Bringing Indigenous Voices into the Classroom

In December of 2012, I visited the Woodland Cultural Centre and former Mohawk Institute in Brantford, Ontario for the first time. This visit had a lasting impact upon my understanding of the residential school system in Canada. Subsequently I asked myself, how could I further embed Indigenous history into my courses?

Topics: Choosing to Participate, Facing History Resources, History, Canada, Media Skills, Technology, Truth and Reconciliation, current events, Culturally Responsive and Relevant Pedagogy, Indigenous, Lesson Ideas, In the news, Social Justice

The truth needs to be told. The truth needs to be taught.

-Anonymous student

This year has brought a lot of change to my classroom - for one, it’s in a new school! I started the year at Central Toronto Academy (CTA) in downtown Toronto. It has been a fantastic experience working with the staff and getting to know a whole new group of students. I was particularly excited to bring Facing History and Ourselves into a new school and see how it was picked up by students unfamiliar with the organization and it's pedagogy.

Topics: Choosing to Participate, Human Rights, History, Canada, EdTech, Technology, Truth and Reconciliation, Indigenous History, current events, Indigenous, In the news, Social Justice, reflection

Stories matter: They shape the way we see ourselves, the way we see others, and the way we understand history. By sharing and listening to stories, we recognize ourselves as part of the human story, as individuals who can change the narrative by making positive choices and shaping our world.

Topics: Safe Schools, Identity, Media Skills, Technology, digital stories, Radiozilla, Genocide and Crimes Against Humanities Course

Note-taking is an important learning strategy that can help prepare students to participate in a discussion or begin a writing activity. Notes can be used to recognize students’ misconceptions and questions, and to evaluate students’ understanding of material.

As educators, we all too often do not teach our students effective note-taking strategies, assuming instead that this skill is something that they will learn to do intuitively.

Topics: History, Innovative Classrooms, Technology, Metacognitive startegies, Strategies, Lesson Ideas, English Classroom

Over the past three months Facing History and Ourselves, in partnership with Regent Park Focus and with funding from Mozilla Hive Community Projects, worked with students from several Toronto District School Board high schools to create short radio pieces exploring issues important to local youth. This project was called RadioZilla.

Topics: Choosing to Participate, Facing History Resources, Identity, EdTech, Innovative Classrooms, Media Skills, Technology, Radiozilla, Inside a Genocide Classroom, Personal history

This semester Facing History students from across the greater Toronto area have been busy learning the ins and outs of digital storytelling - writing, editing, interviewing, and developing media skills in order to produce on social justice-oriented radio segments that will broadcast on Radio Regent. The youth-led audio documentaries will explore critical topics such as identity, bystander behaviour, religion, upstanders in history and today, and standing up for others.

Topics: Art, Events, EdTech, Innovative Classrooms, Media Skills, Technology, Radiozilla

Dear ONnetwork readers,

We are excited to announce the launch of the new facinghistory.org! We hope you will visit us and enjoy our new look and feel, mobile-friendly design, intuitive navigation, and enhanced search capabilities.

Topics: EdTech, Technology, Strategies

Happy (belated) New Year! A little while ago, we were looking through a stack of old Facing History newsletters, and had a good laugh at this ad from 1996:

Topics: Facing History Resources, Technology, current events, In the news

There’s an App for That

Topics: Professional Development, Choosing to Participate, Human Rights, Facing History Resources, Identity, History, Technology, Best of..., Lesson Ideas, Holocaust and Human Behaviour, Social Justice

Topics: Choosing to Participate, Facing History Resources, Identity, History, Technology, genocide, legacy, Genocide and Crimes Against Humanities Course, CHG, Personal history