Unit Rationale

Special thanks to Mr. Burns Wattie of Valley Park Middle School for contributing the Unit Rationale, Unit Summary, Prior Knowledge, and Considerations sections from the Family Stories unit, which he wrote using the Ontario Curriculum Unit Planner. To view the complete grade 7 unit in Word format, click here.

With the exception of the Aboriginal Peoples, Canadians have all come from somewhere else in the world. It may be argued that a defining characteristic of being Canadian is precisely this trait.

In Ontario's urban areas in particular, most students will find that their families have migrated to Canada within the past two generations. Some schools have populations in which the majority of students have arrived within their own lifetime. These more recently-arrived students in particular need to develop a positive sense of belonging in their new society. This sense of belonging will help youth and adults to fully and actively participate in a Canadian society that embraces the richness of the varied cultures within it, and sees unity as a product of this diversity.

Students who have been in Canada for multiple generations or are members of Canada's Aboriginal peoples will also likely have experienced change and movement that marks their family identity. Migration across and within provinces is a common feature of life in this vast country.

The pre-teen and teenaged years are those in which students begin to ask who they are, and how they fit in to culture and society. Their world begins to extend beyond themselves and beyond their immediate family. Work that seeks to develop this critical sense of identity beyond themselves and their families is important as they begin to see themselves as fully participating members in this new and diverse Canadian society.

This unit will enable students to examine their personal history - why their family made the decisions it did and how this is connected to broader economic and political movements affecting and affected by their culture.

Family Stories develops many key language expectations including oral interview, listening and research skills, as well as narrative development, analysis, summarizing, revision, editing, and publishing skills. Media skills include analyzing photographic media and understanding perspective. Key Social Studies expectations are also covered: human migration - push/pull factors, mapping and primary source research.