What will you pack?

Throughout its history, Montréal has welcomed immigrants—people who have left their homes, whether for economic, political, religious, or personal reasons, to start a new life here. And whether their decision was spontaneous or carefully considered, it required them to pack their bags before arriving in the city and putting down roots. The activity What Will You Pack? invites students to revisit Montréal’s history through the prism of immigration, and to build empathy and understanding for the many ways that people experience this major transition.

What Will You Pack? takes place at the MEM in two stages:

1. A visit of the permanent exhibition, with a focus on immigration. Students learn about the factors that have led people to settle in Montréal, the major waves of migration that have shaped the city, the life paths of newcomers, and how immigrants contribute to the city.
2. The role-playing workshop What Will You Pack? In teams, students have to decide what to pack for the big journey. They have difficult choices to make, especially since some students have more resources than others. As they pack their suitcases, they have to take into account why they are leaving, the circumstances of the journey itself, and their financial means.

The visit and workshop scenarios are linked to specific historical periods and adapted to the students’ grade level.

Objective

• Identify the principal characteristics of the major waves of immigration to Montréal and Québec in the 1800s and 1900s.
• Identify the different types of migration and the factors that influence the decision to migrate.
• Develop greater empathy and understanding for the range of migration experiences, and give a human face to migration.

Links to the Québec Education Program (QEP)

Elementary Cycle 3

Cross-Curricular Competencies

• Solve problems
• Exercise critical judgement
• Construct one’s identity
• Cooperate with others

Geography, History and Citizenship Education

Competencies

• Understand the organization of a society in its territory
• Establish elements of continuity with the present
• Be open to the diversity of societies and their territories

Progression of learning

• Canadian society around 1820
• Québec society around 1905
• Québec society around 1980
• The visit and workshop scenarios are linked to specific historical periods and adapted to the students’ grade level.

Culture and Citizenship in Quebec

Competencies

• Considers own feelings and recognizes emotions
• Inquires about the ideas of others
• Discerns characteristics of relationships between people, groups, or institutions
• Proposes responses and justifies choices

Themes and subthemes

• Self-awareness and construction of identity
  • Dimensions of identity
  • Personal and collective values
  • Cultural integration
• Collective life
  • Social diversity and shared culture
  • Rights and freedoms
• Search for meaning
  • Success and adversity
  • Role models in life

Secondary

Cross-Curricular Competencies

• Solve problems
• Exercise critical judgement
• Construct one’s identity
• Cooperate with others

Geography, History and Citizenship Education

Competencies

• Develop an understanding of citizenship through the study of history

Progression of learning

• History of Québec and Canada—demographic and social dimensions
• Contemporary world—population

Culture and Citizenship in Quebec

Competencies

• Considers own feelings and recognizes emotions
• Inquires about the ideas of others
• Discerns characteristics of relationships between people, groups, or institutions
• Proposes responses and justifies choices

Themes and subthemes

• Identities and belongin
  • Dimensions of identity
  • Plural identities
• Collective life and public space
  • Cultural heritage
  • Social diversity

This activity was developed in collaboration with Je suis Montréal and the Groupe de recherche sur l’éducation et les musées.

The MEM is listed in the Répertoire Culture-Éducation. The activity What Will You Pack? is eligible for financial support through the Field Trips to Cultural Venues program.