From the latest teaching newsletter

2023 Finalists for the Governor General's History Award for Excellence in Teaching

Fifteen teachers from across Canada are being recognized for their exceptional work in teaching Canadian history.

Teaching Canada's History: 2023 Excellence in Teaching Finalists

In this podcast series, Canada’s History spoke with the finalists for the 2023 Governor General’s History Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Beyond Gold Mountain: Canadians of Chinese Descent

Exploring stories of Canadians of Chinese descent.

What's the Story?

This free magazine is intended for students in grades 4–7. It features winning submissions to the #OurStoriesOurVoices national contest and guides students through the steps of undertaking their own historical inquiry project. 

DISCOVER HERITAGE FAIRS

Through the Heritage Fair program, students learn and share the stories that matter to them in an immersive, hands-on environment.

Founded in 1993, Heritage Fairs are now held in every province and territory of Canada. Each year, approximately 50,000 students carry out research projects in the classroom.

Learn how you can bring Heritage Fairs into your classroom and inspire the next generation of learners, thinkers, and leaders.

Lesson Plans

Helping Students Identify Inquiry Topics

This activity is designed to encourage students to make observations about the world around them.

Crafting Big Questions

This lesson supports students in designing their own inquiry question.

Finding and Assessing Sources

This lesson will encourage students to brainstorm different types of sources they can use to answer their Big Question.

Reflecting on Historical Inquiry

This lesson will help students reflect on what they have learned throughout their inquiry project.

Know a teacher who made a difference?

Nominations for the Governor General's History Award for Excellence in Teaching are accepted all year round.

From the Canada's History Forum

Approaching Difficult Histories in Canada

James Miles is a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Arts and Humanities at Teachers College, Columbia University. His research explores the teaching and learning of difficult histories in settler colonial contexts and the role of history education in historical redress.

Teaching on the Frontlines of Reconciliation

David A. Robertson was the 2021 recipient of the Writers’ Union of Canada Freedom to Read Award as well as the Globe and Mail Children’s Storyteller of the Year. He is the author of numerous books for young readers including When We Were Alone, which won the 2017 Governor General's Literary Award.

Slavery, Segregation and Anti-Black Racism in Canada: Trauma and Legacies

Multidisciplinary scholar, author, and artist, Dr. Afua Cooper is a fellow at the Warren Center for Studies in American History, Harvard University. She is the Principal Investigator for A Black People’s History of Canada project housed at Dalhousie University where she teaches and holds a Killam Research Chair.

Teaching Black History in Canada

Remembering Africville

The city of Halifax bulldozes a Black settlement that had stood for 150 years, destroying a community but not its spirit.

Africville Note-taking Exercise

This lesson teaches students about the history of Africville, Nova Scotia while also practicing the academic skills of attentive listening, note taking, and summarizing.

The Use of Media in Exploring Afro Indigenous Ancestry

This lesson will ask students to use creative, academic, and observational skills to define terms which are important to understanding Afro Indigenous ancestry and to reflect on how media has been used over time to express important ideas about justice and ethnicity.

Sleeping Car Porters

In this lesson, students will analyze artifacts to learn about the experiences of Black sleeping car porters on the job. 

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