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Specific Resources for Teaching Canadian History

1. Canadian History Maps

Atlas Canada
http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/index.html
This bilingual interactive atlas includes contemporary and historical maps with brief historical explanations for each of the following categories: Historical Indian Treaties, Aboriginal Peoples, Pre-Confederation Canada, Territorial Evolution, and Exploration 1497-1760. It also has Learning Resources with a variety of topics including an Atlas of Canada Glossary, Facts About Canada, Map Making (self-contained units on the fundamentals of cartography), Quizzes, References Maps (free printer-friendly maps of Canada for classroom exercises), and Wall Maps (purchasing information on a variety of wall maps).
 
Canadian Geographic: Historical Maps of Canada
Includes fourteen different historical colour maps of Canada from 1700 to 1999 in English and French accompanied by descriptions of the historical context and important boundary changes featured on each map.
 
Historical Atlas of Canada: Online Learning Project
The different website pages are organized into two main sections: National Perspectives and Defining Episodes. Both sections feature chapters focused on a different historical topic or time period in Canadian history, and include conventional text, images, and interactive maps. Users can actively explore the data and themes presented by zooming in and out of map displays, turning map layers on or off, and accessing the tables of data behind the maps. The website also includes a series of Maptours, guided explorations of selected chapters in the atlas that provide examples of how to navigate through the interactive maps, and demonstrate some of the interesting pathways by which these tools can be used. Each section includes the following chapters:
  • National Perspectives: Prehistory (Ecological regions 1500 BCE), Exploration (16th-20th century), Native Canada (Population, Movements, and Reserves), Boundaries (Territorial Evolution 1670-2001), Population (Population and Immigration 1800-1961), Society (Art, Architecture, Universal Schooling, and Religious Adherence).
  • Defining Episodes: Military (War of 1812 and the Great War), Social (The Acadian Deportation and Return, The Impact of the Great Depression).
The Educators’ Corner section of the website includes a description of the The Historical Atlas of Canada Online Learning Project (HACOLP) as an Interactive Mapping Site (Internet Map server) and includes curriculum links to each province’s curriculum, other related resources, and a teachers’ forum section. 

2. Early European Exploration in North America

Dictionary of Canadian Biography: Exploring the Explorers
“Exploring the Explorers” is intended to teach students to think critically, to examine and interpret facts about people and events in Canadian history, and to learn the difference between primary and secondary sources.
 
3. Early European Settlement in North America
 
            3.1. Acadia
 
Dictionary of Canadian Biography: Acadians of the 19th and Early 20th Centuries
Featuring over 100 biographies of individuals who played a crucial role in the development of the Acadian community throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, these materials are designed to assist both educators and students in better understanding the on-going contribution of the Acadian people to Canada’s story. From the inspirational life of former deportee Joseph Dugas, to the vision of nationalist educator and politician Joseph-Octave Arsenault, readers will uncover a treasure trove of biographical materials providing insight into an important period of Canadian history.
 
Hannah Ingraham - Ambassador to Loyalist Fredericton
This website has the following sections that contain information and resources for teaching about early Loyalist settlement in Acadia, particularly in the Fredericton area: Teachers- Students, Activities- Games, Curriculum, Maps, Images - Photos, and Genealogical tree. Website development was partially funded by a THEN/HiER Small Projects Grant. NOTE - This website is currently unavailable and should be operational shortly.
 
Returning the Voices
Returning the Voices is a website that tells the story of the people (mostly Acadians) who were expropriated in the late 1960s to permit the creation of Kouchibouguac National Park on the eastern coast of New Brunswick. Led by Ronald Rudin, Trudeau Foundation Fellow and Professor of History at Concordia University, this project seeks to return the residents’ voices to their lands by way of 26 video portraits.
 
            3.2. Colonial British North America
 
The Governor’s Letters: Uncovering Colonial British Columbia
This bilingual website created by the University of Victoria invites grade 5-12 students and teachers to use the Colonial Despatches (day-by-day reports from the governors of the colony, as well as the Colonial Office minutes, their responses and associated correspondence from other British government departments) to explore four curriculum challenges written by the Critical Thinking Consortium (TC2) to accentuate historical thinking. Through four curriculum challenges teachers and students are invited to investigate the origins of modern British Columbia and Canada through important events in the history of the Colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia including:
1. What were the reasons for creating the colony of B.C.?
2. Were the treaties Douglas signed with aboriginal people fairly negotiated?
3. Did the gold rush of 1858 radically change daily life in Victoria?
4. Did Governor James Douglas deserve to be knighted?
The Teacher’s Material focuses on three critical reading strategies (Reading Around a Document, Judging the Credibility of Primary Sources, and Exploring the Author’s Mindset) designed to help teachers guide students through analysis of primary sources.
 
4. European-Aboriginal History
 
            4.1. General Aboriginal History
 
Archives on the Arctic Lesson Plans
These lessons were developed by teachers after participating in the "Archives on the Arctic: Connecting to Global Issues with Primary Sources" workshop held by K-12 Study Canada in June 2013.
 
Time and Place at UBC: Our Histories and Relations
The timeline - Time and Place at UBC: Our Histories and Relations - documents UBC’s key historical moments with Aboriginal peoples, while locating these moments in broader contexts at institutional, provincial, and national levels (i.e., UBC, BC, and Canada). Although the special focus of the timeline is on Aboriginal peoples, it is not only about them, nor is it only about the past. Rather, the timeline intends to speak to us all – Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples alike at UBC – to build a shared understanding of the specificities and complexity of the time and place that we share today.
 
A Journey into Time Immemorial
Simon Fraser University’s Museum of Archaeology and Ethnologyhas developed this innovative website recreating the ancient dwelling and spiritual site of Xa:ytem in 3D. The site includes dynamic panoramas, video, sound and contextual educational content. The Educator Resources section of the website explains how the website meets curriculum objectives for students in grade 5-12 for different curricula in Science, Social Studies, English and Language Arts, and First Nations Studies.
 
On the Path of the Elders: Explore Treaty 9 as Understood by Our Elders
Based on Elder and traditional knowledge, this website uses an interactive game, videos, photos, stories, and an essay to help students understand the story of the Mushkegowuk and Anishinaabe Peoples of North-Eastern and North-Western Ontario, and the impact of the signing of Treaty Number Nine (James Bay Treaty) in the indigenous territory known as Nishnawbe Aski (People’s Land).
 
            4.2. Residential Schools
 
100 Years of Loss - The Residential School System in Canada
In 2010-2011 the Legacy of Hope Foundation began developing an education program targeted to Canadian youth aged 11-18. This program is designed to support educators and administrators in raising awareness and teaching about the history and legacy of residential schools - effectively providing practical tools that can be implemented in classrooms.
 
The Jesuit relations and allied documents : travels and explorations of the Jesuit missionaries in New France, 1610-1791
https://archive.org/details/jesuitrelationsa10thwa
The relationship between French Jesuit missionaries and First Nations in Canada from 1610-1791 is surprisingly well-documented for its time. The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents follow the experiences of several different missionaries on the developing North American continent. This resource is excellent for research projects because it covers a variety of interactions between the French and aboriginal peoples of Canada, although it should not be considered comprehensive.
 
Project of Heart
Under the leadership of teacher Chelsea Prince, Salmon Arm Secondary completed Project of Heart by commemorating the students who attended Anahim IRS and St. George’s IRS, both in British Columbia. Teaching this painful part of Canadian history was taken to heart by Salmon Arm students, as their heart-felt reflections (below the bump) so aptly demonstrate. Project of Heart is grateful to the students and Ms. Prince for the effort that was taken to learn about this under-taught part of our shared history.  Meegwetch.
 
Residential Schools, With the Words and Images of Survivors, A National History
Residential Schools is recommended for grades 7-8, YA and Adults for schools and libraries by The Canadian Children's Book Centre's - Best Books for Kids & Teens 2015 Spring Edition - with a red star signifying a title of exceptional calibre. 
 
Where Are the Children? Healing the Legacy of the Residential Schools
This high quality website created by The Legacy of Hope Foundation and supported by Canadian governmental organizations aims to promote awareness about the residential schools among the Canadian public to try and bring about reconciliation between generations of Aboriginal people, and between Aboriginals and non-Aboriginals. Included on the website are a number of sections useful for educators:
  • Blackboard: A comprehensive eleven chapter interactive history book of the residential schools that can be viewed in flash or html format and includes an audio narration of each page of text, a variety of photographs and other primary and secondary documents, and oral histories from survivors.
  • Interactive Map and Timeline: The map shows locations and number of Residential Schools by decade from 1860-2009 and a timeline provides a view of events in Aboriginal, Canadian, and world history during the residential school era.
  • Bookcase: Textbooks for lifelong learners, grades 9-10, 11-12, a dictionary and a teachers’ guide.
  • School: A 3-D Gallery walk through a residential school.
  • Exhibit: A virtual exhibition presents photographs largely from public and church archival collections, from the 1880’s to the 1960’s.

5. The Fur Trade
 
Exploration, the Fur Trade and Hudson’s Bay Company
This website shows how the fur trade led to the exploration of the country and the formation of the oldest and largest company in Canadian history, the Hudson's Bay Company. This site has been written for students aged 9 and up, and includes in-text queries to encourage higher-level thinking, teaching suggestions for each topic, a timeline, glossary and many primary sources (maps, paintings, diaries) throughout. There are also links to useful information on other websites and to digitized primary sources in the Early Canadiana Online database that are of use to teachers, students and researchers. The Teachers’ Resources section of the website includes four comprehensive lesson plans and two lists of ideas for presentations, reports and essays. Lesson plans on Early Canadiana Online include detailed instructions for educators, including objectives, suggested criteria for evaluation, procedural instruction for classroom use, and student worksheets.
 
Fur Trade Stories
This website owned and operated by Canada’s History includes a vast array of primary and secondary resources from the collections of Canada's History, HBCA - Archives of Manitoba, The Manitoba Museum, Parks Canada and several First Nations communities. The website is broken into three time periods: Pre-Contact with Europeans to 1600, 1600-1800, and 1867 to present day. The Teaching Tips part of the website includes a description of how to use primary and secondary sources in the classroom, features for the classroom, curriculum connections, cross-curricular lesson plans and references and bibliographies.
 
6. Pioneers and Immigration
 
Bamboo Shoots: Chinese Canadian Legacies in BC
Bamboo Shoots: Chinese Canadian Legacies in BC is an educational resource for teachers of Grades 5 and 10. This resource offers a rich gallery of historical photographs, and a wealth of archival documents and personal stories that accompany five lessons at each grade level. By accepting the invitation to teach Bamboo Shoots, you and your students will be part of a legacy initiative to acknowledge the contributions of Chinese Canadians and the historical injustices they faced. We invite you, as teachers, to share these stories of Chinese Canadians that help tell a more complete history of BC.
 
Black History Theatre Project: The Old Stock
http://www.gov.pe.ca/photos/original/eecd_toshis621B.pdf
The Black History Theatre Project pursued a multimedia expansion and enhancement of The Old Stock by rewriting and revising its script, with new design in sets, lights and costumes, mounting an Island-wide tour in late 2010. A special version of the play toured in P.E.I. schools. Classroom learning materials were also developed.
 
Connecting Canadians: Canada’s Multicultural Newspapers
Connecting Canadians provides an opportunity for individuals to connect with their heritage by exploring early newspapers and engaging in learning activities. The collection includes Croatian, Estonian, Finnish, Hungarian, Polish, Serbian, Ukrainian, Serbo-Croatian, Latvian, and Lithuanian newspapers. The Learning Activities section of the website was created by the Galileo Educational Network and explores how immigrants today find and connect with their heritage homeland and with others in Canada with the same heritage, and how social networking technologies change the way new immigrant communities evolve. The By Kids For Kids: Finding Each Other online forum enables students to build on each other’s ideas, provides evidence for their theories, and publishes their work so that others might learn from and contribute to their ideas. Galileo has also created teacher planning resources that provide an overview of how to conduct an inquiry study into this topic, tasks and activities for students, ties to local curricula, and assessment resources.
 
The Early Chinese-Canadians 1858-1947
This bilingual (English-French) website from Library and Archives Canada includes the history of Canada's early Chinese immigrants. Find out why they came to Canada and how they contributed to Canada's developing economy, the community ties they formed, and how immigration policies and attitudes restricted their lives in Canada. Examine historical photographs, government documents and letters about early Chinese immigrants in Canada selected from the LAC collection. Watch a 1918 film clip of a funeral procession, listen to a 1905 recording of a Cantonese folksong or learn about the head tax records (officially called the General Registers of Chinese Immigration). Individuals can read a personal essay and brief family histories from present-day Canadians whose relatives paid this tax. The Educational Resources part of the website is designed for students aged 13-18 and includes two lesson plans. In the first lesson, students are invited to research reasons behind Chinese immigration to Canada and create a concept map on the Chinese Immigration Act of 1923. In the second lesson, students are asked to create a museum-like exhibit on the topic "Continuity and Change, What Was Life Like for Early Chinese Canadians?" This material has now been archived.
 
Family Stories, Treasured Memories
Family Stories, Treasured Memories is a participatory curriculum-linked heritage sharing school program for grade 5-8 students that explores settlement experiences in Toronto. Developed in 2006-2007 with the support of several dedicated teachers, Family Stories is a flexible program that uses unique historical photographs and rare oral histories from the Multicultural History Society of Ontario's collection to interest and engage young people in history.This website contains a detailed program description, oral histories, historical photographs, handouts, evaluation rubrics, and many other resources needed to get started.
 
In Quarantine: Life and Death on Grosse Île, 1832-1937
By 1830, an average of 30,000 immigrants arrived annually in the City of Québec, the main port of entry to Canada, at a time when major cholera and smallpox epidemics were sweeping through Europe. In order to help control the spread of the diseases, the quarantine station at Grosse Île, located in the St. Lawrence River downstream from the City of Québec, was established in 1832 and operated until its closure in 1937. Through a variety of documents preserved and digitized by Library and Archives Canada, such as lists of births and deaths at sea, hospital registers, journals, letters, photographs and maps, this website tells the story not only of the quarantine station, but also of the individuals who experienced life on the island. In the Educational Resources section of the website students are invited to examine the Grosse Île Quarantine Station in mid-19th century Québec. They are asked to explore the significance of this point of immigration by writing an essay that addresses critical thinking questions, by acting out a mock Royal Commission, and by selecting a final culminating activity.
 
Japanese Canadian History.net
The Japanese Canadian history website is a companion to resource books developed with a Networks Grant from the BC Ministry of Education on the internment of Japanese Canadians from 1942 to 1949 and the attainment of redress in 1988. Internment and Redress: The Story of Japanese Canadians is a resource guide for teachers of grade 5 Social Studies, and Internment and Redress: The Japanese Canadian Experience is a resource guide for Social Studies 11 teachers. The website includes several sections including:
  • Resource Guides: Information about the SS 5 and SS 11 resource guides and how to order them.
  • Historical Overview: A brief historical summary of Japanese-Canadian immigration to Canada.
  • Glossary: Key terms and definitions related to Japanese-Canadian immigration.
  • Other Resources: A vast array of information including information about travelling museum kits, books and novels (organized by age and grade), teacher references, films (including direct links to NFB films), websites and audio tapes.
  • Teachers’ Area: Includes cautions and guidelines, challenges, samples of elementary and secondary students’ work, and sample lessons for elementary and secondary teachers. 
 
Pier 21: Canada’s Immigration Museum: Online Story Collection
This online story collection includes  pdf copies of stories from immigrants and veterans who passed through Pier 21. The story collection is divided into ten major categories: Immigrants, British Home Children, Veterans, War Brides, British Evacuee Children, Jewish War Orphans, Child Migrants, Displaced People and Refugees, Hungarian Revolution Refugees, Pier 21 Staff and Volunteer Stories. The website includes a variety of resources for educators including curriculum-based lesson plans and resource packages.
 
Prairie Immigrant Experience Educational Site : Immigration and Immigration Policy, 1876-1914
This website is designed to be an interactive, multi-media learning tool to help individuals learn about the formation of immigration policy in Canada after Confederation and before the First World War, the major immigrant groups that made the journey, and the challenges faced by these new immigrants upon their arrival in Canada. The site features a historical narrative accompanied by photographs, journal entries, letters, and posters, as well as audio and video clips that relate to the narrative. The site also features an interactive trivia game to test students’ knowledge, as well as a teachers' guide containing extra information and activities that may be used in class.
 
Remembering Black Loyalists: Black Communities in Nova Scotia
An online exhibit produced for the Virtual Museum of Canada by the Nova Scotia Museum, this website introduces the people, places, objects and events and stories of the more than 3000 Black persons who came to Nova Scotia between 1783 and 1785 as a direct result of the American Revolution. The Teachers’ Resources section of the website includes a package for teachers including a group activity available in pdf format in which students solve the case: Was the Acker site, excavated by archaeologists in 1998, the house of Colonel Stephen Blucke? This lesson includes an answer sheet for each group/student and instructions on how to run the activity, all of which were designed as part of an education program for grade 6 that relates to the Foundation for the Atlantic Canada Social Studies Curriculum.
 
Saskatchewan Settlement Experience
This is a comprehensive website that documents the history and settlement of Saskatchewan from 1870 to 1930. The history of Saskatchewan is presented by more than 2,000 records, including photographs, documents, maps, and audio and video files. The website is organized into two main sections – a list of themes on the left and a timeline across the top. The Themes section includes important subjects or aspects of the settlement experience: the Landscape, Aboriginal Peoples, Steps to a Homestead, Life on the Prairies, Agriculture, Labour, Transportation and Communication, Women, Education and Religion. The Timeline section is organized into decades that focus on historical events that affected the settlement of Saskatchewan including the Hudson Bay Company, National Policy, North West Mounted Police, Treaties, Dominion Lands Act, Canadian Pacific Railway, North West Rebellion, WWI, Spanish Flu, and Prohibition. The Teacher Resources section allows teachers to select the grade and subject and then narrow their search to a specific unit or topic/module. Each activity is correlated to section(s) of the website. Examining the archival information in the suggested areas will provide original source material to use when teaching the objective/activity. A direct link to the specific section of the curriculum document has also been provided.
 
Susanna Moodie and Catherine Parr Traill
http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/moodie-traill/index-e.html
Susanna Moodie and Catharine Parr Traill are two of Canada's most important 19th-century writers. In 1832 they immigrated with their Scottish husbands to Canada, where they recorded and interpreted their experiences as pioneers in books which remain famous to this day. Using original photographs and other illustrations, this website is designed to help students enter into the worlds of these two remarkable sisters by bringing together collections held by both the National Library of Canada and the National Archives of Canada, providing the reader with reliable information about their lives, and some of their surviving letters and selections from their books. The website includes a lesson plan for ages 15+, available in three formats (html, pdf, and rtf) and detailed guidelines for educators, including learning outcomes/expectations/objectives, suggested criteria for assessment, instructions for classroom use, and worksheets. Students are asked to use primary sources from the website to research and write an essay on pioneer life in 19th-century Upper Canada.
 
Telling the Stories of the Nikkei
http://tellingthestoriesofthenikkei.wordpress.com/telling-the-stories-of-the-nikkei-10-student-films/
This project documents in a series of films how understanding the history of Japanese internment during WWII deepens our present-day understanding of human rights and our appreciation of diversity in Canadian society. The project incorporates nine student-created films, a documentary of the making of the student films, and six interviews with Japanese Canadian elders interned during WWII. 
 
Ties that Bind: Building the CPR, Building a Place in Canada
This online virtual exhibit explores the history of Chinese Canadians from their presence in Canada before Confederation, during the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway, through more than 60 years of legislated discrimination under the Head Tax and Exclusion Act, to the present. Through archival evidence and research about the men who came from China to build the transcontinental railroad in the 1880s, and the use of oral testimony of their descendants, the project preserves a seldom told part of Canada's history. The website has been designed and written for a general audience as well as for teachers and students at the elementary, middle and secondary school levels. It provides teachers with downloadable  pdf documents of lesson plans, resources that include primary source documents and first-person narratives, and links to additional research material. Two investigation pathways are offered:
  1. Explore the oral histories of the railroad worker descendants by listening to audio segments, viewing image galleries, and reading biographical summaries.
  2. Explore topics thematically. Each of the six themes in the website can be entry points into curriculum areas such as Social Studies and Canadian History. The streams are enriched with image galleries and a timeline, which help to engage students as well as provide context.

Under a Northern Star
http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/northern-star/index-e.html
This website presents seven unique collections held at Library and Archives Canada that document the diverse historical experience of African-Canadians. The collection includes historical papers, photographs and other documents that profile the life and work of people and groups who fought against slavery and racism to build settlements including Mary Ann Shadd Cary, James Douglas, Green Thurman, Black Loyalists, and the Africville settlement. The Educational Resources section of the website invites 14-18 year-old students to analyze the role of the individual in creating social change. They are invited to explore how key people and organizations contribute to change within a society, using examples of members and organizations from Canada's historical Black communities.
 
Welcome to Canada?
As a result of a grant from the federal government’s Community Historical Recognition Program (CHRP), this resource has been created to explore issues involving Canada's relationships with the world and our diverse, pluralistic, multicultural society. Welcome to Canada?— (the question mark is deliberate) looks critically at Canada’s restrictive wartime immigration policies, with a focus on the St. Louis tragedy. It asks key questions about the development and future course of Canadian immigration policy, and is designed to enhance teaching on civics, with additional entry points in history, politics, law and economics courses. If you would like to receive copies of this resource for your school, please email your request with your name, school name and mailing address to Tema Smith, Project Coordinator, tsmith@bnaibrith.ca.
 
7. Canadian Conflicts: Internal and External
 
            7.1. Websites that Focus on Multiple Canadian Conflicts
 
Canadian Military History Gateway
The CMHG is an online service that provides access to websites and digitized resources about Canada’s military history. The Gateway is designed to be the authoritative source for quality-controlled information on Canada’s military history by providing several ways to discover and access online military history resources, including a graphic interactive timeline, enhanced search, and guided navigation. Leading institutions responsible for the collection and digitization of resources related to Canada’s military heritage have worked together to build and maintain this flash or html format website. These institutions include the CBC, Canadian War Museum, Department of National Defence, Library and Archives Canada, National Film Board, Parks Canada, and Veterans Affairs Canada. Site visitors can access:
  • Images and narratives in the three volume Canadian Military Heritage reference set, enriched with animation clips.
  • More than 7000 unique links to military history resources on Gateway partner sites, including animation, art, artefacts, film, interactive games, music, narratives, personal anecdotes, photos, and scholarly research.
  • Links to partner databases that contain nearly 900,000 additional resources specific to Canadian military history.
The Educational Resources section includes 30 Activities, 17 Assignments, 2 Books, 9 Events, 11 Guides, 2 Interactive Games, 13 Lesson Plans, 1 Programme, and 1 Quiz.
 
The Cost of Freedom: The Loyal Edmonton Regiment Museum
http://www.lermuseum.org/en/education/cost-of-freedom/
This website is created by the Loyal Edmonton Regiment with the purpose of helping Canadians understand the sacrifices that the men and women of the Canadian military have made to preserve Canadian rights and freedoms. It is divided into two main sections: Rights & Freedoms explains the choices and responsibilities that we enjoy as citizens, and Sacrifice celebrates the contributions that the Canadian military has made to keep our country free by exploring the history of the First World War, The Second World War and the Korean War. Each section features narrative text interspersed with original photographs, film clips, slideshows, original written documents, and oral histories. The Education module has two sections: The Teachers section provides educators with sample guidelines for incorporating this website's resource into the Alberta Grade 7, 9, 10, 11, and 12 curriculum. The second section, Canadians & Conflict, contains pdf files for the textbook produced by the Edmonton Public School Board for use in Military History 15.
 
The Memory Project Digital Archives
This is an initiative of the Dominion Institute and the Department of Canadian Heritage that allows individuals to view hundreds of personal artefacts from over 1000 Canadian servicemen and women from WWI, WWII, the Korean War, and other Canadian Forces operations. Visitors to the site can use the search tool option, or navigate each conflict section through themes such as Home Front, Battle, or Camaraderie. Each Veteran Profile consists of a number of artefacts provided by the participant, an audio clip of the veteran sharing their story, and a print version of the interview. The Educational Resources section includes Memory Project timelines to help students understand the background history on WWII, the Cold War, and recent Canadian Forces operations. The Digital Archive Learning Tools and Digital Archive Aboriginal & First Nations Learning Tools include activities on reading the archive, critical thinking activities, and final projects.
 
            7.2. Canada’s Military Conflicts 1750-1914

The Loxleys and the War of 1812
http://www.renegadeartsentertainment.com/the-loxleys-and-the-war-of-1812
This graphic novel and accompanying materials were created by Renegade Arts Entertainment to teach about the War of 1812. The story follows the Loxleys, a Canadian family living in the Niagara peninsula as they're torn apart by the American invasion of Canada in 1812, and the subsequent war that raged across both countries as British troops, Canadian militia, and First Nations warriors sought to thwart the expansionist plans of the American government. Related resources include an interactive iPad and Android tablet app, an animated movie in French and English, and a teaching resource developed by the National Film Board.

 
War of 1812 Historical Thinking Lessons
The Historical Teaching Project has created 25 unique lesson plans to cover the conflict that was ongoing 200 years ago—everything from poetry from the era to impacts on first nations and overarching historical considerations like “what caused the war?”  These lesson plans are mostly geared towards high school level classes and involve both critical thinking and problem solving skills. To find lessons associated with the War of 1812, type "war 1812" into the keyword box.
 
“Without Fear, Favour or Affection”: The Men of the North West Mounted Police
Library and Archives Canada offers a unique online exhibit that emphasizes life in the NWMP, from the men themselves. Their stories are told through many original archival documents, most of which have never before been available to the broad public. The website includes five main sections:
  • Signing Up introduces the rank structure, requirements for service, training and the personal histories of the officers and men, through letters of application, diaries, photographs, and other archival documents.
  • On the Job looks at daily life in the NWMP in the late 19th century.
  • Serving the Nation shows the NWMP as agents of the federal government, engaging in tasks ranging from census taking to escorts for important visitors to the Northwest.
  • Fighting Crime focuses on the NWMP in its traditional law enforcement role.
  • Educational Resources explores the North West Mounted Police (NWMP) from 1870 to 1920. It contains three critical challenges and one culminating challenge targeted for students in grades 7-9 history, social studies or Canadian studies courses, and includes curriculum connections for provincial curriculum across Canada. The culminating challenge asks students to synthesize their understanding of the experiences, trials and achievements of the North West Mounted Police from 1870 to 1920 by creating a powerful metaphor. Although each challenge can be used separately, completing all three challenges and the culminating activity will maximize student comprehension.
 
            7.3. Canada and World War One: General Sources
 
ArcGIS - World War I
Users from all over the globe have been contributing content to ArcGIS Online regarding various aspects of the First World War. Visit the website to access a growing collection of Web maps, applications, and data for educational use.
 
An Archival Look at WW I
Queen's University Archives has created this online exhibit to complement the core curriculum for secondary education and to offer teachers much-needed original source materials to support themes in twentieth century history and geography, as well as suggestions for teachers to integrate these original documents into lesson plans. Teachers can choose key documents from sub-themes such as the Canadian Homefront, The Technology of WWI, Women during the First World War, and World War I Warfare that include original photographs and correspondence from the Front. The Ideas for Teachers section provides a list of suggestions to help secondary school teachers effectively use the materials.
 
The Battle of the Somme: A Nation Lost But Never Forgotten
This website created by the Trinity Historical Society uses primary documents, images, and video to tell the tragic story of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment and their tragic day at Beaumont-Hamel during the Battle of the Somme on July 1, 1916. The website includes the history of the regiment during World War I, details of the Battle of the Somme, Soldier/Family Stories, and Commemoration information with narrative text as well as an impressive collection of primary documents. The Education Material section of the website includes lessons and activities targeted towards a variety of age groups (elementary and secondary) and includes curriculum outcomes as developed by the Department of Education, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador for their Social Studies programs.
 
Canada and the First World War
This online exhibition from the Canadian War Museum provides a comprehensive review of the Canadian war experience during World War One. The exhibition is organized into four sections including Introduction to the First World War, History of the First World War, Objects and Photos of the First World War, and Teacher Resources. Each section is broken into further subsections which include explanatory text supported by photos and objects from the war that can be magnified and manipulated for improved viewing. There are also featured topics on Vimy Ridge, Trench Routine, and Remembrance; an archive of all of the photos and objects featured on the site; and an extensive teacher resource section that is designed to assist educators for grades 7 to 12 in history and social sciences across the country. It includes lesson plans on primary and secondary sources, artifacts, photographs as history, propaganda posters, and the conscription debate. Also included in the teacher resource section is a book list and First World War photograph and document collections for Propaganda, A Soldier’s Life, The Battle of Vimy Ridge, and The Battle of the Somme.
 
Canadian Geographic: First World War
This educational package contains a tiled map entitled ‘A Nation Takes Shape: Canada and the First World War’ which is designed to take students back to the turn of the 20th century, a time when Canada was still a Dominion, Newfoundland was a separate entity, and women couldn’t vote. You can print the 24 pages of the map in either colour or black and white. When you assemble the map and follow the 10 associated activities, your students will discover the major transportation routes, training facilities, internment camps, wartime hubs, the role of women during the war and more.
 
Dictionary of Canadian Biography: The First World War
This thematic ensemble contains a wealth of different aspects, as can be seen in many of the DCB/DBC biographies. Our organization of material seeks to highlight the military, political, social, and cultural dimensions of this tragic event and thus facilitate an understanding of the themes and the reading of the biographies. 
 
First World War Audio Archive
The First World War Audio Archive from Veterans Affairs Canada allows individuals to listen to the oral histories of veterans as they recall their life and times during the war years. Each oral history interview includes a written transcript, video clips from the war, and a short biography of each veteran. Visitors to the website can also view a selection of Canadian artist William Redver Stark’s 480 watercolours and pencil sketches that are arranged in six thematic galleries. The Learning Corner can be used to build students’ knowledge of Canada’s role in the First World War by exploring two composite interfaces: War on the Front, and Supplies and Equipment. Read clues and watch videos to complete the Crossword Puzzle and Reveal the Picture activities. Search Additional Resources to learn more about Canada’s military history.
 
Front Lines: A film by Claude Guilman
This impressive 33-minute NFB film directed by Claude Guilman film traces the conflict through the war diaries and private letters of five Canadian soldiers and a nurse. The film shows historical footage shot in Montréal and Europe, as well as actual photos of the war diary and letters from the George Metcalf Archival Collection, Canadian War Museum, Library and Archives Canada, the National Film Board of Canada, Archives of Ontario, and other sources. For educational purposes, five documentary vignettes of 8-9 minutes have been drawn from the original film: Nurses at the Front, The Officer's Role, The Life of the Soldier, Faith and Hope and The Trenches, each with further information on its particular subject. To view each of the five vignettes individually use the following link: http://films.nfb.ca/front-lines/capsules.php. The Education section of the site provides a variety of discussion topics to be brought up after viewing each section of the film.
 
Images of a Forgotten War: Films of the Canadian Expeditionary Force in the Great War
This website from the National Film Board provides a rich collection of over 120 archival films accompanied by photos, historical essays written by noted Canadian experts and a range of different teaching materials. The website is organized into five chapters:
  • Prologue: Description of the project, how the war was started, and how the images/film were captured.
  • Building a Force: Films shot between 1915 and 1917 that show the mobilization of troops in Canada and their training in Europe.
  • Wartime: Films showing the CEF throughout the battles, with footage shot between 1915 and 1918 of troops engaged in battle and pilots and aircraft in action.
  • Postwar Period: Footage of Canadian troops just after the armistice, in November and December 1918, and the return of soldiers to Canada in early 1919.
  • Epilogue: Essays, photos and paintings relating to postwar Europe, the affirmation of Canada as an independent nation and what became of soldiers after the war.
Each of the 120 archival films includes a lesson plan designed to take 30-45 minutes that outlines the appropriate grade level, overall activity, and basic steps to follow.  
 
Implementing a Holistic Approach to the Study of War: Challenging Collective Memory
This is the slideshow of a paper presented by Dr. Rose Fine-Meyer at the 2014 Teachers' Day @ the Berks which was held in conjunction with the Berkshire Conference on the History of Women, Toronto. Dr. Fine-Meyer has been researching about the teaching of World War One in Ontario classrooms and has spoken with teachers, observed her own students as teacher candidates in their practicum, and examined dozens of Ontario history textbooks in the OISE library and archives, all which reflect the complexities of teaching war. Most resources present war into short, sanitized and neutralized packages that focus on battles and technology through photos, short summaries, primary documents, maps, timelines and in some cases, games. The focus of the new history and social studies curriculum in Ontario centres on disciplinary concepts, historical thinking concepts and critical thinking pedagogy provide opportunities to teach war more holistically.
 
 
            7.4. Canada and World War One: Specific Topics
 
The Halifax Explosion
This website takes individuals through the causes of the explosion, the day it happened, and the aftermath in the days that followed using a variety of audio interview clips, interactive maps and photographs. The For Teachers section of the website includes free downloadable, challenging, and innovative lesson plans and activities for grade levels 6-8, 9-10, and 11-12 that were created to complement many of the topics posted on the website. For example, students will have an opportunity to identify the key events of the Halifax Explosion, write a letter in the role as a survivor of the explosion to a member of a younger generation, create a three-minute video news broadcast from the scene of the explosion, express the meaning of heroism through the medium of their choice, and investigate and write a report about the leading cause of the Halifax Explosion.
 
Lee-Enfield War Rifle: History Factor
James Ellis demonstrates the firing capability of the extraordinary British Lee-Enfield Mark III. The most iconic rifle of the First World War, it still holds the record for fastest aimed bolt action fire: unleashing a remarkable 38 rounds in one minute on a target! He compares the Lee-Enfield to the Canadian Ross Rifle, outlining the advantages the former had over the latter, and how its legacy includes service of upgraded versions in the Second World War, Korean War and today with the Canadian Rangers.
 
Paris 1919
The National Film Board of Canada in coproduction with 13 other film boards presents Paris 1919, inspired by Margaret MacMillan's landmark book Paris 1919: Six Months That Changed The World. In this 1 hour 35 minutesfilm, Director Paul Cowan blends re-enactments with archival images to take us inside the peace talks that followed the First World War, where Paris became the centre of the world and world leaders convened to broker peace "for all time."
 
SOS! Canadian Disasters: The Halifax Explosion
Canada's diverse geographic and climatic range has witnessed almost every type of natural disaster possible. On this website Library and Archives Canada presents a selection of events that have made their impact across this land, and resound in the collective consciousness of Canadians. The section devoted to the Halifax Explosion outlines the key events that caused the explosion and provides newspaper articles, a photographic archive, and handwritten accounts of the blast from people who witnessed the explosion first-hand. The website features comprehensive teaching strategies that contain detailed guidelines for educators, suggested criteria for assessment, instructions for classroom use, and worksheets.
 
            7.5. Canada and World War Two: General Sources
 
Canada in WWII
This online museum documenting the Canadian war effort is presented by the Juno Beach Centre and is available in both French and English. The website features narrative text supported with photographs from the Canadian War Museum, Library and Archives Canada and the Department of National Defence. The website is organized into four main sections:
  • Events: Focuses on the events Canada was involved in at sea, on land and in the air that led to the fall of the German Reich and brought back peace.
  • People: Focuses on the friends or foes, military or civilians that influenced the course of events through their words, their deeds, or their courage.
  • Arms & Weapons: Describes the organization of over a million men and women who joined Canadian ground, naval and air forces, and medical services between 1939 and 1945. Canadian troops relied on efficient organization and a wide range of services that provided food, shelter, medical care, intelligence, and communications, on ships, aircrafts, tanks, and weapons needed to face the enemy.
  • Interactive Centre: These interactive animations look at some of the technologies used during WWII including the trajectories of WWII artillery; discarding a sabot projectile; how minesweeping works; the workings of a typical convoy; and how an infantry, artillery, and armoured vehicle battalion are organized.

On All Fronts: World War II and the NFB
This website created by the National Film Board of Canada is organized into five categories (with further subcategories) that include excerpts of films (with links to the entire film), vox populi (films that interview contemporary people in the street), photograph galleries, and articles written by experts.
  • WWII: An Overview in Moving Pictures: Includes three 1995 films that provide an overview of the war, and also three animated films about wartime savings.
  • Many Voices, Many Stories: Includes two subsections, Pride and Sacrifice, and Personal Stories, that tell the stories of Canadians who fought in the Second World War often overlooked by history, despite going through dire or extraordinary situations.
  • The Home Front: Includes three subsections, Women and the War, Recruitment and Conscription, and Propaganda: The Battle for Hearts and Minds that outlines how WWII affected the country socially, politically and economically.
  • Critical Perspectives: Includes two subsections, The Rights and Wrongs of War, and Going Back that encourage viewers to question the ethics of war.
  • See Everything, Hear Everything: This section features the collection of films, excerpts, archives, filmed interviews, vox populi and articles by specialists featured on the website that can be sorted by title, director, or time period.
The For Teachers section provides a glossary and a series of eight different lesson plans designed to accompany selected films from the NFB library. The lesson plans include a description of content areas, grade and age level, objectives, and supplementary guides.
 
            7.6. Canada and World War Two: Specific Topics

Dilemma 1944
http://ccbrumwell.wix.com/dilemma1944; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tt6rn5fVnN4
This website and accompanying video invite students to explore a situated documentary where students are presented with a dilemma from 1944 and asked to decide whether to sign up to fight for Canada in World War II. The website also provides suggestions for using the resources with modern-day high school students. Although this dilemma is specific to Kitsilano Secondary in Vancouver BC, it serves as an excellent example of how schools can involve their students in researching their school's history. Craig Brumwell is a School Advisor, and Social Studies and PE Teacher at Kitsilano Secondary in Vancouver, BC. The project was developed as part of a Master of Educational Technology at UBC for the course Constructivist Strategies for E-Learning (ETEC 530). 

Human Rights in the Asia Pacific 1931-1945: Social Responsibility and Global Citizenship
http://www.alpha-canada.org/education/teachers-guide
The purpose of this teacher's guide is to support the high school curriculums of Social Studies 11, History 12, Social Justice 12 and Law 12 in British Columbia, Canada. It addresses issues related to the atrocities that occurred during the Asia-Pacific War (1931-1945), including the redress movement for victims and survivors, such as the former military sexual salves (the so-called "Comfort Women") of the Japanese Imperial Army.  Our Organization is honoured to be a partner of this meaningful project, working together with teachers of the B.C. Teachers' Federation and with historians.

Landscapes of Injustice
During the Second World War, Canada enacted mass displacement and dispossession of people on racial grounds, a collective moral failure that remains only partially addressed. Japanese Canadians lost their homes, farms, businesses, as well as personal, family, and communal possessions. Landscapes of Injustice is dedicated to recovering and grappling with this difficult past.
 
Through a Lens: Dieppe in Photograph and Film
This website contains photographic and film footage of Dieppe selected from the holdings of Library and Archives Canada. It features a timeline of the events leading up to the raid on Dieppe, 2 newsreels produced by the Nazi regime, 6 newsreels produced by the Canadian Film and Photo Unit, and an image gallery. The Educational Resources section of the website provides activities intended for students at the intermediate level (grades 6 to 8/secondary I and II) and secondary level (grades 9 to 12/secondary III, IV and V) including suggestions for oral presentations and compositions to help students better understand the Dieppe raid.In addition, an introduction to the concept of primary and secondary sources is presented and an evaluation grid is included in pdf downloadable formats. This material has been archived.
 
 8. Politics and Government
 
            8.1. Constitutional History
 
Canadian Confederation
This website tells the story of Canada’s origin—from four provinces in 1867 to ten provinces and three territories presently. Historical essays showcase documents, articles and photographs of the people, places and events that shaped Confederation, including a number of rare items offered by Library and Archives Canada. The website includes sections that are helpful for teaching Confederation:
  • Towards Confederation: Essays on the important events that led up to Confederation.
  • Provinces and Territories: A description of the process by which all ten provinces and three territories entered Confederation.
  • People: a collection of biographies of the key individuals responsible in the creation and building of Canada, organized alphabetically and by province or territory.
  • Maps 1667-1999: A series of maps that give a clearer picture of Canada’s territorial evolution.
  • Political Cartoons: A variety of political cartoons from the Confederation era.
The Educational Resources section of the website includes a comprehensive teaching strategy in which students learn about Canada (past and present) as they renegotiate Confederation. The activity includes sources sheets, student handouts and assessment criteria that are all available in html, rtf and pdf formats.
 
Dictionary of Canadian Biography: Charlottetown and Québec Conferences of 1864
The conferences held at Charlottetown in Prince Edward Island and Quebec City in 1864 were fundamental to the making of modern Canada. The topic of both meetings was British North American federal union, an idea that reached back to the early 19th century and found increasing support during the 1850s. But it proved impossible to translate the theory into practical politics, and the prospect generated little enthusiasm in Great Britain – as the failure of Alexander Tilloch Galt’s 1858 plan for federal union illustrated. The biographies included here are those of the key proponents of confederation at Charlottetown and Quebec City and those of the people who accepted, qualified, or rejected its terms – and who, in doing so, participated in a debate that echoes into the present.
 
            8.2. Prime Ministers of Canada
 
Dictionary of Canadian Biography: Canada’s Wartime Prime Ministers
Biographies of various Prime Ministers during times of war.
 
First among Equals: The Prime Minister in Everyday Life and Canadian Politics
Drawing on a wide variety of documents and artefacts, this site explores five main themes (Alone at the Top, The Path to Power, Leading Canada, Private Life, Afterwards) relating to all of Canada's prime ministers. The site examines the leaders' political careers as well as their private lives. It also sheds light on Canadians' perceptions of their prime ministers. The For Teachers section of the website includes one lesson and one activity designed for ages 12-15 called “Presenting… the Prime Minister of Canada.” In this comprehensive teaching strategy, students conduct research about prime ministers and make a presentation about their findings. All instructions, assessment criteria, and student handouts are available in html, rtf and pdf formats.
 
A Real Companion and Friend: The Diary of William Lyon Mackenzie King
This website serves to introduce King's extensive diary (nearly 30,000 pages, and more than 7,500,000 words) to contemporary readers. The background section of the website is intended to serve as an introduction, exploring these remarkable texts, both as revealing personal narratives and as an invaluable record of Canada's political and social history during six formative and crucial decades. Furthermore, it examines the little-known history of the diary as an archival document, including the decision to save the texts for posterity (contrary to King's stated wishes). The website is organized into the following sections: Introduction, Behind the Diary, Search Mackenzie King’s Diary or Photographs of King, and Educational Resources. The Educational Resources section of the website includes lesson plans and student activities on diaries and the conscription crisis designed for intermediate (grades 6-8) and secondary students (grades 9-12).
 
Sir John A. Macdonald: Canada’s Patriot Statesman
This website introduces a virtual exhibition of photographs, documentary art, and other unique records held at Library and Archives Canada. It introduces tens of thousands of pages from Macdonald's political papers and correspondence that was made available online for the first time in 2008, enabling all Canadians to learn about Macdonald's life, career and legacy. The Educational Resources section of the website includes 11 activities designed for elementary/intermediate level students in grades 5-9 that explore the life and times of Sir John A. Macdonald.
 
            8.3. Politics and Government—Miscellaneous
 
Images of a Country: Canada’s Flag Debate
The Saskatchewan Council for Archives & Archivists presents this online website that documents the history of the Canadian flag and the debate that led to its institution in 1965. The website has eight chapters that provide the history of the flag debate and inception. Each chapter includes explanatory text enriched by numerous political cartoons, excerpts from newspapers and magazines, many Canadians’ sample drawings of proposed flags, and assorted other primary and secondary sources. The Educational Resources section of the website includes eleven activities designed to engage students in this topic.
 
Making Medicare: The History of Healthcare in Canada 1914-2007
This online exhibition from the Museum of Civilization is organized into eight decades that each focus on four main sections: History, Key Players, Geography, and Costs and Benefits of Medicare. Each section employs a descriptive, narrative style supported by primary and secondary sources such as photographs, excerpts from government reports, political cartoons, and newspaper and magazine articles. The website also has an Educational Lab with resources for teachers and students that include curriculum links, high quality webquests, lesson plans, resources, and other activities.
 
9. Canadian Society
 
            9.1. Canadian Society—General
 
City Reflections: Vancouver 1907-2007
This DVD is based on the earliest known surviving film footage of Vancouver, shot in 1907 by William Harbeck from the front platform of a streetcar as it made its way through the streets of downtown and the West End. The DVD can be purchased through the website. A teacher's guide is also available for $25 CAD plus $8 postage in western Canada and $10 postage in eastern Canada. Please send cheque or money order to Charles Hou at 3378 West 39th Avenue, Vancouver, BC, V6N 3A2.
 
Expo 67 Man and His World...A Virtual Experience
This comprehensive virtual exhibit presented by Library and Archives Canada allows individuals to investigate all aspects of the Expo 67 experience. The website is organized into sections including history, pavilions, activities, special guests, news reports, legacy, and Canada’s Centennial and has many different sources from the LAC archives including original documents, photographs, drawings, and political cartoons. The website also features teaching materials and a virtual tour of Expo 67. The Teaching Materials section of the website provides teachers with the opportunity to expand their teaching tools and students the opportunity for active learning. The themes presented are matched with specific learning objectives in the Ministère de l’Éducation of Québec curriculum for elementary and secondary schools. The themes include the history of the planning of the World Fair in Montreal (project, candidature and results, site choice and construction), various performances and entertainment, Canada’s centennial celebrations, and the legacy of Expo 67.
 
            9.2. Sport in Canadian Society
 
Asahi, Canadian Baseball Legends: Virtual Online Museum
Resources for teaching about the Asahi baseball team of Vancouver.
 
Backcheck: A Hockey Retrospective
This digital project's primary focus is on the early days of hockey. Materials from the collection of Library and Archives Canada are presented to trace the development of Canada's national winter sport. The site includes a chronological presentation of hockey stories from English and French language newspapers, providing a valuable resource for online hockey research. The site also has feature articles, rare items from the collection of LAC, as well as a guide to hockey resources at LAC. Educational Resources includes a comprehensive teaching strategy on the history of hockey for students in grades 10-12 and three different classroom activities: The Hockey Drill (Grades 4 to 6), The Great Trivia Challenge (Grades 7 to 9), and Mass Media Manipulation (Grades 10 to 12).