History Department

The history courses offered to MCI students are available at the University, College & Workplace level.

What to expect in History class

• a focus on themes and/or chronology in Canadian history
• variety of activities including: simulations, role-plays, note taking, lecture
• you are expected to complete homework, but material will always be reviewed in class​
• a mix of hands on and reading/writing activities, simulations and role plays
• enriched learning activities including field trips and guest speakers​

Evaluation and Assessment

• large projects that are completed with minimal teacher involvement
• includes assignments like: debates, argumentative essay writing, create a historical newspaper
• large unit tests
• projects designed in "chunks" so there are opportunities for teacher support
• includes assignments like: writing in role, designing an essay outline, write a newspaper article, design a poster​
• a variety of assignments are evaluated (including presentations, creative writing, art pieces, essays and tests)

Key skills focus

• critical thinking
• effective essay writing
• research and note taking
• detecting bias in primary and secondary source material
• literacy skills (including reading comprehension, writing with proper paragraph structure, reading from a variety of sources)​
• development of reading and writing skills (essay structure, academic readings, independent research)

Academic Classes

Designed for students who:

• plan to take University or College courses
• conduct research and other learning tasks with a minimal amount of direction
• effectively structure arguments with supporting evidence
• are working at refining literacy skills
• a significant part of the background material will be covered at home as part of your homework

Applied Classes

Designed for students who:

• plan to take Workplace or College courses
• conduct guided research with teacher support
• want to develop literacy skills

College Preparation

Designed for students who:

• plan to attend college or university
• complete homework regularly
• read and understand a variety of types of readings 

University Preparation

Designed for students who:

• plan to attend university
• complete homework nightly (especially independent reading)
• read and understand a variety of types of readings including scholarly journal articles and primary source documents
• conduct independent research with minimal teacher support