CBC Archives

Write the term “birth control” on the board. Hold a class discussion about the topic, including why the topic might be uncomfortable for some students. Ask students why they think birth control could be a sensitive subject. Then have students write a definition of the term, and then have them write to describe their feelings about the use of birth control. Conduct a class discussion on the comments they have written down. Be sensitive to those who do not want to share their ideas, and remind all students to be respectful of the ideas shared by their classmates.

Direct students to the topic The Birth Control Pill on the CBC Radio and Television Archives Web site. Have them view Clip 8 and read the additional information, then have them visit the Web site Childbirth by Choice Trust: History of Birth Control in Canada (see links). Students should read all four portions of the site, then select five key points from each section. Working in pairs, students should create a 20-point fact sheet about the history of birth control in Canada.

Students should share their fact sheets and, as a class, select the most significant ‘new’ piece of information under each of the four headings. Conduct a class discussion on the new information gathered, why it might be interesting, and what might be a ‘perfect’ definition for the term "birth control."

Have students browse the clips to find out in which year each of the first six clips was broadcast. They can then research the political situation of the time (which party was in power, what the party believed in terms of women’s rights, whether the time period was considered socially conservative or socially liberal), and write to explain what impact that might have had on the introduction of the birth control pill to Canada.