Projects funded through the Canadian Studies Program

Project Rustic: A Journey into the Diefenbunker

Diefenbunker Canada's Cold War Museum

An interactive animated website that explores Canada's Continuity of Government program (circa 1962) through a "choose-your-own-adventure" style learning application. Visitors to the website using the application will be able to assume the role of one of the key government figures (Prime Minister, Governor General, Head of the RCMP, etc.) who would have sought shelter at the Diefenbunker under threat of an imminent attack. Through role play in an immersive environment, users will learn about the role and responsibilities of key figures in Canadian democracy.

Website: http://www.diefenbunker.ca

Slavery and Abolition in Canada

Dr. David Calverley

An online textbook and e-learning portal intended for Grades 4 to 8. The objectives of the resource are to teach and to help users understand the history of slavery, racism, discrimination, and the Underground Railway in Canada. These objectives will be achieved through an eight-chapter text with a biography section, teacher's guide, and visual and textual primary resources in digitized form.

The Law Project: Impact of Indian Residential Schools

BC Social Studies Teachers' Association

An interactive website module for use by students in grades 8-12 and their teachers. The module is part of a larger comprehensive website that deals with human rights, social justice and legal issues, and will include interactive timelines, a media deconstructor and document explorer, and an integrated online movie-making system. Students will be able to create themed films from the content available from the site. The website will raise the awareness and understanding of Indian residential schools among students as a means of exploring issues of civics, law, and human rights.


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Rencontres et découvertes autochtones

Corporation Wapikoni Mobile

Innovative, multimedia educational and teaching material to promote a better understanding of First Nations and the Aboriginal residential school problem in Canada. This material is intended primarily for educators and youth. Short films from the Wapikoni collection will be used to develop the material, which will cover related themes (residential schools, Aboriginal discoveries, youth, etc.). To facilitate access to this material, an "Education" tab will be created on the organization's existing site.

Website: http://www.wapikoni.com

Residential Schools

First Voice Multimedia

A documentary describing the history and development of residential schools and their impact on individuals, communities and the larger population, that will address a gap of current multimedia teaching tools on aboriginal residential schools in Canada. The project will detail how people dealt with, and in many instances, overcame the challenges that residential schools students faced. The objective of the project will be to raise awareness among Canadians of the residential school experience.

Democracy in Canada: Representative Government in the Canadian Context

The Civics Channel Inc.

A central web-based portal for learning and celebrating the 250th anniversary of representative government in Canada. The portal will bring together research, lesson plans and exercises to help the audience better understand representative government in Canada. The project will also include a teacher's guide.

Website: http://www.civicschannel.org

Completed projects:

Citizen Factory

Apathy is Boring

An interactive website with a focus on educating Canadian youth and educators about the legislative process and democracy. It will aggregate House of Commons and Parliamentary Committee proceedings and make them available to Canadian youth in an accessible and youth friendly format. The website will also offer a teacher's guide with lesson plans and curriculum links.

Website: www.apathyisboring.com

The Civic Mirror Learning Resource Development Project

Action-ED Learning Resources Inc.

The project is an innovative citizenship education program delivered via an online, game-based education package focussed on building a solid understanding of how Canadian government works. Through first-person roleplay, website users gain a better understanding of competing interests at play in Canada's parliamentary democracy and the interplay between the civil and legal institutions that regulate these interests.

Website: http://www.action-ed.com/civicmirror.php


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Canadian Studies Learning Materials:
Focus on Citizenship, Multiculturalism and Diversity

1454119 Ontario Ltd. (TEACH Magazine)

Four lesson plans related to the themes of citizenship, multiculturalism and diversity. Each lesson plan is linked to the national curriculum. The lesson plans use the Inquiry model of learning, through which students are encouraged to actively participate in the acquisition of knowledge. The learning materials were published in Teach Magazine and supported on the magazine's website.

Website: http://www.teachmag.com/canadianstudies/index.htm

Canadian Studies Learning Materials:
Focus on Citizenship, Multiculturalism, Aboriginal Peoples and Diversity

1454119 Ontario Ltd. (TEACH Magazine)

Four lesson plans and a teacher's guide exploring: the history of Aboriginal Peoples from pre-historic times to the present; the study of the cultures of Aboriginal Peoples; the history of immigration to Canada and the cultural impact of immigrants on Canadian identity; as well as a personal examination of immigrant history in Canada and one's place in the Canadian mosaic. The learning materials were published in Teach Magazine and supported on the magazine's website.

Website: http://www.teachmag.com/canadianstudies/index.htm

La Salle and the Rise of New France

Canchron Books

"La Salle and New France" is the fourth book in a series of six. The previous titles were "The Vikings", "Cabot and Cartier", and "Samuel de Champlain". This book includes the explorations of Marquette and Joliet, and Radisson and Des Groseilliers. There are sections dedicated to profiles of the founders of Quebec, such as de Maisonneuve and Talon and also a chapter dealing with Acadia. This book also contains chapters dedicated to describing the life and customs of the First Nations people that the explorers encountered.

Tools for Historical Understanding

The Critical Thinking Consortium

Three print resources to assist students in learning to think historically. The focus of these resources is to develop the ability to think critically about historical events and to interpret historical documents. The three teacher professional resources themes are Teaching About Historical Thinking; Teaching With Primary Documents; and Early Contact on the West Coast.

Website: http://www.tc2.ca

A World in Music

Dr. Nora Vince and Dr. Norma Vascotto

Three curriculum modules, with an accompanying teacher's guide, for teaching Inuit, Japanese and West African music cultures. The modules educate students about different ways of looking at the world, expressing artistic ideas in music and dance, and exploring the variety of music expressions used by people.


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The Native Leaders of Canada Project

New Federation House

A book of original essays on Canadian Aboriginal leaders that provides a rare insight into the lives and motivations of the country's Native leaders, from confederation to present. The Internet element of the project provides a comprehensive on-line educational resource for students and the general public, and a teachers' guide including lesson plans adapted to provincial curricula.

Website: http://www.newfederation.org

Understanding Canadian Diversity and Multiculturalism Edukit

Heritage Community Foundation

An on-line learning resource that contains a Teacher's Zone, with lesson plans, teacher resources and student worksheets; and a Student Zone, with glossary, knowledge section, picture gallery, and a puzzles and games section. The Edukit features the following topic areas: immigration history, rights and responsibilities, diversity and multiculturalism, and human rights.

Website: http://www.edukits.ca/multiculturalism/index.html

Angulalik Kitikmeot Fur Trader

The Kitikmeot Heritage Society

A website to complement the Angulalik: Kitikmeot Fur Trader website. The new content is available online in three languages: English, French and Inuinnaqtun. The site is an educational resource about the fur trade and Inuit culture.

Website: http://www.kitikmeotheritage.ca/Angulalk/angulik.htm

The Hockey Sweater / Le chandail de hockey

Les Éditions 3D

Two interactive CD-ROMs, based on the National Film Board of Canada's animated film Le Chandail / The Sweater, provides tools to practice English as a second language and French as a second language for immersion or second language classes. In addition to the film, the CD-ROMs have two main components: a) guided listening, reading and writing; and b) interactive lessons.

Website: www.editions3d.ca/hockey

Historical Atlas of Canada Online Learning Project (HACOLP)

The Governing Council of the University of Toronto

Based on the 1995 initiative to utilize the data of the print Atlas in new and innovative ways, the HACOLP project developed new content (interactive maps and learning activities) for the Historical Atlas Online Learning project.

Website: www.historicalatlas.ca


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Paths of Glory: Across the Country in Ten Heroes

Anthony Sherwood Productions Inc.

A teachers' resource manual based on the documentary film "Paths of Glory". The film highlights the lives of ten famous African-Canadian heroes. The "Paths of Glory" resource manual contains integrated curriculum materials that highlight the opportunities for using the video as a teaching tool in the classroom in subjects such as history, social studies and language arts.

SILA: An Educational Website About Inuit Culture

Igloolik Isuma Productions Inc.

A trilingual (English/French/Inuktitut) e-learning website about the Arctic environment, Inuit culture and language. An Inuktitut module features interactive language tools (audiovisual dictionary and pronunciation guide) to facilitate Inuktitut as a second language instruction in non-Nunavut settings, as well as downloadable material. Modules on the Arctic food guide, throat singing, traditional clothing, shamanism and Christian spirituality, beliefs behind hunting, and the environment are designed to meet students' interests and social studies curriculum guides nationally.

Website: http://www.sila.nu

SILA: A Teacher's Guide to Using SILA & the Inuit Culture Kit

Igloolik Isuma Productions Inc.

A trilingual (English/French/Inuktitut) teacher's guide to support the SILA educational website. The teacher's guide includes lesson plans, learning activities, information on the project's pedagogical approach, and suggestions for evaluation strategies. It is published in book format and distributed with the Inuit Culture Kit (books and videos). A PDF version is also available for downloading on the SILA educational website providing audio-visual and interactive educational materials.

Website: http://www.sila.nu

The Story of Canada's First Nations: Four Multimedia Units

Goldi Productions

Four English-language units titled: Canada's First Nations before the Europeans Arrived; The Period of Cooperation: Fur Trade and Military Alliances; The Métis and The Rebellions; and The Treaties: The End of a Way of Life. Each unit includes a video portion, a website portion and a teacher's guide to provide young Canadians with a greater understanding of First Nations history up to the 20th century.

Website: http://www.goldiproductions.com

LaFontaine-Baldwin Educational Forum

The Dominion Institute

Online bilingual teaching tools to aid teachers to use the LaFontaine-Baldwin Lectures in the classroom; digitized French and English video and audio clips to supplement classroom lectures; and forums for student Web chats to complement the Lecture Series. This bilingual educational project has a pan-Canada focus and provides educators with the tools needed to directly engage high-school students in a dialogue on democracy.

Sur les traces de Samuel de Champlain

Via Musique

A CD of instrumental and lyrical music and a bilingual learning guide whose purpose is to allow young people to discover their country's history and heritage through music.

Website: http://www.viamusique.ca (French only)

The Little Black School House Project

Maroon Films Inc.

A documentary on the history of colour-segregated schools in Canada (Ontario, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick) and their role in the education of Black and African Canadians.

ELODIL: Élaboration de matériel didactique nouveaux médias

"Immigration and Metropolis" Research Centre
University of Montreal

The purpose of the ELODIL (Éveil au langage et ouverture à la diversité linguistique) project was to foster intercultural understanding, the elimination of discrimination and the promotion of an inclusive society through the study of diversity. This diversity is studied through French-language activities and modules based on the Language Awareness Initiative. The project is a Canadian adaptation of European anti-discrimination programs through language awareness.

Website: http://www.elodil.com (French only)

Olive Dickason's First Nations - The Series

Villagers Media Productions Inc.

A five-part one-hour video series that looks at Canadian history from the Aboriginal perspective. Through dramatic re-enactments and extensive research, it takes a detailed look at history through the eyes of Canada's world-renowned Aboriginal history authority, Dr. Olive Dickason, whose research and books throughout the 1980s and 1990s were a major breakthrough in Canadian Aboriginal history.

Website: http://www.elodil.com (French only)

Seven Pillars of Freedom

Nexus Media Inc.

A children's TV series and website based on the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The material is presented as an adventure series in eight half-hour episodes, each program identifying one of the seven basic freedoms, and an introductory episode. Material provides distinct Canadian content to ensure that students understand Canadian concepts of democratic and legal freedoms, language rights, equality rights and Aboriginal rights.

Website: http://www.nexusmedia.ca

Being Innu

Green Lion Productions Inc.

A documentary on the people and history of the Labrador Innu, exploring the changes in their society over the past fifty years, the effect of these changes on the youth of Labrador Innu communities, and the community's response to these problems. Six Innu youth talk to Montreal filmmaker Catherine Mullins about addiction, suicide, lack of jobs and hopelessness. Interviews with Elders, grandparents and teachers round out this portrait of a community in crisis.

Website: http://beinginnu.mcnabbconnolly.ca/index.htm

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