Heading West on the Canadian Pacific Railway

All aboard!        

Dear students: In our grade 8 history unit, we will be delving into Investigations into the perspectives of different groups on some significant events that contributed to the development of Canada as we know it today. 

One of these events we will be exploring includes the expansion of the Canadian Pacific Railway.  I would highly recommend that students take the time to explore the interactive map found here: Railways & Immigration in Canada .  Through this map you can explore the expansion of the railway year by year from 1867 to 1912, against a backdrop of various maps, including treaties, political boundaries, and topographical. It's a real eye-opener!


Dear parents:  The expectations that we will be focusing on are Inquiry-based, with a focus on historical perspectives and historical significance. You child will be expected to formulate questions posed by various groups in Canada between 1850 and 1890, surrounding the development and expansion of Canada's railway system. 

Some questions to consider are :

 “What were the views of federal politicians, business people, First Nations,
settlers, and Chinese labourers on the building of the CPR? Why did these differences exist?” 

“What was the reaction of different groups to the prospect of Confederation?”

“What was the response of different groups to the opening up of the West to settlement by immigrants from Europe? Why might First Nations and Métis peoples have had a different view from that of settlers and politicians?”
  

Don't forget your ticket!

My Backpocket

Many of us define ourselves by our passions and things that make us unique. Some of the things I love most about teaching is learning more about my students, and what makes them all such interesting personalities.

If you're curious about what makes Ms. Ammon tick- check out some of these links below:


Hiking! What I love about living in Hamilton is having the Bruce Trail right in my backyard. I commute down the trail to work and school, with so much green-space and wildlife crossing my path it's easy to forget I'm in the middle of a city! Weekends I love going on day hikes around different sections of the trail- one day I hope to hike the whole trail end to end.

Goodbyes on Nguna Island, Vanuatu, South Pacific

As you might have guessed by the name of this blog, I'm an avid traveler. When I'm exploring a new place it's important to me to really get to know the people and the culture of the place I'm visiting, and so a great way to do this is through Couchsurfing. It's a terrific resource to meet like-minded people who want to learn more about the world around them and see a new town or city through the eyes of a local!

Feeding time at Mooloo Farm, New Zealand

Ever wonder where your food comes from? A great way to get your hands dirty and learn all about farming with small-scale organic farmers is through 'WWOOFing', which stands for 'Willing Workers on Organic Farms'. Here you can volunteer to work on any kind of farm you can imagine- from dairy farming, to macadamia nut farming, even an apiary collecting honey- all over the world!

Please feel free to share some neat things that you like to do too!

Roots & Shoots

As you'll soon find out, some of my greatest passions are nature and wildlife. Throughout University some classmates and I started a Roots & Shoots group, which is run through the Jane Goodall Institute. If you and other students in your school believe in making positive changes in your community through small everyday actions, this is the group for you. Roots & Shoots groups are connected to groups of all ages around the world, all working together to make a difference in environmental, animal and humanitarian issues.

Roots & Shoots group at work

"Roots creep underground everywhere and make a firm foundation. Shoots seem very weak, but to reach the light, they can break open brick walls. Imagine that the brick walls are all the problems we have inflicted on our planet. Hundreds of thousands of roots & shoots, hundreds of thousands of young people around the world, can break through these walls. We CAN change the world."
      - Dr. Jane

  It all starts with YOU!

Welcome!

  Sawatdeeka, Bonjour, and hello!

Teaching in Chiang Mai, Thailand

Welcome to Ms. Ammon's Edu-Blog, where we are are all travelers on the road to learning! Let's get out our passports and get ready to explore some new things on a new journey together.

Bonne chance!