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| The Medal of Bravery. (Image: Wikimedia Commons, Dreamafter.) |
Last week, 52 Canadians received awards for bravery. They were given the medals by our new Governor-General, David Johnston, at a special ceremony in Ottawa.
Here are some of the people who were given awards:
* Thomas Manuel won the Medal of Bravery for protecting his wife and three grandchildren from an intruder. He made a rope out of bedsheets and shirts and got everyone out of the house safely. Once outside, Manuel was shot several times by the burglar, who was later caught and arrested. Manuel is from Fort Good Hope, Northwest Territories.
* Sergeant Bryant Wood of the Port Hope police force received the Star of Courage and the Medal of Bravery for saving people in two separate house fires. Last year, Sgt. Wood was sent to an apartment building, where he found the first and second floors in flames. He and another officer opened a window and through the thick, black smoke they pulled a man and two women to safety. Another woman refused to leave because she was searching for her cat. Wood climbed inside and carried the woman to safety. The smoke was so thick he couldn’t see, but his partner called to him from the window and he followed his partner’s voice until he got outside.
* Deborah Chiborak of Winnipeg rescued an elderly woman trapped under her motorized scooter in the path of a train.
* Casey Pierce of Calgary won a Star of Courage for rescuing a couple whose canoe tipped on a lake in the Rockies.
The Governor-General offered the medal winners, “the thanks of a grateful nation. We are fortunate to have such heroes in our midst.”
Related links:
Article on the CBC website about the medals ceremony.
Canada Gets a new Governor-General.
Curriculum Connection
The people who received the medals of bravery were described as “heroes.”
As a class, write a list of characteristics/adjectives that describe a hero.
Identify heroes that you know from books, magazines, movies and the media. Describe these heroes and explain whether you think they are heroes based on the list created by the class.
Primary
extend understanding of texts by connecting the ideas in them to their own knowledge and experience, to other familiar texts, and to the world around them (OME, Reading: 1.6)
Junior
extend understanding of texts by connecting, comparing, and contrasting the ideas in them to their own knowledge, experience, and insights, to other familiar texts, and to the world around them (OME, Reading: 1.6)
Grammar Feature
Bullet points are used throughout the article. Bullet points are generally found in non-fiction, rather than fiction writing. They help to make writing clear, easy-to-read and organized.
Help your students identify bullet points in the article, and discuss why they are used.
Encourage students to find non-fiction resources in your class that contain bullet points.
Extensions for Primary and Junior
When Johnston gave the heroes their medals, he explained that they are special because not everyone would have done what they did.
Do you think this is true? Use examples from your own life to explain your answer.
Why do you think people don’t always help other people in need?
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