Canadian Studies · Grade 10

Active learning ideas

Indigenous Soldiers & Post-War Treatment

Active learning builds critical thinking as students confront the gap between sacrifice and recognition. This topic challenges students to analyze primary sources, role-play policy impacts, and discuss legacy, which requires engagement beyond passive reading or lectures.

• Ontario Curriculum Expectations
• ON: Canada, 1914–1929 - Grade 10
• ON: Interactions and Interdependence - Grade 10

• 30–50 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Jigsaw
• 45 min · Small Groups

Jigsaw: Enlistment Motivations

Divide class into expert groups on motivations (patriotism, economy, escape). Each group examines 2-3 primary sources like letters or oral histories, summarizes key points. Regroup to share and build a class chart comparing motivations across Indigenous groups.

Analyze the motivations for Indigenous men to enlist despite systemic discrimination.

Facilitation Tip

For the Jigsaw Research: Enlistment Motivations, assign source types (letters, enlistment records, speeches) so groups analyze different evidence forms before teaching peers.

What to look for

Pose the following question to small groups: 'Imagine you are an Indigenous veteran returning from the front lines in 1919. Based on the Soldier Settlement Act, what are your immediate concerns regarding land and your future? Discuss with your group how your wartime service might influence your expectations versus the reality you face.'

• Understand
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Relationship Skills
• Self-Management

Activity 02

• Gallery Walk
• 35 min · Pairs

Gallery Walk: Post-War Comparisons

Post timelines and documents on walls showing benefits for non-Indigenous vs. Indigenous veterans. Pairs visit stations, note contrasts, and add sticky notes with questions. Whole class debriefs patterns and evaluates Soldier Settlement Act impacts.

Compare the treatment of Indigenous veterans to non-Indigenous veterans post-war.

Facilitation Tip

During the Gallery Walk: Post-War Comparisons, place documents chronologically so students track policy changes over time, reinforcing cause-and-effect relationships.

What to look for

Provide students with a T-chart. On one side, they list reasons why Indigenous men enlisted. On the other side, they list challenges they faced upon returning home. Ask students to identify at least two specific government policies that contributed to these challenges.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Create
• Relationship Skills
• Social Awareness

Activity 03

• Document Mystery
• 50 min · Small Groups

Mock Tribunal: Soldier Settlement Act

Assign roles as veterans, officials, and judges. Groups prepare arguments on Act's fairness using evidence. Present cases, then vote and discuss real outcomes like denied land claims.

Evaluate the impact of the Soldier Settlement Act on Indigenous land rights.

Facilitation Tip

In the Mock Tribunal: Soldier Settlement Act, assign roles (veteran, government official, judge) with scripted prompts to guide structured debate and ensure all voices contribute.

What to look for

Ask students to write one sentence explaining the primary tension between the service of Indigenous soldiers and their post-war treatment. Then, have them identify one specific piece of legislation that exacerbated this tension.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making

Activity 04

• Document Mystery
• 30 min · Individual

Testimony Mapping: Individual Reflections

Provide veteran quotes; students map personal stories to a Canada map, noting enlistment regions and post-war settlements. Share in pairs to identify regional patterns.

Analyze the motivations for Indigenous men to enlist despite systemic discrimination.

Facilitation Tip

For Testimony Mapping: Individual Reflections, provide sentence stems like ‘I served because…’ to scaffold emotional and historical connections without directing responses.

What to look for

Pose the following question to small groups: 'Imagine you are an Indigenous veteran returning from the front lines in 1919. Based on the Soldier Settlement Act, what are your immediate concerns regarding land and your future? Discuss with your group how your wartime service might influence your expectations versus the reality you face.'

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teach this topic by centering Indigenous voices and perspectives through primary sources. Avoid framing the history as a single narrative of oppression; instead, highlight resilience and agency alongside structural barriers. Research shows students retain inequities better when they analyze policies through personal stories and legal documents, not just summaries.

Students will explain the motivations behind Indigenous enlistment, analyze disparities in post-war benefits, and articulate the tension between service and systemic exclusion. Successful learning is evident when students use evidence to support arguments about policy inequities and personal narratives.

---

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Jigsaw Research: Enlistment Motivations, watch for students minimizing Indigenous service due to limited awareness of the over 4,000 records.

  Use the jigsaw activity to have students present specific names, regiments, and honors earned by Indigenous soldiers, correcting the myth through peer-shared data and stories.

• During Gallery Walk: Post-War Comparisons, watch for students assuming benefits were equal due to vague references to ‘support for veterans.’

  Have students read the Soldier Settlement Act side-by-side with non-Indigenous grant policies, noting differences in language and requirements during the gallery walk debrief.

• During Mock Tribunal: Soldier Settlement Act, watch for students oversimplifying motivations as purely citizenship-driven.

  In the tribunal, require students to cite primary source quotes that reveal varied reasons for enlistment, such as family tradition or economic need, using the scripted prompts to ground discussions.

---

Methods used in this brief

• Jigsaw
• Gallery Walk
• Document Mystery