History This Week....

We have started our first History unit of the year on Canadian Confederation. Confederation was the joining together of a group of colonies to create the country of Canada. We have been learning about what life was like in the years before confederation in 1867. We have examined pictures and maps and compared life before 1867 to life in Canada today. Families were larger and the majority of Canadians lived in rural areas. Child labour was common and work in the new factories was often dangerous. Some students were surprised to find that most homes did not indoor toilets and sewage was put directly onto city streets. Roads were not paved and could become a sea of mud after the rain. Travel was usually by train or horse and carraige and lots of new railways and canals were being built. Next we will be examining some of the events which led to Confederation, or the creation of the country of Canada.