The Project: Ordinary Canadians In
Extraordinary Times, Student Orientation Program,
2003-2009
The Client: The Canadian War Museum, Ottawa, ON
Associates: Janet Uren of WordImage, Ottawa, ON
Assignment: Introduce students to the themes of the War
Museum before they start a tour of the exhibits.
Approach:
The program introduces students to the stories of ordinary men and
women who have experienced war at different times during Canadian
history. The 20-minute presentation starts in a simple classroom which
has a piece of war art at its centre. An animator, dressed as a
character in the painting, enters the room and tells the students the
story of the painting and how they became a subject in it. The seven
fictionalized accounts range from a young girl caught in the 1769 siege
of Quebec to a soldier on leave from the trenches in 1917 and a member
of the Winnipeg Rifles fighting to liberate The Netherlands. Students
are readily drawn into the stories with the help of costume, props, the
artwork and a compelling delivery by a person not much older than
themselves.
End Result:
From its first year, the program has proven to be one of the most
popular sessions on the annual school spring tours of Ottawa. About
60,000 students participate each May and June.
Links: read
excerpts of a script.
The Project: Outdoors student
tour of Parliament Hill, 2002-2006
The Client: National Capital Commission
Associates: Janet Uren of WordImage, Ottawa, ON
Assignment: Create a tour of the grounds of Parliament
Hill for students.
Approach:
The theme of the tour was the development of Canadian democracy and we
used selected statues around the Parliament Buildings to explain how
Canada matured from British colony to nationhood. NCC guides led
student groups around the Hill, pausing at a series of statues to tell
anecdotes, ask questions and lead short group activities. The statue of
Queen Victoria illustrated Canada's colonial past. The whispering wall
on the east side of the Centre Block was the stage for a mock election
whose unfair result was used to explain the need for responsible
government. And the statue of John A. Macdonald introduced both
Confederation and a simple magic trick.
End Result:
The tour was well received by clients and tour groups alike and was
used for five seasons.
The Project: Online web
exhibits, 2007-2008
The Client: Archives of Ontario
Associates: Janet Uren of WordImage, Ottawa, ON
Assignment: Plan and write web exhibits featuring two of
the Archives' most important visual image collections.
Approach:
After assessing the extent of the collections and conducting initial
historical research, we created an interpretive plan that would tell an
interesting story and explain the importance of the collection to
visitors. Illustrations and photographs were chosen for both their
aesthetic appeal and their historical relevance. After further primary
and secondary source research, we wrote text, captions and reference
data to support the displays.
End Result:
The exhibits are major elements of the Archive of Ontario website.
Links: "Eyewitness: Thomas Burrowes on the Rideau
Canal." This is an exhibit of a series of
historical watercolours created by a surveyor during construction of
the Rideau Canal.
"The
Magnificent, The Merry and the Mundane: The Display Windows of the
Eaton's Department Stores."
This exhibit studies the influences that Canada's largest retailer had
on households during the 20th century and how its displays
reflect
the society of their day.
The Project: Lesson plans,
2004-2007
The Client: Archives of Ontario
Associates: Janet Uren of WordImage, Ottawa, ON
Assignment: Create
a series of lesson plans, matched to primary and secondary curriculum,
that would enable teachers to make use of the Archives' online
exhibits.
Approach:
The plans were designed as "ready-to-go" projects for use by teachers
who had little time to prepare a lesson. As such, each plan begins with
an overview of the exhibit, a list of teaching objectives, background
information, a marking rubric and the activity itself, complete with
teaching strategies, discussion topics and website links.
End Result:
The series of 16 plans we created was promoted as "Instant Lesson
Plans: Just Add Students.. and click!" They serve as the
nucleus of a growing
number of lesson plans being created by university teacher candidates
and teachers who use our plans as a template. While many of the plans
deal with history and geography, we also developed sessions for
dramatic arts, marketing and creative writing programs.
Links: "The War of 1812."
Students gain a general understanding of how the War of 1812 affected
different groups of people and then create a persona for themselves and
write an account of their own role during a particular event.
"The Story of an Ontario Veteran."
Students explore the diaries and photographs of Private John F. Mould
and then script a dramatic re-enactment of one of his stories.
The Project:
"Ottawa: A Kids' Eye View," a family-oriented
guide, 1994
The Client: Bungalo Books (publisher), Firefly Books (distributor)
Associates: J.A. Kraulis
Designer:
Frank B. Edwards
Assignment: Create a beautiful illustrated book
that takes young readers behind the scenes of the capital's main
tourist attractions.
Approach:
The book featured the photography of J.A. Kraulis, one of Canada's best
landscape and architectural photographers who visited the city over
four seasons in order to get a comprehensive portfolio of pictures. I
researched the sites thoroughly and wrote a text that put the
attractions into a historical context so that young readers would get a
complete understanding of the importance of Ottawa as a capital and an
interesting city.
End Result:
The book was a critical success, found its way into libraries across
Canada and remained in print for 10 years.
The Project:
Author presentations, 2009
The Client: Canadian Children's Book Centre, Toronto, ON
Sponsor: TD
Bank
Assignment: Tour schools throughout the Mackenzie River
Valley, Northwest Territories to talk about reading and literac
Approach:
These presentations are part of a literacy program that sends
nationally acclaimed children's authors and illustrators to communities
across Canada to promote reading. My one-hour presentations were based
on reading/writing talks that I give to about 50 schools a year across
Canada. Using a multimedia presentation, I show students and teachers
how authors and illustrators work together to turn ideas into
illustrated stories. The illustrated program is designed to get
children from grades one to eight interested in reading and in writing
their own stories. While it is curriculum-based, it uses lots of
humour, personal anecdotes, photographs and illustrated readings to
teach its.
End Result:
Over the past 10 years, I have visited 500 schools across Canada, the
United States, Bahrain and Qatar.
Links: Read letters
of recommendation and destinations.
The Project: Roll Play, television
scripts, 2007-2008
The Client: Sinking Ship Productions, Toronto, ON
Assignment:
Script a series of action stories for a pre-school audience that
combines imaginative storytelling with physical movement designed to
encourage viewer participation.
Approach:
The show is aimed at pre-school children and the scripts must meet a
series of challenges. First of all, they must involve animal characters
who use actions instead of words to act out their roles. The characters
are portrayed by both puppets and children who, separately, act out the
stories in a very physical way so that young viewers will act out the
stories in their own homes. The stories must be engaging but simple
enough to keep youngsters's attention. Because the show was in its
first two seasons, new characters had to be invented who were
interesting and suitable for puppetry. I wrote eight scripts, including
a seasonal special for use during the Christmas holidays.
End Result:
The show was nominated for a Gemini award in its first season and is
broadcast by Treehouse Television and CBC's French-language
Radio-Canada.
