Historica Canada Education Portal

The Citizenship Challenge Lesson Plans and Worksheets are educational resources for teachers, group leaders and individuals to help them prepare for Historica Canada's Citizenship Challenge, a national contest that asks students to take a mock citizenship exam.

Teachers and group leaders, register to access the answer keys.

Note: Although the Lesson Plans and Worksheets refer to the Discover Canada guide, it is not necessary for educators to obtain or use the Discover Canada guide to complete...

The objective of the Cadet Learning Tool is to prepare cadets to participate in Historica Canada's Citizenship Challenge, a national contest that asks students to take a mock citizenship exam. Based on the Sea, Army and Air Cadets qualification standards and training programs, the learning tool will help cadets become more familiar with Canada, develop leadership skills and encourage active citizenship.

The objective of the Citizenship Challenge Scouts Canada Learning Tool is to prepare Scouts for Historica Canada's Citizenship Challenge, a national contest that asks students to take a mock citizenship exam. Based on Scouts Canada qualification standards and training programs, the learning tool will help Scouts become more familiar with Canada, develop leadership skills and encourage active citizenship.

The objective of the Girl Guides Learning Tool is to prepare Guides for Historica Canada's Citizenship Challenge, a national contest that asks students to take a mock citizenship exam. Based on Girl Guides of Canada qualification standards and training programs, this learning tool will help Guides become more familiar with Canada, develop leadership skills and encourage active citizenship.

To celebrate the 175th anniversary of the election of Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine and Robert Baldwin, Historica Canada, the country’s largest organization dedicated to enhancing awareness of Canada’s history, culture and citizenship, has created this education guide.

Using the concepts created by Dr. Peter Seixas and the Historical Thinking Project, this guide complements Canadian middle- and high-school curricula. It invites students to explore the history of democracy and equal language...

This lesson focuses on understanding what Margaret Mead meant by her famous quote: "Never doubt that a small group of committed individuals can change the world: indeed, it's the only thing that ever does."

The aim of this lesson is to teach the students the following:

When honouring our war dead, how do nations express nationalism and maintain the memory of the dead individually and/or collectively?

Students will gain an appreciation for how the forces of nationalism have shaped and continue to shape Canada and the world. They will explore a range of expressions of nationalism and develop understandings of nation and nationalism (in relation to land, geography, collectivism, citizenship, ethnicity, culture, languages, politics, spiritualism,...

This lesson is based on viewing the Sam Hughes biography from The Canadians series. Hughes was the controversial Minister of Militia during the First World War. There is still debate over whether Hughes was a visionary or an unstable bigot.

Students will develop critical thinking skills by examining the life and actions of Sir Sam Hughes, as well as the reactions to his opinions and policies. With individual or group activities, students are encouraged to draw conclusions and...

This lesson will introduce the students to the role of the stretcher bearer in the First World War. Often it is the soldier in the trench who is remembered for his bravery and duty, risking his life for hiscountry. It is important to remember that in war, as in society, there are other roles, such as the stretcher bearers, who also have an important responsibility. These cannot be overlooked. Students will explore and discover the experiences of the stretcher bearer through poetry,...

Aboriginal people sacrificed much during the two World Wars, both at home and in Europe, all the while they weren’t considered “people” in the eyes of Canadian law. Students will explore the issues facing Aboriginal people during the Great War and the Second World War and collaborate to create a PowerPoint or PhotoStory presentation for the school Remembrance Day Assembly.

It is expected that the student will:

- apply critical thinking (including questioning, comparing,...

The purpose of this lesson is to help students understand the importance of culture and language in order to explore the question of French-English relations in modern Canadian history. Through a simulation that mirrors the French-English conflicts in the late twentieth century, students can explore the issues without being affected by their personal biases. This lesson was developed to teach French-English relations in Western Canada where students tend to have difficulty...

This lesson explores intolerance in historic and contemporary Canada through primary and secondary source analysis. It aims to foster citizenship and education through the production of a fictional Public Service Announcement and/or journal entry.

- Inquire into examples of intolerance in Canadian societies and to anticipate future examples of intolerance
- Develop skills in document analysis and critical thinking
- Foster citizenship and an understanding of the rights and...

In April 2001 and again in February 2007 a storm of controversy erupted in the press of the province British Columbia. This lesson reflects on that controversy and encourages students to engage with the information in different ways.

"By studying historic artifacts of all people, the important and the unimportant alike citizens have a stronger foundation for understanding how and why the past tells us a great deal about the present and the future. All history is selective and...

In this lesson, students will debate and defend different assigned perspectives involving the participants in the outlawing of the potlatch in 1885. Participation in the debate should allow students to make observations that will help them develop an understanding of moral implications today that derive from actions taken in the past. Students should also gain a better understanding of the historical context under which the people in the past operated. Students will identify the...