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Big Ideas
Big Ideas
Global and regional conflicts have been a powerful force in shaping our contemporary world and identities.
The development of political institutions is influenced by economic, social, ideological, and geographic factors.
Worldviews lead to different perspectives and ideas about developments in Canadian society.
Historical and contemporary injustices challenge the narrative and identity of Canada as an inclusive, multicultural society.
Content
Learning Standards
Content
government, First Peoples governance, political institutions, and ideologies
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Sample topics:
- forms of government and decision-making models (e.g., parliamentary democracy, constitutional monarchy, consensus, autocracy, republic, monarchy, democracy, theocracy)
- consensus-based governance (e.g., Nunavut) and First Peoples self-governance models (e.g., Sechelt, Nisga'a, Tsawwassen)
- models for classifying political and economic ideologies (e.g., linear left/right; two-dimensional, such as political compass)
- ideologies (e.g., socialism, communism, capitalism, fascism, liberalism, conservatism, environmentalism, libertarianism, authoritarianism, feminism)
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levels and branches of government:
- local, regional, territorial, provincial, federal
- executive, legislative, judicial
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Indian Act:
- Crown- and federal government–imposed governance structures on First Peoples communities (e.g., band councils)
- title, treaties, and land claims (e.g., Nisga'a Treaty, Haida Gwaii Strategic Land Use Decision, Tsilhqot'in decision)
- Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
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elections and electoral systems:
- election campaigns
- minority and majority governments
- proposals for electoral reform and alternative election systems
environmental, political, and economic policies
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Sample topics:
- environmental issues, including climate change, renewable energy, overconsumption, water quality, food security, conservation
- stakeholders (e.g., First Peoples; industry and corporate leaders; local citizens; grassroots movements; special interest groups, including environmental organizations)
- other considerations in policy development, including cultural, societal, spiritual, land use, environmental
- social welfare programs (e.g., health care, education, basic income)
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national programs and projects:
- national climate strategy, including carbon pricing and ending of coal-fired electricity generation
- stimulus programs, infrastructure projects
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trade agreements:
- NAFTA (North America Free Trade Agreement)
- Trans-Pacific Partnership
Canadian autonomy
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Sample topics:
- Canada and Britain (e.g., World War I; Statute of Westminster; Constitution Act, 1982)
- Canada and the United States (e.g., free trade, bilateral defence, Montreal Protocol on acid rain)
- Canada and the world (e.g., League of Nations, World War II, United Nations, Paris Climate Agreement)
- Canada (treaties with First Peoples, Quebec sovereignty movements)
Canadian identities
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Sample topics:
- First Peoples identities (e.g., status, non-status, First Nations, Metis, Inuit)
- Francophone identities (e.g., Franco-Ontarian, Acadian, Quebecois, Metis, bilingual)
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immigration and multiculturalism:
- immigration and refugee policies and practices
- bilingualism and biculturalism (Official Languages Act)
- multiculturalism policy (Canadian Multiculturalism Act)
- cultural identities of subsequent generations (e.g., second-generation Japanese Canadian versus Canadian of Japanese descent versus Canadian)
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manifestations or representations :
- First Peoples arts, traditions, languages
- place-based identities and sense of belonging (e.g., Haida Gwaii versus Queen Charlotte Islands; “up North” and “back East”; affinity for ocean air, wide-open spaces; spiritual ancestors)
- media and art (e.g., CBC radio and television, Group of Seven, National Film Board, Canadian content)
- scientific and technological innovations (e.g., snowmobile, insulin)
- sports and international sporting events (e.g., hockey, Olympics)
residential schools and other discriminatory policies and injustices against First Peoples in BC and Canada ELABORATIONS UNDER DEVELOPMENT
The Holocaust and the concept of genocide ELABORATIONS UNDER DEVELOPMENT
advocacy for human rights, including findings and recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission
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Sample topics:
- Truth and Reconciliation Commission report and calls to action (e.g., access to elders and First Peoples healing practices for First Peoples patients; appropriate commemoration ceremonies and burial markers for children who died at residential schools)
- human rights tribunals
- Canadian Bill of Rights and Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
- Supreme Court challenges
- international declarations (e.g., UN Declaration on the Rights of the Child; UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples)
- anti-racism education and actions
- First Peoples protest and advocacy movements (e.g., National Indian Brotherhood, Oka Crisis, Idle No More)
- other protest and advocacy movements (e.g., Pride, women’s liberation, inclusion)
- redress movements for historic wrongs (e.g., Japanese-Canadian Legacy Project, Truth and Reconciliation)
- federal and provincial apologies (e.g., apology for Chinese Head Tax and Chinese Exclusion Act; Chinese Historical Wrongs Consultation Final Report and Recommendations regarding head tax and discriminatory treatment of Chinese immigrants; apologies for internments, residential schools, Komagata Maru)
domestic conflicts and co-operation
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Sample topics:
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Canadian constitutional issues:
- Meech Lake Accord
- Charlottetown Accord
- Calgary Declaration
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Quebec sovereignty:
- Quiet Revolution
- October Crisis
- Parti Québécois
- Bloc Québécois
- Bill 101
- 1980 and 1995 referenda
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First Peoples actions:
- involvement in Meech Lake Accord
- Oka Crisis, Gustafsen Lake Standoff, Ipperwash Crisis, Shannon’s Dream (Attawapiskat)
- Idle No More
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national and regional First Peoples organizations:
- National Indian Brotherhood
- Assembly of First Nations
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Canadian constitutional issues:
international conflicts and co-operation
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Sample topics:
- global armed conflicts and Canada’s role in them (e.g., World War II, Korea, Suez, Cyprus, Gulf War, Somalia, Rwanda, Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Syria)
- non-participation in global armed conflicts (e.g., Chanak Crisis, Vietnam War, Iraq War)
- involvement in international organizations and agreements, including League of Nations, United Nations, La Francophonie, Commonwealth, NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), Group of Seven (G7), NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command), APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation), WTO (World Trade Organization), Paris Climate Agreement, Great Lakes–Saint Lawrence River Basin Sustainable Water Resources Agreement, Ottawa Treaty
- support of non-governmental organizations (NGOs)
Curricular Competency
Learning Standards
Curricular Competency
Use Social Studies inquiry processes and skills to ask questions; gather, interpret, and analyze ideas; and communicate findings and decisions
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Key skills:
- Draw conclusions about a problem, an issue, or a topic.
- Assess and defend a variety of positions on a problem, an issue, or a topic.
- Demonstrate leadership by planning, implementing, and assessing strategies to address a problem or an issue.
- Identify and clarify a problem or issue.
- Evaluate and organize collected data (e.g., in outlines, summaries, notes, timelines, charts).
- Interpret information and data from a variety of maps, graphs, and tables.
- Interpret and present data in a variety of forms (e.g., oral, written, and graphic).
- Accurately cite sources.
- Construct graphs, tables, and maps to communicate ideas and information, demonstrating appropriate use of grids, scales, legends, and contours.
Assess the significance of people, places, events, or developments, and compare varying perspectives on their significance at particular times and places, and from group to group (significance)
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Key questions:
- How relevant is Canadian content in a global digital world?
- What is the role of place in Canadians’ sense of belonging and identity?
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Sample activities:
- Select significant people to include in a museum display on women’s suffrage.
- Determine how the significance of Vimy Ridge has changed since the dedication of the Vimy Memorial.
Assess the justification for competing accounts after investigating points of contention, reliability of sources, and adequacy of evidence, including data (evidence)
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Key question:
- Whose stories are told and whose stories are missing in the narratives of Canadian history?
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Sample activities:
- Assess the coverage of significant political decisions from different media outlets.
- Recognize implicit and explicit ethical judgments in a variety of sources.
Compare and contrast continuities and changes for different groups at particular times and places (continuity and change)
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Key questions:
- How has the Canadian government’s relationship with First Peoples regarding treaties and land use changed or stayed the same?
- How have Canada’s immigration and refugee policies changed?
- How has Canadian identity changed or stayed the same?
Assess how underlying conditions and the actions of individuals or groups influence events, decisions, or developments, and analyze multiple consequences (cause and consequence)
- Key questions:
- To what extent have First Peoples influenced the development of economic and political policy in Canada?
- How do humans’ relationships with land impact political and economic ideologies?
- How do different political parties address historical or contemporary problems?
- What are the causes and consequences of Canada’s multiculturalism policies?
- To what extent do citizens influence the legislative process?
Explain and infer different perspectives on past or present people, places, issues, or events by considering prevailing norms, values, worldviews, and beliefs (perspective)
- Key question:
- How do art, media, and innovation inform a shared collective identity?
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Key questions:
- To what extent has Canada’s multiculturalism policy been successfully implemented?
- How successful has Canada’s bilingual policy been, and to what extent is it still necessary?
- What are the strengths and limitations of different forms of government?
- Should the Canadian Senate be abolished, reformed, replaced, or maintained?
- Should the electoral system in Canada be reformed?