Activity 4: Canada’s Identity in World War I and the 1920s

Prior Knowledge Required

Teaching/Learning Strategies

2. The teacher introduces the concept of conscription or government-enforced military service. The teacher divides the class in half and asks one half of the class to research reasons why conscription should be introduced in Canada in 1917. The other half of the class researches reasons why conscription should not be introduced in Canada in 1917. The research may be performed in textbooks and other print sources provided by the teacher. The teacher may need to guide students in their research. The teacher informs the side of the class researching the opposition to conscription that many of their arguments were the arguments of a majority of French-Canadians. After the research is completed, one side of the class role plays the elected members of the Robert Borden government in 1917 and presents arguments in favour of conscription. The other side of the class role plays the elected members of the opposition Liberals in 1917 and presents arguments against conscription.

3. After the completion of the conscription debate, the teacher leads the class in a debriefing. The major points discussed in the debate are reviewed and explained. The teacher does the review in a Socratic fashion with the entire class. The class then discusses of the effects of conscription on French-English relations during World War I and after.

4. In their textbooks or other sources, students read about the contributions of various groups to Canada’s war effort. Students read about the contributions of Canadian women to the war effort. The teacher may use selected segments from the videos Battle of Vimy Ridge and The Kid Who Couldn’t Miss (Billy Bishop) to present students with information about the contributions of various groups and individuals to Canada’s war effort. The video World War I: Canada’s Role contains a segment on the achievements of Canadian women during World War I. Students compose notes on the contributions of various groups to Canada’s war effort.

5. In order to understand how the role of government changed during World War I, students read in their textbooks about the changing role of government in the period 1914-1918. In their notebooks, students list reasons why the Canadian government became a larger factor in people’s lives during World War I. Students list examples of increased government involvement in citizens’ lives (conscription, income taxes, rationing, censorship). The class discusses the concept of propaganda and the use of government propaganda in time of warfare . After studying examples of World War I propaganda posters, each student creates his/her own propaganda poster.

6. Students, individually or in groups of two, research a designated individual and then explain to the class how the individual contributed to a sense of Canadian identity in the first three decades of the twentieth century. Some students work individually. Other students work in pairs with one student role-playing the historical individual and the other student role playing a modern television interviewer. Then the two roles may be reversed. See Appendix 1.4.1 – Assignment Sheet for Student Role Playing for a list of twenty-one roles. In explaining this strategy to students, the teacher should present a model of role-playing. The teacher also gives the students a copy of Appendix 1.4.2 – A Rubric for Role Playing and discusses the components of successful role playing. The teacher should have material available in the classroom or Library/Resource Centre to assist students in their research.

7. At the completion of each role play described above, the class composes notes on the Canadian personality presented. The notes should summarize how the individual contributed to a sense of Canadian identity. The accomplishments of Canadians at the Battle of Ypres and the Battle of Vimy Ridge, the accomplishments of Canadians on the home front, as well as the accomplishments of Sam Hughes, Billy Bishop, Arthur Currie, John McCrae, and Robert Borden provide students with an understanding of the development of a Canadian identity during World War I.