Symbolizing Canada: the ePassport Design Challenge

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General Steps:

This project allows students to select and justify choices according to a set of criteria which they define as most significant to symbolizing ‘their’ Canada. Students are engaged in thinking historically by considering historical significance and multiple perspectives, evaluating sources and choices and using historical evidence to support an argument. It is likely they will also be articulating ideas about the cause and consequence of events, the flow of continuity and change, and the ethical dimensions of what the choices mean for us today. Individually, in pairs or small groups, students work collaboratively to critically engage with the ePassport as it is, and based on that, develop general criteria and make specific choices, which they then justify. The final format will consist of text and images but is otherwise flexible: a report, webpage, and PowerPoint or poster presentation. It will introduce the new ‘iconic’ symbols and images, and explain the guiding principles and selection choices. The emphasis of evaluation is not on one correct answer, but the clear articulation of the values of the guiding framework and the strength of the justification of specific choices of historically and geographically significant people, places, events or developments. An added dimension could be a secret class ‘vote’ for the ePassport design students are convinced most symbolizes their Canada to us and the world.

Step 1: Explore your Notions

● Students brainstorm a web of the historic people, places, events or developments that symbolize ‘Canada’ for them. Add another layer to the brainstorm which explains what is being symbolized (ex. democracy, equality, colonization, history, immigration, geography, economy).
● The Canadian ePassport, released in 2013, contains 31 pages with multiple images. Students consider the general symbols or images representing Canada they would expect to find in the ePassport, and rate the 5 symbols or notions they expect to be most prevalent.

Step 2: Discovery Phase

● Students look closely at the ePassport on-line available at http://www.ppt.gc.ca/eppt/photos.aspx?lang=eng
● Using the blank chart found in the Student Handout, they explore the images and symbols in the ePassport.
● Possible data analysis: Look at the proportions of what is represented. Consider what perspective the passport images represent or suggest about our history, society and culture? Indigenous presence and cultures, past or present? Human elements like gender, languages, ethno-cultural or religious groups? Immigration and democracy? Institutions like the arts, the economy and other stakeholders in society? Physical environment and regional areas, human or natural landscapes, rural and urban communities?
● Discuss what’s included and excluded. What story does the present passport suggest? How closely does what you find compare to what you expected? Where does it differ? Consider doing a statistical analysis of the symbolic images along these lines. Discuss or write about who is included, or excluded from this vision.
● Write or discuss the story of Canada using the symbolic images in the passport as it is.

Step 3: Development Phase
● Students reflect upon the values and notions they think ‘their Canada’ most prominently incorporates. Students choose four fundamental values, and then use these as the Guiding Principles from which to base their selection of the most significant people, places, events or developments which symbolize Canada.

Step 4: Selection Phase
● Once students establish their four Guiding Principles, they select the people, places, events and developments which are most historically significant to those principles and chose images from a variety of primary and secondary sources which symbolize these. Students may also choose how they want to distribute the 31 pages: an image may cover the two open pages, or each page may have a different or related concept.

Step 5: Presentation
● The manner of presentation is flexible: report, website, PowerPoint or poster board presentation can be decided upon by the teacher or the student. The final product consists of the visual elements of symbols or images chosen from primary or secondary sources (properly cited); a description of the most historically significant people, places, events or developments these images are connected to, and the concepts or guiding principles that these were selected to symbolize.
● Once all students have had access to each other’s ideas by listening to or reading the selections, the class can have a secret ‘vote’ for the ePassport design they would most like to have symbolizing ‘Canada’ to the world, and illustrating their own ePassport!

Evaluation Criteria:

Students are assessed for the application and articulation of critical thinking skills (establishing criteria, judging and selecting according to those criteria) and the breadth and depth of historical thinking skills engaged in (historical significance, cause and consequence, continuity and change, multiple perspectives, the ethical dimensions of history and selecting appropriate primary and secondary sources). They are also evaluated according to communication skills (expressing and organizing ideas effectively, communicating with supporting details).

Student Worksheets: 

Symbolizing-Canada-Student-Worksheets


Selected Resources:

Canadian ePassport Design 
Library and Archives Canada 
The Virtual Historian