Historica Canada Education Portal

In 2017, Canada turns 150! In marking Canada’s sesquicentennial, Historica Canada is highlighting 50 events that have helped shape our country since Confederation. At the same time, it is important to note that that the human history of what is now known as Canada began well before 1867. Indigenous peoples lived on this land long before European contact, and have histories that significantly predate modern Canada. We can look back upon many proud moments in our history, but must also examine...

This lesson is based on viewing the Jacques Plante biography from The Canadiansseries. Jacques Plante, a native of Mont Carmel, Québec, brought revolutionary changes to the game of hockey. He was the first goalie to leave the crease of the net and, most importantly, the first player to wear a protective face mask.

In a variety of activities, students will assess Plante's contributions to the game of hockey and research other historical changes to the game. Students will have the...

This lesson is based on viewing the Angus Walters biography from The Canadians series. Walters built and raced the Bluenose schooner. Racing and preserving the Bluenose became a lifelong passion for Walters, and its image is one of Canada's enduring symbols.

Students will study the life and leadership of Angus Walters, as well as learning about the historical context and importance of the Bluenose. Students will also achieve a greater understanding of the issues involved with...

This lesson is based on viewing the Heritage Minute, "Basketball." Canadian teacher, Dr. James Naismith, invented Basketball over 100 years ago when he hung a peach basket on a gym wall.

Students will develop their creative thinking and writing skills by writing about the first ever basketball game, or by devising a new game.

Using the story of James Naismith as the starting point, students can either research and write about other Canadian inventions, or other moments in...

This lesson is based on viewing the Bluenose Heritage Minute, which portrays the champion Bluenose schooner racing against an American ship in the 1938 race.

Students will discuss the significance of the Bluenose as a recognizable Canadian symbol, and they will research the history of the Atlantic cod fishery.

Students will discuss two of the themes that emerge in the story of the Bluenose: Canada's relations with the United States, and Canada's resource based economy.

This lesson is based on viewing the "Maurice "Rocket" Richard" Heritage Minute. Richard was a legendary hockey player for the Montréal Canadiens. He won numerous trophies, and set several records during his 18-year career.

Students will research changes in sports to understand historical change, and they will research and write biographies of their favourite sports stars.

Students will write sports stories; think critically about the idolization of sports stars; and analyze the...

This lesson is based on viewing the Heritage Minute, "Jacques Plante," which focuses on the 1959 hockey game when Plante wore the goalie mask that he invented.

After examining the "Jacques Plante" Minute, students will write opinion pieces and articles about Plante's decision to wear a mask. Students will also consider how his decision challenged notions of "masculinity."

Plante's decision to wear a mask challenged the social conventions of the time. Students will discuss how...

This lesson is based on viewing the Heritage Minute, "Jackie Robinson." Robinson was one of the great athletes of the century, and in 1946 he made history by becoming the first African-American player with the Montréal Royals. This marked the beginning of the end of the colour barrier in major-league baseball.

The main focus of this lesson is for students to discuss the nature of Robinson's courage, and write about someone who has shown similar courage or taken personal risks....

This lesson plan is based on viewing the Footprint videos for Tom Longboat and Steve Collins. Collins and Longboat are just two of the many Aboriginal athletes — others include Adam Rita, Ted Nolan, Owen Nolan, Bryan Trottier, George Armstrong, Waneek Horn Miller, Alwyn Morris, and Darren Zack — who have achieved major success in the international sporting world, despite the significant obstacles they had to overcome.

To increase student awareness of Aboriginal athletes’...

This lesson plan is based on viewing the Footprint videos for Newsy Lalonde, Howie Morenz, King Clancy, Maurice Richard, Teeder Kennedy, Terry Sawchuk, Jacques Plante, Jean Béliveau and Foster Hewitt. A stick, a puck, a net. This is the game according to Ken Dryden; as Canadians, we have been weaned on it during "long northern winters uncluttered by things to do." Hockey has developed with the nation, and the country has changed with the game. These figures are the early pioneers of...

This lesson plan is based on viewing the Footprints videos for Gordie Howe, Bobby Orr, Father David Bauer, Bobby Hull,Wayne Gretzky, and The Forum. Throughout hockey's history, though they are not presented in the Footprints, francophone players like Guy Lafleur, Mario Lemieux, Raymond Bourque, Jacques Lemaire, and Patrick Roy also made a significant contribution to the sport. Parents still watch their children skate around cold arenas before the sun is up and backyard rinks remain...

This lesson plan is based on viewing the Footprints videos Ferguson Jenkins, Harry Jerome, Donovan Bailey, and the '96 4x100m relay team. These athletes are a source of national pride, but their achievements also hastened Canada’s confrontation with its past and present prejudices.

To increase student awareness of Black Canadian athletes’ contribution to Canadian sport; to study the history of Canada as the history of Black Canadians’ experiences; to encourage a critical...

This lesson plan is based on viewing the Footprint videos Torchy Peden, Whipper Billy Watson, Jack Kent Cooke, Northern Dancer, Sandy Hawley, The Calgary Stampede, Jack Bionda, Jimmy McLarnin, and George Chuvalo. Their names do not suggest athletic prowess: Washerwoman, Northern Dancer, The Baby-faced Assassin, Whipper, the unwealthiest millionaire, Torchy, Cowtown Stampede. But the moniker of these athletes and one sporting event are characteristically Canadian — apparent feebleness...

This lesson plan is based on viewing the Footprints videos for George Seymour Lyon, Marlene Stewart-Streit, Moe Norman,Sandra Post, and George Knudson. Canada, it has been said, is Scotland's revenge on England. Scottish immigrants formed the backbone of the nation's fur trade more than 200 years ago and our first Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald was also Scottish. Yet we have tended to forget the diversity of our earlier immigrants and the variety of our sporting history....

This lesson plan is based on viewing the Footprint videos for Barbara Ann Scott, the Jelineks, and Petra Burka. Artistry or athleticism? The one has been the doppelganger of the other throughout the history of figure skating. Can a sport that judges athletic performance as a creative expression be a sport at all?

To increase student consciousness of the history of Canadian success in figure skating; to increase student appreciation for the pioneers of figure skating in Canada;...