What’s the Story? Supporting Inquiry through Heritage Fairs

This series is designed to provide teachers with tools and strategies for helping students select meaningful topics, design strong inquiry questions, and locate and analyze relevant evidence. Teachers will also learn how to assess Heritage Fair projects effectively. Available in English and French. Dates: Oct-Dec 2024.

Article / Professional Learning

From the latest teaching newsletter

Running Towards Change

In this lesson, students will learn about Terry Fox and explore the history and development of lower limb prostheses.

Making it Fair

In this lesson, students will generate ideas about what fairness means to them and then extend those ideas to elections.

Elections and Voting

This lesson has students explore election facts and examine some arguments for and against lowering the voting age.

Voice Your Vote

Have students weigh in on if they think Canadians should be able to start voting at age 16. They could win a Kayak prize pack!

2024 Professional Learning Opportunities

What’s the Story? Supporting Inquiry through Heritage Fairs

This series is designed to provide teachers with tools and strategies for helping students select meaningful topics, design strong inquiry questions, and locate and analyze relevant evidence. Teachers will also learn how to assess Heritage Fair projects effectively. Available in English and French. Dates: Oct-Dec 2024.

Teaching Canada's History: 2024 Excellence in Teaching Finalists

In this podcast series, Canada’s History spoke with the finalists for the 2024 Governor General’s History Award for Excellence in Teaching.

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. Learn more

What's the Story?

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

Historical Empathy for Teaching and Learning History

Sara Karn’s presentation offers a framework of historical empathy for teaching and learning history.

Commemorating Fallen Soldiers of the Algonquin Regiment

In this presentation, Anna Pearson discusses experiential learning through battlefield study tours.

Landscapes of Injustice: Internment and Dispossession of Japanese Canadians

Greg Miyanaga talks about how he develops a sense of historical empathy with students by using hands-on, minds-on, and hearts-on learning.

Teaching Black History in Canada

Black History in Canada

In this special issue of Kayak we are joined by guest editor Natasha Henry who shares some amazing stories and examples of the ways Black Canadians built and shaped this country. This is an expanded version of the 2018 issue.

Sleeping Car Porters

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

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.

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