Surviving a Post-Apocalyptic Toronto and Defending the Final Attacks During the War of 1812

Grade 7 and 8 students participated in a variety of activities to integrate their knowledge from multiple subjects using two very unique scenarios.

Read about each of their topics and experiences below!

Through their study of the War of 1812, students have seen how different First Nations groups, British Colonists, and Americans interacted in times of war. As part of their culminating activity, students were tasked with creating a new fort along or near the Upper & Lower Canadian/American border in order to best defend against final attacks by the United States.

Students were responsible for creating a fort that could survive an American offensive and keep its inhabitants warm throughout a long, cold winter. They combined their knowledge from science, math, English and history/geography and addressed five factors in the making of their fort:

In groups of three, students used popsicle sticks, tape, string, fake grass and more to build their forts. They also prepared a persuasive speech for the class to talk about why their fort is best suited for an attack. Check out the pictures below to see some of their creative forts!

Grade 8 students developed a variety of intriguing survival plans for a post-apocalyptic Toronto. This four-day project allowed students to apply key concepts studied this year in science, English and history/geography.

Students were tasked with testing their plan over various timelines to ensure that the main goal of achieving a safe and sustainable environment was established from the first day, up until five years after the zombie apocalypse.

Students also showed quite the range in how they demonstrated their understanding and presented their proposals for survival. They handed in everything from podcasts to live news broadcasts, and even a dramatically recorded musical. Some students liked the hands-on option and actually built a replica model of their settlement for each of the time periods. Others products included stories, journal entries and detailed reports.

During the final period, students presented their top proposals to their peers and teachers downstairs in the theatre.