In this post, Social Studies teacher Lindsay Hutchison and Math, Science and Careers teacher Mariam Hazhir reflect on their teaching following the murder of George Floyd last June and share how they seek to practice antiracist educator mindsets, foster reflective conversations about racial inequity as allies, encourage critical consciousness and outline five principles that teachers of all disciplines can practice.
Difficult but Necessary: How 2 Educators are Facilitating Conversations About Injustice
Posted by Mariam Hazhir and Lindsay Hutchison on October 6, 2020
Topics: Choosing to Participate, Canada, reflection, Equity in Education, anti-racism
4 Resources to Enrich Your Courses with Black Canadian History Content (Part 1)
Posted by Natalie Steele on September 22, 2020
This blog post is the first 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.
High School Students in Class, by Photo by Jeswin Thomas from Pexels
Topics: Diversity, Canadian History, Black History
Understanding Contemporary Issues Through a Deep Understanding of History: A Resource List
Posted by Facing History and Ourselves Canada on September 14, 2020
This resource list is part of a blog titled, Engaging as Co-Conspirators in Anti-Racism Work, which is a statement about our commitment as the staff of Facing History and Ourselves Canada to our mission to stand up against bigotry and racism. The Facing History and Ourselves Canada team have been reading, watching, and learning from the following resources. This is by no means an exhaustive list and we would love to hear from you what you are reading, and who are the voices that you are learning from.
Topics: Choosing to Participate, Learning, reflection, Reading List, Scope & Sequence, anti-racism
Engaging as Co-Conspirators in Anti-Racism Work
Posted by Facing History and Ourselves Canada on September 14, 2020
As an organization, our mission is to use lessons of history to challenge teachers and their students to stand up to bigotry and hate. In this blog post, we share our learning (thus far) about how we can work to be anti-racist educators in hopes that this approach, the ideas, and the resources we’ve found helpful in our learning will be helpful to you, your colleagues and the students you teach.
Topics: Choosing to Participate, Equity in Education, anti-racism
Back to School 2020: Building Community for Connection and Learning
Posted by Leora Schaefer, Jasmine Wong, Jeannette Slater, Erez Zobary on August 27, 2020
Topics: Back-To-School, Facing History Resources, Teaching Resources, Community
Earlier this week, it came to our attention that the supports that we have been offering to Canadian educators seeking to address the murder of George Floyd, and Canada's anti-Black racism with students aren't as accessible and visible as they should, and need to be.
Territorial and Land Acknowledgements (Webinar 1)
Posted by Lorrie Gallant, Jasmine Wong, Erez Zobary on June 5, 2020
This video is the first part in a four part webinar series featuring Jasmine Wong in conversation with Lorrie Gallant.
This series of blog posts explores stories and teachings that Lorrie Gallant shares about the purpose and importance of territorial acknowledgments and treaties. They are based on a recorded webinar from March 18 2020. Lorrie is a writer, illustrator, storyteller, visual artist, educator, Expressive Arts Practitioner, born and raised on Six Nations of the Grand River Territory in Ontario.
These posts and activities have been written for students to explore as part of a virtual learning community.
Topics: Identity, History, Canadian History, Indigenous History, Indigenous, Grade 10 History, stolen lives, Facing Canada, land acknowledgements, territorial acknowledgement
Digital Classroom-Ready Activities: Using Short Stories to Explore Othering and Students’ Experiences Today
Posted by Heidi Crowley on April 27, 2020
Topics: English Language Arts, Bullying and Ostracism, Choosing to Participate, Bullying, Empathy, Lesson Ideas, English Classroom, Lesson Plan, Scope & Sequence
Engaging Students in Film Analysis in ELA Classrooms (and Online!!)
Posted by Claire Ahn on April 20, 2020
Claire Ahn, an Assistant Professor of Multiliteracies in the Faculty of Education at Queen’s University, provides a framework to engaging students in film analysis (in the classroom and online) as well as access to film units and resources.
Facing History's 'Close Viewing Protocol' is also a great resource that explores questions surrounding what the filmmaker is trying to convey, the choices the filmmaker has made, the role of images, narration, editing, and sound, and what the film’s purpose might be.
Topics: English Language Arts, Film, Innovative Classrooms, Online Learning, Lesson Ideas, English Classroom, Tech Innovation, Facing Canada, Digital Learning, Creative
A digital literacy workshop using PhoneMe, the social media platform for spoken poetry
Posted by Amber Moore on April 6, 2020
This workshop engages students in creating poetry through reflecting on personal connections to place. Stories and history are everything- they are how we understand the world around us and our experiences. Now more than ever we are forced to think about the spaces we inhabit. While we may be losing a sense of community, or a sense of self, as we move into physical isolation there remains a way in which we can deepen our thinking about space and belonging.
Look out for tips marked by an asterisk (*) on how to virtually facilitate this interactive poetry workshop.
Topics: Poetry, Community, workshop, classroom lesson
