Students in Grades 4-8 activate prior knowledge and research information about a historic event through fiction and nonfiction literature and exploration of relevant websites.

Now more than ever is the time to consider the realities of Canadian-Black communities. Explore our collection of films by distinguished Black filmmakers, creators, and allies. We’ve selected a group of NFB films that portray the multi-layered lives of Canada’s diverse Black communities. The incredible stories of strength, courage and perseverance in the face of adversity that these films present are not often found in mainstream history books. Black communities and cultures have been part of Canadian history from its earliest days, but sadly, their contributions and the lessons they can teach are rarely studied at the elementary or secondary level in schools.

To prepare for literature circles featuring historical novels, students research the decades of the 1930s to the 1990s and share their information using Prezi, a web application for creating multimedia presentations.

Breaking News English is a free current events based lesson builder. New lesson every three days. All lessons are based on stories currently in the news - as the world's news breaks, teach it.

This site is very valuable for EAL students as it allows the speed of the audio of the article to be adjusted to the pace best suited to the language level of the student. It also offers a wide range of language activities to support EAL students.

In which John relates a condensed history of India, post-Indus Valley Civilization. John explores Hinduism and the origins of Buddhism. He also gets into the reign of Ashoka, the Buddhist emperor who, in spite of Buddhism's structural disapproval of violence, managed to win a bunch of battles.

CANADA’S FWW BATTLES
Published by the Vimy Foundation, this link provides an overview and information on battles of the First World War involving Canadians.
Contains information on the following battles:
May 1915 – Festubert and Givenchy
June 1916 – Battle of Mount Sorrel
1 July 1916 – Beaumont Hamel
15-22 September 1916 – Courcelette
26 September 1916 – Thiepval Ridge
1 October – 11 November 1916 – Regina Trench
9-12 April 1917 – Battle of Vimy Ridge
14 April 1917 – Monchy-Le-Preux
28-29 April 1917 – Arleux-en-Gohelle
3-8 May 1917 – Battle of Fresnoy
15-18 August 1917 – Battle of Hill 70
16-18 August 1917 – Battle of Langemarck
21-25 August 1917 – Attack on Lens
9 October 1917 – Battle of Poelcappelle
26 October – 10 November 1917 – Battle of Passchendaele
20 November – 6 December 1917 – Battle of Cambrai
6 December 1917 – The Halifax Explosion – A Centennial Event
21 March – 5 April 1918 – Operation Michael
22 March – 5 April 1918 – Villers-Bretonneux
28 March – 1 April 1918 – The Quebec City Conscription Riots – A Centennial Event
30 March – 1 April 1918 – Battle of Moreuil Wood & Rifle Wood
8 – 12 August 1918 – Battle of Amiens
26-30 August 1918 – Second Battle of Arras
27-28 August 1918 – The Battle for the village of Chérisy
2 September 1918 – Battle for the Drocourt-Quéant Line
27 September – 11 October 1918 – Battle of Canal du Nord
9 October 1918 – Capture of Cambrai
1-2 November 1918 – Battle of Valenciennes
11 November 1918 – Capture of Mons and the Armistice

Canadian Geographic Education provides learning resources to help improve students’ understanding of the world they live in. Geographically literate students are better prepared to face global challenges and have the skills necessary to become effective change agents. Use these resources to inspire curiosity and exploration in your classroom!

Lesson plans
Videos
Maps
Infographics
Activities

Register now for FREE ONLINE Educator Training for Manitoba and Saskatchewan Teachers. This FREE workshop utilizes easy-to-use, adaptable teaching resources aimed at students 13-18 years of age.

The workshop will run on Tuesday evenings in November, 2020. Participants are expected to complete reading between sessions.

Session dates:
Tuesdays - November 3, 10, 17, 24 (7:00-9:00 CST) - ONLINE

Highlights of the course:
- Learn to implement practical activities dealing with issues relating to global conflict, bystanders, human rights, international law, refugees, child soldiers, gender-based violence and attacks on civilians, hospitals and schools.
- Exploring Humanitarian Law (EHL) educator training utilizes an easy-to-use, adaptable toolkit aimed at students 13 – 18 years of age.
- The content of the EHL educator training complements academic subjects such as global issues, social studies, history, law, and language arts.
- Includes instruction from Canadian Red Cross personnel and trained local teachers currently using the Exploring Humanitarian Law (EHL) curriculum in their classrooms.
- Participants utilize the Exploring Humanitarian Law toolkit, Canada and Conflict toolkit, and Forced to Fight.
- Participants will receive a certificate of completion.
- This training will be conducted in English but all above mentioned resources are also available in French.

In which John Green teaches you about capitalism and socialism in a way that is sure to please commenters from both sides of the debate. Learn how capitalism arose from the industrial revolution, and then gave rise to socialism. Learn about how we got from the British East India Company to iPhones and consumer culture in just a couple of hundred years. Stops along the way include the rise of industrial capitalism, mass production, disgruntled workers, Karl Marx, and the Socialist Beard. The socialist reactions to the ills of capitalism are covered as well, and John discusses some of the ideas of Karl Marx, and how they've been implemented or ignored in various socialist states. Plus, there are robots!

In which John Green teaches you about the Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie, doing business as the VOC, also known as the Dutch East India Company. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Dutch managed to dominate world trade, and they did all through the pioneering use of corporations and finance. Well, they did also use some traditional methods like violently enforced monopolies, unfair trade agreements, and plain old warfare. You'll learn how the Dutch invented stuff like joint stock corporations, maritime insurance, and futures trading. Basically, how the Dutch East India Company crashed the US economy in 2008. I'm kidding. Or am I?

Students will compare and contrast different perspectives of the French Revolution as depicted in two works of art. Students will discuss the use of satire and caricature to comment on historical and current events and will create satirical cartoons based on contemporary issues.

In this talk from RSA Animate, Sir Ken Robinson lays out the link between 3 troubling trends: rising drop-out rates, schools' dwindling stake in the arts, and ADHD. An important, timely talk for parents and teachers.

In which John Green teaches you about the Holy Roman Empire by teaching you about Charles V. Charles Hapsburg was the holy Roman Emperor, but he was also the King of Spain. And the King of Germany. And the King of Italy and the Lord of the Netherlands and Count Palatine of Burgundy. In short, Charles was runnin' thangs in much of the world during his reign. Charles ruled a lot of countries, and he was also known for encouraging intellectual discourse and he even spoke out against slavery, in a limited. So why did he consider himself a failure, and why did he break up the Empire when he abdicated in 1556? Mainly because the Holy Roman Empire didn't work very well. It was huge, and it didn't have any means of directly raising taxes. Plus, it was a pretty crazy time in Europe anyway, and Charles found himself in charge of the Catholic-Church-Endorsed Empire in the time of Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation. John will teach you a bit about how Charles put the Empire together, and how it fell apart, and even talk a bit about the Diet of Worms.

In which John Green teaches you about the fall of the Roman Empire, which happened considerably later than you may have been told. While the Western Roman Empire fell to barbarians in 476 CE, the Byzantines in Constantinople continued the Eastern Empire nicely, calling themselves Romans for a further 1000 years. Find out what Justinian and the rest of the Byzantine emperors were up to over there, and how the Roman Empire dragged out its famous Decline well into medieval times. In addition to all this, you'll learn about ancient sports riots and hipster barbarians, too.

This site examines the Civil War through collections of artifacts. Topics include slavery and abolition, Abraham Lincoln, the first Union officer killed, soldiering, weapons, leaders, cavalries, navies, life and culture, Appomattox, Winslow Homer, and Mathematics and Statistics. A Civil War time-line is included.

In which John Green teaches you about the Little Ice Age. The Little Ice Age was a period of global cooling that occurred from the 13th to the 19th centuries. This cooling was likely caused by a number of factors, including unusual solar activity and volcanic eruptions. The Little Ice Age greatly impacted human social orders, especially during the 17th century. When the climate changed, and weather became unpredictable, the world changed profoundly. Poor harvests led to hunger, which led to even less productivity, which even resulted in violent upheaval in a lot of places. All this from a little change in the temperature? Definitely.

In which John Green wraps up revolutions month with what is arguably the most revolutionary of modern revolutions, the Industrial Revolution. While very few leaders were beheaded in the course of this one, it changed the lives of more people more dramatically than any of the political revolutions we've discussed. So, why did the Industrial Revolution happen around 1750 in the United Kingdom? Coal. Easily accessible coal, it turns out. All this, plus you'll finally learn the difference between James Watt and Thomas Newcomen, and will never again be caught telling people that your blender has a 900 Newcomen motor.

In which John Green teaches you about the changes wrought by contact between the Old World and the New. John does this by exploring the totally awesome history book "The Columbian Exchange" by Alfred Cosby, Jr. After Columbus "discovered" the Americas, European conquerors, traders, and settlers brought all manner of changes to the formerly isolated continents. Disease and invasive plant and animal species remade the New World, usually in negative ways. While native people, plants, and animals were being displaced in the Americas, the rest of the world was benefitting from American imports, especially foods like maize, tomatoes, potatoes, pineapple, blueberries, sweet potatoes, and manioc. Was the Columbian Exchange a net positive? It's debatable. So debate.

In which John Green teaches you about the beginning of the so-called Age of Discovery. You've probably heard of Christopher Columbus, who "discovered" America in 1492, but what about Vasco da Gama? How about Zheng He? Columbus gets a bad rap from many modern historians, but it turns out he was pretty important as far as the history of the world goes. That said, he wasn't the only pioneer plying the seas in the 1400s. In Portugal, Vasco da Gama was busy integrating Europe into the Indian Ocean Trade by sailing around Africa. Chinese admiral Zheng He was also traveling far and wide in the largest wooden ships ever built. Columbus, whether portrayed as hero or villain, is usually credited as the great sailor of the 15th century, but he definitely wasn't the only contender. What better way to settle this question than with a knock-down, drag-out, no holds barred, old-fashioned battle royal? We were going to make it a cage match, but welding is EXPENSIVE.