Notable Prime Ministers

Listen to a podcast with Derek! 



General Steps:

In my project "Notable Prime Ministers", students develop criteria to select a prime minister to replace the Queen on the twenty dollar bill and explain their criteria and choice in an essay. I created this project after learning of the Bank of Canada's public consultation to design a commemorative note for Canada's 150th birthday. Giving the students a genuine critical task like this lends purpose and meaning to what would otherwise be a simple ranking task.

1. Anticipatory Set: Start a conversation about autonomy. How are we still connected to Britain? Allow the conversation to move toward money, or draw it there by referencing images of the Queen. Ask what money displays an image of the Queen. Ask if students have noticed that the $20 bill is different from other bills.

2. Instruction: As a class, review the prime ministers on the existing bills. Divide the class, have them sit in groups (3-5) Classes familiar with historical significance, using criteria, and critical tasks will transition easily to the next step. Those who are not may need some guidance from their teacher.

3. Guided Practice & Application: The tasks for students are listed and explained. The teacher should facilitate and guide students through the process as described. The teacher may co-create the criteria to ensure it is done in a way that supports the rest of the lesson. The essay task can be done in a subsequent lesson, or as homework. A teacher may modify this task as necessary.

4. Closure: Ask students to share some of their positions. Which PM did they reject? Which PM was never considered? Which PM caused the most conflict in the group? Discuss plans for a new banknote for Canada’s 150th birthday.


Suggested Resources:

Bank of Canada: The teacher would do well to become familiar with the information on this page. Fluency with the policies regarding banknote design will be an asset. 

Library and Archives Canada: This site offers some good information on each prime minister. 

Maclean’s: This article provides a ranking of Prime Ministers. The teacher may want to preread this to help develop ideas about criteria. The teacher should be aware of this site as it provides an easy work-around for a student who might want to reverse engineer this project. It is important to ensure each group has created its criteria before starting their research. 

National Film Board of Canada: This site provides fact sheets for each prime minister. These are pdf files that would provide excellent printed material for a class that lacks computer/internet access. 

The Prime Minister of Canada: The Prime Minister’s site has a section that provides very brief summaries of each prime minister. This is of limited use, but might help students to create their short list. 

The Prime Ministers of Canada: This site is funded by Rogers and supported by Historica. It has some good information about each prime minister. 

LESSON RESOURCES (Click on the link)

Rubric and Student Handouts