Mavericks: An Incorrigible History of Alberta represents almost 40 different “Mavericks” who made Alberta what it is today. Drawing on primary source materials from Glenbow Library & Archives, this resource provides students with a unique opportunity to explore individuals who were a part of Alberta’s history. Ready-to-use project plans and classroom ideas have been developed by Alberta teachers and may be easily adapted to the needs of any group of students.
Teachers: before finding Mavericks themes below, please explore the learning documents and project plans that will help you get started.
Teacher & Researcher Resources
Historical Thinking in the Alberta Social Studies Curriculum
Primary sources allow students and teachers to become actively engaged with history and learn about the people who lived it. Rather than memorizing facts, students become historians themselves, developing historical thinking skills to construct their own understandings of the past. This process involves analyzing different historical perspectives, including those that may differ from students’ own. Historical thinking encourages students to place people, events, and ideas within their historical contexts, helping them develop a sense of time and place that informs their understanding of the present.
Primary vs. Secondary Sources
A primary source is a firsthand, original account of the past. These authentic records provide direct evidence from those who experienced historical events. Primary sources are often one of a kind and can include oral histories, diaries, personal letters, photographs, special objects, tools, weapons, family heirlooms, documents, autobiographies, and newspapers.
A secondary source is a secondhand interpretation or analysis created after the fact. They may contain an argument, opinion, or bias, as the account may have been written from the specific point of view of one author. Secondary sources can include textbooks, historical movies, historical novels, and biographies.
Why Should Students Analyze Primary Sources in Social Studies?
- Primary sources aid students’ understanding of history, allowing them to construct links to the past
- Students are better able to place themselves in specific historical contexts
- Primary source analysis can be integrated across the curriculum
- Primary source analysis is a hands-on, critical, and historical thinking activity that drives students to question, investigate, reflect, and analyze
- Primary source artifacts present the human side of history, making it more relatable and engaging
- Students will begin to view history as more than just the facts, events, and dates presented in textbooks
The Primary Source Inquiry Process
By engaging with primary sources, students follow a process similar to that of historians: they analyze evidence, form interpretations, and justify their conclusions. This process encourages critical thinking as students assess the evidence and explore different perspectives. As students debate and discuss their findings, they learn to appreciate the subjectivity inherent in historical analysis and understand that multiple viewpoints may exist.
Students will develop skills such as observation, logical inference, and the ability to ask essential questions. They will use these skills to find and examine sources of evidence or information, creatively and critically analyze their findings, connect primary source materials to their specific historical contexts, present their judgments in a persuasive manner, and support their opinions when confronted with different viewpoints.
Primary source materials can provide a great deal of information on the cultural, social, and historical viewpoints of individuals. As an extension of a primary source inquiry, students could tell the “story” of that material, incorporating their knowledge and understanding of the owner or creator, as well as their opinions, values, achievements, and struggles.
Blackline Masters for Students: Primary Source Inquiry Process
Primary historical sources change the way we look at history by allowing students to construct their own point of view toward historical figures and events. Undertaking historical object-based inquiry activities pushes students to actively discover, investigate, research, question, and analyze their own understandings of the past. This process urges students to use and improve upon critical and creative thinking, logical reasoning, and analytical reflection, all within a real historical context.
The below downloadable and printable PDF documents focus on research- and inquiry-based learning methods.
The four documents below have been created to guide students through an analysis of primary source materials. Students should begin by asking and developing their own questions about a particular primary source, then move on to examine questions that are appropriate for their material. Using a journaling style of writing will allow students to ask their own questions, develop answers, reflect on their findings, and examine what they have learned or still need to learn about their primary source material.
The following downloadable and printable PDF documents are segmented by Maverick theme and connect to the big ideas used to engage students. They include essential questions, knowledge hunts, and glossaries that relate to researching and learning about the highlighted Mavericks.
The Fur Trade & Uninvited Guests
Mounties
Railway
Ranching
Politics
Newcomers
War & the Homefront
Oil & Gas
Post Haste
The following downloadable and printable PDF project plans are designed to be broad-based and open-ended. They may be easily modified to meet the needs of different students. They may also be adapted for specific learning objectives, to fit other theme areas, or to be used in conjunction with the Mavericks resource as a whole.
- Writing Back in Time
- Letters from the Past
- Is History Carved in Stone?
- Why Should I Agree with You?
- Are We All Equal Yet?
- Them’s Fightin’ Words
- Held Accountable by the Media
- The Real Story of Arriving in Canada
- A Train Trip Across Early Canada
- Picturing the Story of the Railway
- Mapping our Way Through History
- Great Journeys — Maps of a Maverick
- Free Farms for the Million!
- The Life and Times of…
- Show Us Your “True Grit”
- Setting Up a Brand New Ranch
- Saving the Environment, One Maverick at a Time…
- Putting Pen to Paper in the Trenches
- Could That Ever Happen in Alberta?
- Canadian Conflict Heritage Minute
- Becoming a Western Legend
- Art of the Western Identity
Mavericks Themes & Biographies
The Fur Trade & Uninvited Guests
Many uninvited guests came to the West to explore, exploit, and eventually shape the area that would come to be known as Alberta. These are the stories of explorers, map-makers, surveyors, fur traders, missionaries, and even whiskey traders who came to Alberta with visions of the new opportunities that awaited them in the West. The narratives of these Mavericks will facilitate student understanding of how the first European settlers affected the future of Alberta.
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Mounties
The North-West Mounted Police were sent from Eastern Canada to monitor unruly whiskey traders, earn the trust of First Nations peoples, and ensure Canadian sovereignty over the West. They faced many hardships on their trek, but what they did upon arrival ensured that the NWMP would gradually come to be an enduring symbol of Canada. The narratives of these Mavericks will facilitate student understanding of how the NWMP shaped the settlement and development of Western Canada.
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The Railway
The building of a transcontinental railway opened up the West for settlement and expansion. These are the stories of the historic personalities who created and completed one of the grandest projects of its time in North America. The narratives of these Mavericks will facilitate student understanding of how the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway affected the growth of Alberta and Canada.
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Ranching
The history of ranching illustrates how the prairie grasslands and Alberta beef became staples and cultural icons in the province’s economy and mythology. These are the stories of early Alberta ranchers and cowboys living their lives on the range, and how the horse became a symbol of Alberta’s spirit. The narratives of these Mavericks will facilitate student understanding of how the natural resources of a region determine how communities are established and how Albertans have dealt with competing demands for land use.
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Politics
Albertans have sometimes struggled to deal with a federal government that didn’t understand their needs, desires, culture, and aspirations. These are the stories of writers of social and political commentary, social reformers, suffragettes, lieutenant governors, premiers, members of parliament, and even preachers. The narratives of these Mavericks will facilitate student understanding of how individuals and governments interact with each other to bring about change in society, and how individuals or groups can impact decision-making by governments.
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Newcomers
Immigrants and settlers from across Canada and around the world came to Alberta seeking free land, religious and political freedom, and a fresh start. These are the stories of aristocrats, hat-makers, photographers, bootleggers, philanthropists, wilderness explorers, squatters, and café owners who came from around the world to become Albertans. The narratives of these Mavericks will facilitate student understanding of how the diversity of immigrants has enriched Alberta’s communities and heritage.
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War & the Homefront
Alberta was deeply affected by the events and aftermath of the North-West Resistance, the South African War, and the First and Second World Wars, on both the war and home fronts. These are the stories of army officers, flying “aces,” “barnstormers,” legendary constables, and adventurers. The narratives of these Mavericks will facilitate student understanding of how war contributed to the development of Alberta’s identity.
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Oil & Gas
The oil and gas industry encapsulates the incredible effect Alberta’s plentiful natural resources have had on its economy, history, politics, social structure, and future. These are the stories of adventurous cowboy characters, reckless risk-takers, speculators, scientists, politicians, oil well “shooters,” and “roughnecks.” The narratives of these Mavericks will facilitate student understanding of the significant natural resources in the province and how they affect the lifestyles of Albertans.
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Post Haste
After the war years, Alberta underwent massive economic and social alterations in such rapid succession that they could hardly be measured or predicted. Returning veterans starting families created a huge economic boom. These are the stories of Olympic organizers, philanthropists, collectors, Order of Canada recipients, wrestling promoters, painters, dancers, porters, and jazz musicians. The Post Haste theme demonstrates how some Albertans relish change and progress. The narratives of these Mavericks will facilitate student understanding of how diverse groups of people played a role in establishing Alberta’s identity and promoting social change.
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