Lesson Plan: Fair Play

Level

Elementary

Objective

Use petitions to explore different sides of the land settlement experience in New Brunswick, while building upon students’ concept of fairness.

Materials

Petition of Pierre Basquet, Aboriginal, (1841)

Petition of Thomas Ryan, settler, (1824)

Background

Pierre Basquet settled upon vacant land, which he soon cleared and planted crops. He raised potatoes and barley, producing more and more of these crops each year. Pierre Basquet encountered many land settlement problems, including a white settler purchasing his land. Read Pierre Basquet’s land petition for more details.

Thomas Ryan had settled on the north side of the Richibucto River, clearing a considerable portion of land. Unfortunately he had settled on Aboriginal land and could not obtain a grant, so he petitioned in 1824 for a new tract of land on the south side of the same river.

Method

After playing Contested Terrain: Petition Edition, introduce these two land petitions to the class. Students will be familiar with the land settlement tasks after playing the board game. Aboriginal and white settlers faced many land settlement obstacles, and the experiences of Pierre Basquet and Thomas Ryan show what problems people encountered. As a class, discuss whether these situations were fair.

Assessment

Have students write a short response to either land petition, briefly explaining if they consider the situation fair.

Evaluation

Have students identify different land settlement obstacles, using them when next playing Contested Terrain: Petition Edition.