What Is Power?

Overview

This opening lesson introduces power, authority, resistance, and conflict through familiar and historical examples. Students examine who makes decisions, who is affected, and whether an outcome is fair or resolves conflict, building inquiry skills for the Power and Conflict unit. Examples can be discussed through a Grade 6 focus on communities and relationships, Grade 7 focus on authority and colonial relationships, or Grade 8 focus on political and social change.

Learning intentions

Students will:

• define power, authority, resistance, and conflict in age-appropriate language;
• identify who holds power and who is affected in different situations;
• analyse evidence from scenarios and consider different perspectives;
• ask an inquiry question connected to Canadian history.

Success criteria

• I can explain power in my own words.
• I can identify who has power and who is affected.
• I can justify whether a situation is fair and whether its conflict is solved.
• I can write a useful question about Canadian history.

Curriculum links

• Social Studies inquiry: developing questions, gathering and analysing information, and communicating conclusions.
• Grade 6 communities and relationships: examining how people and groups interact and make decisions.
• Grade 7 authority and colonial relationships: considering how authority is established, challenged, and experienced differently.
• Grade 8 political and social change: exploring how people respond to unfair systems and work for change.

Lesson structure (45 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Hook: Who decides? Teacher opens with the opening question slide showing a striking image idea: four hands reaching toward one shared decision-making button, and asks, “Who gets to decide what happens in a group?” Students silently record one example of power they have seen at school, at home, or in the community, then share with a partner.

2. 5–12 min · Build the concepts. Teacher uses the key vocabulary slides to introduce power as the ability to influence decisions or actions; authority as accepted or recognized power; resistance as action that challenges power; and conflict as disagreement between people or groups. Students create a four-box definition in their notebooks and suggest a school-based example for each term.

3. 12–25 min · Scenario sort. Teacher displays the four scenario slides one at a time: a class rule, a treaty, a protest, and a law. In groups of four, students discuss and record whether each situation appears fair or unfair, who has power, who is affected, and what evidence supports their view. Students must recognize that a situation may be viewed differently by different people; there may not be one correct fairness judgement.

4. 25–34 min · Analyse and discuss. Teacher distributes the Power and Conflict worksheet and models the first scenario, thinking aloud: “The person or group making the decision has power, but the people affected may also respond through resistance.” Students complete the scenario organizer independently or with a partner, including whether the conflict is solved and why or why not. Pause to check understanding of “affected” and “solved.”

5. 34–40 min · Perspectives and inquiry. Teacher invites groups to defend one fairness judgement using the sentence, “We think ___ because the evidence shows ___.” Ask: “Would the people with power and the people affected describe this situation in the same way?” Students compare perspectives, then write one inquiry question about Canadian history on the worksheet, such as “Why did ___ happen?” or “Who benefited from ___?”

6. 40–45 min · Exit reflection. Teacher returns to the closing reflection slide and asks students to complete the prompts: “Power is…” and “Conflict happens when…”. Students submit their responses with the worksheet. Teacher briefly previews that future lessons will investigate how power has shaped Canadian communities, relationships, authority, and change.

Resources

• the Power and Conflict introduction deck
• the Power and Conflict worksheet
• Projector or interactive display
• Chart paper or board
• Markers or highlighters
• Pencils
• Four group tables or desks arranged for collaboration
• Optional sticky notes for the opening response

Assessment

• Listen during the partner hook and group sort for accurate use of power, authority, resistance, and conflict.
• Check group explanations for evidence, identification of affected people, and recognition of differing perspectives.
• Collect the worksheet and exit reflection. Look for a clear definition of power, completed scenario reasoning, and an inquiry question that could guide historical investigation.

Differentiation

• Provide the accommodated version of the Power and Conflict worksheet with the word bank—power, conflict, rule, choice, authority—and sentence frames: “___ has power because ___” and “The conflict is ___.” Students circle “solved/not solved” and draw or write one question beginning “Why did ___ happen?”
• Pre-teach vocabulary orally and display simple icons or examples. Pair students strategically and allow oral responses, scribing, speech-to-text, or drawing where appropriate for EAL learners and students with learning needs.
• Give students a choice of familiar examples before moving to the treaty, protest, and law scenarios. Read all scenario text aloud and chunk the worksheet into one row at a time.
• Extend ready students by asking them to identify more than one form of power, explain how resistance could change the situation, or rewrite one scenario from the perspective of a different affected group.