Fortifying Their Learning: Grade 7 Integration Project

For this year’s final integration project, the Grade 7s took a dive into Canadian history. Throughout the  year, they have studied the War of 1812 in depth in the classroom. They also visited Fort York to understand how the fort was built, and to get a sense of how inhabitants lived.

This field trip was the perfect introduction for this year’s integration project: designing and building a fort for the War of 1812. Not only would their fort need to be strong enough to survive an American offensive, it also needed to keep its inhabitants warm and sheltered throughout a long, cold winter. From May 29 to June 1, they applied course concepts from Science, Math, English, History, and Geography; they considered concepts such as effective design and inventory, the historical context of 1812, and the motivations and emotions of the fort’s inhabitants.

On the last day, students came together to share their finished forts. It was interesting to see so many different designs even though students all used the same instructions and information. After the forts were built and students were able to see what their peers had accomplished, it was time to put them to the test. To the cheers of the students, the Grade 7 teachers launched “cannon fire” to test how well each fort could withstand an enemy assault.

Awards such as "Strongest," "Most Creative," and “Most Authentic to the War of 1812” were voted on by students.