Educational Resources

Source: Twinkl.com

Focus: Senior elementary students

Summary: In Canada, June 21 is known as National Indigenous Peoples Day. This is a day for all Canadians to recognize and celebrate the unique heritage, diverse cultures and outstanding contributions of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples.

Although these groups share many similarities, they each have their own distinct heritage, languages, cultural practices and spiritual beliefs. In cooperation with Indigenous organizations, the Government of Canada chose June 21, the summer solstice, for National Indigenous Peoples Day. 

For generations, many Indigenous peoples and communities have celebrated their culture and heritage on or near this day due to the significance of the summer solstice as the longest day of the year.

In 2009, June was declared National Indigenous History Month, following the passing of a unanimous motion in the Canadian House of Commons. This provides an opportunity to recognize not only the historic contributions of Indigenous peoples to the development of Canada but also the strength of present-day Indigenous communities and their promise for the future.

Every June, Canadians celebrate National Indigenous History Month, which is an opportunity to honour the heritage, contributions and cultures of First Nation, Inuit and Métis communities across Canada. Canadians are also invited to celebrate National Indigenous Peoples Day on June 21st each year.

Source: Canada’s History

Focus: Elementary students

Summary: Students will explore the cultural and personal losses that children suffered while attending Residential Schools. Students will generate their own ideas about reconciliation and community action.

•  Download the lesson plan (English) link opens in new window

Source: First Nations Education Steering Committee (FNESC)

Focus: Grade 5

Summary: The FNESC/FNSA Indian Residential Schools and Reconciliation Teacher Resource Guides were developed in response to the call by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada for education bodies to develop age-appropriate educational materials about Indian Residential Schools.

The FNESC/FNSA Indian Residential Schools & Reconciliation Gr. 5 Teacher Resource Guide is designed to help Grade 5 students attain an understanding of the history of the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous People over Canada’s history and engage young people to take part in the journey of reconciliation.

Source: University of Toronto OISE

Focus: K-12

Summary: This guide is designed to help Initial Teacher Education students find materials that centre or focus on First Nations, Métis, and Inuit world-views, experiences and knowledges for teaching in the K-12 classroom.

Source: The University of British Columbia

Focus: Elementary students

Summary: A collection of Elementary lesson plans to be used in the classroom to support Indigenous learning and understanding.

Source: TakingITGlobal

Focus: K-5

Summary: This workshop series will introduce participants to Indigenous topics such as Indigenous naming terminology, history of Indigenous and settler relationships in Canada, and the importance of land acknowledgements. First, to assess prior knowledge, participants will engage in small group discussions centering around the theme of culture, land, and place. Next, participants will be tasked with learning one aspect of Indigenous history. Participants will rotate groups to share their knowledge with others. Finally, participants will collaborate on a suitable workplace or individual Indigenous land acknowledgement.

This workshop is designed to be an easily implementable lunch-and-learn series facilitated by a fellow co-worker volunteer or group of volunteers.

Source: The Critical Thinking Consortium

Focus: Grade 6

Summary: Overview of Lessons

The lesson plans in this resource are organized into three lines or units of inquiry. The lines of inquiry are designed to develop students’ understanding and ability to respond to an overarching question and challenge: Overarching inquiry question: What might meaningful reconciliation look like? Overarching challenge: Create a powerful representation to show what meaningful reconciliation means.

If taught individually, the lessons help students understand various aspects of residential schools and reconciliation in Canada. As components of a unit of study, these lessons invite critical inquiry into a wider range of topics and issues relating to reconciliation in Canada. Each lesson includes detailed instructional strategies and required support materials. These include briefing sheets, activity sheets, images, and source documents.

Source: Indigenous Education: The National Centre for Collaboration

Focus: Grade 5 students

Summary: This lesson plan teaches students about local Indigenous history and fosters opportunities for students to inquire about and to explore their family histories. 

Source: Saskatchewan Polytechnic

Focus:   Elementary/Secondary students

Summary: The Indigenous Student Success Strategy was developed to provide all Indigenous students with a student experience that incorporates Indigenous ways of learning and knowing into every aspect of your education. Our services include:

 • A summer transition program.

 • Access to Indigenous students’ centres.

 • Indigenous student advisors.

 • Financial support through a number of scholarships and bursaries.

We also employ an Indigenous community liaison to raise awareness about Sask Polytech in Indigenous communities, both urban and rural.

Source: FNSA BC

Focus: Primary/Junior students

Summary: The following activity sheets include user-friendly, simple activities and questions to help guide parents when they are reading and discussing the books with their children at home.

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