultures that exist in Canada today. Have students complete the following questions based on the site they have chosen: a) What is the cultural group in this area? b) How do you know this? c) What language do you think is spoken in the store? d) What types of items do you think would be found in this store? e) What are some of the other stores around it? f) Do any of them not seem to fit? Why? and g) What do you think is a typical conversation in this store? Write a script. If time permits, have students look at several pictures available on the site, answer the question(s) asked and reflect on the quote given. They are excellent questions and quotes that will make students think. Also, the articles are interesting to read for older students or for a longer project and could even be included in the students' scrapbooks.
2. Have students examine slides of different ethnic communities or the storefronts in the digital collection. What do the students notice? All the immigrants from one culture or of one ethnic background, congregate together in one location. This creates Chinatown, Little Italy and other clusters of culture. Often these areas are recognized because of the different languages on signs. However, the clothing the people are wearing, the products available in the stores and the languages being spoken will also tell people that they are in a culturally defined area or an ethnic neighbourhood.

1. Discuss with students why different cultures cluster together in Canada. Discuss any areas that the students can think of in their area. Do any of the students live in one of these areas? By living in a location with people from the same cultural group, immigrants avoid the feelings of isolation and discomfort that can lead to culture shock. Culture shock is the overwhelming feeling that immigrants feel when they encounter the differences between what they are used to and what they face here such as new customs, new money, new laws, new dress and behavior, and often a new language. Discuss how ethnic neighbourhoods like Chinatown provide support for immigrants.
2. Have students examine the ethnic composition of immigrants to Canada (available in Canada: Exploring New Directions and through Statistics Canada) in 1981 and 1986. If access to E-Stat is available (on CD-ROM or on the StatsCan Web site), this is a good activity for students to do on the computer using E-Stat. Have students discuss the reasons why think the ethnic composition of immigrants to Canada is changing.
3. Discuss with students that cultural diversity was not officially recognized until Canada's 100^th birthday, with the passing of the first discrimination-free immigration act. The importance of bilingualism was recognized in 1969 and in 1971, Canada became officially multicultural.
4. In a circle with everyone taking his/her turn, have students discuss how their lives have been enriched and challenged by their differences or the differences of others. Have each student reflect on these discussions in his/her journal, what can she/he do to have more positive experiences and fewer negative experiences, what does he/she do that may cause others to have negative experiences. In the circle again, discuss as a class what they can do to create a more positive atmosphere for all Canadians.

Evaluation

1. Mark students answers to Magic Assembly: Storefronts to Culture Assignment.
2. Student participation in class discussions can be evaluated.
3. The E-Stat assignment can be marked.