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Home · For Teachers · Canadian Women: Their Extraordinary Contributions

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Project Overview
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11-12
Canadian Women: Their Extraordinary Contributions
Project type: Project
Related topic:
Equality First: The Royal Commission on the Status of Women
Subjects
History
Social Studies
English Language Arts
Summary
Students research major issues that have faced Canadian women throughout the 20th century. They create a magazine that addresses six of those issues, discussing each issue in the form of a factual article and an editorial piece. The magazine will also include advertisements, visuals, a table of contents, and a cover. The magazine will focus particularly on the impact of women on social issues, politics, entertainment, and sports. Students will investigate the following topics on the CBC Radio and Television Archives Web site:
  • Fair Game: Pioneering Canadian Women in Sports
  • On Every Front: Canadian Women in the Second World War
  • The Birth Control Pill
  • Fighting Female Infertility
  • Equality First: The Royal Commission on the Status of Women
  • The Montreal Massacre

    Students can substitute one of those topics with one of the following additional topics:

  • Margaret Laurence: Canada’s Divine Writer
  • Barbara Frum: Pioneering Broadcaster
  • Karen Kain, Prima Ballerina
    • Duration
    1 week to 1 semester
    Purpose
    To conduct Web-based research project using audio and visual sources; to refine writing skills in the objective and subjective voice; to organize, write, and lay out a magazine
    Materials
    Hard copy versions of Maclean’s and Time Canada should be made available to the students to help facilitate the organization and presentation of the final product. Sample magazine formats are available online at www.macleans.ca and www.timecanada.com.
    PDF
    canadianwomenspdf.pdf
    Lesson Plan
    Before Exploring
    Consider launching this project in one of the following ways:
  • Brainstorm and record the names of “famous” Canadian women (e.g., in politics, sports, entertainment, publishing). Have the students explain why that person is famous.
  • Ask the students to bring in an article from a local newspaper that profiles a woman in the community or focuses on a specific issue pertinent to women. Hold a class discussion on the range of issues presented.
  • Have students conduct a Web search under the heading “Famous Canadian Women” and discuss the results as a class.
  • Show a 10- to 15-minute video clip of the local television news. As a class, discuss whether the news items presented are more significant to men or to women and why.

    Some of the topics that students investigate are of a sensitive nature. Supervise students closely when they are executing an Internet search for additional information.

    • Outline the Opportunity
    Following the project launch, present and review the project outline (download sheet Canadian Women) carefully with the students. Be sure that all elements of the project are clear.

    This project includes the following worksheets that outline the task and provide tools for students to use as they work. 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 that you use, be sure that students understand how the sheet is to be used to support their work on this project.

    Students will find additional information about all topics by also using the Links and the Additional Clips sections at the bottom of the opening page on each listed topic on the CBC Radio and Television Archives Web site.

    1. Project Outline
      Hand out this sheet before beginning the project and review it carefully with the students.
    2. Fact Sheet/Editorial Thoughts
      As students begin their research, they can use this tool to record their reactions and thoughts about a specific issue. Later they can use their notes to help develop their editorial piece.
    3. Research and Writing Tips
      Review this list of research and writing tips with students.
    4. Model Assessment Rubric
      If you are using this rubric as part of your assessment procedure, review it with the students early in the project so that they understand clearly how they will be assessed.
    5. Tips for Writing an Editorial
      Students can review and use this list of tips to help them write effective editorial pieces for their magazines.
    Revisit and Reflect
    1. You or the students can select one of the best editorials and submit it for publication in the next school newsletter, along with an explanation of the project for which it was created.
    2. After completing the magazine, students could write a reflection piece explaining whether their knowledge of women in Canadian history has changed as a result of the project.

    External sites

    Other activities for this topic
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