STUDY CANADA Summer Institute presentation by Tina Storer (WWU)

1. Best Practices and Resources
For Teaching About Canada
Tina Storer, Education & Curriculum Specialist
Center for Canadian-American Studies
Western Washington University
STUDY CANADA Summer Institute for K-12 Educators
A Capital View of Canada: Nations within a Nation
Ottawa, ON – July 6, 2012

2. The Best Practice is to Teach Canada
1. It is important to teach Canada
 Shared geography and borders
 Strong historical connections
 Shared cultural roots and multicultural population
 Stewardship of N. America (environment / energy / defense)
 Canada and the USA represent the world’s largest trade relationship
 Multi-layered political relationship and impacts
 Global competency and citizenship
 Best comparative lens regarding all core social studies topics
2. Canada sometimes falls in an curriculum “gap” that educators
aren’t aware of.

3. The Best Practice is to Teach Canada
Key Question: So why aren’t there more resources for teaching Canada?
 Canada only appears intermittently in social studies standards and, sometimes, is not
addressed at all in K-12 classrooms.*
 Standards (esp. California and Texas) drive the textbook industry and,
without standards that specifically mention Canada, Canada is often
minimized and/or left out of textbooks even in key areas like economics.
 NCSS continues to support increased inclusion of Canada in curricula.
* To learn more, see SUNY Plattsburgh Study: The Country Left Behind by Dr. Joseph-André Senécal, Professor
Emeritus, University of Vermont, on homepage of www.k12studycanada.org.

4. Resources for Teaching Canada
Overview:
 National Resource Centers
 Government Publications
 Teacher Loan-Kits and Media Libraries
 Recommended Print Publications
 Recommended Multimedia Materials (Videos, CD-ROMs, CDs)
 Recommended Internet Websites

5. The US DOE Title VI Program
The launching of Sputnik I in 1957 led to the federal government’s most significant
participation in modern foreign language and area studies research and training in
history—The National Defense Education Act (NDEA) of 1958.
The federal Office of Education began administering the National Resource
Centers (NRC) Program under Title VI of the NDEA, and the U.S.D.O.E. continues
to administer it under the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended.
The centers supported under the NRC Program conduct a broad range of activities
that include instruction, outreach, scholarly research, maintenance of library
resources, and teacher training. Collectively, these activities represent a
programmatic effort that focuses on particular regions of the world and the relevant
issues connected to those regions; and, they constitute a national capacity in
modern foreign languages and area and international studies.
From: http://www2.ed.gov/programs/iegpsnrc/index.html

6. National Resource Centers on Canada
U.S. Department of Education Title VI Grants
support two National Resource Centers on Canada in the US:
1) Pacific Northwest NRC (U Washington and WWU)
2) Northeast NRC (U Maine and SUNY Plattsburgh)
Additional outreach and program grant support is awarded annually by the Embassy of Canada
(Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, Education Section).

7. Both NRCs on Canada offer:
Classroom Resources
Print Publications
Teachable Online Information
Online Curricula
Multimedia Classroom Tools
Instruction for Professional Development
National Resource Centers on Canada

8. ...and partner with many organizations to serve K-12 educators:
 Embassy & Consulates of Canada in the US
 Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies, UW
 Individual Teachers/Teacher-Librarians
 K-12 STUDY CANADA Teacher-Associates
 National Education Groups (eg: NCSS, NCHE, NCGE)
 State Councils of the above groups
 State and District-Level Social Studies Curriculum Directors/Coordinators
 Educational Collaboratives and Individual Schools
 Québec Government Offices in the US (and in Canada)
 State Government Offices (and Provincial Government Offices in Canada)
 US and State Departments of Education
 Canada-America Society (Seattle, WA)
 International Studies Schools Association
National Resource Centers on Canada

9. Pacific Northwest NRC on Canada
Western Washington University
Center for Canadian-American Studies
University of Washington
Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies
Canadian Studies Center
Website: www.k12studycanada.org
Contacts: tina.storer@wwu.edu (Tina Storer)
nfabbi@uw.edu (Nadine Fabbi)

10.  Learning portal website at www.k12studycanada.org
 Canada Northern Neighbor (2nd
Edition)
 O Canada! Newspapers in Education Supplement
 e-Resource Notices (Sept.-June)
 Loan-Kits (Beginning Fall 2011, this outreach may be unavailable)
Student Novel Collection (1) Resource Valise (2)
K-12 STUDY CANADA Resources

11. Eastern NRC on Canada
University of Maine
Canadian Studies Center
State University of New York College at Plattsburgh
Center for the Study of Canada and Institute on Québec Studies
Websites: www.umaine.edu/canam
http://canada-acsus.plattsburgh.edu/cesca.htm
Contacts: barntzen@umit.maine.edu (Betsy Arntzen)
sotheral@plattsburgh.edu (Amy Sotherden)

12. Eastern NRC Resources
 “Canada Valise” Loan-Kit
 O Canada textbook
 Teaching Canada Annual Magazine
 Understanding Canada: A Primer for Americans
 Champlain and the Meeting of Two Worlds
 Maps for Teaching Canada, Champlain

13. Bilingual (English and French) publications and Internet sites
Primary Gateway: www.gc.ca
Government of Canada Resources

14.  ACSUS (Association for Canadian Studies in the US)
Website: www.acsus.org
 Canadian Embassy & Consulates
Websites: www.canadianembassy.org
www.canadainternational.gc.ca/can-am/offices-bureaux/index.aspx
 ICCS (International Council for Canadian Studies)
Website: www.iccs-ciec.ca
 Canadian Educators and Education Resources (Dr JL Bencze - UT/OISE)
Website: http://webspace.oise.utoronto.ca/~benczela/Educational_Resources.html
Other National Organizations

15. K-12 STUDY CANADA Loan-Kits at WWU:
 K-12 STUDY CANADA Resource Valise (2)
(9 multimedia resource-based units for teaching)
 K-12 STUDY CANADA Student Novel Collection (1)
(36 regional novels for young adults - Grades 4-9)
Loan-Kit at University of Maine:
 The Canada Valise
(Teacher-Developed Curriculum & Artifacts)
Loan-Kits and Media Libraries

16. Loan-Kits and Media Libraries
Notable Film Libraries and Resources:
 University of Washington
Website: http://pokey.css.washington.edu/css/emc/titles.php?topicid=33
 SUNY-Plattsburgh
Website: http://canadaacsus.plattsburgh.edu/video.htm
 National Film Board of Canada
Website: www.nfb.ca/e
 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Website: http://cbc.ca

17. Recommended Print Publications

18. Recommended Print Publications

19. Recommended Print Publications

20. Recommended Print Publications (K-3)

21. Recommended Print Publications (K-6)

22. Recommended Print Publications (4-8)

23. Recommended Print Publications (4-8)

24. Recommended Print Publications (5-10)

25. Recommended Print Publications (K-8)

26. Recommended Print Publications (4-10)

27. Atlases & Classroom Maps of Canada

28. Fun Picture Books

29. Picture books that teach about
people and history…

30. …about Canada’s Aboriginal Peoples

31. … about the Arctic

32. Students are never too young to read
literature by Canadian authors…

33. Historical fiction engages students and
teaches about interesting time periods…

34. Youth fiction creates a sense of place…

35. …for students of all reading levels.

36.  Pacific Edge Publishing
www.classroomresources.com
 Chapters Bookstore
www.chapters.ca
 Kidsbooks Vancouver
www.kidsbooks.ca
 Powell’s Books (Victoria)
www.powells.com
 JK Publications
www.cardseh.ca
Publishing & Purchasing Sources

37. Canada via the Internet: Top 10 Websites
1 Government of Canada http://canada.gc.ca
Click "About Canada", "About Government" or "Provinces/Territories“…so much to learn that you may
never visit another site!
2 Statistics Canada www.statcan.gc.ca
Explore many lesson plans and data for K-12 and post-secondary students and educators.
3 PBS' Online Extra Teacher Resources www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/teachers
Type "Canada" and discover 4521 matches! 3084 just for Québec.
4 Great Unsolved Mysteries in Canadian History http://canadianmysteries.ca/en/index.php
Students will be drawn into Canadian history and archival research through the enticement of solving
real "cold crimes"! Sound pedagogy behind material and teacher resources.
5 U Alberta Canadian Studies WebCentre www.canadianstudies.ca
Middle/H.S. students can easily navigate the many useful graphics and information bites.

38. Top 10 Websites (Cont’d.)
6 Canada Eh? http://www3.sympatico.ca/taniah/Canada
A personal page that offers downloadable Canada graphics useful for the classroom
as well as a variety of information for students about Canada.
7 Historica Dominion Institute Professional Development Page
www.histori.ca/prodev/default.do?page=.lp_index
Middle/HS-level lesson plans covering different periods and events in Canadian history.
8 Parks Canada www.pc.gc.ca
9 Unofficial Canadiana
www2.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs.cmu.edu/user/clamen/misc/Canadiana/Travelogue.html
10 The Canadian Social Studies Super Site www.ualberta.ca/~jkirman
Carefully screened connections to quality websites about Canada are offered that also give a glimpse
into how Canadians teach about themselves.

39.  Kids Canada www.infocan.gc.ca/kclinks_e.html
 Indian & Northern Affairs www.inac.gc.ca/index_e.html
 “How Canadians Govern Themselves” teaching material
www.parl.gc.ca/information/about/process/library/forsey/how-e.htm
 Canadian Info by Subject - National Library of Canada
www.nlc-bnc.ca/caninfo/ecaninfo.htm
 Canadian Heritage Information Network www.chin.gc.ca
Key “GC” Gateways to Learning

40. War of 1812 and Other Special / New
Resources
• 2012 marks the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812. Many exciting
new resources have been developed to commemorate the war. Visit
our site to access them all easily:
http://www.k12studycanada.org/links_resource_links.html#History
• The NRCs on Canada, NCSS, and Canadian provincial SSTAs have
also supported development of an interactive digital iBook suitable for
Grade 7-12 classrooms called 1812: Who Won the War? It’s the
first in a series to be produced by Epoch Multimedia Inc.
• The WWU Center for Canadian-American Studies, in partnership with
faculty from Utoronto and UMoncton, has applied for an “Our Shared
Past” grant to produce a suite of Grade 7-12 curricula and resources
for teaching about The Acadian Experience in North America
in classrooms on both sides of the border.

41. … Now it’s time to share the fun of exploring more materials at the
Resource Fair, develop curricula based on your learning and to
teach about Canada and Canada-US relations to your students!
This end is really your beginning…

43. A PowerPoint walk-through of…
The K-12 STUDY CANADA Resource
Valise

44. 9 Units of Study
• Artifacts
• Teacher Resources
• Internet Lists
• Multimedia Resources
• 8 CD-ROMs
• 8 Music CDs
• 7 Videos/DVDs

45. Multimedia Resources
 Canadian Geographic Explorer
 Canada: Confederation to Present
 Cross Country Canada
 Totem Poles
 Adventure Canada
 Land of the Inuit
 Nunavut Territory
 Canadian Treasures
8 CD-ROMS

46. Multimedia Resources
8 Music CDs
 Sing a Song of Canada + Songbook (Kim Soleski-Ward)
 Stompin’ Tom Sings Canada’s History (Stompin’ Tom Connors)
 Canada is for Kids – Vol. 1 & 2 (Michael Mitchell)
 Un Pays Qui Se Chante (Various Québec Artists)
 For the Times (Schooner Fare)
 This Child (Susan Aglukark)
 Gord’s Gold (Gordon Lightfoot)
 Sing a Song of Canada: A Musical Journey
Across Canada (Kim Soleski-Ward CD & Songbook)

47. Multimedia
Resources
7 Videotapes/DVDs
 The Canadian History Series (1939-2000)
 Postcards from Canada
 Paddle to the Sea
 The Group of Seven
 The Sweater
 CBC Life & Times: L.M. Montgomery
 Breaking the Ice: The Story of Mary Ann Shadd

48. Unit 1: O Canada!
 Artifacts:
 Set of Provincial & Canada Flags
 Deck of “Cards Eh!”
 Fold-Out & Laminated 3-D Maps
 12 Laminated Placemats
 Canada-at-Glance Binder Insert
 Teaching Resources:
 Canada Northern Neighbor
 The Spirit of Canada
 Canada’s Maple Leaf: The Story of
Our Flag
 The Kids Book of Canada
 Sing a Song of Canada
 O Canada! NIE Supplement
 Internet List: 20 websites

49. Unit 2: BC – Totems & Emily Carr
 Artifacts:
 Totem Pole
 Teaching Resources:
 Emily Carr:
An Introduction to her Life and Art
 The Art Room
 Bentwood Box; Button Blanket; Cedar
Plank Mask; Spindle Whorl
 BC: Land and People
 Internet List: 12 websites

50. Unit 3: Images of Ontario – From City to
Shield
 Artifacts:
 CN Tower Model & Brochure
 Art Pin (A.J. Casson’s “White Pine”)
 Teaching Resources:
 Looking at Landscape
Resource Package
 Images of Nature: Canadian Poets and
the Group of Seven
 Meet the Group of Seven
 Internet List: 12 websites

51.  Artifacts:
 Montreal Canadians “Away” Hockey
Jersey
 Teaching Resources:
 Québec: Land and People
 The Sweater (book)
 The Rise and Fall:
1700-1775 New France
 Internet List: 12 websites
Unit 4: Québec – les Habitants & “the
Habs!”

52. Unit 5: The Maritimes & the Land of
Anne
 Artifacts:
 P.E.I. License Plate w/ Anne
 Teaching Resources:
 Lucy Maud Montgomery: A Writer’s Life
 Duncan’s Way
 Internet List: 14 websites

53. Unit 6: Canada’s North & the
Inuit
 Artifacts:
 Inuksuk Kit
 Teaching Resources:
 Artists in the Arctic Resource
Package
 The Kids Book of the Far North
 The Inuksuk Book
 Arctic Stories
 Internet List: 12 websites

54. Unit 7: Canadian Dreams – The
Railroad,
RCMP & Yukon
Gold
 Artifacts:
 CN Model Railway Car or RCMP
Postcards/Poster
 Teaching Resources:
 The Cremation of Sam McGee
 The Kids Book of Canada’s Railway
 Boldly Canadian: RCMP
 The Mounties For Kids Activity Book
 Life in the Old West Series:
The Railroad and The Gold Rush
 Internet List: 12 websites

55.  Artifacts:
 Child’s Game
 Teaching Resources:
 Contemporary Art By First
Nations Artists Resource
Package
 Canada History: Prehistoric
Canada (Ancient Canada–
Aboriginal People)
 Paddle to the Sea
 From Time Immemorial
 Maple Moon
 Internet List: 12 websites
Unit 8: Canada’s First Nations

56. Unit 9: Black Canadians & the
Underground
Railroad
 Artifacts:
 2 Posters
 Teaching Resources:
 In Our Time: An Introductory
Learning Guide
 The Spirit of Africville
 The Story of Mary Ann Shadd
 The Kids Book of Black Canadian
History
 Internet List: 11 websites

57. A PowerPoint walk-through of…
The K-12 STUDY CANADA Student Novel
Collection

58. Unit 1: O Canada!
• Tunnels of Time (M. Harelkin Bishop) Saskatchewan
• Rebellion (J. Scanlon) Manitoba
• Who Has Seen the Wind? (W.O. Mitchell) Saskatchewan
• Jake and the Kid (W.O. Mitchell) Saskatchewan
• Ticket to Curlew (C.B. Lottridge) Alberta

59. Unit 2: BC: Totems and Emily Carr
• Will’s Garden (L. Maracle) also suitable for use with Unit 8
• The West Coast Murders (R. MacGregor)
• Raven’s Flight (D. Silvey)
• Lambs of Hell’s Gate (M.L. Bright)
• Cariboo Runaway (D. Davis)

60. Unit 3: Images of Ontario —
From City to
Shield
• The Lost Sketch (Adventure.Net Series – A. and D. Spalding)
• A Bushel of Light (T. Harrison)
• The Ghost of the Stanley Cup (R. MacGregor)
• Horror on River Road (R. MacGregor)

61.
Unit 4: Québec: les Habitants & “the
Habs!”
• Terra Incognita (A. Metikosh)
• The Hollow Tree (J. Lunn)
• The Quebec City Crisis (R. MacGregor)
• The King’s Daughter (S. Martel)

62. Unit 5: The Maritimes & the Land of
Anne
• The Girl on Evangeline Beach (A. Carter)
• Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
• Anne of Avonlea (L.M. Montgomery)
• Anne of the Island (L.M. Montgomery)
• Lucy Maud and Me (M.F. Coady)

63. Unit 6: Canada’s North and the Inuit
• Napachee (R. Feagan)
• The Screech Owls’ Northern Adventure (R. MacGregor)
• Lost in the Barrens (F. Mowat)
• Call of the Wild (J. London) Not a Canadian author

64. Unit 7: Canadian Dreams: The Railroad,
RCMP & Yukon Gold
• Jason’s Gold (W. Hobbs) Not a Canadian author
• Ambush in the Foothills (B. Freeman)
• Gold Fever Trail (Monica Hughes)
• Steel Across the Shield (P. Berton)

65. Unit 8: Canada’s First Nations
• Maybe Tomorrow (J. Weir)
• My Name is Sepeetza (S. Sterling)
• Will’s Garden (L. Maracle)

66. Unit 9: Black Canadians and the
Underground
Railroad
• Underground to Canada (B. Smucker)
• If I Just Had Two Wings (V.F. Schwartz)
• The Last Safe House (B. Greenwood)