CBC Archives

Have students form groups of three, with one member acting as leader. As a group, they will brainstorm and each will record inquiry questions related to the topic. Questions might include: What do these people and institutions bring to our idea of the Canadian spirit? How do they reflect Canada? What makes the Canadian spirit unique? After 30 minutes, each student should choose and highlight a few questions of personal interest. These questions will form the basis of each student’s research.

This project includes the following worksheets that outline the task and provide tools for assessment and evaluation. You may wish to use all or only some of these sheets, which you can adapt to suit your needs and those of your students. For each sheet, be sure that students understand how it is to be used to support their work on this project.

For their research, students can consult the CBC Radio and Television Archives Web site, including the Resources link. Students should be encouraged to find other resources as well.

1. Project Outline
   Hand out this sheet after completing the project launch and review it carefully with students.
2. Inquiry Questions
   Students can use this tool in their groups to outline the inquiry questions that may form the basis of their research as they review the following CBC Radio and Television Archives Web site topics: Margaret Laurence: Canada’s Divine Writer, Leonard Cohen: Canada’s Melancholy Bard, Oscar Peterson: A Jazz Giant, The Stratford Festival: The First Fifty Years, Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven: Painters in the Wilderness, and on the Radio-Canada site, Claude Jutra, une vie en 24 images, at http://archives.radio-canada.ca.
3. Research and Writing Tips
   Review this simple list of tips with students.
4. Essay Outline
   Students can use this handout as a basis for a conference with the teacher.
5. Essay Checklist
   This handout may be used for self and/or peer assessment.
6. Essay Rubric
   If you are using this rubric as part of your assessment procedure, review it with students early in the project so that they understand clearly how they will be assessed.

1. Depending on class time, students can present to the class the arguments they outlined in their essays.
2. Alternatively, students may return to their initial groupings and share their findings as a group.
3. Discuss whether their arguments about the Canadian spirit, as outlined in their essays about arts and culture in Canada, can be extended to other aspects of Canada, such as politics. Consider discussing Canada’s role in current world events to expand the topic further.