Social Studies · Grade 6

Active learning ideas

Settlement of the Canadian West

Active learning works particularly well for settlement history because it immerses students in the emotional and practical realities of the period, moving beyond abstract facts to lived experience. The challenges of building a life on the Prairies are best understood through simulation, role-play, and critical analysis of primary sources, which build empathy and historical thinking skills.

• Ontario Curriculum Expectations
• ON: Heritage and Identity: Communities in Canada, Past and Present - Grade 6

• 40–60 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Gallery Walk
• 45 min · Small Groups

Gallery Walk: Propaganda Posters

Students work in small groups to create replicas of government recruitment posters using historical images and slogans. They then conduct a gallery walk, noting persuasive language and visuals at each station. Groups discuss how these materials omitted Indigenous land rights.

Analyze the strategies used by the government to promote Western settlement.

Facilitation Tip

During the Gallery Walk, position yourself near posters to overhear student conversations and gently redirect any oversimplifications about the promises of settlement.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'Was the promise of free land in the Canadian West worth the hardships for settlers and the cost to Indigenous peoples?' Facilitate a class debate where students must use evidence from primary and secondary sources to support their arguments, considering economic, social, and ethical factors.

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

Activity 02

• RAFT Writing
• 50 min · Pairs

Homesteader Challenge Simulation

Pairs draw cards representing settler challenges like blizzards or locust plagues, then journal responses based on primary accounts. They share entries in a class timeline. This builds understanding of daily struggles.

Explain the experiences of homesteaders on the Canadian Prairies.

Facilitation Tip

In the Homesteader Challenge Simulation, circulate with a clipboard to note which students are taking on leadership roles during decision-making rounds, as this reveals their understanding of resource constraints.

What to look for

Provide students with a short excerpt from a homesteader's diary and a statement from an Indigenous leader of the same period. Ask students to identify one specific challenge mentioned by the homesteader and one specific grievance expressed by the Indigenous leader. Then, ask them to write one sentence explaining how these two perspectives might conflict.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Activity 03

• RAFT Writing
• 40 min · Small Groups

Land Rights Mapping

In small groups, students plot Prairie regions on maps, marking treaty areas, settler claims, and Indigenous displacements using colored markers and source excerpts. They present findings to the class.

Evaluate the profound effects of Western settlement on Plains Indigenous peoples.

Facilitation Tip

For Land Rights Mapping, provide tracing paper so students can layer Indigenous traditional territories over current provincial boundaries, making spatial relationships tangible.

What to look for

On an index card, have students list two government strategies used to encourage settlement and one significant consequence of this settlement for Plains Indigenous peoples. Collect these to gauge understanding of cause and effect.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Activity 04

• RAFT Writing
• 60 min · Whole Class

Policy Debate: Settlement Impacts

Divide the class into homesteaders, government officials, and Indigenous representatives. Each group prepares arguments on settlement effects, then debates with evidence from texts. Vote and reflect on biases.

Analyze the strategies used by the government to promote Western settlement.

Facilitation Tip

In the Policy Debate, assign roles to ensure quieter students have structured speaking opportunities, balancing participation and depth of argument.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'Was the promise of free land in the Canadian West worth the hardships for settlers and the cost to Indigenous peoples?' Facilitate a class debate where students must use evidence from primary and secondary sources to support their arguments, considering economic, social, and ethical factors.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teaching this topic requires a balance of empathy and critical analysis. Avoid presenting settlement as an inevitable success story; instead, use primary sources to show the gap between government promises and reality. Research shows that role-play and simulation help students retain historical empathy while also developing analytical skills through evidence-based discussion. Ground every activity in primary sources to reinforce the importance of perspective and bias in historical narratives.

Successful learning is evident when students can explain the government’s recruitment strategies and contrast them with the lived experiences of homesteaders and Indigenous peoples. Students should also recognize how government policies shaped relationships and land use, and be able to debate the ethical implications of settlement expansion.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During the Gallery Walk, watch for students who describe Western settlement as a smooth, peaceful process without acknowledging Indigenous displacement.

  Use the Propaganda Posters to ask students to identify phrases that imply progress or destiny, then directly connect these to the numbered treaties and Métis scrip, which were often coercive and broken.

• During the Homesteader Challenge Simulation, watch for students who assume most homesteaders succeeded easily on their land.

  After the simulation, have students review challenge cards collected during rounds and tally how many groups faced crop failure or debt, then compare this to real homesteader success rates of 40% or lower.

• During the Policy Debate, watch for students who claim the government only recruited willing Europeans without using manipulative tactics.

  Refer students back to the recruitment posters during the debate, asking them to highlight exaggerated language or missing context, such as the absence of winter or pest warnings.

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Methods used in this brief

• Gallery Walk
• RAFT Writing