Canadas National History Society

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Canadas National History Society

• Supporting Excellence in Teaching Canadian
  History
• Presentation by Deborah Morrison
• President and CEO

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Quick History Lesson

• The Beaver started in 1920 as a company
  newsletter of the Hudsons Bay Company
• It later became a popular magazine largely
  focused on explorations of the North West,
  attracting a wider audience and noted Canadian
  contributors
• In 1986 the publisher decided to break with
  tradition and expand the focus of the magazine to
  include all Canadian history introducing
  Atlantic and Central Canadian stories for the
  first time

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The Beaver Today

• The History Society was established in 1994 as a
  result of a gift by the Hudsons Bay Company to
  the Province of Manitoba the Bay continues to
  be our biggest supporter
• Today the Society has 50,000 members most of
  whom joined because of The Beaver
• On December 1 our 84 year old magazine gets a
  facelift more pages, more colour and a series
  of new departments to reflect the growing and
  more contemporary look of Canadian History

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Getting to know us

• The Societys mission is to promoter greater
  interest in Canadian history largely through its
  publishing and advocacy programs.
• In addition to The Beaver magazine it also
  established Canadas two most prestigious Awards
  for History
• the Pierre Berton Award for popular history and
• the Governor Generals Awards for Teaching
  Canadian History

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to know all about us!

• It also provides financial and volunteer
  development support to local historical societies
  undertaking their own initiatives to popularize
  history in their communities
• Our goal is to foster stronger links throughout
  the history education continuum building
  connections between content classrooms, and
  communities.
• My goal today is to get you thinking beyond the
  classroom too.

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Telling histories out of school

• Linking what kids see on TV and the Internet to
  what they are learning in school is key to making
  any subject cool.
• Theres a wealth of resources kids can discover
  for themselves right in their own living rooms.
  This makes the study of history personal.
• Making history cool and personal is the key to
  making it stick.

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Ward! The Beavers here!

• Magazines are a great teaching tool
• Like most popular media resources it is important
  to remember it wasnt intended as a classroom
  textbook so it shouldnt be used as one
• Teachers have used the magazine in one of three
  ways
• Primary Source Research
• Supplemental Resource
• Critical Thinking Activity
• Writing Exercise (I added this one!)

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Beaver as a primary resource

• With over 80 years of stories, the magazine
  certainly has its share of first-hand account of
  explorations and adventures in the North West
  (Soper River)
• It also occasionally features new discoveries in
  artifacts or documents that can change the story
  (Undelivered Letters, Artifact)

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The Beaver as Fodder

• Most teachers tell us they use the magazine to
  keep ahead of their students
• Magazine tends to focus on the people and events
  behind the Stories (General Stores Sam Hughes)
• More recently have developed our website and a
  new column in the magazine to allow for more
  links and follow on materials (Spies on Campus)

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The Beaver or not!

• Magazines, especially one with an 80 year
  history, are ideal as tools to develop critical
  thinking.
• Media Literacy
• Jack Turners War
• Understanding bias, context
• Divided Loyalties, Queer Doings
• Impact of historical research and new info
• Deeper Historical Understanding

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Critical Questions

• Beaver Articles can be used as a starting point
  for discussion. For example
• Louis Taylor ( forgotten mayor) and Helen
  Armstrong (forgotten woman). These are two people
  who changed the communities in which they lived.
  Why were they not documented in history? Why did
  the authors of the article consider them worthy
  of recognition?
• Tragedy at Cooks Inlet. Three different observers
  of an event provide different, and sometime
  discrepant points of view. Why do versions
  differ? Can we judge which is more accurate? What
  are the discrepancies? How can you explain them?
  How does the historian synthesize different
  perspectives?

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Media Saavy Q uestions

• How have images been used to portray the times?
  Images can
• Document
• Idealize
• Portray
• Sell/propagandize
• Provide commentary

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Who says

• Essays and opinion pieces (Explorations column,
  and Reviews) Feature articles Analyze
• Do you agree or disagree with the author?
• What other points of view have you read about the
  subject?
• How can they all be so different
• Why have certain individuals, despite their
  achievements, not been documented in history? Why
  did authors of the article consider them worthy
  of recognition?
• How does reputation shield a subject from
  objective scrutiny?
• How does time let down this shield?
• How has ignorance, prejudice, and preconceived
  notions about the other colour historical
  accounts?

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Write on!

• Alot of teachers ask students to write their own
  feature articles for The Beaver. The magazine
  provides several different approaches to choose
  from
• Encounter An author writes about the historical
  figure he or she would most like to encounter.
• Explorations Essay that looks at either a
  current event in the context of the past
• Artifact or Paper trial Features a museum piece
  or primary document from an archive, followed by
  an analysis of it in its historic context.
• Moment. A singular incident that can be
  pinpointed to a seemingly minor or insignificant
  event, yet it signals a significant change in
  social consciousness, political direction, or the
  like.
• Album Photographs from readers collections that
  depict some aspect of life best told through
  images rather than words

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Dont take our word for it

• The History Society was created with the
  expectation that it would contribute more than
  just the magazine.
• Pierre Berton Award established to recognize
  other excellent sources of popular history in
  print, on TV and Radio, and other media
• But we also wanted to reach those who spent the
  most time communicating our past to Canadians
  classroom teachers

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The Governor Generals Awards for Excellence in
Teaching Canadian History

• Established in 1996 with the patronage of His
  Excellency Romeo LeBlanc
• In the first few years honoured one recipient and
  10 finalists
• Last year, expanded program to include 6
  recipients largely to reflect the diversity in
  teaching approaches and to encourage more
  teachers to see themselves as GG Award material.
  Teachers just like you!

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With Awards come responsibilities

• Profiles of GG Award Recipients and their
  favorite lesson plans online and in print
• http//www.historysociety.ca/edu.asp
• Complete 8 year inventory of winning ideas
• http//www.historysociety.ca/edu.asp?subsectionle
  s
• Step by step guide on how to create and maintain
  your own portfolio written by our judges!
• http//www.historysociety.ca/edu.asp?subsectionpo
  r

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Hey! Heres one!standing right beside me!

• Gary Simons is a 25-year veteran with a
  reputation for innovation, student success and
  making Canadian history come alive.
• November 14, 2003, hes been invited to Rideau
  Hall

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Just a couple more things

• Virtual Tours and interesting projects for
  everyone
• http//www.historysociety.ca/out.asp?subsectiontr
  a
• The most frequently asked question about our
  future projects

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Plans for a Junior Beaver

• Early stages of concept development
• www.everydayanything.com/hissoc/cover_final.pdf
• Would appreciate your assistance as part of our
  market research
• Fill out our surveys and return them to our
  booth in the exhibit area and you could win a
  Hudsons Bay Company point blanket!