Introducing the Lieutenant Governor

Suggested Activities

In this challenge, students learn about the various responsibilities of the Lieutenant Governor and determine the most important category of duty included in the role of the office through an examination of video and text information online. This challenge presupposes that students have been introduced to the structure of provincial government and the hierarchy of roles and responsibilities.  Teachers may wish to review the similarities and differences between roles and responsibilities.

Consider personal reactions to important dignitaries
Ask students to consider when in their own lives they saw (live or on television) an important dignitary; e.g., Pope, prime minister, mayor. What was the person doing and how did it make the student feel?

Invite students to look at the images found in the Lieutenant Governor Images Collection. Ask them to look at what these people are doing and to imagine how they would feel if they were given the opportunity to attend those types of events.    

Research the responsibilities of the Lieutenant Governor
Assemble student resources on the role of the Lieutenant Governor (see references). Ask students to examine, individually or in groups, an assigned resource looking for information about the jobs or responsibilities of the Lieutenant Governor. You may wish to use a jigsaw strategy to structure the activity. Arrange for students to record their findings on a chart.

You may wish to adapt one of the charts and strategies in Collecting Information (Support Material) to structure and assess this activity.

Categorize research results
Invite the students to share with the class their findings about the responsibilities of the Lieutenant Governor. Ask students to categorize the responsibilities according to type of role— constitutional, ceremonial, social. Ask students to record these responsibilities in a web, perhaps using mind-mapping software.

You may wish to adapt one of the charts and strategies in Webbing Ideas (Support Material) and/or to structure and assess this activity.

Develop criteria for an important role
As a class, develop criteria for determining the most important category of duty included in the role of the office of the Lieutenant Governor. Criteria may include:

• whether the task is a constitutional requirement or optional
• whether the task affects a lot of people
• whether the task supports democracy.

Ask students to determine, individually, the most important category of duty included in the role of the office of the Lieutenant Governor and to provide reasons to support their decision.

Introduce formal introductions
You may wish to discuss the purpose of an introduction in a formal setting. It may be helpful to have students view or role-play an example of an introduction in a formal setting. As an alternative, you may want to offer a mock introduction of an important person that was clearly (and perhaps humorously) inappropriate and ask students to identify what was wrong with the approach.

Identify criteria for an effective introduction
As a class, develop criteria for an effective introduction of a guest in a formal setting. Criteria may include:

• respect the importance of the guest
• help the person feel welcome
• be brief and informative about the person’s role.

Write an effective introduction
Ask students to write an effective introduction for the Lieutenant Governor based on the criteria established. 

Extension: Introduce a guest speaker
Consider providing students with the opportunity to prepare and deliver an introduction of a guest speaker. Teachers may wish to invite each student to deliver her or his introduction to a few peers who would assess it in light of the identified criteria. The five best introductions could be presented to the entire class.