Elections Canada has a treasure trove of learning resources for any teacher looking to include inclusive lessons on voting rights, elections, electoral mapping and digital citizenship in either English or French into their classroom. Each lesson includes a comprehensive lesson guide, slide decks and activities that can be downloaded and you can order real life copies to be sent to your school free of charge! Their resources are professional, thoughtful and well designed; so much so that I highlighted my favourites in a YouTube video.
If you haven’t ordered your own copies, don’t wait. You and your students won’t regret it. They are an invaluable resource and can even be used beyond a Civics classroom. For example, I’ve used Voting Rights Through Time as a minds-on to a lesson on the suffrage movement.
Not only does Elections Canada offer some amazing learning resources, but they also offer professional development opportunities for educators in Markham and in Northwestern Ontario. Recently my school had the pleasure of welcoming Melissa Chan to our Civics classrooms where she catered the lessons to each classroom’s needs and the teacher’s goals. In my classroom, the students were introduced to how electoral districts in Canada are created through the Elections Canada resource Mapping Electoral Districts. Melissa engaged them in discussion about their decisions through visual aids and learning materials and guided them through some of the challenges that are faced in deciding electoral districts.
If you are in either of the Ontario geographic regions served by this incredible pilot program offered through Elections Canada, feel free to email them at education@elections.ca for more details or to arrange a visit to your school.
Christina Iorio is a teacher with the York Catholic District School Board and is a regular contributor to social media platforms regarding all things history and social science. Follow her on Instagram @therealmsiorio
