Holiday Traditions

Check out some interesting links:

Christmas through the decades: http://www.queensofvintage.com/christmas-through-the-decades/

Christmas through the decades (tv show):  http://www.history.ca/christmas-through-the-decades/video/full-episodes/the-60s/video.html?v=584782403949#christmas-through-the-decades/video/full-episodes

Christmas in the early 1900s: http://www.cardboardchristmas.com/papateds/Christmas1920s.html

1920s Christmas: http://www.cardboardchristmas.com/papateds/Christmas1920s.html

Kwanzaa Traditions: http://www.novareinna.com/festive/kwanzaa.html

Hanukkah Traditions: http://www.hanukkahcelebrations.com/traditions.html

Connections to Winter Solstice:  http://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/december-solstice-customs.html

A guide to Festivus,  Holiday for the Rest Of Us: http://www.dailydot.com/entertainment/festivus-complete-guide-seinfeld/


You get the idea... so, what are your holiday traditions?  Not everybody celebrates Christmas, but every family has some kind of traditions that are important to them at this time of year, often revolving around food.

Use the comment feature below to mention your favourite holiday tradition, celebration, meal, or activity.

Eskimo Tags

Check out this article about "The Little-Known History of How the Canadian Government Made Inuit Wear ‘Eskimo Tags'."

http://www.vice.com/en_ca/read/the-little-known-history-of-how-the-canadian-government-made-inuit-wear-eskimo-tags

It is yet another troubling example of how Canadians treated each other in the past, not necessarily one to another, but a government to it's people.  How does this compare to other past injustices in our country?

This topic is quite relevant this week -- the final publications of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission have been released.  Here is a news link to the story; it includes a summary (and a full link) to the Report's 94 Recommendations -- it's worth having a look. 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/truth-and-reconciliation-94-calls-to-action-1.3362258 

Are there a few of the 94 recommendations that could be achieved quickly (e.g. within a year)?

Leave a comment below with your thoughts on either the "Eskimo Tags" or the Truth and Reconciliation recommendations.

Confederation Activities

Confederation (encyclopedia article) -- http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/confederation/

Drag and drop the flags of the 13 provinces and territories in the order of when they joined the Confederation (game) -- http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/games/conf/index.asp

Road to Canadian Confederation (quiz) -- http://www.funtrivia.com/playquiz/quiz18417915172f0.html

Fathers of Confederation (trivia game) -- http://www.mccord-museum.qc.ca/en/keys/games/13

Early Settlers Life in Upper Canada 1800's (activities) -- https://sites.google.com/site/smartclickeducationservices/early-settlers-life-in-upper-canada-1800s

Fathers of Confederation (info/facts) -- http://canada.pch.gc.ca/eng/1408122550222/1408364702611

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Check out some of the above links before beginning your "Confederation News" piece.

Your task: create a headline and brief article for a newspaper on July 1st, 1867 explaining what all the fuss is about. Leave your article as a comment on this blog post. It is highly recommended that you write it our first on a word file and then pasted it in as a comment.

So you want to come to Canada?

You are on vacation in another country (you choose which one) and you make friends with someone who is interested in and extended stay or even moving to Canada.  They ask you to tell them what Canada is all about and what they should expect.  They want to know what makes Canada different from other countries.  What do you say? Leave a comment below with your response.

Rwandan Genocide documentary

Shake Hands With the Devil.  This documentary sticks with you -- the idea that human life could be valued so little by so many is shocking.  One hopes that the global community can learn from horrific events, but sadly we seem to repeat them too often.

Good reference on the genocide (read this if you still have questions after watching the documentary): http://www.unitedhumanrights.org/genocide/genocide_in_rwanda.htm

Having just watched the documentary based on the book, and discussed a bit of the background to the Rwandan Genocide of 1994, what do you think?

Why do you think it happened? What might have prevented it? What could prevent it from happening again somewhere else? What do you think of Dallaire?

Leave a comment with your thoughts.

Letters from the Front - Apr 2015

Lunch in the trenches at Fort Oglethorpe

http://www.firstworldwar.com/photos/trenches.htm

You've heard or read some "letters from the front" in class. Now, take about 20-30 minutes to explore the following sites to get a feel for some of the details of the front lines in Europe as experienced by Canadian soldiers, then begin the assignemnt:

Canadian Letters & Images Project
http://www.canadianletters.ca/

Letters from the front
http://www.canadiangreatwarproject.com/transcripts/transcriptMain.asp

First World War Project
http://www.firstworldwar.com/photos/trenches.htm

Calgary Highlanders
http://www.calgaryhighlanders.com/photos/1914-18/10th.htm

Interactive Trench Game
http://www.warmuseum.ca/cwm/games/overtop/index_e.shtml

Canada’s War Museum on WWI
http://www.warmuseum.ca/cwm/exhibitions/guerre/home-e.aspx

Create an interview between a reporter and a soldier or a fictional letter home from a Canadian man on the front lines or woman actively involved at or near the front lines. Assume the person has served at least one of the Battles of Ypres, the Somme, Vimy Ridge, and Passchendaele, and knows about the other three or maybe other battles that Canada participated in, like the 100 Days Offensive.

Your interview or letter should aim to inform the Canadian public at home about and include details about a minimum of 5 of the following:

• trench warfare 
• life in the front lines 
• the roles of technology in the war 
• the quality of military leadership 
• morale of Canadian soldiers 
• the effectiveness of Canadian troops 
• the impact of war on civilians and towns 
• hospitals and medical treatment 
• the roles of women in the war 

When you've done a good draft (not necessarily your final draft), post your interview or letter here under Comments. This is a detailed account, not just a quick note to tell your folks that "war is hell." Weave in some personal research on Canada & WWI from your classwork, the Canadiana Scrapbooks, and the weblinks above (or other websites). Posting comments can sometimes be tricky (Blogger can drop your comment, or the internet connection could drop), so it is highly advised that you do this on a Word Doc first and then paste it into a comment here.

Be sure to include your name & last initial (e.g. Marcy W) so I can sort out who did what. After that, look through some of your classmates' work and offer at least one comment to a classmate offering constructive feedback. Some letters will be selected for further editing and publication online.

Optional: if you have a relative or person your family knew that served in WWI, you may wish to consider them as a "test subject" for this assignment -- e.g. write the letter from his/her voice or construct an interview with this person. This may require additional research on your part.

I'm really looking forward to the results.

Industrial Revolution Games

Try one of these

Who wants to be a Cotton Millionaire -- http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/victorians/launch_gms_cotton_millionaire.shtml

Muck and Brass -- http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/victorians/launch_gms_muck_brass.shtml

Let me tell you about Canada

You are on vacation in another country (you choose) and you make friends with someone who is interested in and extended stay or even moving to Canada.  They ask you to tell them what Canada is all about and what they should expect.  They want to know what makes Canada different from other countries.  What do you say? Leave a comment below with your response.

Heritage Project feedback

What an amazing couple of weeks we've had experiencing presentations from SS10 students on their Heritage Inquiry they've been conducting off and on over the last few months.  I invite this group of students to leave a brief summary of what they did for the Heritage Connections project.  Use the comment button below to leave your feedback.

Rwandan Genocide

Shake Hands With the Devil.

Good reference on the genocide (read this if you still have questions after watching the documentary): http://www.unitedhumanrights.org/genocide/genocide_in_rwanda.htm

Having just watched the documentary based on the book, and discussed a bit of the background to the Rwandan Genocide of 1994, what do you think?

Why do you think it happened? What might have prevented it? What could prevent it from happening again somewhere else? What do you think of Dallaire?

Leave a comment with your thoughts.