Grade 8 History

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Development of Western Canada   Canada: A Changing Society

Great Unsolved Mysteries in Canadian History - try to solve some historical "cold case" crimes.(version française)
Historical Atlas of Canada Online Learning Project

Confederation

If you are following the Confederation sample unit produced by the Ministry of Education, click HERE for a page of links directly related to the activities.

Canada's Constitutional Evolution - excellent maps and primary documents from the National Archives of Canada  (version française)

Dictionary of Canadian Biography On-line - "meet people who played an important role in the formation of what is now Canada."  (English and French)

Canada In the Making - 1867-1931   (version française)

Canadian Confederation - a comprehensive site from the National Library of Canada   (version française)

Confederation for Kids - This site was written for young people ages 9 to 13 who are learning about how Canada came to be a country.  (version française)

Sir John A. Macdonald from TVOKids Time Trackers - click on Sir John's image to watch clips summarizing Confederation from his point of view.

Chronology of Significant Events Constitution Act of 1791 To Confederation 

Charlottetown Conference of 1864

Everyday Life in British North America in the 1860's
Ontario Town Life         (version française)
The Merchant's House         (version française)

Fort Henry Adventure   "ATTENTION, Soldier!  It is the year 1867. You have just enlisted in the Fort Henry Guard. This will be your home for the next 10 years. I am Sergeant-Major Rock. You will be taking orders from me!"

Constitutional Documents
Canadian Constitutional Documents
The British North America Act, 1867  from the "Canada in the Making" web site - background, explanation and original text   (version française)
The British North America Act, 1871
The British North America Act, 1886
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms  (version française)
Meech Lake Accord
Charlottetown Accord
 

The Development of Western Canada
If you are following the sample unit produced by the Ministry of Education, click HERE for a page of links directly related to the activities.

  -based student learning activities     The Métis      Personalities of 1885    Advertising for Immigrants Abroad

Chronology of Significant Events Constitution Act of 1791 To 1885

Dictionary of Canadian Biography On-line - "meet people who played an important role in the formation of what is now Canada."  (English and French)

The Canadian West - from the National Archives of Canada - This exhibition explores several aspects of European arrival and settlement in the Canadian West, and provides a glimpse of those people who helped forge the new society and bring the West into Confederation.   (version française)

Agriculture in French Manitoba - Visitors to this site can embark on an exploration of more than a century of rural and farming life in the province of Manitoba. By examining the economic, technical, scientific and cultural aspects of the evolution that has taken place in farm work, the exhibition aims, in particular, to emphasize the close, if not uneventful, relationship between farming communities and the natural environment. (version française)

Canada In the Making - 1867-1931     (version française)

Canadian Illustrated News 1869-1883 -  a selection of almost 4000 images of people, places and events across Canada and around the world taken from the popular 19th-century magazine    (version française)

Pathfinders and Passageways - The Exploration of Canada - from the National Library of Canada   (version française)

Life of a Rock Star - Crossing all types of rough ground, braving the climate and the bugs, and even fending off hungry horses, the scientists of the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) did work that had a significant impact on the development of a young nation and left a legacy that continues to this day.

The North West Mounted Police
RCMP Main Page (bilingual)
RCMP History         (version française)
North-West Mounted Police - A Tradition in Scarlet - another Virtual Museum of Canada  (bilingual)
Fort Steele: North-West Mounted Police Post
A Moment In Time: Fort Steele,  A Historical Metaphor

The Aboriginal Peoples and the Metis
Riel House National Historic Site   View the History section and On-line Guided Tour  (version française)
Batoche National Historic Site  History section  (version française)
Metis bison hunters   (from Canadian Museum of Civilization)      (version française)
Back to Batoche - an original and comprehensive project to deliver the history of the 1885 Northwest Resistance onto the World Wide Web. This interactive website will bring the colourful history of the past of Batoche as well as showcasing the abundantly rich culture of the past and present. (version française)
The Northwest Resistance - includes a chronology and biographies of key participants
About the North West Rebellion of 1885  (written by a lawyer in Medicine Hat, Alberta with an interest in this historical period.)
Louis Riel - Martyr, hero or traitor? - a relatively balanced look at the issue
Riel, Dumont and the 1885 Rebellion - according to the author, "This account is full of carefully selected high interest facts which have been edited into the form of a story. Although it was researched in detail (and includes a biography and notes), this account remains as interesting and informative light entertainment."
The Making of Treaty #8 in Canada's Northwest -  a Virtual Museum of Canada exhibit, commemorates a historic event of enormous importance to Alberta's northern First Nations. On June 21, 1899, on a point of land just south of present-day Grouard, Alberta, six leaders of the First Nations of Lesser Slave Lake signed a government-prepared document known as Treaty #8. All future land use and development in northern Alberta flowed from this event.

The Railroad
Canada, by Train - "Ties That Bind" provides a short history of railways in Canada and how they marketed their passenger services. The "Tracking Time" section examines the contribution of railways to the growth of Canada, through themes ranging from urban growth to immigration.  (version française)
The Building of the Canadian Pacific Railway - an interactive map from the Canadian Encyclopedia
Canadian National Railway Historic Photograph Collection - an introduction to the significant role that railways have played in the development of Canadian society since the opening of Canada's first steam railway in 1836           English and French
Railways and Immigration in Canada - A timeline slider (1867 -1914) shows changes in Canadian political boundaries, changes in population and immigration rates, and developments in the construction of the national railway.
Canadian Pacific Railway & Canadian Pacific Navigation
Lyrics to Canadian Railroad Trilogy by Gordon Lightfoot
A Chinese Canadian Story

Post-Confederation Immigration
Klondike Gold Rush - reading comprehension and writing skills based on this topic
Klondike - Rush for Gold - The Dawson City Museum presents a glimpse of the journey to the harsh north country of Alaska and Yukon. Do you have what it takes to make it to the Klondike? Become a virtual stampeder! Take the challenge and strike it rich or lose it all. Good luck, cheechako!   (version française)
Yukon Indians and the Gold Rush 
The Cariboo Gold Rush - from SchoolNet
The Cariboo Gold Rush - from the BC Archives Time Machine
Canada Hall Tour at the Museum of Civilization - post Confederation in the Canadian West   (version française)
Chinese Immigration Policy - reading comprehension and writing skills based on this topic
Advertising for Immigrants to Western Canada, 1870-1930  This virtual exhibition from the Canadian Museum of Civilization is about the Canadian government's role in advertising free land in The Last Best West to farmers and farm workers in Britain, the United States and Europe.  (version française)
Immigration to Western Canada - The Early 20th Century - includes archival photographs - from the Canadian Museum of Civilization  (version française)
The Peopling of Canada 1891- 1921 This tutorial from University of Calgary's Department of History examines the movement of people into Canada  and between regions during one of Canada's most important migration periods, 1891-1921. 
19th Century Settlement Patterns - Chapter 5 of the Canadian Heirloom Series
Pier 21 Between 1928-1971, at Pier 21 on the Halifax waterfront, 1.5 million immigrants first set foot on Canadian soil.
Pier 21 - Canadian Immigration Process - an online game designed to teach students about the process of immigrating to Canada during the era that Pier 21 in Halifax, Nova Scotia welcomed one million newcomers - a Virtual Museum of Canada  (version française)
Immigrants to Canada in the 19th Century - The information on these pages has been extracted from various government records, as well as the odd shipping record. It contains voyage accounts, emigration information, lists of ships sailing to Canada, information on the ports, and on the people.
Germany - Canada Migration - one of the Virtual Museums of Canada      (version française)

Canada:  A Changing Society

  -based student learning activities      
Industry, Workers and Unions     Women, Work and Unions     The Women's Movement  

Canada at the Turn of the Century: The Impact of Industrialization 1890s-1920s - a "History Quest". You and your classmates will act as historians and use primary sources to learn more about living in these times. Diaries, drawings, maps, newspapers, and business and government records are some of the eyewitness reports that you will examine as your main source for information and analysis.

Dictionary of Canadian Biography On-line - "meet people who played an important role in the formation of what is now Canada."  (English and French)

WW I
The Great War and the Shaping of the 20th Century  - a co-production of PBS and the BBC in association with the Imperial War Museum of London
World War I - from BBC History
Conflict Map - from the Nobel Prize Organization. In the course of the 20th century, mankind experienced some of the most devastating wars of all times. Where did these wars take place? Have some regions experienced more wars than others? Who were the main protagonists in these conflicts? This map gives you the opportunity to answer these questions. It displays wars with at least 1,000 military battle deaths.

LABOUR
Canadian Labour History 1850 - 1999 - from the Canadian Museum of Civilization   (version française)
Remembering the Winnipeg General Strike - from the CBC Archives.
The Winnipeg General Strike - from the Histor!ca website
The Cradle of Collective Bargaining  - the history of labour and technology in Hamilton and district.

WOMEN'S RIGHTS
The Famous Five - from the National Archives of Canada - "Until 1929, one word denied women access to the Senate. The word "persons" in the British North America Act did not, or so it seemed, include women.  In 1927, five remarkable Alberta women contested, in the Supreme Court of Canada, the interpretation of the word "persons."   (version française)
The Famous Five - from Alberta Heritage - "a multimedia resource dedicated to chronicling the lives and achievements of the five visionary women from Alberta who have become known simply as the Famous 5."
The Famous 5 Foundation - Biographies, Highlights of the 'Persons' Case, International Dimensions, History of the 'Persons' Case, Commonly Asked Questions
Women in Canadian History

Great Canadian Scientists

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