Lesson 3: What are Landmarks?

Students learn why landmarks are significant to communities, cities nations, and the world.

(Adapted from Teaching Landmarks)

Subjects: Social Studies, Language Arts, Art

Grade Levels: 5-12

Time Frame: 2 class periods

Materials Needed:

• Thinking about Landmarks worksheet

• The 145 National Historic Sites Administered by Parks Canada

• UNESCO World Heritage List Website

• Planning and Development Handbook for the City of Edmonton: Section 3.14 Heritage Conservation

• Development Permit Process for Historic Resources (chart)

• Process to Designate an Historic Resource (chart)

• Process to designate a municipal historic resource (chart)

Learning Objectives: Students will:

1. Explore the concept and purpose of landmarks

2. Discover ways to preserve/mark the land

3. Consider how time is involved in determining landmarks

4. Connect personal spaces/places to who they are and to their community

Procedure:

1. Discuss with students the following:

• What does it mean to preserve a "mark"?

• What are some ways we humans "mark" the land?

•  Are landmarks made intentionally to be landmarks?

• What is the purpose of a landmark?

2. Discuss with students the range of things that might be considered landmarks.

• Students might also make distinctions between landmarks and historic monuments, noting traditional examples of each.

3. Have students address the following issues of time:

• Does a landmark need to be there for a long time or can it be a fleeting moment in time?

• What would be the point of a fleeting landmark?

• Who could gain from such a thing?

• In what ways do landmarks "mark" us?

• What roles might a landmark play within a community?

• Can a landmark help a community?

• Can a landmark be a detriment to a community?

• Do all languages have a word for landmark? Why or why not?

Students might reflect upon the economic benefit of landmarks to communities. For instance, many roadside attractions eventually have become landmarks and have economically benefited the communities in which they are found.

4. Have students make a list of connections between what they have been thinking about with respect to their own personal and shared spaces or places and the idea of a landmark. Have students share their information to the class.

5. Discuss with students the concept of municipal, provincial, national and global landmarks. Use The 145 National Historic Sites Administered by Parks Canada list and the UNESCO World Heritage List as examples.
http://www.unesco.org/whc/heritage.htm

6. In small groups, have students create posters that show the ways they have been thinking about landmarks.

• They might make a conceptual map, putting the word landmark in the center and show how the concept can be extended to include the kinds of things that they have been willing to consider as landmarks.

• Have students include photographs cut from magazines or downloaded from the Internet, drawings, and other materials that they have found.

7. Have students complete the Thinking About Landmarks worksheet.

8. Discuss with students how their local community preserves and promotes heritage conservation and the processes involved.

Extension

Imagine that the local community council has asked for people to come forward and present a case for preserving a space or a place (a landmark) that will best communicate what is significant about the community. Imagine that you are asked to give such a presentation. What would you say? If the special place you chose as a class is in danger of being torn down or needs to be restored, consider making a case for it to the local community. What would you do to run a campaign to save or restore it?

Thinking About Landmarks

Landmarks

1. What are some ways we humans "mark" the land?
2. What does it mean to preserve a "mark"?
3. What is the purpose of a landmark?
4. Are landmarks made intentionally to be landmarks?
5. Can something be a landmark to only one person?
6. Are landmarks always old?
7. Can an event be a landmark?
8. Can relationships among people be landmarks?
9. Can something that happened be a landmark?
10. Does a landmark need to be there for a long time or can it be fleeting in time? What would be the point of a fleeting landmark? Who could gain from such a thing? (The Aborigine song lines are shown as examples of landmarks for which there are no physical human-made indications.) In what ways do landmarks "mark" us?
11. What roles might a landmark play within a community?
12. Can a landmark help a community?
13. Can a landmark be a detriment to a community?
14. Do all languages have a word for landmark? Why or why not?
15. What might be the difference between landmarks and historic monuments? You might need to examine examples of each.
16. Do a Web search on the word landmark. What kinds of things do you find? What do they tell you about what other people consider to be landmarks?

Preservation

• What does it mean to preserve something?

• Who should decide what is to be preserved?

• Why preserve anything?

• Can everything be preserved in its original form? If not, how can things that change, such as people, or things that are not physical, such as events or memories, be preserved?

• Can something be preserved and also changed?

• Are we preserving something if we completely change its function?

• What roles does nature have in relation to preservation?

• Why do some things get preserved and others not?

• What is the relationship between the idea of preservation and what we have considered in the way of landmarks?

The 145 National Historic Sites Administered by Parks Canada

1. Abbot Pass Refuge Cabin National Historic Site of Canada, Banff National Park, Alberta

2. Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site of Canada, Baddeck, Nova Scotia

3. Ardgowan National Historic Site of Canada, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island

4. Artillery Park National Historic Site of Canada, Québec, Quebec

5. Athabasca Pass National Historic Site of Canada, Jasper National Park, Alberta

6. Banff Park Museum National Historic Site of Canada, Banff National Park, Alberta

7. Bar U Ranch National Historic Site of Canada, Longview, Alberta

8. Batoche National Historic Site of Canada, Batoche, Saskatchewan

9. Battle of Fish Creek National Historic Site of Canada, Fish Creek, Saskatchewan

10. Battle of the Châteauguay National Historic Site of Canada, Allans Corners, Quebec

11. Battle of the Restigouche National Historic Site of Canada, Pointe-à-la-Croix, Quebec

12. Battle of the Windmill National Historic Site of Canada, Prescott, Ontario

13. Bellevue House National Historic Site of Canada, Kingston, Ontario

14. Bethune Memorial House National Historic Site of Canada, Gravenhurst, Ontario

15. Bois Blanc Island Lighthouse National Historic Site of Canada, Bois Blanc Island, Ontario

16. Boishébert National Historic Site of Canada, Beaubears Island, New Brunswick

17. Butler's Barracks National Historic Site of Canada, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario

18. Canal Lake Concrete Arch Bridge National Historic Site of Canada, Bolsover, Ontario

19. Cape Spear National Historic Site of Canada, Cape Spear, Newfoundland

20. Carillon Barracks National Historic Site of Canada, Carillon, Quebec

21. Carillon Canal National Historic Site of Canada, Carillon, Quebec

22. Carleton Martello Tower National Historic Site of Canada, Saint John, New Brunswick

23. Cartier-Brébeuf National Historic Site of Canada, Québec, Quebec

24. Castle Hill National Historic Site of Canada, Placentia, Newfoundland

25. Cathcart Tower National Historic Site of Canada, St. Lawrence Islands National Park, Ontario

26. Cave and Basin National Historic Site of Canada, Banff National Park, Alberta

27. Chambly Canal National Historic Site of Canada, Chambly, Quebec

28. Chilkoot Trail National Historic Site of Canada, Chilkoot, British Columbia

29. Coteau-du-Lac National Historic Site of Canada, Coteau-du-Lac, Quebec

30. Dalvay-by-the-Sea Hotel National Historic Site of Canada, Prince Edward Island National Park, Prince Edward Island

31. Dawson Historic Complex National Historic Site of Canada, Dawson, Yukon Territory

32. Dredge No. 4 National Historic Site of Canada, Bonanza Creek, Yukon Territory

33. First Oil Well in Western Canada National Historic Site of Canada, Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta

34. Fisgard Lighthouse National Historic Site of Canada, Colwood, British Columbia

35. Forges du Saint-Maurice National Historic Site of Canada, Trois-Rivières, Quebec

36. Fort Anne National Historic Site of Canada, Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia

37. Fort Battleford National Historic Site of Canada, Battleford, Saskatchewan

38. Fort Beauséjour National Historic Site of Canada, Aulac, New Brunswick

39. Fort Chambly National Historic Site of Canada, Chambly, Quebec

40. Fort Edward National Historic Site of Canada, Windsor, Nova Scotia

41. Fort Espérance National Historic Site of Canada, Rocanville, Saskatchewan

42. Fort Gaspareaux National Historic Site of Canada, Port Elgin, New Brunswick

43. Fort George National Historic Site of Canada, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario

44. Fort Henry National Historic Site of Canada, Kingston, Ontario

45. Fort Langley National Historic Site of Canada, Langley, British Columbia

46. Fort Lennox National Historic Site of Canada, Saint-Paul-de-l'Île-aux-Noix, Quebec

47. Fort Livingstone National Historic Site of Canada, Pelly, Saskatchewan

48. Fort Malden National Historic Site of Canada, Amherstburg, Ontario

49. Fort McNab National Historic Site of Canada, Halifax, Nova Scotia

50. Fort Mississauga National Historic Site of Canada, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario

51. Fort Pelly National Historic Site of Canada, Pelly, Saskatchewan

52. Fort Rodd Hill National Historic Site of Canada, Colwood, British Columbia

53. Fort St. James National Historic Site of Canada, Fort St. James, British Columbia

54. Fort St. Joseph National Historic Site of Canada, St. Joseph Island, Ontario

55. Fort Témiscamingue National Historic Site of Canada, Ville-Marie, Quebec

56. Fort Walsh National Historic Site of Canada, Merryflat, Saskatchewan

57. Fort Wellington National Historic Site of Canada, Prescott, Ontario5

58. Fortifications of Québec National Historic Site of Canada, Québec, Quebec

59. Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site of Canada, Louisbourg, Nova Scotia

60. Frenchman Butte National Historic Site of Canada, Frenchman Butte, Saskatchewan

61. Frog Lake Massacre National Historic Site of Canada, Frog Lake, Alberta

62. Georges Island National Historic Site of Canada, Halifax, Nova Scotia

63. Glengarry Cairn National Historic Site of Canada, Cairn Island, Ontario

64. Grand-Pré National Historic Site of Canada, Grand Pré, Nova Scotia

65. Grassy Island National Historic Site of Canada, Canso, Nova Scotia

66. Grosse Île and the Irish Memorial National Historic Site of Canada, Grosse-Île, Quebec

67. Gulf of Georgia Cannery National Historic Site of Canada, Richmond, British Columbia

68. Halifax Citadel National Historic Site of Canada, Halifax, Nova Scotia

69. Hawthorne Cottage National Historic Site of Canada, Brigus, Newfoundland

70. Henry House National Historic Site of Canada, Jasper National Park, Alberta

71. Hopedale Mission National Historic Site of Canada, Hopedale, Newfoundland

72. Howse Pass National Historic Site of Canada, Banff National Park, Alberta

73. Inverarden House National Historic Site of Canada, Cornwall, Ontario

74. Jasper House National Historic Site of Canada, Jasper National Park, Alberta

75. Jasper Park Information Centre National Historic Site of Canada, Jasper National Park, Alberta

76. Kejimkujik National Historic Site of Canada, Kejimkujik National Park, Nova Scotia

77. Kicking Horse Pass National Historic Site of Canada, Yoho National Park, British Columbia

78. Kitwanga Fort National Historic Site of Canada, Kitwanga, British Columbia

79. L'Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site of Canada, St. Anthony, Newfoundland

80. La Coupe Dry Dock National Historic Site of Canada, Aulac, New Brunswick

81. Lachine Canal National Historic Site of Canada, Montréal, Quebec

82. Laurier House National Historic Site of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario

83. Linear Mounds National Historic Site of Canada, Melita, Manitoba

84. Louis S. St. Laurent National Historic Site of Canada, Compton, Quebec

85. Louis-Joseph Papineau National Historic Site of Canada, Montréal, Quebec

86. Lower Fort Garry National Historic Site of Canada, Selkirk, Manitoba

87. Lévis Forts National Historic Site of Canada, Lévis, Quebec

88. Maillou House National Historic Site of Canada, Québec, Quebec

89. Manoir Papineau National Historic Site of Canada, Montebello, Quebec

90. Marconi National Historic Site of Canada, Table Head, Nova Scotia

91. Merrickville Blockhouse National Historic Site of Canada, Merrickville, Ontario

92. Mississauga Point Lighthouse National Historic Site of Canada, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario

93. Mnjikaning Fish Weirs National Historic Site of Canada, Atherley, Ontario

94. Montmorency Park National Historic Site of Canada, Québec, Quebec

95. Monument Lefebvre National Historic Site of Canada, Memramcook, New Brunswick

96. Motherwell Homestead National Historic Site of Canada, Abernethy, Saskatchewan

97. Murney Tower National Historic Site of Canada, Kingston, Ontario

98. Nan Sdins National Historic Site of Canada, Gwaii Haanas National Park, British Columbia

99. Navy Island National Historic Site of Canada, Niagara Falls, Ontario

100. Peterborough Lift Lock National Historic Site of Canada, Peterborough, Ontario

101. Point Clark Lighthouse National Historic Site of Canada, Amberly, Point Clark, Ontario

102. Pointe-au-Père Lighthouse National Historic Site of Canada, Pointe-au-Père, Quebec

103. Port au Choix National Historic Site of Canada, Port au Choix, Newfoundland

104. Port-Royal National Historic Site of Canada, Port Royal, Nova Scotia

105. Port-la-Joye-Fort Amherst National Historic Site of Canada, Rocky Point, Prince Edward Island

106. Prince of Wales Fort National Historic Site of Canada, Churchill, Manitoba

107. Prince of Wales Tower National Historic Site of Canada, Halifax, Nova Scotia

108. Province House National Historic Site of Canada, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island

109. Queenston Heights National Historic Site of Canada, Queenston, Ontario

110. Québec Garrison Club National Historic Site of Canada, Québec, Quebec

111. Red Bay National Historic Site of Canada, Red Bay, Newfoundland

112. Rideau Canal National Historic Site of Canada, Ottawa / Kingston, Ontario

113. Riding Mountain Park East Gate Registration Complex National Historic Site of Canada, Riding Mountain National Park, Manitoba

114. Riel House National Historic Site of Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba

115. Rocky Mountain House National Historic Site of Canada, Rocky Mountain House, Alberta

116. Rogers Pass National Historic Site of Canada, Glacier National Park, British Columbia

117. Ryan Premises National Historic Site of Canada, Bonavista, Newfoundland

118. S.S. Keno National Historic Site of Canada, Dawson, Yukon Territory

119. S.S. Klondike National Historic Site of Canada, Whitehorse, Yukon Territory

120. Saint-Louis Mission National Historic Site of Canada, Victoria Harbour, Ontario

121. Saint-Ours Canal National Historic Site of Canada, Saint-Ours, Quebec

122. Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue Canal National Historic Site of Canada, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec

123. Sault Ste. Marie Canal National Historic Site of Canada, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

124. Scots Fort National Historic Site of Canada, Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia

125. Shoal Tower National Historic Site of Canada, Kingston, Ontario

126. Signal Hill National Historic Site of Canada, St. John's, Newfoundland

127. Sir George-Étienne Cartier National Historic Site of Canada, Montréal, Quebec

128. Sir John Johnson House National Historic Site of Canada, Williamstown, Ontario

129. Sir Wilfrid Laurier National Historic Site of Canada, Laurentides, Quebec

130. Skoki Ski Lodge National Historic Site of Canada, Banff National Park, Alberta

131. Southwold Earthworks National Historic Site of Canada, Iona, Ontario

132. St. Andrew's Rectory National Historic Site of Canada, St. Andrews, Manitoba

133. St. Andrews Blockhouse National Historic Site of Canada, Saint Andrews, New Brunswick

134. St. Peters National Historic Site of Canada, St. Peter's, Nova Scotia

135. St. Peters Canal National Historic Site of Canada, St. Peter's, Nova Scotia

136. Stanley Park National Historic Site of Canada, Vancouver, British Columbia

137. Sulphur Mountain Cosmic Ray Station National Historic Site of Canada, Banff National Park, Alberta

138. The Forks National Historic Site of Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba

139. The Fur Trade at Lachine National Historic Site of Canada, Lachine, Quebec

140. Trent-Severn Waterway National Historic Site of Canada, Trenton / Port Severn, Ontario

141. Twin Falls Tea House National Historic Site of Canada, Yoho National Park, British Columbia

142. Woodside National Historic Site of Canada, Kitchener, Ontario

143. Yellowhead Pass National Historic Site of Canada, Jasper National Park, Alberta

144. York Factory National Historic Site of Canada, York Factory, Manitoba

145. York Redoubt National Historic Site of Canada, Halifax, Nova Scotia

Source:

http://www.parkscanada.pch.gc.ca/nhs/english/

References

Built Environment

Lesson 3: What are Landmarks?

Students learn why landmarks are significant to communities, cities, nations, and the world.

The 145 National Historic Sites Administered by Parks Canada
http://www.parkscanada.pch.gc.ca/nhs/english/

The Planning And Development Handbook for the City of Edmonton 
3.14 Heritage Conservation P.47
Development Permit Process for Historic Resource P.48
Process to designate an Historic Resource pursuant to the Historical Resources Act and City Policy C-450, WHERE OWNER WISHES TO HAVE RESOURCE DESIGNATED p.49
Process to designate a Municipal Historic Resource according to the Historical Resources Act and City Poilicy C-450, WHERE OWNER DOES NOT WISH TO HAVE RESOURCE DESIGNATED
http://www.gov.edmonton.ab.ca

[Top]

Lesson 1: Choosing Your Special Place

Lesson 2: Your Special Place Has a History

Lesson 3: What are Landmarks?

Lesson 4: Local Buildings and Landmarks

Lesson 5: Documenting Landmarks

Lesson 6: Creating a Local Historical Resources Inventory 

Lesson 7: Buildings in Time

Lesson 8: Remembering Local Structures

Download Built Environment Lesson 3 in Word Document format.