How does injustice affect communities?

How does injustice affect communities?

What?

This learning module will support student learning about the impact of the Holodomor famine on the Ukrainian community. Students will analyze how the genocide affected Ukrainian identities, experiences of citizenship, and cultural heritage.

Whom?

CHC2D/2P Grade 10 Canadian History Since World War

C3.4 analyse the impact of the Holodomor famine on the Ukrainian community and assess the significance on identities, citizenship, and/or heritage in Canada

How?

Please note all prompts and information included in this Teacher Toolkit are suggestions only. Educators are always encouraged to evaluate the specific needs of their learners and use their professional judgement.

1. Get ready...

Before you begin teaching, consider the following prompts to prepare yourself. Some suggested answers have been included as samples.

What materials will you need for this learning module?

What pre-conversations will you need to have with your students?

What do you already know about this issue, and what are you curious about?
Some topics can be difficult to learn about. What strategies are effective for engaging with challenging material?
What does it mean to learn from real-world events or difficult situations?

What vocabulary do your students need to know?

The following list includes some suggested vocabulary:

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Holodomor

Holodomor comes from the Ukrainian words holod, which means hunger or starvation, and mor, which means a torturous death. It refers to a widespread famine that affected the Soviet Union, especially Ukraine, as a result of policies implemented by Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.

Authoritarian

Authoritarian refers to a system of government in which power is held by a single leader or small group, and people have limited political freedom or choice.

Collectivization

Collectivization was a policy implemented by the Soviet government to seize privately-owned agricultural land to force consolidation into state-owned collective farms. The purpose was to transform the Soviet Union into an industrial power by exporting grain to acquire foreign currency to buy industrial machinery. Peasants saw it as a modern version of serfdom.

Peasants

The term "peasant" was a social class designation that distinguished agriculture workers from the industrial proletariat (“working class”). In Ukraine, the village farmers made up an overwhelming majority of the population and were instrumental in preserving and developing the Ukrainian language and culture. The Ukrainian term for villager is seliany. This classification justified state control, forced collectivization, and the suppression of "kulaks."

Kulaks

Kulak is a Russian term, considered derogatory, that was commonly used to describe successful farmers who owned and farmed the land. The Ukrainian term is kurkul. The Soviet government under Stalin passed a policy into law (known as dekulakization) calling for the “destruction of the kulak as a class” to “eliminate resistance to state control."

Dekulakization

Dekulakization was a Soviet policy that targeted successful farmers by confiscating their land and property and often imprisoning, deporting, or killing them. In most cases they were the village leaders and against collectivization.

Genocide

Genocide is the deliberate attempt to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group.

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union was a former socialist state (1922–1991) made up of multiple republics, including Ukraine, ruled by a centralized Russian communist government.

Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic

The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was one of the republics of the Soviet Union where Soviet policies were enforced during the Holodomor.

What pre-teaching needs to happen to prepare your students for this content?

Students should understand authoritarian governments existed after World War I and how centralized power influenced policies and daily life.
Students should understand key terms and concepts related to the Holodomor.
Teachers should frame the topic by discussing its significance and context. A brief notice about the nature of the content can be provided, and expectations for engaging with the material should emphasize sensitivity, respect, and thoughtful consideration.
Students should understand the difference between primary and secondary sources.
Students should have foundational knowledge of safe and responsible research practices.

Is there any pre-reading that you need to do to facilitate this content?

Will students work independently, in partners, in small groups, or is this a full class activity?

The demonstration of learning can be done independently or with partners. The final product can also be used to create a class directory and shared with the school community.

2. Get set...

Before you begin teaching, consider the following prompts to prepare your learners. Some suggested answers have been included as samples.

What are the learning goals and success criteria for this learning module?

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Learning goals

We are learning to:

identify and explain the ways Ukrainian families and farmers were affected by the Holodomor famine
analyze what these experiences reveal about the impact of authoritarian government policies and injustice on communities, and examine the significance for Ukrainian identities, citizenship, and heritage in Canada

Success criteria

You may choose to co-create the success criteria with your students or develop your own.

How will you activate and/or assess your students’ prior knowledge ahead of this learning module?

Use a photo or a short introductory video (avoid difficult images as way to activate learning).
Have students complete a KWL chart (What I know, what I wonder, what I have learned).
Students can attempt to answer the essential question based on knowledge (independently, with a partner, or in conversation with teacher).

How will you draw your students’ attention to the learning outcome for this learning module?

3. Go!

Students will explore the experiences of Ukrainian families and farmers during the Holodomor famine and examine how communities were affected by authoritarian government policies and systemic injustice.
Students will have an opportunity to check their understanding by completing self-check multiple-choice questions.
Students will demonstrate their learning about the impact of the Holodomor on communities, identities, citizenship, and heritage in Canada by completing the following assessment opportunities:
- Activity 1: Analyze a written quote from a witness, survivor or descendant
- Activity 2: Explore the connection between government policies in Ukraine, the decision to emigrate, and the impact on Canada

Press the following Show Suggestions button for ways to assist students while they work through the learning module.

Assist students in their research.
Answer any questions or queries.
Observe students’ engagement with the content.
Conference with individual students using the self-check activity, the essential question, or the demonstration of learning section.
Lead a guided group through the content.

Resources

As an extension of learning, extra information, or supplementary activities, please refer to the following resources:

Assessment opportunities

Access the following Rubric(Opens in a new window) to assess student learning.

Tips

Creating learning goals

Clearly identify what students are expected to know and are able to do in language that students can readily understand. This represents the knowledge and skills that the students must successfully demonstrate to achieve the overall expectation.

Triangulation of assessments

The following is a sample chart/checklist for use in documenting your triangulation of assessments during observations, conversations, and conferences:

Student Name	Demonstrates (insert specific expectation)	Demonstrates (insert specific expectation)	Demonstrates (insert specific expectation)
Blank	Date:	Blank	Blank
Blank	Blank	Blank	Blank
Blank	Blank	Blank	Blank
Blank	Blank	Blank	Blank
Blank	Blank	Blank	Blank

Student Name

Demonstrates (insert specific expectation)

Date:

Teacher ToolkitHow does injustice affect communities?