Far too often Canadian history is presented in a dry, boring way. It’s about facts and dates – and not given a lot of fun or action at all. Yes, in the big picture of world history, Canadian history is pretty small and pretty quiet. We don’t have any major rebellions or knights or ancient hieroglyphics or emperors or raids on other countries. I admit, growing up – I hated it. I would rather study ANY other period of history. Canadian history is boring.
But I’ve discovered something…..
When you zoom in REALLY close to moments of Canadian history, you learn that there’s a lot of action. There are people, and stories, and events that you just don’t see so much from the overhead picture. Getting to the ground level and seeing history as it happens changes the viewpoint and, you know what? I’ve discovered it’s pretty interesting after all!
Because there is this overwhelming sense of boredom about our history, it can be hard to make it fun to present to our children. The way history is presented to us is key to enjoying what we are learning, so let’s make it fun and interactive.
Introducing My Canadian Time Capsule – a hands-on, choose-your-own-adventure style unit study where you can dig into specific moments of Canadian history and experience it. There are 12 units in total:
- Vikings in Canada
- Life in New France
- The Plains of Abraham
- Les Voyageurs
- The War of 1812
- The Underground Railroad
- The Canadian Pacific Railway
- The Klondike Gold Rush
- Frank Slide
- Women’s Suffrage
- The Halifax Explosion
- The Great Depression
Each study is filled with all kinds of different ways to discover more about that moment in history. Since kids all learning through different methods, I’ve tried really hard to include a variety of activities, including videos, writing, reading, hands-on, research, art, building projects, and more.
For example, one unit is all about the Klondike Gold Rush. What better way to get excited about our history than to experience the thrill of searching for gold?!
In this unit, students learn about the gold rush by finding out how much it would cost to buy the required outift (ie supplies for an entire year), writing postcards home from their travels, panning for gold, making a diorama, and playing a game – along with the typical video, mapping, and webquest that almost all the units have. Plus, a collection of primary resources to examine.
If you are only focusing on one thing in Canadian history this year, you can buy the units individually instead of all together.
You can take as long as you would like with each topic. There is no set schedule or lesson sequence to follow. It’s about choosing your adventure and enjoying the experience.
The goal is to get kids curious and enjoying learning about history – to dispel the belief that Canadian history is boring. It’s time to change that.
Want to find out more? Visit My Canadian Time Capsule.
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What age would you say the Canadian History Time CApsule would be appropriate for? My girls are almost 6 and 8. Thanks!
Oo – this post needs to be updated. Thanks for reminding me. 🙂
I originally created it to be for grades 5+
I’ve seen other people use it slightly younger, but I’m not sure if 6 might be too young.