CBC Archives

Provide students an opportunity to thoroughly review the topic Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven on the CBC Radio and Television Archives Web site. Students must include the Did You Know? sections in their review. Consider assigning part of this review to be done at home, in the library, or during a computer lab class.

Students will create a wall display, in storyboard format, that clearly articulates the impact of Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven on the development of a Canadian identity throughout the 20th century.

Prepare a display space for 10 visual presentations. Divide the class into 10 equal groups, approximately three students per group. Assign each group one clip from Clips #1 to #10. Each group will assess the information presented in its clip and select the key points supporting the premise that the Group of Seven helped create a Canadian identity. After selecting their critical information, groups will design a visual interpretation to support their message and display their work in the space provided.

Allow students time to review the 10 presentations. Students will then write a short essay about the influence of the Group of Seven on the development of a Canadian identity.

Invite students from another class to visit the display and to discuss with the class the idea of Canadian identity and how it is portrayed in the art works of the Group of Seven.