Historica Canada Education Portal

Watch the Canada History Week 2020 videos, highlighting stories of environment and climate in Canada's past. Use our accompanying learning tool to delve into the subject matter and bring this important topic into your classroom. View the flipping book and download the PDF here:
https://fb.historicacanada.ca/education/english/canada-history-week-2020-guide/

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...

The Canadian Encyclopedia is a free, bilingual resource of over 20,000 fact-checked articles and learning tools about Canada's history and culture. The Canadian Encyclopedia has hundreds of resources for teachers including timelines, quizzes and education guides covering provincial and territorial curriculum topics for social sciences & history, Indigenous studies, geography & sciences, civics and more. Visit thecanadianencyclopedia.ca.

We want to hear from you! The Here’s My Canada contest is multilingual, nation-wide and invites Canadians to express what their country means to them in a 30-second video. For more details, visit heresmycanada.ca.

This learning tool is designed for junior/intermediate students from grades 5-8, and grade 5 to secondary II in Québec. It provides discussion topics and educational activities to help you create your submission to the Here’s My Canada contest.

Here’s My Canada is a Canada 150...

We want to hear from you! The Here’s My Canada contest is multilingual, nation-wide and invites Canadians to express what their country means to them in a 30-second video. For more details, visit heresmycanada.ca.

This learning tool is designed for senior students from grades 9–12, and secondary III–V in Québec.
It provides discussion topics and educational activities to help you create your submission to the Here’s My Canada contest.

Here’s My Canada is a Canada 150 Signature Initiative, and a...

The Memory Project, an initiative of Historica Canada, gives veterans and current Canadian Forces members the opportunity to share their stories of military service through its online archive and volunteer speakers bureau.

Drawing on the work of the Historical Thinking Project (historicalthinking.ca), this learning tool encourages students to make connections between important Canadian military innovations throughout history and the impact of these innovations on society. Students will...

Bring the Battle of Vimy Ridge to your class this year with the Vimy Foundation’s online educational resource Vimy 100 in the Classroom!

This free, fully accessible, bilingual resource has been designed for high school students across Canada and includes lesson plans, resources, and activities for use in a variety of classes.

Your students will be able to interpret Canada’s role in the First World War, as well as the significance of the Battle of Vimy Ridge and the Canadian National Vimy...

This exercise presents an historic photograph for your students to recreate, or step into. The photo of The Last Spike shows many of the key people involved with building the Canadian Pacific Railroad (CPR), some unidentified people, and a young boy who is poking his head through the crowd. This photograph was taken on the dreary morning of 7 November 1885 at Craigellachie, British Columbia at the western entrance to Eagle Pass.

In this lesson, students will become actors in the...

This lesson introduces technology used in the First World War in an interactive and fun way. Students will learn what weapons were important in trench warfare.

Students will work collaboratively to identify and "acquire" weapons they think would have been most effective.

This lesson is normally presented after the students have been introduced to the causes of the First World War. However, the actual conditions of trench warfare have not been discussed - their choices...

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,...

“What's the point of studying that? That's the past. That has nothing to do with my life.” Students often speak of history as a dead subject, a collection of past events with no bearing on the present and even less on the future. This lesson intends to engage students in historical thinking: consider significance, analyze evidence, assess continuity and change, examine cause and consequence, consider historical perspective and form moral judgment. Ultimately, they will produce their...

This lesson is based on viewing the "Buzz" Beurling biography from The Canadians series. Discover the life of this Second World War Canadian Ace fighter pilot and the controversy surrounding his death.

The story of George "Buzz" Beurling, brings insight to several Second World War themes. In a variety of activities, students will explore Canada's participation in the war effort, life on the front, war propaganda, and adjusting to civilian life.

There has always been a...

This lesson is based on viewing the Joshua Slocum biography from The Canadians series. Slocum was an author and sea captain. During a three year voyage in the 1890s, he became the first person to circumnavigate the world alone.

Students will consider the life and experiences of Joshua Slocum and his family. These activities encourage students to do further research and examine Slocum's own writings.

Joshua Slocum started his career at sea as a cook. While he was never...

In this lesson, students will sort and categorize various Canadian coins, noting the type of information recorded on the fronts and backs and speculating on the significance of the portrayed events, people or developments. Using the Royal Canadian Mint’s timeline, they will examine a number of historical Canadian coins, determining with a partner the three most historically significant designs. They will use their selections to define the concept of historical significance.

Students...

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...