The students were given one period each week for 5 weeks to explore their interests and plan, implement and produce a Genius Hour Presentation in a format of their choosing. They began with a few worksheets to identify their interest areas and various ideas in which they may present their information and also various formats both electronically and paper-based which they could use to showcase their learning. The students used books, ipads and computers to access information. Various showcases included working replicas of battery-operated cars and helicopters, working volcanoes, a hockey rink, baking, painting and posters. Students were so engaged that most students completed the majority of their projects outside of school on their own time.

This site offers a wide selection of 360 videos from around the world. Choose from a world map or do a search to explore what there is to offer!

If you’re looking for some of the best social studies websites, here is a terrific list. We Are Teachers has compiled a list of things that are not only informative, but also fun and interactive. They have categorized over 40 best social studies websites as follows:
`Best Sites for Social Studies Lessons
`Best Sites for Virtual Museum Tours
`Best Sites for Virtual Field Trips
`Best Sites for Games and Simulations

Although some of the content is American, there are still lots of options for teachers, parents and students who live in Canada!

This article discusses how to make:
Virtual Tours (Google VR), a News Podcast (Anchor.fm), Build Augmented Reality History & Geography Games (Metaverse), a Short Documentary (Adobe Spark) & Build Multimedia Timelines.

The article provides a link to the site to make the product, describes each option and provides a short video tutorial on how to do it!

These resources can be used by teachers to make items they want to use with students, or they can be made by students as different ways to share their learning.

What does it look like to embrace curiosity? These five strategies can help you embrace curiosity at home. Each one is flexible for different ages and ready to adapt to your child’s interests.

This article also includes activity ideas, guiding questions and plenty of options for boosting curiosity both inside and outside of the classroom.

These free web based tools help teachers to demystify the data and create authentic learning experiences for students. The goal is to have students "ask questions to clarify evidence of the factors that have caused the rise in global temperatures over the past century". The field of climate change is very dynamic and always changing. These six tools incorporate up-to-date practices and can be used immediately in the classroom to help students become true climate change scientists:
- MIT Climate Science, Risk and Solutions (9-12) - Gives students a comprehensive look
- NASA Global Climate Change - Vital Signs of the Planet (6-12) - Explore satellite evidence
- Climate Kids - NASA's Eyes on the Earth (3-6) - Engage early learners
- Global Oneness Project (9-12) - Build empathy
- Earth-Now 6-12 - Analyze real data
- Our Climate Our Future (6-12) - Inspire action

The 6 STEP PROCESS OF PBL is a Problem Solving Process that allows you to break down and organize the structure of a PBL Unit into six different stages: 1. Define the Problem, 2. Solution Criteria, 3. Solution Research, 4. Pick a Solution, 5. Create, Run, and Inspect Solution, and 6. Reflect on Solution.

This terrific resource has a FREE PDF file of this process and how to run each step. The site also includes many resources, blog articles, examples of the process in elementary, middle and high schools, rubrics, videos and more at each step of the process. A great one-stop shop!

2021 marked the 25th anniversary since The Honourable Jean Augustine introduced the motion to make February Black History Month in Canada. Alongside Augustine, many Black Canadians have played an important role in shaping our country’s history, all while facing much discrimination and racism. Although such achievements should be recognized year-round, February is a time to honour the legacy of Black Canadians and reflect on the many contributions they have made to our country. Brightspark has compiled a list of teacher resources to help you do just this! Find videos, podcasts, activities and more designed to celebrate Canada’s Black heritage and introduce diverse learning in the classroom.

This is a set of free tools for teachers to create awesome timelines, including:
1. TikiToki - TikiToki is a great application for multimedia timelines making . It allows its users to create stunning animated timelines. TikiToKi is very easy to use and above all its basic version is completely free .
2. Time Glider - This is a web tool that lets you create, collaborate on, and publish zooming/planning interactive timelines for free. It is like Google Maps but for time.
3. OurStory - Ourstory enables you to write stories, tag friends, and add media to collaborative timelines either privately or in public.
4. Capzles - lets you create rich media experiences with videos, photos, music, blogs and documents.
5. Read Write Think - Read Write Think has a beautiful timeline tool that allows users to add project labels and easily create timelines.
6. Xtimeline - Xtimeline is a free web-based timeline that you can use to easily create and share timelines with pictures and videos.
7. TimeToast - TimeToast is another great tool that allows you to create timelines and share them on the web. The process only takes a couple of minutes and is very simple to use.

This site offers math and logic problems for ages 5 and up to adult.

This resource is one of the "Best Typing Apps for Students in Elementary School". Inspired by Atari’s classic game, Space Invaders, kids will target little pixel aliens by typing the letters that appear above them. There are multiple levels of difficulty, making this a good choice for elementary kids of all ages. Adobe Flash Player required.

In this unit students will have an opportunity to investigate some of the many issues faced by Aboriginal people in Canada as well as learn where the various native groups live. It will include a discussion of the history of the relationship between Aboriginal people and Canada (whether under British rule or modern day government) in order to understand the root of many of the issues. Specific focus will be given to access to health care, access to education, substance abuse, teen pregnancy and suicide, poverty and low living standards and limited economic opportunity.

Developed for Grade 9 students in Ontario.

This site offers a 360 view of Mars from the Mar’s Curiosity rover.

The material in this lesson will help students become aware of the warning signs of financial difficulties. When difficulties arise, students should first contact their creditors. Next, efforts should be made to revise spending patterns. In addition, assistance from a Credit Counseling service agencies might be considered. What if these actions do not help?

This collection features resources to support teaching Module 26B: Handling Debt Problems B from the Saskatchewan Financial Literacy curriculum. This activity suggests articles, websites, assignments, and discussion topics to help develop some problem-solving skills in relation to managing debt problems. 

Part of micro-economics involves financial decision making at an individual level. Understanding "why" we do what we do, when it comes to decision making, will form an important foundation to making financial decisions. Cognitive Bias is a systematic error in thinking that occurs when people are processing and interpreting information in the world around them and affects the decisions and judgements they make. These two documents allow students and teachers to work through cases and situations where various types of cognitive bias exists and how it may impact decision making.

This collection features resources to support teaching Module 6C: Applying Personal Spending Plans from the Saskatchewan Financial Literacy curriculum.  In Round 1, students learn to allocate their "20 bean salary" according to which options they want to spend their beans on. Round 2 forces the students to reduce their salary to 13 beans and make decisions about where they should make their "cuts". Round 3 includes some "life happens" challenges that allow students to make more decisions on where to move the beans in order to deal with the situations. This activity completes with some reflection questions on how this activity relates to budgeting with real income.

Smart money management requires building a foundation in strong, healthy financial habits. In this activity, we’ll learn about how habits work and then apply that knowledge to a financial habit that you’d like to change.Have students think about a financial habit they would like to change, and then answer the questions in the booklet. 

There are several interesting articles written by Anne Gaviola on Vice focused on Canadian finances, debt, and correlations between money and a person’s well-being. Keeping your debt a secret can mess with your mind and body. The culture of secrecy around debt causes young people to suffer in silence, making it even harder to manage debt. Use this content for case-based learning opportunities.

This activity supports Module 32e Economic Factors that impact personall financial decisions. We all know demand for goods and services can rise and fall, but what causes it to do those things? In this activity students will demonstrate how consumers’ income and preferences, prices of substitutes, and number of consumers in a market can affect demand. Students will reflect on their learning and how the actions may affect consumer demand for products and eventually the money we spend on purchases these products!