TVO Learn is designed to meet each student where they are on their learning journey. Learning Activities are comprehensive and require guided instruction from an adult, while Resources for Learning, Apply the Learning prompts and Vocabulary lists work well to reinforce specific skills or to enable independent exploration of a subject. Use these helpful tips to get the most from TVO Learn.
Grade 8
History and Geography
How to Use These Resources
Curriculum Overview
Through the history curriculum, students build on their understanding of Canadian history, exploring the experiences and challenges of people who lived in Canada in the beginning of the twentieth century and will compare them to the people who live in present-day Canada. By examining the impact of the Indian Act, the residential school system, the Numbered Treaties, and systemic racism on Indigenous individuals and communities they will come to know the inequalities which exist in society today and that many of the rights and freedoms we have are the result of actions taken by people to change their lives.
In the geography curriculum, students continue to learn about the Earth’s physical features and processes in order to explore the relationship between the Earth and human settlement patterns. They will focus on where people live and why they live there and on the impact of human settlement and land use on the environment. In addition, students will study factors which affect economic development and quality of life on a global scale and will examine responses to global inequalities.
The history and geography curriculum is divided into two strands:
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History
Creating Canada, 1850–1890
Canada, 1890–1914: A Changing Society -
Geography
Global Settlement: Patterns and Sustainability
Global Inequalities: Economic Development and Quality of Life
Interested in learning more? View Curriculum PDF
For French resources, please visit idello.org
Learning Activities
Learning Activities provide opportunity for deeper exploration of a subject. Organized by grade and topic (or strand), students should be guided through each Learning Activity by an adult. Before clicking on a topic to prepare for or begin this guided instruction, be sure to read these helpful tips about how to get the most out of TVO Learn.
Please note: To access the learning activities, visit this page with a computer or tablet.
Resources for Learning
Chosen by TVO educators, these resources support the curriculum outlined above. Review the below list of options along with the activities. Then, read, watch, listen or play to build understanding and knowledge.
Complete the suggested activities using these resources and other TVO resources.
Apply the Learning
Choose from the following to consolidate learning across all curriculum strands.
- In small groups, research and find political speeches in Canada from 1850-1890 to compare and contrast them with the political speech selections made in the article.
- Make a slide show that compares and contrasts the rights of Canadian citizens with the rights of Indigenous peoples in the Indian Act.
- Design a mind-map of the main ideas of the injustice of residential schools.
- In the form of a short story, describe what your life would be like without electricity.
- List 5 areas where First Nations face inequalities. For each area suggest some strategies to address these inequalities.
- Write a reflection on what Canada could do to better target sustainability goals.
- Design a bookmark for at least three resources that summarizes the main ideas on the impacts on the environment.
- Create your own definitions for 20 of the words in the vocabulary list.
Vocabulary
Review this list of vocabulary associated with the curriculum. Practice spelling, research definitions, and find these vocabulary words when engaging with the TVO resources or completing learning activities.
Students should understand and be able to apply these words in context.
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History
Creating Canada, 1850–1890
Canada, 1890–1914: A Changing Society -
Geography
Global Settlement: Patterns and Sustainability
Global Inequalities: Economic Development and Quality of Life
Act of Union
Band
Band council
community
Dominion of Canada
First Nations
Indigenous peoples
Indian Act
Inuit
Métis
National Policy
residential school system
the Crown
Treaties
democracy
demographic
equity
freedom
human impact
issue-based
land-use
perspective
population density
power and authority
relationships
rights and responsibilities
stewardship
thematic maps
Looking for a Different Subject?
Choose from the options below to explore a different grade 8 subject.
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