Humanities Unit Assessment

Welcome Back!

Today we reviewed the events of the Seven Years War and discussed what happened when Britain took control of New France. Our new material was focused on the Royal Proclamation and how it's goal was to attract anglophones and assimilate the French and also on the Quebec Act that followed and was more accommodating for the French. 

ALL GRADE 7'S WILL HAVE A UNIT ASSESSMENT ON NEW FRANCE THIS THURSDAY IN CLASS. 

Students are encouraged to prepare notes to bring to class on Thursday to help them complete this assessment. They must choose 3 questions to answer. The assessment questions for students to choose from are below:

As a teacher of history, our goal is to help students become historians and that means helping them think about history in the same way actual historians do. Using thinking strategies, research information to help you respond to these questions that show a deep understanding of New France, and the role it played in the establishment of present-day Canada. Thinking is just the tip of the iceberg.  Once you have compiled your thoughts, you will then communicate your thoughts through effective and powerful writing.  Your answers must be written in paragraph format (topic sentence, details to support ideas and a concluding sentence).  You must answer 3 of the following questions.

Establish Historical Significance

Some events in history were HUGE, while others weren’t.

Question # 1:  Can you think of one MAJOR event that transpired during the time of New France that was majorly significant to its demise?

Question # 2:  Can you think of one relatively MINOR event/detail that actually packed a pretty powerful historical punch?

Use Primary Sources of Evidence

The “litter” of history (letters, documents, records)

Question #3:  Explain what primary source of information you learned about that you feel is an amazing source of information for anyone wanting to learn about what happened during the time of New France.  What makes it so historically rich and relevant?

Identify Continuity and Change

History is NOT a simple list of events.  History is a complex mix of continuity and change.

Question #4: When you consider the history of Canada, particularly the New France era, what do you see in our world today that is a continuation of that historical period?

Question #5: What do you see as a major change between then and now?

Analyze Cause and Consequence

When investigating history we start with the “how” and “why”.  We try to identify and understand the actions, beliefs, and circumstances that led to those consequences.

Question #6:  What do you feel was the major cause of New France’s defeat?  Provide justification for your opinion.

Taking Historical Perspectives

The past is a “foreign country” and thus difficult to understand.  We strive to understand the social, cultural, intellectual, and emotional settings that shaped the way people lived.

Question #7: What would you say to some who said, “If the British didn’t win the Battle on the Plains of Abraham, we’d be speaking French right now?”

Understand Ethical Dimensions

It starts with understanding the ethical differences between what we believe now and what was believed then.  Historians attempt to hold back on explicit ethical judgements, but there is still an element of judgement involved.

Question #8:  If the rise and fall of New France was a story you read in a book, which part(s) would have you the most upset? Why?