How should we remember those who fought for Canada?

In this lesson students explore the Lest We Forget Project. They build a class archive of soldier files, engage in research, and create a memorial for their soldier.

Created by Ian Duncan, Pam Calvert and Sandra Rogers

 — Posted July 29, 2015

Grade Levels: 9/10, 11/12

Subject Area: Social Studies, History

Lesson Overview 

In this lesson students explore the Lest We Forget Project (LWF). They build a class archive of soldier files, engage in research, and create a memorial for their soldier.

Time Required

 5 – 10 lessons  

Historical Thinking Concept(s)

This lesson plan uses the following historical thinking concepts: establish historical significance, use primary source evidence,  and take historical perspectives.

Learning Outcomes

Student will:

  • Gather and organize evidence from primary sources
  • Conduct research collaboratively
  • Execute a memorial to their assigned First World War or Second World War soldier

Background Information

The Lest We Forget provides an opportunity for students to conduct primary research, encouraging their skills in writing essays and in using the computer to access historical documents and databases. Students are tasked with researching and writing about individuals who served in the First and Second World Wars.

The Lesson Activity

Before class: prepare a list of soldier files for students’ research. If possible, use local soldiers. Instructions for searching/accessing digital and paper files are found on the Library and Archives Canada website.

Activating:

  • Ask students if they are familiar with the phrase “Lest We Forget”. What does the phrase mean?
  • Ask: does our community have a cenotaph? If so, where is it located? Are you familiar with any of the names listed on it?
  • Provide students with a background of the Lest We Forget.

Acquiring:

  • Inform the students that they will be engaging in the Lest We Forget soldier research project.
  • Assign a soldier file to a pair of students. Pairs work well for the purpose of support and collaboration.
  • Students use their soldier file to complete a single set of profile forms.

Applying:

  • Students conduct research.
  • Students create a memorial for their soldier.

Materials/Resources

Extension Activity

  • Publicly display and/or present the classes’ soldier research to the school and/or community.

Themes associated with this article

Related to Lesson Plans

Lost Art and Found History: The Life of Max Stern

This lesson examines the life and art of Max Stern, touching upon the themes of the persecution of Jews in Nazi Germany and the resettlement of Jewish immigrants in Canada following the Second World War.

Lesson Plan

Examining the Evidence: Understanding Daily Life in Residential Schools

These activities encourage students to investigate conditions at Residential Schools and to consider how the schools disrupted traditional Indigenous ways of learning.

Lesson Plan

Chinatown and its importance to Canadians of Chinese Ancestry

In this lesson, students will explore the history of Chinatown and its importance to Chinese immigrants and Canadians of Chinese ancestry.
Lesson Plan

Explore the Role of Black People in the Fur Trade Industry

These lessons will provide students with the opportunity to explore and investigate interactions among European, Black, and Indigenous people, with a focus on delving deeper into the often untold experience of Black fur traders.

Lesson Plan