Historica Canada Education Portal

This lesson is based on viewing the Grant MacEwan biography from The Canadians series. MacEwan was a writer, historian, and politician. He wrote numerous books about agriculture and history, and he held several political positions including an appointment as the Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta.

Studying the life of Grant MacEwan will provide students with the opportunity to explore a variety of topics. Students will learn about sustainable development, land use, goal setting, 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...

Students will learn about the harsh treatment of Canadian immigrants and the selective nature of Canadian immigration policies during the first half of the twentieth century by researching one of the following events:

- the Chinese Exclusion Act
- the Komagata Maru incident
- the SS. St Louis affair
- the internment of Japanese Canadians during the Second World War

Students will then prepare a case that they will present before a mock tribunal of the Canadian Human Rights Commission....

Create a fictitious on-line discussion group between generals who were involved in the planning of The Dieppe Raid, 1942. Using a computer program, students will create a fictitious "Facebook" Discussion between the two leading Generals of The Dieppe Raid- Louis Mountbatten, Chief of Combined Operations, and Major-General J. H. Roberts, 2nd Canadian Infantry Division.

To help students understand what factors -personal and political- motivate generals in times of war

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Have your students explore the Japanese Canadian experience in Canada in the twentieth century through sports. Students will examine the remarkable story of the Asahi baseball team as a window into this history. Students will be asked to use primary source material and explore the concepts of continuity and change in history.

Prescribed Learning Outcomes

• Apply critical thinking skills, including questioning, comparing, summarizing, drawing conclusions and defending a position,...

The students will be presented this assignment as one option in their First World War research project. This assignment is designed to appeal to the students in the class who are visually minded. They will research primary documents that are, for the most part, in picture form. They will use text only to reinforce the information they get from the pictures and to review material already covered. At this point, students should have a basic understanding of Canada’s role in the First...

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...

Based on the concept of Literature Circles, the lesson will introduce students to History Circles, where small groups investigate a historical topic by each completing an individual task, sharing their work with their group, and planning as a group how to present their topic to the class or wider audience.

To introduce students to different aspects of the study of history, and allow them to approach a topic from a wide variety of learning styles.

In the introductory lesson,...

In this lesson, students will correlate historical information of the evolution of the Canadian National Railway from its conception to today. Within their research, the students will identify factors that have had an impact on the CN’s development, both positively and negatively. Students will explore and determine whether these factors that have effected change over time can be classified as having contributed to progress or decline in the development of the Canadian National’s...

This activity is based on exploring the role of Camp X during the Second World War. Camp X was a secret spy training school located on the Whitby-Oshawa border in Ontario. The camp trained hundreds of allied secret agents for working behind enemy lines.

Based on Howard Gardner's theories on multiple intelligences, this activity gives students a choice on how they wish to present the information they have researched, and also to showcase their particular intelligence.

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This lesson is based on viewing the Jennie Trout Heritage Minute. It explores Trout's courage and determination to enter the male dominated field of medicine in the 1870s. She became the first woman licensed to practice medicine in Canada.

Students will use the example of Jennie Trout to learn about and question gender-role stereotypes in her time and in the present. Students will examine the experiences of Jennie Trout and Emily Stowe within the larger context of the history...

The Heritage Minutes illustrate the possibilities of story-telling. This critical thinking exercise will help guide you through the deconstruction of four Heritage Minutes: Peacemaker, Vikings, John Cabot, and Jacques Cartier. The activities can be easily adapted to any of the Heritage Minutes you want to use in your classroom.

An invaluable skill for any student is the ability to critically examine available historical evidence and develop an awareness of its possibilities, as...

This lesson is based on viewing the Heritage Minute, "Hart & Papineau." Under the tenure of Louis-Joseph Papineau, the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada passed a bill in 1832 that ultimately guaranteed full rights to people practicing the Jewish faith. It was the first of the British colonies to do so.

After discussing and making sense of the events that take place in the "Hart and Papineau" Minute, students will watch additional related Heritage Minutes to develop their...

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...