As the ceasefire in Israel and Gaza continues to hold, Facing History and Ourselves mourns the loss of life and bears witness to the trauma wrought by the conflict. We recognize that addressing the recent violence will require careful preparation by both educators and students.
Topics: Teaching Resources, current events
Our dear friend, mentor, and teacher, former Chief of Sagkeeng First Nation (Manitoba), Theodore (Ted) Niizhota Fontaine passed away on May 10, 2021. Theodore was a beloved husband, father, grandfather, uncle, nephew, cousin and Sagkeeng community member. He is known across Canada as an accomplished leader in First Nations and public service, a knowledge keeper, Elder, gifted author, educator and public speaker (click here for a full biography). We continue to mourn his loss, miss his presence and walk with gratitude for his friendship and for the legacy that he created with Facing History. NOTE: This blog post was updated Sept 2022 to include lessons and Theodore's video testimony.
This blog by Ontario educator, Michael Anthony, explores his journey learning and teaching about The Holodomor as part of the Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity course and provides helpful resources to integrate into your classroom.
Topics: Genocide/Collective Violence, Teaching Resources, genocide, Genocide and Crimes Against Humanities Course
Knowing that experiences of loss, isolation and disconnection caused by the pandemic have exacerbated the everyday challenges many face, we ask, what could it mean for students if they had an opportunity to tell their story or speak out on an issue that they care about? And what if students could feel heard?
Topics: Film, Human Behavior, Upstanders, Video, Upstander, English Classroom, culminating, Digital Learning
This is the 2nd blog in a 2 part series. Click here to read Part 1 which discusses the project and art as a critical tool of inquiry.
Topics: Holocaust, Survivor Testimony, Museum Studies, Holocaust Education, Holocaust and Human Behaviour, Graphic novels
This is the 1st blog in a 2 part series. Part 1 discusses the project and art as a critical tool of inquiry. Part 2 explores the process and approaches to putting together testimony and historian research methodologies for educators interested in teaching students what active historian work looks like.
Topics: Holocaust, Museum Studies, Holocaust Education, Holocaust and Human Behaviour, Inquiry, Graphic novels
This blog post outlines resources to use throughout Black History Month in February and beyond. This is by no means a comprehensive list (we continue to add to it as we discover new resources), but a list of resources that can be part of a professional and classroom journey that excites us to learn more, unites us in our common humanity and empowers students to champion a more equitable, compassionate, and informed tomorrow.
Topics: Canadian History, Black History, Equity in Education, anti-racism, Black History Month
This blog post is the 3rd in a multi-part series. Natalie Steele, an educator with Peel District School Board in Ontario, shares additional resources and strategies for your classroom on the topics of Black identities, humanizing stories, amplifying missing voices in the curriculum, and correcting the systemic abuses of history in schooling. This particular piece reflects on FacingToday's blog post “Black Women Educators’ Roundtable on Teaching and Current Events”.
Topics: reflection, race, Equity in Education, Facing Canada, anti-racism
This blog post is the 2nd in a multi-part series. Natalie Steele, an educator with Peel District School Board in Ontario, will be sharing additional resources and strategies for your classroom over the next few months on the topics of Black identities, humanizing stories, amplifying missing voices in the curriculum, and correcting the systemic abuses of history in schooling.
One challenge when studying the history of marginalized peoples is often the histories of these groups have a limited amount of primary source materials available for research to draw from compared to the prolific amount of Eurocentric sources. In your search to find primary sources that help students to connect to the humanity of those held in bondage in an inhumane system, you may encounter many barriers, like language, accessing the actual resource because it's no longer in print and/or digital versions are not available, and/or the only copy available is far away with limited access.
Topics: Books, English Language Arts, Reading, English Classroom, English, Reading List, Black History
We have all felt the overwhelming impact of 2020 in our own ways. As stated in a viral tweet made in April by Damian Barr (@Damian_Barr), “We are not all in the same boat. We are all in the same storm. Some are on super-yachts. Some have just the one oar.” Each of us has uniquely been affected by this unprecedented moment in history.
Topics: English Language Arts, English Classroom, reflection, English, Holiday lesson, pandemic