Social Studies/History Sites - Canada

Eduweb (Musee McCord Museum)
http://www.mccord-museum.qc.ca/en/eduweb/
The McCord Museum web site offers numerous resources for exploring Canadian history, including Keys to History, a database of 90,000 images (2,000 of which are fully documented), and virtual exhibitions. EduWeb presents diverse ways of using Web resources in secondary-level history classes. The site includes 50 thematic tours about major events and everyday life in the past. There are activities; mainly observation games, quizzes, and inquiries into the past. These activities are described in a pedagogical guide entitled ClioClic. The site permits visitors to produce their own visual presentations in the form of Web tours, where they can add their own images drawn from external sources.

Hola Canada!
http://www.sfu.museum/hola/
Simon Fraser University provides an excellent overview of ancient South and Latin American culture in a colorful interactive site. Choose Flash for fun or HTML for a more organized approach to the content. Find artifacts and images of ancient cultures along with succinct descriptions or choose Themes to study the culture complete with the help of videos, activities, and lesson plans. The Search feature allows users to find information on specific archaeological sites and cultures.

Picturing a Canadian Life: L.M. Montgomery's Personal Scrapbooks and Book Covers
http://lmm.confederationcentre.com/  
Part of Montgomery's genius lies in her creation of everyday life in turn-of-the-century and early twentieth-century Canada. An avid record-keeper, Montgomery kept personal scrapbooks that included photographs, fabrics, souvenirs and clippings. These collections contain rarely-seen materials that could not be widely accessible for study or enjoyment except through this digital exhibition. The site also contains a Teacher Tips page. Also in French.

Prime Ministers of Canada
http://www.primeministers.ca/prologue.php
The Prologue to the site offers some very amusing insights into many of Canada's Prime Ministers, as related by a comic duo and others who knew these powerful men. The site is useful for social studies classes studying leaders and how they are perceived. The major part of the site provides biographies of each of Canada's Prime Ministers.

Saskatchewan Stories
http://www.saskstories.ca/ 
This totally Flash-driven site uses stories to teach about the four major periods of Saskatchewan history (early people, fur trading, pioneers, today). Each story is complemented by images and the text which contain highlighted terms for which additional information. Each period contains a short video (look for the film tool above the photo), a highly interactive map of the region (next to the film tool), and a help feature. Geared for the fourth grade Canadian standards; but fascinating and fun for all.

Susanna Moodie and Catharine Parr Traill
http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/moodie-traill/index-e.html
Tracing the lives and careers of two of Canada's most significant 19th century female writers, who first lived as English gentlewomen and then emigrated to the Canadian frontier, provides an opportunity to learn about the settling of the Canadian frontier from some primary sources (letters, journals and poetry). It also shows the major influences on their writing, and can provide lots of material for students to create their own biographies of these writers.

Virtual Exhibits from the Virtual Museum of Canada
http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/English/Exhibits/index.html
View Canada in terms of the artwork of Canada and the Americas, historic events that have impacted the Canadian people, and major influences in the Canadian culture. Students can also discover how learning science, doing science, and applying science each play a distinct role in the development of a country. The Teacher’s Centre includes search capabilities for museum and online educational programs.