Education has shifted from the classroom to online learning for the indefinite future due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As Canadian teachers, students, and parents adjust to social distancing, it is crucial to find effective and creative ways to continue learning at home.
By facilitating free resources for virtual education, Historica Canada is committed to supporting families and educators in need of assistance, as well as life-long learners who want to expand their knowledge of Canadian history, geography, and citizenship.
Millennials will be familiar with Historica Canada’s Heritage Minutes, educational shorts highlighting important moments in Canadian history that have aired on television networks since the 1990s.
In addition to their Heritage Minutes, Historica Canada continues to share knowledge about Canadian history through their expansive library of online learning resources. Historica Canada’s free and bilingual offerings can be found on The Canadian Encyclopedia, Canada’s government-funded, fact-checked reference work on everything related to Canadian history and culture.
With well over 20,000 articles in their knowledge database, the digital encyclopedia shares the stories that weren’t told in history textbooks growing up. Influential Canadian figures and communities featured include:
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The Cree code talkers and their vital role in military intelligence in World War II
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John Ware, one of the best cowboys in the West
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Vancouver-based Japanese-Canadian author Joy Kogawa
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Canada’s first high-profile female crime boss Bessie Starkman
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Harriet Brooks, the first Canadian female nuclear physicist
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The Alberta community of Amber Valley, settled by Black settlers in the time of Jim Crow laws
Through The Canadian Encyclopedia, teachers and parents have unlimited access to social studies curriculum resources for digital lesson planning, such as education guides with discussion questions and interactive activities for students.
Other free e-learning resources provided by Historica Canada include:
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Podcast episodes - notably the Residential Schools Podcast Series and the Record of Service Podcast
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Quizzes to test your knowledge of Canada-related topics, from Canadian symbols to Women in Canadian History
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Over 150 educational videos - topics covered include the Operation Soap police raids that targeted Toronto’s queer community in the 1980s and political activist Mary Two-Axe Earley’s role in challenging discrimination against Indigeneous women
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Timelines of significant events in Canadian history
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Collections covering subjects of Canadian interest
For a more personal history experience, Historica Canada’s The Memory Project initiative, a volunteer speakers bureau that arranges for veterans and Canadian Forces members to share their stories at schools across the country, is available via video call. Educators and homeschoolers can book a speaker to discuss their military service with students.
To commemorate this unprecedented time in modern history for future generations, Historica Canada has launched Canada During COVID-19 – a living archive of the Canadian experience during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Built by Canadians living through this historical moment right now, people are invited to add to this grassroots project by tagging @CanadaDuringCOVID on Instagram (and @HistoricaCanada on other social media platforms) and hashtagging #CanadaDuringCOVID. All forms of submissions are welcome, whether by video, GIFs, photographs, poetry, music, painting, art, or a written snippet of the day.
Rest assured, Historica Canada can be trusted to supplement in-person history lessons with accurate and engaging learning materials at home until school is back in session again.
Visit The Canadian Encyclopedia to see the full offering of free e-learning resources.
