T e a c h e r C r e a t e d L e s s o n
Evaluating Research Sources – Food at Canada’s first B&B’s
Evaluating Research Sources – Food at Canada’s first B&B’s
On the way to the logging camps of Algonquin Park before and at the turn of the 20th century, groups of men would rest and eat at 'stopping places.' Fortunately, quite a bit of information about these farms is available through analysis of historical research sources. At the same time, these sources have their limitations.
Instructions:
Today, you are going to look at some of these sources with a critical eye. This will help you develop important skills that you need to become an effective researcher throughout high school, post-secondary studies and beyond.
You will be learning (or refreshing your memory) about how primary and secondary research sources differ, and how to document them properly, analyze information they contain, and describe their limitations.
Preparation:
Step 1) Examine the asset "Primary and Secondary Sources" and take notes.
Step 2) Take the quiz entitled "QUIZ: Primary and Secondary Sources" and record your score.
Step 3) Examine "Primary Sources ~ Finding History in Every Day Documents" and take notes.
Primary and Secondary Sources
M. Callaghan, M. Miller, E. Savva
© 2007, Scarborough Historical Museum. All Rights Reserved.
QUIZ Primary and Secondary Sources
M. Miller, M. Callaghan, Scarborough Historical Museum
© 2007, Scarborough Historical Museum. All Rights Reserved.
Primary Sources ~ Finding History in Everyday Documents
M. Miller
© 2007, Scarborough Historical Museum. All Rights Reserved.
Activity:
For each research source below, you will now record the following (some of you may find it easier to record this in chart form):
- the title of the research source
- whether it's a primary or secondary source
- document the source (this could include date, person or author, type of source, place, publisher, publishing company, etc.)
-What historical information is provided? (If there is too much to go into detail here, describe the information in general terms)
-Describe the limitations of this source in terms of what we can learn accurately about 'stopping places' and the food eaten there (consider how much information is provided, its validity, reliability, accuracy, possible bias, person's level of expertise, person's point of view, whether the source relates to a period of time or a point in time, etc.)
Research Sources to be analyzed:
1) Interview Clip - Audio 1: Stopping Place Meals
2) Book excerpt - Excerpt 1: From “Life in the Lumber Camps of McLachlin Brothers"
3) Diary excerpt - Excerpt 2: From “A History of Killaloe Station”
4) Way Order - Photo 2: McLachlin Brothers Way Order, 1905
5) Picture - Photo 1: Lafleur Stopping Place, circa 1958
Hints
For the question: 'What historical information is provided?', consider the following:
Way Order -
What might the fact that these way orders were used indicate about companies trusting their logging teams with money for overnight stays?
What might the fact that the company filled them in ahead of time indicate about their logging men's ability to write or the company's desire to have these men reach the logging camps as soon as possible?
Photograph of Lafleur Stopping Place -
What does the size of the house indicate about sleeping conditions for the groups of men who stopped there?
Audio 1: Stopping Place Meals
Hanna (McGuey) Hyland, Rory MacKay
© 1976, Friends of Algonquin Park. All Rights Reserved.
Excerpt 1: from Life in the Lumber Camps of McLachlin Brothers
Charles Macnamara
© 1940, Ontario Archives. All Rights Reserved.
Excerpt 2: from A History of Killaloe Station
Martin Garvey
© 1967, Martin Garvey. All Rights Reserved.
Photo 2: McLachlin Brothers Way Order, 1905
Photo 1: Lafleur Stopping Place, circa 1958
Learning Objectives
Students will investigate types of food and food availability at Canada’s ‘stopping places’ (the places where groups of men spent the night on their way to the lumber camps) by evaluating what information select primary and secondary research sources provides, documenting sources properly, and analyzing for reliablity, accuracy etc.
Specific expectations from the Ontario Curriculum - Grade 9/10 (Open) Food and Nutrition:
-use research derived from a variety of primary sources (e.g., interviews, observations,
statistics, demographic research, and original documents) and secondary sources (e.g., print materials, Internet articles, CD-ROMs, and videos);
- distinguish between research evidence and opinion;
- evaluate print and electronic resources on food and nutrition for validity, reliability, accuracy, bias, and relevance.
- record information and key ideas from their research, and document the sources accurately in correct bibliographic form;
- organize, interpret, and communicate the results of their inquiries, using a variety of methods (e.g., graphs, diagrams, oral presentations, newspaper articles, hypermedia presentations, and videos);