What's going on in Social Studies
This year in Social Studies we've got some brand new curriculum that's hot off the presses from the Department of Education. The content is brand new, engaging and focused on inquiry driven learning. This new content removes a lot of the previous stuff which caused us to ask "why are we learning this" and puts in place more relevant, connected and relatable content.
Canadian Government: What is it and Who is it
Politics in Canada can be a kind of confusing thing. There’s multiple levels of government and multiple political parties in place. Throughout this past unit, you learned about three of the major levels of government that exist within Canada. Now, you need a chance to learn about the various political parties and platforms which are present as well.
You are going to be working in a group (check classroom stream for groups) to create a google slides presentation which highlights your political party and the various areas and aspects that they represent or stand for. With the election happening this year, it's the perfect time to learn about it! You can use this website to help you along your way. You are encouraged to use other sources as well. |
Coming Soon:
Equity in Nova Scotia: Black Nova Scotians
Equity in Canada and Nova Scotia is something which kind of has flown under the radar for many years. It isn't until recent times that people have looked back and paused for a second to reflect upon what we as a nation had done to groups of people within the nation of Canada.
When we paused to reflect, shocking and disturbing things came to light. One of which is the treatment of black Nova Scotians in the very early years of Nova Scotia. In particular, the Black Loyalists. We're going to be taking a look at this and seeing how exactly the Nova Scotia government responded. We are also going to look at the impacts and significance of what was done. Afterwards, we're going to be starting the Famous Black Canadian project. More details on this will follow on google classroom. |
The Secret PathThe Secret Path deals with one of the greatest atrocities ever committed within Canada. Throughout the time which residential schools were open, there were 150,000 children who attended with over 6000 of them dying. The last residential school closed in 1996.
Gord Downie, the famous singer of The Tragically Hip, teamed up with a variety of people to create an album and graphic novel called The Secret Path. It tells the story of a 12 year old boy who escaped from the residential schools and tried to make it home. CBC did a special presentation of The Secret Path in an animated vignette where they took the graphic novel and animated it for everyone to see. The animated part runs for about the first 45 minutes of this video. |
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We Are All Treaty People
We have all heard the term "treaty" thrown about in the news or in conversation for many years. Some of us really know and understand exactly what they are and how they work. Others, are not so certain. There is one thing that is certain; Canada as a country was only made possible by the creation of several treaties.
Throughout this unit we will look at the importance and role that treaties played in the creation of Canada and Nova Scotia. We will look at how they formed, why they were important in the past and why they are more important today than ever before. |
Inquiry Project: Problems in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia really is a beautiful place to live. The weather is never too hot but never too cold. The parks and natural sights are breathtaking and a beach is just a short drive away. However, we are by no means perfect. Our province has plenty of issues and problems which do affect the people every single day.
Often times these problems which affect us are closely related to politics and have a strong connection to political elections and ambitions. What problem is the most important tends to hinge on the person. That's where you come in. Your job is to figure out what problem matters the most to you and do a deep dive on how it connects to politics. In the end, you are going to challenge yourself to come up with a solution to your problem. This is no small task. It's going to be a challenge but I know you can do it. Further details about all of this can be found in Google classroom. |
Canada: The Story of Us
Canada as a nation has a sort of complex history. It's one that we're going to be diving into over the course of the year. Throughout the year, we will be periodically analyzing the documentary series known as "The Story of Us". The first installment of this series can be found to the left.
While watching this, please consider the following three questions: 1. What happened in the video? 2. Who were the major people involved? 3. How did this event change or improve our country? |