The "Prehistory" section of this booklet may benefit students who will be using the essay based on native culture, "The Secret History of the Mi'kmaq (Mic Mac) People" (book 6), by Kathryn Welbourn, and the essay "Time Travel With Stories," (book 3), by Carmelita McGrath. Collections of prehistoric artifacts are found at the Duckworth Street Museum, and at the Port-aux Choix national historical site.

"Exploration and Early Settlement" (from 1000 AD to 1832) may be used to understand the early history of European settlement. Ed Kavanagh's essay "Never Look Back: The Irish Migration to Newfoundland" (book 6), relates to this period. Questions about European exploration and place names raised by this section can encourage students to use maps and atlases. For information about the origins of place names in Newfoundland and Labrador, see E.R. Seary's article "The Place Names of Newfoundland," in J.R. Smallwood's, The Book of Newfoundland, Vol. III, and Seary's book, Place Names of the Avalon Peninsula of the Island of Newfoundland, (U of T Press, 1971). Also see entries for individual communities in the Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador.

The section "Representative and Responsible Government" will be useful for students reading "God Took Our Little Darlings" and "More Sinned Against than Sinning" (book 5), both by Janet McNaughton and "William Pender" (book 10), by Kathleen Winter.

A look at "Commission of Government" will help prepare students to read "Dole and Desperate Measures: Life in the Great Depression in Newfoundland," (book 4), "Hard Boots and a Hoe" and "Counting the Berries" (book 3), by Carmelita McGrath, "Pierce Power and the Riot of 1935" (book 4), by Kathryn Welbourn, "Those Eighty-Eight Unfortunates: Logging in Newfoundland in the 1930s" (book 8), by Ed Kavanagh and "The Markland Experiment" (book 8), by Janet McNaughton. These essays focus on the Depression of the 1930s.

Looking at "Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada's Tenth Province: 1949 Onward" will help prepare students for "Shift or Stay Put," (book 7), about resettlement and "How Long Do I Have to Wait for Things to Get Better: Building a Social Safety Net," (book 9), by Carmelita McGrath, "The Right to Work," (book 2), about employment and handicapped people by Ed Kavanagh, "It's Made Me Stronger:' A Profile of Karen Westcott," (book 2), by Janet McNaughton, and "Portrait of a Young Woman on Welfare," (Book 2), and "The Ballad of Elizabeth O'Brien," (book 2), by Kathryn Welbourn.

A number of essays written for this project cut across two or more of the time periods proposed here. These include "Early Chinese Immigrants in Newfoundland," (book 6), and "The Silent Menace: Tuberculosis in Twentieth Century Newfoundland," (book 5), both by Ed Kavanagh and "Poachers, Jiggers and Horse Thieves," (book 7), by Kathryn Welbourn.

Book 3, "Learning About the Past," explains how archives, newspapers, interviews, and archaeology were used when researching different aspects of these essays. You may wish to use this booklet as a starting point, or refer to it as questions about research arise when looking at other essays.