Activity 3 - Poster Study

Aim

To engage students in understanding why it is important for Canadians to remember and honour those men and women who have served Canada in times of war and peace.

Specific Learning Outcomes

Students will be expected to:

• Learn about those Canadians who contributed to today's peace and freedom.

Target Audience

This activity is aimed at grades 7 to 12, ages 12 to 18

Sequence and Anticipated Time Frame

• Background: 15 minutes
• Activity: 20 minutes
• Discussion: 15 minutes

Required Class Materials

• Veterans Affairs Canada - Italian Campaign poster and backgrounder;
• Veterans Affairs Canada - A Day of Remembrance
• Smartboard, screen, whiteboard, or other means of broadcasting and sharing ideas with the class

Suggested Reference Materials

Veterans Affairs Canada - Canada and the Second World War - Valour Remembered, 1939-1945;

Background: 15 minutes

Read the poster backgrounder aloud to the class, then have them predict what the poster might look like, giving ideas on words, pictures, colours, etc. Unveil the poster to the students and ask the following questions:

• Was anyone’s prediction similar to what the poster really looks like?
• Do you like the poster? Why or why not?
• What is the poster about/what does it portray?
• Does anything about the poster catch your eye?
• What does it make you think of?
• What do you think the soldiers were thinking as they walked through the ruins?

Activity: 20 minutes

Divide the class into groups of four. Have each student make a list of what the poster means to them, what it makes them think of, how it makes them feel, etc. Upon completion, have students, one at a time, share their list with the others in their group, explaining why they listed certain things. Students will discuss, within their groups, any similarities or differences among their lists.

Discussion: 15 minutes

Each group will choose a spokesperson, who will relay their group’s main ideas and thoughts on the poster to the rest of the class. Ask each spokesperson to share, one at a time, his/her group’s main thoughts. As they are being read, write them on chart paper, chalk board, or overhead projector. The class will then discuss, as a group, what they think about the thoughts and ideas expressed by the class on the poster.

Follow-Up Activity

Have students, in groups, partners, or individually, create their own poster commemorating the Italian Campaign. Upon completion, students will be presenting their poster to the class, explaining what it represents and why the particular design was chosen.