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Victoria Day

Victoria Day is a Canadian national holiday honoring Queen Victoria's birthday, and it also assoicated with the start of summer. Students will learn about the holiday and create a triorama featuring the celebration.

Lesson Plan

Supplies Needed

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  • Paper
  • Recycled File Folders
  • Tape

Steps

  • Step 1

    Victoria Day has been celebrated as a holiday in Canada since 1845 and it became a national holiday in 1901. It honors the May birthday of Queen Victoria, who reigned as queen of the United Kingdom from 1837 to 1901. Have students learn about the holiday and how it is celebrated. What were some of Canada's noted accomplishments under her reign? What other countries celebrate the holiday? What do people do to mark the holiday?

  • Step 2

    Have students create a triorama depicting a scene of celebration on Victoria Day. They might choose to show families having picnics or a fireworks display. Or they might show people dancing around a maypole, which is sometimes done in a few regions during the holiday. Encourage them to look at images of Canadian symbols and Victoria Day celebrations to inspire them.

  • Step 3

    To create the triorama students will fold a square piece of heavy paper or a recycled file folder bringing opposite corners together to form a diagonal line. Then have them cut along one of the folds from the corner to the center. To form the triorama they will pull one flap back over the other. Have them note which area will be hidden from view when this is done. They should lay the drawing surface flat for ease of decorating the background of their triorama. When they are done they will take that one end of the flap and pull it behind the other flap and secure it with tape.

  • Step 4

    Have students present their trioramas and discuss the celebratory scene they created.

Standards

SS: Individual Development and Identity: Describe factors important to the development of personal identity and the context of identity within families, peer or affinity groups, schools, communities, and nationalities. 

SS: Individuals, Groups, and Institutions: Examine various institutions that affect one’s life and influence people’s thinking and how they advocate for ideas they believe in. 

Adaptations

Have students collaborate to write and perform a play about Canada. It could feature notable historical figures and representations of national celebrations.

Have students explore the styles of the Victorian era, named for the period when Queen Victoria reigned. What fashions were people wearing? What was the music like? What instruments were popular?