Historica Canada Education Portal

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...

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...

Historica Canada has created this Education Guide to mark the sesquicentennial of the Fenian Raids, and to help students explore this early chapter in Canada’s history. The Fenian Raids have not figured prominently in Canadian history, but they are often cited as an important factor in Confederation. Using the concepts created by Dr. Peter Seixas and the Historical Thinking Project, this Guide complements Canadian middle-school and high-school curricula. It invites students to deepen their...

To mark the centennial of the Battle of Vimy Ridge and help educators and students think critically about primary sources, Historica Canada has created the Think Like a Historian series of videos and worksheets.

These worksheets accompany the video Think Like a Historian: Vimy in Newspapers, which explores two newspaper accounts from Le Canada and The Globe in the days following the Battle of Vimy Ridge.

To complete these worksheets, students may...

To mark the centennial of the Battle of Vimy Ridge and help educators and students think critically about primary sources, Historica Canada has created the Think Like a Historian series of videos and worksheets.

These worksheets accompany the video Think Like a Historian: Vimy in Letters (Francis Bathe), which explores a letter written by Francis Bathe to his sister May following his experiences at the Battle of Vimy Ridge.

To complete these...

To mark the centennial of the Battle of Vimy Ridge and help educators and students think critically about primary sources, Historica Canada has created the Think Like a Historian series of videos and worksheets.

These worksheets accompany the video Think Like a Historian: Vimy in Pictures. This video explores the image commonly known as The Taking of Vimy Ridge.

To complete these worksheets, students may want to watch the videos more than once....

To mark the centennial of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, and help educators and students think critically about primary sources, Historica Canada has created the Think Like a Historian series of videos and worksheets. The following activities provide an introduction to the Battle of Vimy Ridge and working with primary sources.

To complete these worksheets, students may want to watch the videos more than once. Turning on the subtitles can help second...

The Vimy 100 History Lens Tool Kit is designed to help educators and
students deepen their knowledge and think critically about the Battle of
Vimy Ridge on the anniversary of its centennial. Students and teachers are
asked to reflect on the importance of Vimy Ridge to Canada’s historical
narrative, and what it means to Canada today. This learning tool includes
activities to prepare students for their trip to Vimy, to engage students
while in France, and to reflect on their visit to Vimy after...

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...

The Cenotaph Project is an engaging activity that gives students an opportunity to get to know the individual men and women who served, and potentially died, in wartime. Begun by Ontario teacher Blake Seward, teachers and students nationwide have undertaken this project. The document below serves as a step-by-step guide.

This guide is intended to assist teachers and students as they study Canada’s involvement in the Second World War. It highlights some of the significant historical themes and events of that period but is not meant to be a comprehensive history of Canada and the war; in fact, some teachers may choose to highlight different aspects of this period in their classes, such as the naval war on Canada’s doorstep or Canada’s participation in the bombing offensive against Germany. Nonetheless, the...

The guide's purpose is to enhance your students’ learning and appreciation of the pivotal role that this 1917 battle played within Canadian history. The questions and activities of the guide also aim to have students examine issues and situations from an individual, humanistic point of view as well as from a macro perspective.

Structured around five primary sources from the First World War, this guide asks students to think and to empathize as they analyze and deconstruct those pieces of...

This learning tool uses The Memory Project website, thememoryproject.com, to challenge students to rethink what it means to study history by using primary source analysis. The Veteran Stories and Image Gallery sections of the website contain a wide range of primary documents. The exercises in this guide invite students to develop their ability to analyze primary documents and other historical resources.

The First World War, often called “the Great War,” was a global conflict that divided many of the world’s nations into two opposing camps, called the Allies (originally the Triple Entente) and the Central Powers. From 1914 through the end of hostilities in 1918, more countries joined the conflict out of necessity or opportunism, including Japan, the United States and the Ottoman Empire.

The war had disastrous consequences for many Canadian individuals, families and communities: approximately...

One of the biggest criticisms our veterans have of “younger” generations is their lack of remembrance. One could argue that the reason younger generations struggle with the concept of remembrance is a lack of personal connection. The intent of this project is to make remembrance personal for the students by having them produce a Student Heritage Minute. The research that comes with this project brings the identity and character of the deceased soldier to the students first hand.

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