Links

Links contained in current issues of The Canadian Reader, What in the World? (Levels 1 and 2), and Building Bridges (Levels 1 and 2) are posted below. To access links from previous issues, click on the appropriate link in the box to the right.

The Canadian Reader | 7 |

Alec Bélanger: Extra Awesome

Internet Connections (p.11)

1. Learn more about this news story:

2. Interested in the hockey career of Alec Bélanger? Check out these links:

3. Find out more about volunteering:

4. For teachers:
Social action projects: MAKING A DIFFERENCE:

Asking powerful questions:

Tiny Forests, Big Impact

Internet Connections (pp. 20-21)

1. Learn more about this news story:

2. Find out more about the National Mini Forest Pilot:

3. Watch a video showing a community getting ready to plant a Miyawaki forest:

4. See pictures of tiny forests being planted across Canada:

5. For teachers:
THIEVES strategy:

Mini Forest training:

Measles Makes a Comeback

Internet Connections (pp. 28-29)

1. Learn more about this news story:

2. Find out about measles:
Videos:
Measles Outbreak: Everything You Need to Know in 90 seconds:

Measles 101: Understanding the most contagious preventable disease | About That:

Poster:

3. Interested in viruses?
What is a virus? – Viruses for children – Science for Kids:

What is a virus? For Kids:

4. For teachers:
Measles-related images:
3D representation of a measle virus:

Photo of a child with measles:

Graph showing measles outbreaks in Canada (scroll to bottom of article):

RAFTS strategy:

Loose parts:

What in the World? | 7 |

Measles: Back in the Spotlight

Questions for online exploration (p.9)

1. What is measles?

2. Review the history of measles:

3. Why is measles back in the spotlight?

4. Learn more about the measles vaccine and how misinformation has led to vaccine hesitancy:

5. Why is measles so contagious?

6. Check out these infographics about measles:

Haiti in Turmoil

Questions for online exploration (p.19)

1. What is the current situation in Haiti?

2. Learn how this latest state of chaos escalated in early March and view a photo essay of the situation in the capital, Port-au-Prince:

3. Listen to how G-9 Family gang leader, Jimmy ‘Barbeque’ Cherizier, took over Haiti:

4. Learn how representatives from other Caribbean countries, Canada, and the United States are working to support the creation of a transitional council in Haiti:

5. Watch this summary of the political instability and escalating  gang violence that led to the current situation in Haiti:

6. Listen to this interview with Bob Rae, Canada’s Ambassador to the United Nations, as he answers questions about the situation in Haiti and Canada’s response to the turmoil:

7. Learn more about the nation of Haiti and its complicated history.

Graphing ( p.20)

1. The following source will help:

2. Use this data to create a pie chart to show the overall structure of Haiti's economy.

Source:

Boeing Faces Tough Questions

Before reading (p. 29)

Reveal the actual ranking based on the data in this article:

Questions for online exploration (p.34)

1. Find out more about what happened during the Alaska Airlines flight on a Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft on January 5?

2. Five years after two Boeing 737 Max 8 crashes, are the planes any safer?

3. A former manager of senior production at Boeing who flagged concerns before two Boeing crashes in 2018 and 2019 wasn’t surprised by the latest incidents with Boeing’s 737 Max planes. Find out why:

4. What went wrong with Boeing’s planes?

5. On March 25, three top executives with Boeing announced that they will be stepping down:

6. a) Read the details of the FAA's (Federal Aviation Administration) six-week audit of Boeing's 737 Max 9 aircraft:

b) Learn more about the NTSB's (National Transportation Safety Board) upcoming hearing into the Alaska Airlines incident:

7. Visit the Transport Canada Aviation site to learn how the agency monitors aviation safety in Canada:

Cicadapocalypse?

Before reading (p. 38)

Have students watch this short news report on the double emergence of periodical cicadas:

Questions for online exploration (p.43)

1. What is a cicada?

2. What's the difference between an annual cicada and a periodical cicada?

3. How many cicadas are expected to emerge in 2024 and where will this happen?

4. If you live in the region where this double brood of cicadas emerges, what can you expect?

5. Learn where and when the next broods of periodical cicadas will emerge until the year 2038:

6. Will any of these periodical cicadas reach Canada?

7. Check out these facts and activities related to cicadas:

Inquiry project

The Steps of an Inquiry Project (p. 48)

Check out these short videos to learn how to check the credibility and reliability of websites:

How to evaluate sources for reliability:

How to check if a website is credible:

Helpful Teacher Resources on Inquiry-based Learning (p. 51)

1. Check out Trevor MacKenzie’s website with links to podcasts, blogs, social media links, and other resources on Inquiry‑based learning:

• https://www.trevormackenzie.com

2. John Spenser is another educator whose videos, blogs, and resources offer practical strategies and structures for engaging students in inquiry. Here are two to get you started:

“Helping Students Ask Better Questions by Creating a Culture of Inquiry”

“Using a Wonder Week to Spark Inquiry-based Learning”

3. Edutopia has a number of articles on student inquiry, including:

“What the heck is Inquiry-based Learning?”

“Resources and Downloads to Facilitate Inquiry-based Learning”

Building Bridges | 4 |

Creating learning environments that reflect the First Peoples Principles of Learning (p. 4)

You can learn more about these principles at:

A note on pronunciation (p. 6)

Make students aware that First Peoples’ languages have a rich history of sounds not found in the English language, and consider consulting the language holders directly or use these resources as additional learning investigations:

First Voices:

First Peoples’ Language Map of B.C.:

Territory Acknowledgement (p. 7)

The following resources may help you write an appropriate Territory Acknowledgement with your class:

Find out whose traditional territory your school or community is built on. Use this interactive map of traditional territories of Indigenous Peoples across Canada developed by Native Land to help you:

Learn more about the protocols for acknowledging territory by reading the information shared by Native Land at:

Look at examples of acknowledgements by various post-secondary institutions across Canada on the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) website at:

Talking Circles (p. 8)

BC First Nations Land, Title and Governance Teacher Resource Guide, First Nations Education Steering Committee and First Nations Schools Association, c. 2019 (p. 20). 

The Circle Way:

First Nations Pedagogy Online:

Wearing and Sharing Ribbon Skirts

Extensions (p.17)

1. Find out more about the History of the Ribbon Skirt and what National Ribbon Skirt Day represents:

2. Ribbon skirt teachings are about empowering women by reminding them that they are strong and resilient. Learn more about the ribbon skirt teachings by:

Watching this video:

Reading this article:

3. Are students interested in making their own ribbon skirt? Check out this video tutorial:

4. Read this article on ribbon skirts and the symbolism and the protocol around making them: 

Revitalizing Indigenous Culture in Canada

Before Reading (p. 18)

Tasha Spillett is a Cree-Trinidadian speaker/writer currently living on Treaty One Territory in Manitoba. After reading her poem below with students, discuss how her family’s experience of language, culture, and colonization are informing how she wants to raise her daughter.
* Read more about Tasha on her website at:

Extensions (pp.27-28)

1. Explore the FNESC/FNSA curriculum “BC First Nations Land, Title, and Governance”. In Unit Three (p. 78), play the “Impacts of Colonization: Pass it On Game” to introduce your students to the concept of colonization in relation to Indigenous Peoples. Check out the game, here:

2. View some of the online exhibits at the Haida Gwaii museum:

3. First view pictures of the Heiltsuk Nation’s Big House, at:

4. You may wish to let students know that 2022 marked the start of The UN International Decade of Indigenous Languages. Watch this short CBC news story reflecting on the importance of this declaration to the preservation of Indigenous languages:

5. As a class, explore the following article and infographics showing the Indigenous languages spoken in Canada:

6. Alternatively, view the CBC Indigenous Original Voices interactive map to learn more about the diverse languages in regions across Canada:

7. Read about the origins of the Homalco Nation’s lunar calendar, here:

8. Then, learn more about who the Homalco First Nation are:

9. View the Galleries on Yolanda Skelton’s website:

10. To learn more about Git Hayetsk dance group and the impact that reclaiming dance culture has had on its dancers, visit:

11. “How Indigenous dancers connect with their power through performance”:

12. Watch the CBC documentary “Beyond Human Power”:

13. Read the CBC article “Indigenous teens in Surrey come together through music” and watch their music video “Hide & Seek” as a class:

14. The National Film Board of Canada produced a short documentary called “Button Blanket:

15. Students may be interested in viewing the Museum of Anthropology’s archival photographs of the 1969 Robert Davidson Totem Pole Raising on Haida Gwaii. Direct them to the 72 photographs on this site:


16. Alternatively, students may wish to read about this historic event and watch an excerpt of the short NFB film ‘Now is the Time’ that tells the story of the totem pole raising:

Or this CBC article:

Culminating Activity: Art Analysis (p. 29)

(page 24) “[This image] is my version of Turtle Island. I wanted to use earthy colour of umber for the shell to represent the land we live, work and play on across our world. Then the yellow for the hope and resilience that is growing from each of our Nations across Turtle Island. The blue within the shell is to represent that importance of water we rely on. Then in the middle of the shell we have our world.”  [Note: Students may need to conduct research to understand the term ‘Turtle Island.’ They can begin their research here:

Culminating Activity: Letter to My Children (p. 30)

1. Tina is the creator of “To My Children: Every Child Matters – Even You”, a video that describes beautifully and powerfully the impact of Residential Schools on her family and the hope she has for her three children, as well as the importance of understanding history, being kind, and having children know they matter. You can preview this video at:

2. To find out how to purchase rights to show this video to your students, contact Tina at:

When I have kids in grade 4/5 wanting to know when the next issue is coming, even in December and June, that’s when I know I have an excellent resource.

A. Eisler, Grade 4/5 teacher Burnaby, BC