Historica Canada Education Portal

Students will research and examine the qualities of a past or present hero in Canada. They will develop a personal definition of a hero, while working on a project that represents a Canadian Hero. Students will be provided with a project framework to guide them through the research process. After completing the research framework each student will represent their hero in their choice of medium. Projects can range from electronic, video based, posters, to drama and song.

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Overview

This lesson is based on viewing the J.B Tyrrell biography from The Canadians series. Tyrrell was an important geological surveyor for the Canadian government in the late nineteenth century. Among his many achievements, he mapped the North, discovered coal, and the remains of what became known as the Albertasaurus.

Aims

Although there is now a museum in Tyrrell's honour, he was not recognized for his achievements in his lifetime. Students will research Tyrrell's achievements,...

This lesson will guide students as they learn about a significant number of concepts and facts related to New France through the study of an historical figure.

This lesson is based on an interview format, with open-ended questions and detailed, full-sentence answers, a portrait of the person, a drawn geographical map, and a timeline (indicating important dates in the person's life and important dates in the corresponding history of the country).

All too often, research...

Students will, after researching background information on early exploration of Canada (Cabot, Cartier, Champlain, Frobisher and Hudson), role play/create tableaux based on situations in which contact was made between the explorers and Indigenous people.

Main objectives of the project: Through role playing of historical situations (and creation of representative tableaux), students will demonstrate an understanding of how contact between people in Canada’s early history resulted...

Expose your students to the question of historical evidence and what makes an item or artifact a primary source or secondary source. This lesson will use small pieces of scholarship in the form of an academic paper to provide students with some foundation from which to analyze their positions on the use and determination of primary historical resources. The larger question to be considered is where Carr’s works fit in Canadian history.

Prescribed Learning Outcomes

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An exploration of the events that have shaped Canada and Canadians.

In this three-part lesson, students will understand the concept of "defining moments" by identifying these moments in their own lives. Then, they will use this understanding to identify key moments in the history and development of Canada.

Time Allowance: 2 - 3 hours

Procedures:
Performance One: Defining Moments

1. (Knowledge/Understanding)

The teacher explains that as each of the students in...

In this lesson, students will begin by examining the concepts of cause and consequence of a well-known local or provincial issue. They will investigate the causes leading up to Governor James Douglas’ decision to finance the building of the Cariboo Road and explore the intended and unintended political and economic consequences resulting from the decision. Finally, imagining themselves in the role of Douglas, students will prepare a written or oral brief arguing the ramifications to...

This lesson is based on viewing the Alexander Mackenzie biography from The Canadians series. Mackenzie was the first white man to reach the Pacific Ocean by travelling over land and he was the first fur trader to be knighted for his accomplishments.

Students will study Mackenzie's accomplishments and consider his contributions to Canadian history, while exploring the relationship between his explorations and the First Nations people he relied on for his survival and guidance.

In 1660, Dollard des Ormeaux died in a battle with the Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) while attempting to avert an Iroquois siege of Ville Marie (now Montréal). His importance to French Canadians has been a subject of longstanding debate.

Activities will engage students in a discovery of the history of New France in the 1660s. Students will also consider how varying political and societal conditions have influenced the interpretations of Adam Dollard des Ormeaux's actions and...

This lesson is based on viewing the Heritage Minute, "Orphans," that tells the story of the Québec families who adopted Irish orphans in the 1850's.

Students will learn more about the experiences and histories of immigrants in Canada by interviewing people in the community and classmates. They will also discuss ways to make immigrants feel welcome in their new homes.

Students will research the history of various immigrant groups in Canada, and discuss the relationship between...

This lesson is based on viewing the Heritage Minute, "John Cabot." It was John Cabot's 1497 "discovery" of North America that led to the development of the North West Atlantic cod fishery, and England's claim to the new continent.

The "John Cabot" Minute is the starting point for an examination of several topics.

With role-playing activities and further research, students will study the Atlantic cod fishery, and consider the role of "explorers."

Students will study: resource...

This lesson is based on viewing the Heritage Minute, "Jacques Cartier," which presents the theory that Canada may have been named after a misunderstanding took place between Jacques Cartier and the Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) people.

Students will explore the relationships between the Indigenous people and early explorers by looking at the First Nations' contributions to European survival, and issues of miscommunication. Students will learn about France's motives for exploration of...

Overview

This lesson is based on viewing the Heritage Minute, "Vikings." Five hundred years before Columbus set foot on the islands of the Caribbean, Norse settlers were living in what is now a part of Canada. Proof of this Viking settlement was discovered in 1961.

Aims

Students will hone their critical thinking skills by discussing how the Vikings and the First Nations are portrayed in the "Viking" Heritage Minute. Students will do further research about the Norse to increase their depth...

This lesson is based on viewing the Peacemaker Heritage Minute. Centuries ago, the five Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) Nations created the Iroquois Confederacy that bound these nations together in peace and unity. The origins of this Confederacy are explained in the legend of the Tree of Great Peace.

Students will focus on the storytelling aspects within the "Peacemaker" Heritage Minute, to consider the story's meaning, message, and symbolism. Teachers may want to use this lesson as...