Part Two: Activities
The activities in each lesson are designed to help students deepen their base of knowledge and test their understanding of the main concepts mandated in the curriculum. You can decide which (and how many) activities you’d like students to complete. There is one recommended activity per chapter that helps link the lessons forward, giving students the opportunity to build towards their final project, which is revealed in Chapter Six.
The Art of Decision-Making:
Summary: In this activity, students will work with divergent stakeholders to reach a consensus agreement – or not.
Objectives:
The objective of this activity is to help students realize that decisions aren’t easy and that problem solving requires creativity. Taking on the role of different stakeholders, students will work to reach a consensus agreement at both the local and national level, helping them understand the pros and cons of working at different scales. By the end of this activity, whether students reach an agreement or not, they will better understand the multitude of voices that have a stake in an issue and gain more empathy for decision-makers.
Skills:
- Research and analysis
- Collaboration
- Communication
- Presentation skills
- Empathy
- Perspective
- Critical thinking
- Problem solving
- Decision-making
Instructions:
Part One:
- Divide the class in half. One half of the class selects a national biodiversity hotspot (ex boreal forest) and the other half picks a local biodiversity hotspot (ex location in the city or community).
- Help students select an issue facing both the national and local biodiversity hotspot they’ve chosen (ex. a species that is endangered in both the community and at the national level). They can use themes from their Inquiry Media if that helps.
- Have students in each group work together to answer the questions listed in #3 of Part One in the activity.
- Each member of each group will select one of the issue’s stakeholders and quickly research their position.
- Next, each ‘stakeholder’ will argue their case to the rest of the group.
- After everyone has made their case, the group will work to find a solution to the issue that every ‘stakeholder’ can agree with. If they can’t come to an agreement, that’s still a result.
Part Two:
- Have a representative from each group present their decision to the class, outlining the issue, the viewpoints and the agreed upon solution (or non-agreement).
- After each group has presented, facilitate a discussion with the class on the pros and cons of local-versus-national action, using the prompts listed in the activity.
Wrap-up the activity by asking students how they felt about the decision-making process and what they learned from it. Encourage them to reflect on the different viewpoints they encountered and how they were able to work with people they disagree with. This activity is an experiment and the hope is that students will realize decision-making is hard and so too is creating meaningful impact. Students should understand and weigh this reality when crafting or debating a policy proposal that seeks to advance a specific idea or solution.
- Check-ins during the activity: Observe and listen to group discussions to ensure that all students are participating, engaged and on-task.
- Peer and self-assessment: Students can assess each other’s contributions to group discussions and brainstorming sessions, as well as their ability to work collaboratively with others. The class can also evaluate the presentations based on clarity, persuasiveness and overall effectiveness.
- Presentation: Assess the quality and effectiveness of each group’s agreement, if there is one, and the clarity and creativity of their presentation to the class.
- Reflection: Students can write a reflection on what they learned from the activity, how their thinking has changed, and how they might apply these skills in this class and in their future.
Policy Investigation:
Summary: Students will analyze and learn from the decision-making processes behind Canadian policies.
Objective: In researching and analyzing a successful policy at any level of government in Canada, students will gain an understanding of how policies are developed and implemented, as well as the decision-making techniques used to solve problems within the political system.
Skills:
- Research
- Critical thinking
- Problem solving
- Decision-making
- Communication
- Analysis
Instructions:
- Instruct students to select, research and analyze a successful policy (passed into law) at any level of government. Students can use the linked resources to help with their search.
- Once they have chosen a policy, students should answer the associated questions.
- Encourage students to use multiple, credible sources to research and answer these questions.
- Once students have completed their research and answered the questions, have them share their findings with the class.
- Facilitate a class discussion about the policies that students investigated, highlighting the commonalities and differences. Encourage students to think critically about the policies and what they might have done differently.
- Did the student find an appropriate policy and investigate it thoroughly? Did they provide sufficient detail about the problem, proposed solution, decision-making techniques used, stakeholder engagement, and ultimate outcome?
- Did the student analyze the policy effectively? Did they explain why the policy passed and identify ideas that could be applied to their own policy proposal?
- Did the student evaluate the policy from different perspectives? Did they consider the potential impacts on different stakeholders and ecosystems? Did they make recommendations or propose alternative solutions?
- Did the student present their findings clearly and concisely? Did they use appropriate language and grammar, and organize their information in a logical way?
Problem Solving: *Recommended*
Summary: In this activity, students will decide on their guiding or better question that will direct their final project.
Objective: The aim is to help students build on the activities they completed in previous chapters and focus in on the one better question that will inform their final project. Students will take the issue they’ve been exploring and work to find the root cause of the problem, before settling on their guiding question they believe must be answered in order to find a solution. Students will then reflect on and potentially refine their question, ensuring it fits with their skillset and this class.
Skills:
- Critical thinking
- Research
- Creativity
- Organization and Planning
- Communication
- Collaboration
Instructions:
- Present or have students carefully review the activity’s preamble in order to understand the purpose of this activity and how it relates to their final project.
Part One
- Students will use the prompts provided in the activity to help them uncover the root cause of their issue and the guiding or better question they want to answer through their final project. This task will take some time and you can decide whether the activity should be done in class, with support, or at home as a homework assignment.
Part Two
- Ask the students to reflect on their guiding or better question by answering the questions listed in this section of the activity. Be sure to emphasize that students should be realistic and honest when answering the questions. Rushing this assessment in order to be done faster will only hurt their ability to produce a good final project.
Assessment:
- The use of critical and creative thinking skills to determine the issue’s root cause and the better question they want to answer through their final project.
- The self-assessment of their better question.
NEW STORY AND ACTIVITY: Tariffs: Canada, we have a problem – This new lesson discusses what a tariff is and the implications they have on Canada. It includes one general activity that helps with understanding – this includes definitions, questions and a hands-on activity, as well as mini lessons that relate to the Social Studies course.
Students also have access to the Curated Library – with featured resources presented in the Further Exploration section found at the base of the lesson page – to help them with the above activities.