Webquest: Young Canada Future of Health Care Commission

Pedagogical Intent
Students will learn about the issues facing medicare in Canada by making use of the Web resource Making Medicare: The History of Health Care in Canada, 1914–2007, completing the Young Canada Future of Health Care Commission Webquest in small groups, formulating a submission to a fictitious Royal Commission and presenting the submission. This activity introduces students to useful sources of information and enables them to learn about Royal Commissions and the role of Commissions in shaping social programs.

Grade: Grades 9 to 12; Quebec Secondary Cycle 2
Subjects: Social Studies, History, Civics, Language Arts, Arts Education
Themes: Twentieth-century Canadian history (in particular, major forces, persona and issues since 1900 and especially since 1945), history of social programs, social change, Canadian politics and government, Canadian citizenship and identity, connections between historical phenomena and contemporary life
Objectives and Competencies: Use and assess multiple sources of information, use information and communication technology, use oral communication, communicate appropriately; observe, describe, summarize, reason; use critical thinking and creativity; cooperate with and listen to others; develop research skills and methods of historical inquiry
Duration: 180–240 minutes

Web Resources

• Student Introduction and Student Steps in the Young Canada Future of Health Care Commission Webquest
• Final report from the Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada titled Building on Values - The Future of Health Care in Canada
• Making Medicare: The History of Health Care in Canada, 1914–2007

Required Technical Equipment

• One computer with Internet access for each student, pair of students or group of three students

Teacher Preparation
1. This activity assumes that students are familiar with medicare and its history. It would logically follow the Medicare Timeline and Life before Medicare Lesson Plans, which are part of the Web resource.
2. Visit the Making Medicare History and familiarize yourself with its organization and components. On the Timeline at the top of the Introduction page, select a time period (for example, 1948 to 1958) and select the History section for that time period. Read the introduction to the History for the period. Choose Key Players to learn about individuals from the time period. Select Geography to find out about developments in specific provinces and territories. Click on Costs and Benefits to find out about the economic implications of medicare during the period. All images can be enlarged and are accompanied by text.
3. Familiarize yourself with the Student Introduction and Student Steps in the Young Canada Future of Health Care Commission Webquest.

Teacher Procedure

1. Introduce the Young Canada Future of Health Care Commission Webquest to your students.
Explain that they will be looking at submissions from the 2002 Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada (Romanow Commission 2001–2002), as well as searching for information and images from the Web resource Making Medicare: The History of Health Care in Canada, 1914–2007 and other Web sites to complete the Webquest.

2. Ask students to log onto the Internet and go to the Young Canada Future of Health Care Commission Webquest.
Students should follow the instructions found there. Explain the students’ task: working in teams, students will research a Royal Commission that influenced medicare today and formulate their own submission to a fictitious Royal Commission, which they will present to the class. Direct your students to the Student Introduction and Student Steps related to this Webquest, and explain that all the information they need for the assignment, including links to the Making Medicare History, is accessible from those sections.

3. Give the teams time to complete their work. As needed, provide support to students as they gather their material.
 
4. Students present their submissions.
Once students have completed the Webquest, teams will present their submissions in the format of their choice. Ask them to discuss their impressions of the Making Medicare History as a Web resource, and to explain how they might use it for homework or other purposes.

Extension Ideas

1. Then and Now
Go to the Health Canada Web site and look at the transcripts from other Royal Commissions and studies. This site will also help you and your school library locate a copy of transcripts from Emmett Hall’s Royal Commission on Health Services (1961–1964). What were the concerns in these different periods? In your opinion, which of these concerns have been addressed adequately, and which of them are still problematic today?

2. Be the Voice for Change
Write a letter to your Member of Parliament to express your point of view on medicare.