Activity overview

Primary HTC concept(s)
explored in this activity

Continuity & Change guidepost 1
Continuity and change are interwoven: both can exist together.

Continuity & Change guidepost 2
​Change is a process, with varying paces and patterns. 

Secondary HTC concept(s)
explored in this activity
​
Cause & Consequence guidepost 1
Change is driven by multiple causes, and results in multiple consequences
​
Cause & Consequence guidepost 2
The causes that led to a particular historical event vary in their influence

Students will present a comparison of Canada’s Great War experience and Canada’s Second World War experience in the air in order to consider what changes were deliberately made to avoid the high losses experienced in the Great War.

In this module students should be able to demonstrate understanding of what has changed and what has remained the same in Canada’s air war experience from the First to the Second World War. Students should be able to articulate that the changes they see are a result of both explicit decision-making and of circumstance. Please see The Big Six Historical Thinking Concepts (2012) by Peter Seixas and Tom Morton, as well as the Historical Thinking Project website for further ideas for student assessment or to adapt these activities.

Questions posed to students in this activity

​Research question: What was Canada’s experience of the Great War in the air?

​Inquiry question(s): What differences are there between the First and Second World Wars in the air? What decisions led to these differences?

Considerations for teachers to introduce in student inquiry

​Additional guiding question for students: How do you plan to save lives if you want to win a war?