Unit Project:
Heritage Minute

Grade: 10
Time:  three 72 minute classes

Expectations:
Students will:

Knowledge

• specific expectations pertaining to historical knowledge may vary depending upon topic selected to study;

Skills

• formulate different types of questions;
• use school and public libraries, resource centres, museums, historic sites, and community and government resources effectively to gather information on Canadian history;
• use computer-stored information and the Internet effectively to research Canadian history topics;
• use relevant and adequate supporting evidence to draw conclusions;
• make reasoned generalizations or appropriate predictions based on research;
• demonstrate competence in research and writing;
• demonstrate, after participating in dramatizations of historical events, insights into historical figures' situations and decisions;

Preparation:

• preview a variety of The CRB Foundation's Heritage Minutes
• learn how to teach your students to build a Heritage Minute
• reserve computer and library time for students to adequately locate sources to research topics
• locate video equipment and make it available to students

Lesson Plan:
Have you ever watched the Heritage Minutes on television? Many teachers are finding them to be an excellent resource in the classroom. You can find minute listings by chronology, theme, or region and information about how to obtain copies from The CRB Foundation Heritage Project. The CRB site hosts a section with teaching ideas and a worksheet for using the videos. In addition, it is possible to use the instructions on the site to teach your students how to create a Heritage Minute.

1. Watch one or more of the suggested Heritage Minutes that relate to the three topics covered in the unit:
   1. Maurice Ruddick – An Afro-Canadian collier describes how he and his fellow workers survived eight days trapped underground during the 1958 Springhill, Nova Scotia mining disaster.
      

      Maurice Ruddick © The CRB Foundation's Heritage Minutes

   2. Emily Murphy – recounts how Murphy and a group of Canadian women secured the rights of women as persons throughout the Commonwealth. (1929)

      Emily Murphy © The CRB Foundation's Heritage Minutes

   3. Sitting Bull - Confident that the North-West Mounted Police will respect him and his people, the great Sioux Chief chooses to remain in Western Canada rather than return to the United States. (1877)

      Sitting Bull © The CRB Foundation's Heritage Minutes

      Encourage the class to pay attention to both the content and the format of the video.
2. Direct students to complete a Heritage Minute according to the instructions on the CRB site. Each group must create a Minute that reflects a topic relating to the labour movement, the women's movement, or the Aboriginal movement in Canada during the twentieth century. Encourage students to browse the Canada's Digital Collections for ideas and to research their topics.
3. Inform students that the Unit Project is to designed to allow students to demonstrate their comprehension of the knowledge and skill expectations within the unit. Explain the Suggested Combined Group Rubric: Heritage Minute Assignment.

Possible Extensions:

1. Students are capable of creating excellent Heritage Minutes. Why not pop some popcorn and host a threatre review for parents and the community?
2. Partner with the local community (e.g. tourism association, Business Improvement Assocciation, museum, park, business...) to encourage students to research and film a Heritage Minute relating to the local history of labour, women, and/or Aboriginal leaders.

Evaluation:
Informal:

• observe student work habits and participation during discussion of Heritage Minutes and group participation in making Heritage Minute

Formal:

• Suggested Combined Group Rubric: Heritage Minute Activity

Bibliography