Continuity & Change: A Suggested Inquiry Activity
Students take on the role of historian to investigate the history of their communities with a focus on what has changed and what has stayed the same over a selected time period (e.g., any selected time period or two different time periods in the past). They collect and analyze evidence on various aspects of life in their communities, and create an illustrated report on their findings.
Suggested Strategies
In small groups, students identify one or two historical periods to study a particular site in their local community (e.g., they may choose a local park or a historic building), and compare what has changed and what has remained the same.
Examples of Topics:
• The Melgund Community 1890’s / 1940’s.
• The A.E. Hill Building Early 1900’s / Current Day
• Hartney Newspapers 1890’s / WW 1 Era / Current Day
• Woodhull Drug Store Early 1900’s / 1950’s
• Town Hall 1910’s / 1940’s
• River Park Farm 1910’s / 1990’s
Students should formulate and clarify questions to guide their research.
Groups decide what aspect of their community they wish to research and the best format to present their findings.
Groups identify primary and secondary sources they will use to conduct their research. Encourage students to find evidence that shows a variety of ways in which life has changed in their community (e.g., include social, economic, or political aspects of life).
Examples of sources include the following:
Resources from Heritage Projects (www.hartnetheritage.ca)
Photographs from family albums, local museums, or local history books
Artifacts from families or local museums
Local/provincial/federal archives
Articles from time-period magazines and newspapers
Community/family history books
Interview seniors/elders in the community
Visit a local cemetery
Examples of music, art
Local streets names, monuments, plaques
Guiding Questions: Identify Continuity and Change
Guided by the questions below, students conduct research to identify and analyze continuity and change. Students organize and record findings and prepare a presentation.
Groups share learning with the class and provide opportunities for whole-class discussion and analysis.
Classmates record learning and respond to opinion questions posed.
1. In this time period compared to an earlier time period, what changed and what stayed the same?
2. Why and for whom did conditions change?
3. Are the changes examples of progress or decline? From whose point of view? How might others see and explain these changes?
4. What are the factors that ensure the continuity of certain elements or practices?
5. Why were these elements preserved or transmitted over time? Were they preserved over a long period of time? By whom and why? How were they preserved?
6. What is the value of the preserving practices overtime? Consider some practices and beliefs that have all but disappeared. Is this a negative or a positive thing? Explain.
7. It is sometimes said that it is advisableto return to“the good old days.” Why do you think people believe this?
8. What were some specific “turning points” that represent major change?
9. Was this a dramatic and sudden change or did it happen slowly and by stages?
10. What human actions and decisions were instrumental in provoking or advancing this change?
11. Have you observed some changes that seem to repeat similar earlier changes? How might they be explained?
12. What are some ways in which individuals and/or groups strive to preserve continuity over time? What are the advantages and disadvantages of this?
13. Do you believe that some things have changed so radically that it is no longer possible to understand what happened in the past? Give an example and explain.
14. Think of an example of a historical change that you wish had never happened. Explain.
15. It has been said that human beings tend to resist or oppose change. Do you think this is true? Explain with reference to events in Canadian history.
16. If you could preserve or change one practice or feature of life in your community, what would it be? Explain.