Formative Assessment
Throughout this suggested activity, you will support students in achieving the following skills that are the focuses for assessment:
The following formative assessment opportunities are provided to help students unpack and develop the focus skills for assessment. Feedback prompts are also provided to help students enhance their demonstration of the focus skills for this activity. Formative assessment support is not intended to generate a grade or score.
Formative Assessment: Assessment for Learning Opportunities
Access and Retrieve Information
Involve students in a self-reflection to consider the relevance of the information that they have gathered in their research notes. Use the feedback prompts below to provide structure in guiding students through this formative assessment opportunity. While the prompts have been written for student self-reflection, they can be adapted for peer coaching if desired.
Feedback Prompts:
- Have I accessed a variety of sources?
- Do my sources represent both perspectives?
- Have I accurately recorded the location of the sources that I have used?
- Have I respected the author by using only key words and not copying directly from what the author wrote?
- Am I able to restate the meaning from the key words that I have selected?
- Have I clearly distinguished between observations and inferences when using visual sources?
These feedback prompts have been incorporated into the Access and Retrieve Information: Student Self-reflection Tool 
, which can be copied or adapted for student use. Samples of tools created for a similar skill within a different formative assessment context may be found in the Social Studies 10-4 Formative Assessment Summary 
.
Describe Historical Background
Involve students in a peer review to provide and receive feedback on the comprehensiveness of their description of the historical background. Use the feedback prompts below to provide structure in guiding students through this formative assessment opportunity.
Feedback Prompts:
- Is the information on topic?
- Have I included information about:
- First Nations peoples living in Eastern Canada at the time of first contact?
- the motives for Cartier's exploration?
- key events surrounding first contact?
- the response of First Nations peoples?
- Is there enough information to help the reader understand?
These feedback prompts have been incorporated into the Describe Historical Background: Peer Coaching Tool , which can be copied or adapted for student use. Samples of tools created for a similar skill within a different formative assessment context may be found in the Social Studies 10-4 Formative Assessment Summary .
Linking to the Summative Assessment Task
- As students access and retrieve information, and describe historical background through the suggested activity Exploring Historical Globalization, they will have completed the first two portions of the Summative Assessment Task: Perspectives on First Contact .
- Students should consult the assessment task and the assessment task rubric to ensure that they have provided the information required.
- Encourage students to use the feedback received during the formative assessment opportunities to make enhancements to their work in progress.
- If necessary, continue to use the feedback prompts from the formative assessment opportunities to coach students toward completion of a quality product.
Students explore the foundations of historical globalization to set the stage for further inquiry. They receive support with various research skills to assist them in their inquiry.
Instructional Support
A number of possible tasks are provided in this suggested activity. It is not intended that you work through all of the tasks, but rather select those tasks and resources that will best meet the learning needs of your students. The focus should be on ensuring that students have the background and support to be successful with the skills that are the focuses for assessment (access and retrieve information, and describe historical background).
Each assessment focus is presented sequentially in this suggested activity, although these focuses actually occur in a more integrated format.
Setting the Context for Learning
Note: The suggestions that follow identify possible ways to involve students in beginning to build understanding of the events surrounding first contact, the term historians use to mark the arrival of Europeans to the Americas. Although Christopher Columbus is not a topic of study in Related Issue 2, Columbus is a well-known historical figure, about whom students likely have some prior knowledge. The tasks in this suggested activity will help students begin to explore the concept of Eurocentrism, which is essential for their further exploration of residential schools in Reflecting on Residential Schools in Canada and Building a Positive Future.
- Involve students in a think-pair-share activity to discuss what they know about Christopher Columbus. Think-pair-share is a cooperative learning strategy that provides opportunities for students to participate, learn from others and make connections. In think-pair-share, you pose a topic or question. Students think about the question on their own for a given amount of time (usually one to three minutes) and then discuss their thoughts in pairs. Finally, each pair has an opportunity to share their answers with the whole class.
- Read the picture book Encounter, by Jane Yolen, with students. Be sure to point out that this picture book is a work of historical fiction, not a primary source. Discuss with students the difference that the type of source makes when they are considering sources for their inquiries.
- If the book is not available, consider using the quotes about Christopher Columbus (p. 119 of the McGraw-Hill Ryerson Exploring Globalization student basic resource).
- Invite students to begin to think about multiple perspectives surrounding the voyage of Columbus, his visit to the Americas, and the resulting impact of European settlement on Aboriginal peoples.
- Introduce the terms imperialism and Eurocentrism and let students know that they will likely find these terms in the sources that they research. Invite them to predict what they think the terms mean and to confirm their predictions as they access various sources.
- Let students know that as they work through their inquiry over the next several classes, they will be working on the skills that they need in order to be successful with the Summative Assessment Task: Perspectives on First Contact .
- Share the summative assessment task and the assessment task rubric with students. Point out the different parts of the task, and let students know that they will be working on the various parts of the task as the classes proceed. Invite students to begin to consider the various formats that can be used to complete the summative assessment task.
- The language of the assessment task rubric is clarified through the formative assessment opportunities provided for each suggested activity. The boldfaced descriptive words in the rubric are also clarified in the Summative Assessment Task Rubric Glossary .
Access and Retrieve Information
The skill of accessing and retrieving information is an essential skill that students require not just in social studies but in many subject areas. The suggestions that follow provide a number of ways to support students with their skill development in this area.
- Remind students that just as various perspectives exist surrounding the arrival of Columbus, various perspectives also exist concerning the arrival of Jacques Cartier in what is now the province of Québec.
- Tell students that they will need to gather information about both the European-Canadian perspective and the First Nations perspective regarding the arrival of Cartier.
- Help students understand why few primary sources might exist that represent a First Nations perspective.
- Assist students in locating sources of information on the topic of first contact, such as written texts, video, illustrations, oral stories, and so forth.
- Provide students with a template to use for recording the sources of information used. Emphasize that an important purpose for a source listing is to assist the reader in locating sources of information used; thus, it is important to be accurate when recording the information. (Note that no specific format for recording sources has been prescribed in the social studies program of studies. This gives you flexibility in determining a suitable format that will allow students to easily retrieve the sources used, without the requirement to follow the strict academic formats that might be appropriate for other contexts.)
- Consider suggesting a variety of ways for students to organize the information from their research. Charts, mind maps or webs could be useful organizational tools.
- The following questions will help focus students as they research and will provide them with the information they require in order to complete the description of historical background portion of the summative assessment task:
- What was the lifestyle of the First Nations peoples living in Eastern Canada at the time of first contact?
- What were the motives for Cartier's exploration?
- What were the key events surrounding first contact?
- What was the response of the First Nations peoples to the arrival of Cartier and his subsequent attempts to settle in the area?
Assisting Students with Accessing Written Texts
- Use a short piece of written text on the topic of first contact and model a note-taking strategy for recording main ideas from the text. This written text could be an excerpt from a textbook or the following background document from the LearnAlberta.ca site: Background to the Drawings: New France (Jefferys) .
- Using a think-aloud strategy, model for students how to extract the main idea from a written text by using key words. Emphasize that students must respect the intent of the author's message without copying directly from what the author wrote.
- Using the notes created from the think-aloud strategy, model a peer review process that students can use to provide and receive feedback on the quality of their jot notes. Working in pairs, one person will orally reconstruct the meaning from the key words; the other person will provide feedback as to how accurate the retelling is and where improvements could be made.
- Discuss how this peer review process can assist students in knowing whether or not their key words contain enough information to help make meaning.
Assisting Students with Accessing Visual Images
- Use the images from the New France: Jefferys Images Collection to model with students how to interpret visual images, with consideration for a balanced perspective. The following resources from LearnAlberta.ca may be useful:
- Emphasize the need for students to differentiate between observations (statements that can be made based on what is observable in the visual) and inferences (statements that represent logical conclusions based on available evidence).
- Brainstorm with students they might use in their writing to distinguish between information obtained from a visual source and inferences they make as they interpret the images.
Sentence Starters for Recording Observations |
Sentence Starters for Recording Inferences |
- According to _________________________.
- In the Jefferys illustration, we see ________.
|
- Based on _________, we might logically conclude that ____________________.
- It is not clear why _________; however, we do know _________ and therefore it seems reasonable that _____________.
|
Assisting Students with Accessing Oral Sources
- You may wish to invite an Elder to visit the classroom. Students can create respectful and appropriate interview questions in preparation for this visit. (Note: It is recommended that you consult the FNMI liaison personnel at the school and/or within the community for opportunities to work with Elders and to build awareness regarding appropriate protocols to be followed when making these requests.)
- Invite students to use the Student Self-Assessment Checklist (How Powerful Are My Questions?) from Modelling the Tools: Asking Powerful Questions to reflect on the quality of their questions and to make any necessary adjustments to make their questions more effective.
Describe Historical Background
Historical background helps students clarify the context of their ongoing inquiry. The description should be accurate, reflect multiple perspectives and provide enough detail so that the information makes sense to a person reading it. A description of historical background is not an end unto itself but rather an important first step. It provides necessary information to which students will refer as they explain the impacts of imperialism in the next suggested activity.
- Invite students to share their growing understandings of the terms Eurocentrism and imperialism.
- Revisit the summative assessment task. Students will need to take the information from their research and create a section for their final product that describes the historical background regarding first contact and subsequent exploration and settlement of Canada.
- By this point, students will likely have determined the format that they wish to use for the summative assessment task; i.e., pamphlet, PowerPoint presentation, speech or other format. (Note: For this assessment task, the skill of communicating information is not targeted for assessment. Thus, the technical details of the presentation format are not included in the assessment task rubric. You could provide formative assessment opportunities to support students with this skill if desired.)
Suggested Supporting Resources
Textbook References
Student Basic Resource—Oxford University Press, Living in a Globalizing World:
- Page 106 Cultural Contact
- Pages 109–115 Effects of Cultural Contact in the Past
- Page 161 Voices: Perspectives on Residential Schools (Figure 10-7 Map, Questions 1 and 2)
Teaching Resource—Oxford University Press, Living in a Globalizing World:
- Page 113 Introductory Activity: Considering Cultural Contact
- RM 0.2 Venn Diagram (to allow students to compare sources)
- RM 0.3 Analyzing & Discussing Issues (comparing perspectives)
Web Resources
Web Links for Online Sources:
Knowledge and Employability Studio:
Videos:
Distributed Learning/Tools4Teachers Resources:
Critical Challenges:
Stories and Other Media (e.g., films, stories/literature, nonfiction, graphic novels)
- The Rabbits, by John Marsden (picture book/graphic novel)
- Riverrun, by Peter Such (short novel about the Beothuk)
- Encounter, by Jane Yolen (historical picture book interpretation of Columbus through the eyes of a young indigenous boy)
