THE CANADIAN SOCIAL STUDIES SUPER SITE
This is a limited annotated list of websites for Canadian social studies
educators, and those interested in Canada, carefully examined for their quality
and use. It was originally designed, back in the day, for the Webmaster's
elementary textbook
and junior high textbook which is free and online (Click
here to access it). Suggestions for additional sites can be sent to the
Webmaster Dr. Joe Kirman at jkirman@ualberta.ca Please note the suggested
site’s URL and mention why you think it should be on this list. Not all
suggestions can be accepted, but your interest is appreciated. Updated or
checked July 26, 2024.
DISCLAIMER
Please be aware that there is no guarantee about the accuracy or truth of
materials in any website. The authorship, timeliness, and veracity of a website
need to be carefully ascertained and, if necessary, information verified in
other sources. Student projects, in particular, should not rely only on Internet
material. Internet sites as resources should be used by students only after they
have learned how to rate the sites with guidelines established in class, with
the exception of those authorized by the teacher.
Evaluating
Internet Research Sources. This website by Robert Harris is one of the
finest guides for evaluating sources in general in addition to Internet
materials. If you are planning to teach about resource evaluations this website
is a must read item.
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CAUTIONARY NOTE
Alert your students to immediately sign-off any website they encounter with
material dealing with hate, harming others or themselves, smut, asking that the
encounter remain a "secret," requesting any personal
information, or to identify themselves or their location. They should report the
incident to their parent/guardian or teacher.
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CANADA - GENERAL INFORMATION
- The Canada Site. The
Government of Canada’s primary Internet site and the Internet access point
to find information about Canada, the Government, and its programs and
services.
- Canadian
Heritage Site. A federal site with information about virtually all
aspects of Canadian culture including the symbols of Canada, national music,
and links to holidays and anniversaries, protocol and events, the royal
family, and much more.
- Library and
Archives Canada. The National Library is one of the nation's leading
centers for research in Canadian Studies and is a showcase for Canadian
literature and music.
- Statistics
Canada. Statistical data about Canada. You can browse by subject and key
resources
- The Canadian
Encyclopedia This is the on-line version of The Canadian
Enycyclopedia sponsored by the Historica Foundation dedicated to
promoting Canadian History education.
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CANADIAN BIOGRAPHIES ONLINE
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CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES
Your Webmaster has discontinued adding new news articles
and topics to the list of controversial issues. This is because you can follow
any current issue you want using Google Alerts. This is a service that will
email to you up-to-date media sites with the topic(s) of your choice. You can
obtain earlier information on a topic by using a search engine of your choice.
The Valour and the Horror
This is both an example of, and information for, a case study of a
controversial issue:
In 1992, the National Film Board, the CBC and Gala Films produced The
Valour and the Horror, the most controversial film series ever made in
Canada. The segment "Death by Moonlight" was the subject of a
multi-million dollar defamation law suit by the aging veterans of RCAF Bomber
Command. The case was never heard by a jury since the courts ruled that the
veterans did not have legal standing to sue. The Valour and the Horror
was severely criticized by Canadian historians such as Jack Granatstein (see his
comments in Who Killed Canadian History?, Harper Collins Publishers Ltd.,
1998 pp 14-15, 116-120. ) and Desmond Morton. An entire issue of Canadian
Social Studies (Winter, 1994, Volume 28, Number 2) was devoted to this
matter. The CBC will not show the series again since it does not meet the CBC's
standards for accuracy. Bomber Command veterans and supporters of the series
have set-up websites to present their sides of the story.
- Report
of the CBC Ombudsman. by William Morgan. Click on the Ombudsman’s
report in the index or scroll down to pages 61- 72. This is in the Google
Books on-line sample pages of The Valour and the Horror Revisited by
David J. Bercuson and and S.F. Wise. It provides the reasons why the CBC
will not re-broadcast The Valour and the Horror.
- The
Bombing Of Brian Mc-Kenna This
is a critical essay about The Valour and the Horror written by
historian Neil Cameron.
- The
Valour and the Horror From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. This
article appears to provide a fair balance between the positives and
negatives of this series.
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CURRENT EVENTS
- onlinenewspapers.com
- On line newspapers from Canada and around the world. Go to the
media where events are happening and see what they have to say. Compare this
with what you see and hear in your local media.
- World-Newspapers.com
- A comprehensive site with newspapers, magazines and news. Well worth
browsing.
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ENVIRONMENT
- Environment
and Climate Change Canada - This site is linked through Wikipedia and
informs Canadians about protecting and conserving our natural heritage, and
ensuring a clean safe and sustainable environment for present and future
generations.
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FIRST NATIONS/INDIGENOUS CANADIANS
- Indigenous-Services
Canada. (ISC) works collaboratively with
partners to improve access to high quality services for First Nations, Inuit
and Métis. Our vision is to support and empower Indigenous peoples to
independently deliver services and address the
socio-economic conditions in their communities.
- Crown
Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada. (CIRNAC)
continues to renew the nation-to-nation, Inuit-Crown,
government-to-government relationship between Canada and First Nations,
Inuit and Métis; modernize Government of Canada structures to enable
Indigenous peoples to build capacity and support their vision of
self-determination and lead the Government of Canada's work in the North.
- CBC Indigenous. This
Canadian Broadcasting Company site reflects aboriginal life in Canada and
includes weekly news stories, arts and culture, personality profiles,
programming, regional content, archival information as well as background
and history to current topics, and more.
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GEOGRAPHY, MAP SKILLS AND
SPACE AGE MAPS
- The Atlas of Canada.
- A key source of geographic information the Atlas provides a
selection of interactive and historical maps and geographical data available
for reference or downloading.
- Google Maps - This is a user friendly
high resolution GIS of the world. You can zoom--in
on a location and view it as a map. Zoom to see your own home, find the
location of an address with the search engine, and find the route to and
from two locations.
- Google Earth -
"The world's most detailed globe." More extensive than Google
Maps. This program has many high resolution images and is a download item.
- Geography
Games - A set of three classroom geography games for the elementary and
middle years written by the Webmaster.
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GLOBAL/INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION
- United Nations. The home page of the
United Nations, dealing with peace and security, international law, economic
and social development, human rights, humanitarian affairs, and the
facilities and operation of the organization.
- The WWW Virtual Library:
International Affairs Resources. This
site contains an extensive quality list of portals, indexes, web directories
and other resources for international affairs.
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GOVERNMENT, LAW, POLITICS
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HISTORY AND HISTORICAL PICTURES
- Library
and Archives Canada. As the custodian of our distant past and recent
history, Library and Archives Canada (LAC) is a key resource for all
Canadians who wish to to gain a better understanding of who they are,
individually and collectively. LAC acquires, processes, preserves and
provides access to our documentary heritage and serves as the continuing
memory of the Government of Canada and its institutions.
- The Canadian Museum of History.
An extensive and impressive collection of Canadiana. Here you will find
a variety of information about Canada including history, archeology, culture,
First Nations and more. There are sections for educators, kids, and scholars.
Go to the site map for a quick over-view of what is available.
- The
Canadian War Museum. This national museum
presents Canada’s military past and how it shaped the country from earliest
times to the present, featuring the experiences of people on the battlefields
and at home and has online educational resources including planning materials
for Remembrance Day.
- CBC Archives. Examine sound and video
clips of interest to modern Canadian history. Listen to Nelly L. McClung
discussing the "Persons Case." See Leonard Cohen being interviewed
by a young Adrienne Clarkson, and hear him read his poetry, and much more.
- Great Unsolved
Mysteries in Canadian History. A unique Canadian history site to learn
about history as a cold case file. You have actual Canadian criminal cases
from the past and the historical resources associated with them. Examine the
resources and decide whether justice has been done. Learn about the nuances of
looking at the past – or just enjoy yourself.
- Memory Project. This Dominion
Institute site is a valuable living history resource to connect veterans and
students online and in classrooms across the country. Speakers are provided
and there is also an online database with oral histories and artifacts of
Canadian veterans. This is an excellent resource for Remembrance Day and units
dealing with Canadian combat and peace keeping.
- Black History Portal. An
excellent annotated guide to the history of the black community in Canada.
-
Peel’s
Prairie Postcards. This is an image archive at the University of Alberta
of over 15,000 postcards dating back to the turn of the 19th century dealing
with the Canadian prairies. This site has a search engine, including a browse
feature, to find pictures you may wish to use for teaching. Additional
archival materials in the Peel’s Prairie Provinces collection will also be
found on this page.
-
Centre for the
Study of Historical Consciousness. A University of British Columbia site
dedicated to facilitating research on the understanding and teaching of
history.
-
Fields
of Sacrifice. This NFB film, honouring the fallen Canadian military of the
First and Second World Wars, was released in 1964 to commemorate the 50th
anniversary of the start of the First World War and has been
re-released on the 100th anniversary. A sensitive and moving
tribute. 38 min. 13 sec.
-
Canadian Primary Sources in
the Classroom - A site well worth browsing for Canadian history primary
sources. It also has excellent material on historical method, teaching ideas,
philosophies of history and other items.
-
Winds
of War - Part 1. (This site has on again off again copyright problems.
The Webmaster is monitoring it.) This
is a TV series based on Herman Wouk's novel of the same name showing the
lead-up to the Second World War. NOTE: This is for teacher background
information for a mature adult audience and not for elementary or secondary
class use.
- War
and Remembrance - Part 2. (This site has on again off again copyright
problems. The Webmaster is monitoring it.)
This is the follow-up TV series to Winds of War, based
on Herman Wouk's novel dealing with the Second World War. NOTE: This is for
teacher background information for a mature adult audience and not for
elementary or secondary class use. Warning: there are scenes of explicit,
graphic violence especially concerning the development and operation of the
German concentration camps. Holocaust survivors are respectfully urged not to
view War and Remembrance.
- Valour Canada - A
not-for-profit organization that educates young Canadians about our shared
military heritage by developing and providing learning opportunities designed
to foster a deeper understanding of who we are as individuals, citizens, and
as a nation. Many excellent learning materials as well as engrossing virtual
tours.
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HUMAN RIGHTS
- Canadian Human Rights Commission.
The Canadian Human Rights Commission was established in 1978 and has three
main objectives: to promote knowledge of human rights in Canada and to
encourage people to follow principles of equality; to provide effective and
timely means for resolving individual complaints; and to help reduce
barriers to equality in employment and access to services. There are links
to provincial and territorial human rights commissions.
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
There is large amount of resource materials in this site. Teachers will find
this site of much value if a unit is being developed or a question arises
about this horrible period in history.
- A Teacher's Guide To The
Holocaust. This award winning site is produced by the Florida Center for
Instructional Technology, College of Education, University of South Florida.
It is designed for teachers and contains extensive resources including
lesson plans, film clips, photo, music and art files. The navigation index
is very user friendly.
- Holodomor. This is
the Ukrainian Canadian Congress site for information and resources about the
Holodomor, the massive annihilation of Ukrainians in the 1930s by Stalin's
manmade starvation. The
losses during this crime against humanity surpassed those of the Ukrainian
nation during the Second World War.
- The
Azrieli Series of Holocaust Survivor Memoirs. The Azrieli Foundation
publishes and distributes free of charge the written first-person memoirs of
Holocaust survivors who made their way to Canada to libraries, schools and
Holocaust-education programs across Canada and will connect classes with
authors using Skype.
- PREVNet.
This is a teacher's first stop for dealing with bullying. It is a network of
69 leading Canadian research scientists and 55 national youth-serving
organizations to stop bullying in Canada and to promote safe and healthy
relationships for all Canadian children and youth and to change the way we
understand and deal with bullying problems in this country. There are
extensive resources, information, and research.
- Canadian Museum of Human Rights. This is the first
museum solely dedicated to the evolution, celebration and future of human
rights. The aim is to build not only a national hub for human rights
learning and discovery, but a new era of global human rights leadership.
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PEN PALS
Because of the danger of pedophiles trolling the Internet pen pals sites have
been deleted. However, both pen pals and e-mail pals can be obtained by
contacting ministries of education, educational associations -- in particular
social studies specialist groups, consuls and embassies.
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PLANNING AND
TEACHING - GENERAL RESOURCE INFORMATION
- Teaching
Values. This is the Webmaster’s theory and procedures for teaching
values using love, kindness, and respect for human dignity for the
elementary and secondary levels. It was originally published in the McGill
Journal of Education.
- National Council for the Social Studies.
NCSS Online. This is the site for the world’s largest social studies
organization.
- Weblens. Almost 5,000 Internet
research resources. This was the companion site to Pam Blackstone's
technology column in the Victoria Times-Colonist newspaper and is one
of the most powerful search sites on the Internet.
- NFB. This is the National Film Board of
Canada home page. Check it for visuals that you can use in class.
It states: “Watch hundreds of films, anytime, anywhere, for free.
Documentaries, animations and other alternative dramas on the web, or on you
personalized home page, or on your iPhone. Also, watch trailers, upcoming
online releases and playlists.”
- Evaluating
Internet Research Sources. This website by Robert Harris is one of the
finest guides for evaluating sources in general in addition to Internet
materials. If you are planning to teach about resource evaluations this
website is a must read item.
- Online
Research Review: Resources for College Students. - This site deals with
selecting reputable sources to add credibility and detail to research papers
and reports. It contains links to information regarding resources and
educational search engines. The site is excellent for teachers to mine for
preparing students to do research.
This site is sponsored by an insurance program but has no affect on the
material.
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TECHNOLOGY IN EDUCATION
-
Stellarium
- A free downloadable powerful planetarium astronomy program that
shows the night sky anywhere in the world. The display moves with a timer to
show the changing night sky or can be locked for a specific time. Great for
teaching about space probes in current events and astronomy in general. Once
the program is opened press the “h” key for command information
including exiting. Click on the configuration box on the lower left task bar
and click on location. On the map click on the location you want (latitude
and longitude specifics will help). The lower right task bar controls the
time. Thirty minutes of playing with this program and its task bars will
make you an expert. This program is very impressive.
-
FreeTechBooks
- “All
the books listed here are available for free, as they are hosted on websites
that belong to the authors or the publishers. You are most welcome to view,
download and print the books for your own private use at no charge.”
-
Ed Tech Talk Show
- At this site you can comment, discuss and “mull-over all
things related to educational technology.”
-
Firefox
- This is a free download web browser created by Mozilla for Windows, Mac,
and Linux. Many believe that it is superior to other web browsers, and it is
available in different languages including French. The website has a
discussion of its features. Firefox is well worth having on your desktop as
your primary browser or for a backup. You will not be disappointed.
-
Foxit
Reader for Windows - This is a free PDF reader is an excellent
alternative to, or backup for, Adobe Acrobat. It does not have as many bells
and whistles as Acrobat, but is a good basic reader.
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SPACE THE NEW FRONTIER
- Canadian Space Agency.
This site is contains information about Canada’s role in the space
program. There is general information, current event items, and material for
educators.
- NASA - Home Site. This
is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's main site. Here the
social studies teacher can keep up with space exploration current events and
find lots of resources about space programs.
- NASA Earth Observatory Images.
A treasure chest of images, global maps, articles and blogs from the space
program.
- Stellarium
- A free downloadable
powerful planetarium astronomy program that shows the night sky anywhere in
the world. The display moves with a timer to show the changing night sky or
can be locked for a specific time. Great for teaching about space probes in
current events and astronomy in general. This program is very impressive.
- Google Earth -
"The world's most detailed globe." More extensive than Google
Maps. This program has many high resolution images.
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