Lesson Planning Template

Kelly Gretsinger
Placement: Yellowquill School (Portage la Prairie)
Grade/Course:

Grade Six Social Studies

Unit:

Unit 1: Building a Nation

Length of Lesson:

Two classes (1 Hour)

Stage 1 Desired Results

1. General and Specific Outcomes (Knowledge, Skills & Attitudes/Values):
6.1.3. From Sea to Sea
- KH 031: Identify events and issues related to the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway
(e.g. workers and working conditions, Chinese laborers, construction difficulties, mapping Canada).
6.1.5. Immigration
- KI 009: Describe ways in which immigration was important to the Canadian government from 1867
onwards.
2. Essential Questions: The key questions we will answer are
i)

Why was the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway such a big accomplishment for the prairie
west?
What challenges with the landscape did CPR workers run into while building the railway?
What were some of the difficulties that Chinese immigrant workers faced?

ii)
iii)

3.
4.

Students will know. . .

i)
ii)
iii)

What the CPR stands for and where in Canada it runs.

Timeline of completion, important locations and dates of importance.
The significance of the building of the CPR and how it is still important today.

5. Students will be able to. . .

i)
ii)
iii)

Gain a better understanding of the challenges and hardships of early life in Canada during this
time.
Understand and discuss topics associated with the CPR
Explain the significance of the CPR on the prairie west and how it was crucial in the settlement
and development on the prairies.

Page 1 of 4

Stage 2 Assessment Evidence (Assessment AS/OF/FOR Learning)

Please indicate the purpose of your strategy by using Assessment Assessment Assessmen
For
Of
t As
a check mark under the appropriate category.
(Formative)
(Summative
)

Strategy (Performance Task, Observation Checklist, Interview,

etc.):
Observation Checklist:
-

Met/Not Yet

Is the student on topic?

Does the student show understanding?
Is the student able to connect how the CPR was
important in 1885 to present time?

I will circulate around the classroom, checking on student

understanding and answering any questions.

Criteria (Please list i.e. Rubric, Achievement Indicators from

Curriculum, Student or Teacher Generated):
Marking Rubric:
(Excellent) 4- Demonstrates how the Canadian Pacific Railway
brought Canada together; role of it now.

(Good) 3- Understands issues or problems during construction

of the CPR.
(Basic) 2- Can explain why the CPR was built.
(Limited) 1- Understands role of railways.

Reflection Did these assessment strategies allow you to address the outcomes for
this lesson? Did the students learning meet your objectives?

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Stage 3 Learning Plan

Instructional Strategies For This Lesson
Consider learning styles, multiple intelligences, learner abilities and student interests.
1.
i)

ii)

iii)

Activating

2. Acquiring

Students will participate in a class

discussion about railways, specifically
discussing how they are important
today and what the CPR carries.
Questions relating to personal
experience will be asked (e.g. Who
lives near a railway/How many train
tracks do you cross a day?)
Students will be shown a Smartboard
presentation with pictures of the
building of the CPR and the CPR
today.

i)

3. Applying
i)

ii)

Students will complete questions

from BLM 3-4, The Canadian
Pacific Railway. Students will work
independently, using the textbook
to find the answers.
In the following classes students
will create a poster or write a letter
or newspaper ad demonstrating
what life was like during the
building of the CPR.

ii)
iii)

Students will view a music video

on the Gordon Lightfoot song
Canadian Railroad Trilogy.
Students will discuss what they
heard in the lyrics.
I will show students a
demonstration of a railway going
through the different landscapes
made out of straws and toothpicks.
I will use the students desks to
portray different provinces and
then ask them what would be done
when the track comes to a
mountain, river, etc.

4. What about students who require

adaptation to the lesson?
Dyslexia- Student will assist in putting
together the model straw railway track prior to
class.
Once I have started the lesson, the student
will receive a copy of the notes with the
important points highlighted. They will be
worded sparingly and in point form with
sufficient white space on the paper.

Page 3 of 4

Resources/Technology:
-

Kindergarten to Grade 8 Manitoba Curriculum Document 2013

Smartboard and Laptop
YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yzo6Otpgj-E)

Learning Materials Required:

-

Straws and toothpicks for model railway

Textbook: Canada, A Country of Change
BLM 3-4 The Canadian Pacific Railway

Cross-Curricular Integration:
-

Art: Creating a model trestle out of toothpicks and straws

Music: Gordon Lightfoot music video (Canadian Railroad Triology)
Math: Showing equivalent distance of 615 kilometres to demonstrate length of railway
in mountains/comparing it to a distance that the students can visualize.

Stage 4 - Reflection

Page 4 of 4