Myth Perceptions

In Socials 10, we spend some time talking about stereotype and caricature as it applies to First Nations people in Canadian history.

I came across this website today that has some simple resources on the topic. Created by the MCC (mennonite central committee), the website is about deconstructing myths about First Nations people. There are some usable clips that one could use to generate discussion.

Prince of Wales Library

Nobody likes links that result in a list of links, but here you are. Every once in awhile, this is preferable to just googling something. This is the most useful list of social studies links I have encountered, nicely organized. Skim through the list for new ideas to add to your bookmarks.

Prime Ministers of Canada

This website entitled "First Among Equals" is a government of Canada website with information about the office of Prime Minister. It starts with a headline saying "this document is no longer in effect. It has been archived online and is kept purely for historical purposes."

However, it is a great source of information if you want to clarify for students what the Prime Minister really is and does. Many students do not understand the difference between a Prime Minister and a President and what power the office really holds. It is not simply a chronology of Prime Ministers who have held the office, but does include information and quotes about specific leaders.

I usually include these types of facts (how our government works) right after the section on confederation. 

Queen's Own Rifles

The Queen's Own Rifles site contains great historical summaries of Canadian conflicts from a military perpective. In particular, the one that I have linked here is on the Northwest Rebellion

A bit annoying to navigate through by selecting "next" "next", but very readable and informative, and a good source of primary sources to use in class. Check it out.

Unsolved Mysteries

Unsolved Mysteries

This site is very well done. I have never gone through any of the mysteries with a class, but I have explored some of the cases myself and they are interesting with well-developed activities attached. Many of them would fit into the Socials 10 curriculum (if you have the time to spare - which I am not sure that you would) But this would be a great enrichment activity, or just something different to try. If you do, let me know how it goes.

Atlas of Canada

Ever get frustrated looking for good maps to draw on or label? Are you diving into the filing cabinet to find the master and hoping you kept one? Are you searching on google images for blank maps? Are you using out-of-date blackline masters from the textbook teachers guide?

These are all things I was doing when the geography unit came around until I started checking out the online Atlas provided on the government website. There are lots of cool things on the atlas, and I will do a separate post about "toporama", but for good outline maps you should click on "reference maps". You can print off an outline of Canada with lots of different options (such as with the rivers or without, or with the capitol cities or without, or even with longitude and latitude lines). I also use the outline map of BC when that unit comes along.

I no longer have to worry about my outline maps getting out of date or keeping master copies. I just follow the links and print 30 copies when I need them.

Historica

The historica site features one-minute videos on Canadian history topics. Do not expect large (and more helpful) themes like "National Policy", but you will find interesting biographies and short summaries of events in our past. Of interest to Socials 10 content, you will find a one-minute video on topics such as:
- The Underground Railroad
- Louis Riel
- Laura Secord
etc.

If you click on the "education" link, there are "lesson plans" provided for various topics. I didn't find these too helpful (how much of a lesson can really be based on a one-minute video?) but they did give some ideas to explore.
I personally have used these videos when doing a lesson on Prairie settlement. It also provides some examples of women in our history that is lacking in the textbook. Search for your topic and you never know.. there may be a helpful one-minute video to add into your lesson!

Gapminder

"Gapminder" is a fascinating website that visually represents all types of historical data. In particular, if you load gapminder world, it will display the graph above of life expectancy and GDP over time. (It also tracks population with the size of dot). I selected "Canada" from the list and it created a graph of how Canada has changed over time. Notice that in the early 1800's (when Socials 10 'starts') the life expectancy in Canada was less than 40!

I use this website to introduce what life might have been like in the early 19th century, but of course the students just want to know which country is the biggest dot and which country is the richest, etc... I figure that can't hurt, and I know some students go home and check out the graph when they get home.