A Look at Calgary Stampede S Posters

A look at Calgary Stampede’s posters

Lesson overview

After looking at some of the many posters that have been created throughout the Calgary Stampede’s history, students will work to create their own poster highlighting the values and traditions of the event that they believe are important to all Canadians.

Grade level

Grade 2

Time required

One 60 minute class, additional time as needed for homework

Curriculum connections

Ontario, Social Studies, Grade 2

Demonstrate an understanding that Canada is a country of many cultures.
Use a variety of resources and tools to gather, process, and communicate information about similarities and differences among family traditions and celebrations.
Explain how the various cultures of individuals and groups contribute to the local community.

Additional resources, materials and equipment required

Computers to access the following websites
Calgary Stampede Posters
Calgary Stampede website
Calgary Stampede interactive map on the Canadian Geographic website
Canadian Atlas online Calgary Stampede thematic
Paper, pens, markers, crayons etc.

Main objective

The main objective of this classroom activity is to have students gain a greater understanding of the themes of the Calgary Stampede and how it represents traditional western values.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:

Explain how posters have evolved over the course of the Stampede’s history.
Visually represent the traditional western values of the Stampede on a poster.
Explain their choices of visual representation of the Calgary Stampede.

Teacher activity / Student activity
Introduction / Provide an overview of why posters are important to the Stampede and show some of the posters used at previous Stampedes. Use information found in the Canadian Atlas Online (CAOL) Calgary Stampedethematic and the official Calgary Stampede website to allow students to see the importance of western values to the Calgary Stampede and how that is reflect in its posters.
Distribute copies of some of the posters from various decades to illustrate how they have evolved over time. Ask students to list some similarities and differences they see between the posters and to offer their opinions on why they have evolved. Ask the class:

Do you notice anything similar or different among all of the posters?
What aspects of the Stampede (i.e. western heritage or western values) are represented on these posters?

Explain that as a class they will be creating their own posters for the Stampede. / Students will listen to the overview and reflect on the posters they see.
Students will begin to think about their posters and what they would like to portray in them.

Lesson development

/ Explain to students that they will spend time researching the different aspects of the Stampede by using the internet, specifically the CAOL as well as any other resources they come across online, to help determine which images will appear on their posters. Ensure that students are incorporating key themes such as agriculture, First Nations peoples, and western values into their posters.
Once they have completed their research, suggest that students sketch a rough draft before beginning a final copy. If students do not have time to finish their final copies in class, it can be assigned as homework.
Have students sit in a circle and allow each of them to briefly explain what is on their poster at the end of the period. They can use either their rough or final copies to explain why they selected their specific images. Afterwards, allow them to circulate to see all of their classmates’ work. / Students will listen to the instructions and begin to conduct their research.
Students will create their rough copies and show them for approval.
Students will briefly explain what is on their posters and why.

Conclusion

/ Finish with a debriefing conversation where students can discuss some similarities and differences they noticed between each other’s posters and allow them the opportunity to share their comments on their classmates’ work. / Students will participate in the discussion.

Lesson extension

In groups, have students create another poster by collectively working to identify the elements of Stampede that they think are important. Ask them to prepare a more thorough explanation of why they selected each image on their poster.

Assessment of student learning

Use a rubric to assess the posters. An example can be found at:

A Look at Calgary Stampede S Posters