Social Studies
General Resources
Ministry of Education
To understand the “why” behind the Socials curriculum, please read the links. Provides an overview of all the Big Ideas from grade to grade and the key habits of mind.
Pearson Inquiring Minds
Nelson Social Studies
K-2 district kits are available for Nelson Social Studies.
Locally Developed Guides (District)
Focused Ed Resources
World Book Encyclopedia
World Book - encyclopedia with articles and video resources for primary (Early World of Learning - K-2), articles for emerging readers (WB Kids Gr 3-6) and students (Gr 6+)
KnowBC
Know BC is a digital encyclopedia of British Columbia.
Gale
Research projects, particularly for Social Studies and Science inquiry and current events. National Geographic Kids (K-7) has accessible books, magazines and videos for students to explore (K-7 animals & nature focus.
Current Events
CBC Kids
CBC kids provides Canadian content videos, news and articles for kids.
Newslea
Newslea has a variety of current events for listening access, with comprehension questions.
Learn360
Searchable video material & teacher resources with filters for grade levels and subjects. Includes interactive student lesson sites and printables for many areas.
National Film Board
National Film board has Canadian content audio-visual on a wide range of topics.
Local Content & History
Footprints in Stone
Detailed information about local First Nations history, culture and survival in English, Dakelh or French languages.
Quesnel Museum
Quesnel Museum - local history of Quesnel and surroundings (Cariboo).
Cariboo Gold Rush
History: Cariboo Wagon Road and Gold Rush
Indigenous Resources
Seasonal Rounds
Socials and Science integrated unit plans.
NFB Indigenous Resources
Indigenous films on Truth & Reconciliation by National Film Board (available in French too).
Focused Ed Canoe Kids
Canoe Kids: Indigenous content as flip magazines or downloadable pdf with read-aloud editions in English and indigenous languages. For Carrier (Dakelh) stories and magazines, look for “The Eagle Feather Story”
REEL Canada videos
Videos and lesson plans relating to indigenous films.
Residential Schools
Blanket Project
Kairos blanket project for educators or students.
Gord Downie Secret Path
Songs and teaching resources by Gord Downie. Secret Path Educator resource: http://learningbird.public-files.s3-website-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wenjack-2019/
First Peoples Map of BC
Map illustrating traditional territories of British Columbia.
Metis
Virtual Museum of Metis History & Culture
Grandfather 7 sacred teachings
Set of teachings on human conduct towards others for community survival.
Truth & Reconciliation
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Reconciliation Education - online courses and films to support Truth & Reconciliation
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Land Title Resource Guide
This Resource Guide is intended to provide support for teachers and students in all BC schools, including First Nations, public, and independent schools, to gain an understanding of traditional and contemporary forms of First Nations governance. It provides background information relevant to all teachers and students, and provides suggested activities and resources for Grades 2 to 12.
Socials Curriculum Content
Unit Planning
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TC2 Big 6 Curricular Competencies - Online resources to support elementary and secondary students in using historical thinking and inquiry.
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Learn71 has curated resources to support a wide range of Social Studies topics
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Guiding Questions - Essential questions to support instruction of Social Studies.
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UBC Library Guides - Various unit plans and inquiry guides, including a unit on Cottonwood House and Barkerville.
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SD44 units organized by grade level and subject area.
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Primary Source Documents
Law & Governance
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Learn About Parliament: Classroom activities and teacher resources about understanding Canadian government, including games, online videos etc. This is a very robust federal government resource, with activities for primary to secondary.
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This site includes lesson plans that have been developed by teachers attending the previous sessions of the BC Teachers' Institute on Parliamentary Democracy. It also includes archived lesson plans that were developed prior to the changes in B.C.'s social studies curriculum (under the ‘Archives’ tab). All lessons are in .pdf and some are better than others.
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Law Lessons for learning about Canadian law, constitution and government
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Digital and print resources for municipal, provincial or federal elections and government
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Canadian History
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Canadian war history and Remembrance Day -Digital and print resources
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Pathways Learning Portal: This website is full of information about history, geography etc in BC, including archival photos and videos.
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The "Great Unsolved Mysteries in Canadian History" project provides engaging, high-quality materials to schools and universities for the teaching of historical methods and Canadian History. It is also used in a wide variety of other courses including law, language, literature, aboriginal issues and many others. There are a series of instructional websites based on the premise that students can be drawn into Canadian history and archival research through the enticement of solving historical cold crimes.
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Discover what drew the French to North America and follow missionaries, cartographers, soldiers, coureurs des bois and Indigenous allies as they explore and expand New France. Join Canada's first European inhabitants in their daily activities and learn about their culture.
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Geography
Human Rights & Social Justice
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Canadian Human Rights museum (Winnipeg) with teaching resources and lesson plans.
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Labour History Project features BC history for workers with contributions from BCTF/ Teach BC. Bilingual resource.
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Chinese history and legacies in British Columbia
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Choose Your Voice: Teaching resources to inform students of dangers of hatred and stereotypes.
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TC2 creates and collects online resources to support elementary and secondary students in thinking historically and in undertaking historical inquiry projects. These online resources are specifically related to immigration topics relating to the Ukrainian Canadian experience, the Chinese Canadian experience, and the South Asian experience.
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Secondary School Socials
Virtual Field Trips
Live it Earth
STEM video, powerpoint and interactive resources with archived monthly themes, including indigenous content.
Canadian History
Canadian Museum of History Virtual School programs, featuring First Peoples of the Northwest Coast.
Canadian War Museum
Hosting a variety of bookable sessions related to Canadian military veterans and conflicts such as WWI.
Canadian Forces
Invite a veteran or Canadian Forces member into your classroom to share their stories of service.
Human Rights
Human Rights Museum, featuring virtual exhibit on Métis residential school experience.
Digital Human Library
K-12 Digital Human Library with virtual tours and indigenous storytelling sessions.
National Gallery of Canada
Connect your class to the National Gallery's collection of artwork via Interactive Videoconference.
Centre for Interactive Learning & Collaboration
CILC is an extensive, searchable database of sessions and providers from around the world (free and paid).
Anthropology
Offering live programs (elementary) exploring archaeology, trees and Indigenous topics (paid).
Global Issues
Global Encounters hosts several collaborative events each month on critical global issues such as child soldiers, women's rights, mental health, climate change, etc
Global collaborations
Empatico combines live video with activities designed to foster meaningful connections among students ages 6-11.