1. Teacher Guide
This lesson is designed to teach kids to ask a critical thinking question that you can’t just put into a search box to solve. To do that, we encourage them with smaller questions that search can help them answer. Make sure that you read the notes for each slide: they not only give you teaching tips but also provide answers and hints so you can help the kids if they are having trouble.
Remember, you can always send feedback to the Bing in the Classroom team at You can learn more about the program at bing.com/classroom and follow the daily lessons on our Partners In Learning site.
Want to extend today’s lesson? Consider using Skype in the Classroom to arrange for your class to chat with another class in today’s location. And if you are using Windows 8, you can also use the Bing apps to learn more about this location and topic; the Travel and News apps in particular make great teaching tools.
Ja'Dell Davis is a Los Angeles native who currently lives in New York City. She works in the Youth Services Department at the Educational Alliance as the Assistant Director for Higher Education Initiatives, where she specifically oversees college prep programming for high school seniors, and academic enrichment programming for middle school students. Ja’Dell previously taught high school in Philadelphia public schools, and implemented college access programming at Chester High School in Chester, Pennsylvania. Ja’Dell received her B.A. from Swarthmore College with a special major in History and Educational Studies, and a minor in Black Studies. She completed her M.S.Ed in Secondary School Education at the University of Pennsylvania. This fall, she will begin her doctoral studies in the Department of Sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In addition to her work in the education field, Ja’Dell is a dancer, musician, avid people watcher, and Scrabble enthusiast.
This lesson is designed to teach the Common Core State Standard: History/Social Studies
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.1Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.2Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.3Identify key steps in a text's description of a process related to history/social studies (e.g., how a bill becomes law, how interest rates are raised or lowered).
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.4Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary specific to domains related to history/social studies.

2. What does it mean for Canada to be an independent nation, but still a Commonwealth of Great Britain?
© Art Wolfe Inc./Mint Images
Having this up as kids come in is a great settle down activity. You can start class by asking them for thoughts about the picture or about ideas on how they could solve the question of the day.

3. What does it mean for Canada to be an independent nation, but still a Commonwealth of Great Britain?
With this window onto a small piece of the vast, beautiful land that is Canada, we celebrate Canada Day, a national holiday celebrating the Constitution Act of 1867 that united the country.
Head east through the Queen Charlotte Strait of British Columbia and you’ll arrive at the Broughton Archipelago, a cluster of islands that are a popular with sea kayakers. The archipelago consists of five main islands and many smaller islets, like this one.
Depending on time, you can either have students read this silently to themselves, have one of them read out loud, or read it out loud yourself.

4. What does it mean for Canada to be an independent nation, but still a Commonwealth of Great Britain?1
Map Search
Find Canada on a map. What nations are nearby? 2
Web/Image Search
What specific areas of land were united with the Constitution Act of 1867? Find an image of this land area. How does this compare to the land area of Canada today? 3
Web Search
What type of government does Canada have today? What was the form of government in Canada before it became an independent nation in 1867? 4
What is a monarchy? What is the role of the monarch? Who is Canada’s monarch? 5
What is a commonwealth? How does Canada’s relationship with Great Britain reflect the concept of a commonwealth?
There are a couple of ways to use this slide, depending on how much technology you have in your classroom. You can have students find answers on their own, divide them into teams to have them do all the questions competitively, or have each team find the answer to a different question and then come back together. If you’re doing teams, it is often wise to assign them roles (one person typing, one person who is in charge of sharing back the answer, etc.)

5. What does it mean for Canada to be an independent nation, but still a Commonwealth of Great Britain?5
Minutes
You can adjust this based on how much time you want to give kids. If a group isn’t able to answer in 5 minutes, you can give them the opportunity to update at the end of class or extend time.

6. What does it mean for Canada to be an independent nation, but still a Commonwealth of Great Britain?1
Map Search
Find Canada on a map. What nations are nearby? 2
Web/Image Search
What specific areas of land were united with the Constitution Act of 1867? Find an image of this land area. How does this compare to the land area of Canada today? 3
Web Search
What type of government does Canada have today? What was the form of government in Canada before it became an independent nation in 1867? 4
What is a monarchy? What is the role of the monarch? Who is Canada’s monarch? 5
What is a commonwealth? How does Canada’s relationship with Great Britain reflect the concept of a commonwealth?
You can ask the students verbally or let one of them come up and insert the answer or show how they got it. This way, you also have a record that you can keep as a class and share with parents, others.

7. What does it mean for Canada to be an independent nation, but still a Commonwealth of Great Britain?1
Map Search
Find Canada on a map. What nations are nearby?
Using the “maps” link on the Bing search page, and the search term “Canada”, find the location here:
The immediate nation nearby is The United States to the South

8. What does it mean for Canada to be an independent nation, but still a Commonwealth of Great Britain?2
Web/Image Search
What specific areas of land were united with the Constitution Act of 1867? Find an image of this land area. How does this compare to the land area of Canada today?
(Possible queries: “History of Canada Day” “Constitution Act of 1867”)
The kid’s site DLTK ( provides a summary of Canada Day for young people. The explanation of the land included in the Constitution Act of 1867 in comparison to the land included in the Canadian nation is as follows:
On July 1, 1867, the British government (under Queen Victoria) approved a plan which allowed Canada to become an independent country with its own government. This new nation, which remained loyal to Britain, was called the Dominion of Canada. At that time, the new Dominion of Canada had only four provinces (Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick). These days, there are 10 provinces and 3 territories.
Using the “images” link on the Bing search page, and the search term “Constitution Act of 1867”, images of the original territory of Canada under the Constitution Act of 1867 are available. One example is here:
Students can compare this image to an image of Canada today, found my using the “Maps” link on the Bing search page, and using the search term “Canada”:

9. What does it mean for Canada to be an independent nation, but still a Commonwealth of Great Britain?3
Web Search
What type of government does Canada have today? What was the form of government in Canada before it became an independent nation in 1867?
(Possible queries: “government canada” “canada before independence”)
The site InfoPlease ( provides information on Canada’s present governmental structure:
Canada is an independent constitutional monarchy and a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The monarch of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is also the monarch of Canada and is represented in the country by the office of governor-general.
Various resources on the history of Canada indicate that before independence, Canada was ruled by the British as a British colony. This sources include:

10. What does it mean for Canada to be an independent nation, but still a Commonwealth of Great Britain?4
Web Search
What is a monarchy? What is the role of the monarch? Who is Canada’s monarch?
(Possible queries: “define monarchy” “monarchy” “what is a monarchy”)
The site wiseGEEK ( summarizes this concept:
A monarchy is a governmental system that has one person as the permanent head of state until he or she dies or gives up his or her position. Typically, the position of monarch is hereditary, as is the case with famous monarchies like that of the United Kingdom. The term is often used to refer to a system of government in which the monarch — such as a king or queen — has absolute authority, but many monarchies are limited or constitutional monarchies in which the monarch has restricted power and might even be mostly a figurehead rather than a ruler.
In an absolute monarchy, the monarch has total authority over the government and his or her people. A cabinet of advisers might be assembled to assist the monarch, but members of the cabinet do not make the major decisions. This type of monarchy has become increasingly rare, because many countries are wary of giving one person unchecked power. The levels of the citizens' happiness under absolute monarchies can vary widely, and such governments usually are closely scrutinized by other nations.
The monarch's power in a constitutional or limited monarchy is restricted by the country's constitution or other laws, and more political power might actually be wielded by a chamber of elected representatives and a prime minister. The monarch usually participates in running the nation, but he or she might have mostly ceremonial powers or might be able to act only with the approval of the prime minister and other government officials. In a constitutional democracy, the monarch is often able to veto legislation that he or she feels is contrary to the best interests of the country. The monarch might also be able to dissolve the chamber of representatives under certain circumstances.
By searching for “canada’s monarch”, the Bing search page returns an answer directly in the search results. Canada’s monarch is Queen Elizabeth II.

11. What does it mean for Canada to be an independent nation, but still a Commonwealth of Great Britain?5
Web Search
What is a commonwealth? How does Canada’s relationship with Great Britain reflect the concept of a commonwealth?
(Possible queries: “what is a commonwealth” “commonwealth define” “canada commonwealth britain”)
From a Bing Search:
Bing Dictionary
com·mon·wealth
nation or its people: a nation or its people considered as a political entity
republic: a nation or state in which the people govern
association of states: a group of states that have formed an association for the political and economic benefit of all members
A Wikipedia article ( summarizes the specific relationship between Canada and Britain as a commonwealth and member of the Commonwealth of Nations:
The Commonwealth of Nations, commonly known as the Commonwealth (formerly the British Commonwealth),[1] is an intergovernmental organisation of 53 member states[2] that were mostly territories of the former British Empire. The Commonwealth operates by intergovernmental consensus of the member states, organised through the Commonwealth Secretariat, and non-governmental organisations, organised through the Commonwealth Foundation.[3]
The Commonwealth dates back to the mid 20th century with the decolonization of the British Empire through increased self-governance of its territories. It was formally constituted by the London Declaration in 1949, which established the member states as "free and equal".[4] The symbol of this free association is Queen Elizabeth II who is the Head of the Commonwealth. The Queen is also the monarch of 16 members of the Commonwealth, known as Commonwealth realms. The other members of the Commonwealth have different persons as head of state: 32 members are republics and five members are monarchies with a different monarch.
Member states have no legal obligation one to another. Instead, they are united by language, history, culture, and their shared values of democracy, human rights, and the rule of law.[

12. What does it mean for Canada to be an independent nation, but still a Commonwealth of Great Britain?
This slide is a chance to summarize the information from the previous slides to build your final answer to the question.