Middle School Students Teach Canadian History to Community

On Thursday, February 27th, 2014, The Chestermere Lake Middle School (CLMS) Grade 7 humanities classes along with teachers Clara Chan and Aja Coe hosted a Canadian History Fair that included presentations to help educate residents of Chestermere about some of the important events in Canadian history.
They prepared presentations that focused on cultural contact during the exploration and colonization’s eras in Canadian history. According to Aja Coe, students were encouraged to use visuals such as posters, skit/play, power point, models, puzzles, pictures and video to teach their audience in a variety of formats. All projects also included an oral presentation.
In their presentations, students answered questions like: What would it be like to walk in the shoes of a British explorer during the exploration era? What would it be like to walk in the shoes of an Acadian during the Great Deportation? What would it be like to walk in the shoes of a First Nations person during the colonization era?
Their target audience for the fair was new immigrants to the town of Chestermere and their goal was to educate their guests on the important events that help make up our country’s history. Teachers and students received the help of Anna Bata from the Town of Chestermere’s Inclusion Committee to make the project even more authentic.
“Mrs. Coe and Miss Chan did a phenomenal job thinking outside the box to put on this Canadian History Fair. It was a fantastic opportunity for the Grade 7 kids of CLMS to learn about Canadian History in a creative way. The kids practised their presentation skills all while they relived what it would have been like to live in that era”, shared Anna Bata.
This inquiry project was developed by the teachers with the support of Joshua Hill (Learning Specialist) at Rocky View’s Education Centre who attended the fun event along with School Board Trustee, Bev LaPeare.
“The History Fair was awesome! I was so impressed with depth of knowledge that the kids showed. They really drilled down deep in their understanding of the topics they were talking about. I loved the many different ways that the students chose to display their learning as well as their enthusiasm for history and the understanding of how history shaped where we are today.”
Mrs. Coe added that this project was not about what clothes people wore, what food they ate, or what their houses were like. “We really wanted our students to focus on what interactions were like from a specific perspective amongst people in Canada during different eras. Cultural contact is a part of living in Canada, and we want our students to understand the challenges and struggles that occurred in our history so they don’t make the same mistakes moving forward”, said Coe.
Humanities is a combination of skills taught in Language Arts and Social Studies as they are often interrelated. At CLMS, it is their belief that learning becomes more meaningful when integrated where possible.