The October Crisis is a complex event with, in reality, many important moments! In this activity, students will summarize and put in order various events related to the October Crisis, as well as associate each one with a photo or video from the archives.
This activity was designed to accompany our Our Soldiers in the Streets: The 1970 October Crisis exhibit. The exhibition is also available for free to your school by completing our reservation form.
The activities in our module can be used individually, or in sequence. The sequential approach will allow students to explore this fascinating subject, while leaving ample room for their curiosity and their desire to deepen their knowledge. If the teacher wishes to use the four activities together, we suggest the following progression: “Timeline: Understanding the October Crisis“, “Analyzing and Interpreting Sources“, “War Measures Act Debate” and “Letter to a Loved One“.
Activity content
Students will first summarize the highlights of 22 events related to the October Crisis, from the founding of the Front de libération du Québec to the crisis itself. Next, they will place the events in chronological order and associate them with archival images to create a timeline. This activity also contains an open-ended question that can be used as preparation for the provincial exam.
The student guide can be printed out so that students can cut out the photos and paste them onto the medium of their choice. Alternatively, the digital media file can be shared with students and they can be asked to do the work on a digital medium of their choice. The teacher’s guide describes the educational objectives of the activity and provides the necessary corrections.
Activity objectives
The goal of these activities is to allow secondary cycle two students to have a greater understanding of the October Crisis and its impacts in the province of Quebec. Students will thus be able to better understand the political context in Quebec, Canada, and internationally at the time.
These activities were created as educational tools to complement the Quebec Education Program of secondary 4 History and secondary 5 History of the 20th and Contemporary World courses. In addition, these activities can also be used as language tools in the following courses: Francais langue maternelle (in secondary 3, 4 and 5), Français, secondary language, English, secondary language (in secondary 3, 4 and 5) and English Language Arts.
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Exam Practice
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Analyzing and Interpreting Sources
In a context where we are increasingly exposed to fake news, it is essential for students to develop healthy research habits. This activity gives students the tools and skills to research and analyze historical and academic sources. Students have to research three different sources related to the October Crisis of 1970 and analyze them using the historical method interpretation tool.