Length: 75 minutes
Objectives:
- Evaluating students’ ability to use the historical method.
- Evaluating students’ ability to apply the concepts and content seen in this learning resource in their study of Quebec and Canadian history.
- Evaluating students’ ability to convey their ideas concisely.
Procedure:
This activity should be done after the exhibition visit. Students need access to the online content during the exercise, which is a simulation of their final exam and is made up of short questions and essay questions. Students will be tested on the quality and correctness of their answers, and on their use of the available tools (research engine, glossary, presentation texts, archival photographs, maps, archival documents, such as old newspapers and works of art).
When necessary, teachers can point students to external websites, such as the Dictionary of Canadian Biography and The Canadian Encyclopedia.
Examples of short questions:
1. A navigable channel for steamboat cruises between the Great Lakes and the Atlantic coast was a major factor in the western provinces’ decision to join the Canadian Confederation.
True or false? ______
2. In the 19th century, the railway and shipping industries led to the emergence of great business empires.
True or false? ______
3. In the 19th century and the first half of the 20th, rural society was idealized as safeguarding the grand values of past generations. This is typically a French-speaking and Catholic tendency.
True or false? ______
4. Why did the sea-bathing resorts generally develop eastward? You’ll find clues in the maps in What were wealthy families’ favourite destinations?, Eastern Quebec: Principal Roads and Highways, c. 1830, and The Railway System in 1878 (50 words maximum).
Examples of essay questions (150–250 words):
1. In the 19th century, what led wealthy families to spend their summers in rural areas?
2. Summer holidays in the Lower St. Lawrence became more popular with certain technical advances and new infrastructure. What were these new developments?
3. The saltwater resorts of eastern Quebec became better known through advertising published from the early 19th century up to the mid-20th century. What kinds of advertisements were used, and what types of customers were targeted?
4. Many Canadian and Quebec politicians frequented the resorts of the St. Lawrence Estuary. Which facts or documents presented in the exhibition prove this statement?
5. What links can be established between the way wealthy families spent their summer holidays from 1850 to 1950 and the way you spend your summer holidays today?
N.B.: The Musée du Bas-Saint-Laurent does not provide the correct answers to these questions, given that the main objective is to evaluate students’ efforts.