Women in Canadian History Education Guide

T his g ui d e c o m pl e m e nts pr ovi ncial a n d territorial curriculain middle and high school history and s ocial sci e nce class es. T h e historical t hi nki n g fra m e work d evel o p e d by Dr. Peter S eixas a n d t h e Historical Thinking Project hasinspired classroo m activiti es to pr o m ote res earc h a n d a nalysis, e n ga g e critical t hi nki n g, pr o m ote c o m m u nicati o n skills, a n d explore ethical questions. Thelessons may be used se que ntially ori n divi dually. O wi n g t o d e ma n d for m or e r es o urc es ex pl ori n g rece nt history, t his g ui d e c o nce ntrates o n t h e 2 0t h century. As we celebrate a century of wo men’s suffrage,it’si mportanttorecognizethat while this victory was aland mark achieve ment, social c ha n g e a n d t h e p us h for e q uality wer e n’t b or n fr o m, n or c o m pl ete d by, ac hi evi n g t h e ri g ht to vote. Putting girls and wo meninto social studies a n d history narratives b e gi ns wit h a rec o g niti o n of t h eir diversity, as well as a rec o g niti o n t hat not all perspectives arerepresentedinthis g ui d e. St u d e nts are e nc o ura g e d to re m e m b er t hat t h e ex p eri e nces of o n e wo ma n or gr o u p are n ot re pres e ntative of everyo n e, a n d ma ny stori es re mai n u ntol d. T h e c o m plicate d nat ure of rec ord e d history, c urric ular re q uire m e nts, a n d spaceli mitations do not allo w ustotell everyone’s stori es, a n d we h o p e t hat teac h ers will s hare ot h er perspectives, experiences, and stories. Teachers may wa nt to hi g hli g ht t h es e stori es d uri n g Wo m e n’s History Monthin October. Historica Canada’s bilingual education guides are a c olla b orative pr ocess t hat e n ga g es history educators, acade mic historians, and co m munity stakeholdersin content creation andlesson planning.

Sketch fro m the collection of a British wo manliving near Niagara Falls, inscribed:“The black wo man who with her husbandtookin + nursedthe poor sick black man who could not payfor hislodging - shelived near us and beca me a great friend.” Caroline Bucknall Estcourt,1838/1839(courtesy Library and Archives Canada/Acc. No. 1950-29-64/ C-093963).

in Canadian History

Wo men Say No to Racis m (courtesy City of Toronto Archives/ Fonds 493/File 3).

W o men have played a crucialroleinthe story ofthe past and ho wit shapes the present, but o fficial histories often overlooked wo men's contributions. Until recently, history textbooks were usually written by and about men. Those accountstendedto mini mizethe place of wo men and girlsinthe national narrative,insteadfocusing on men’s publicroles, particularlyin wars and politics. Fa mily histories were moreinclusive, presenting wo men’s diverse roles. Today, historians are startingtorecoverthe co mplicatedrealityin which both wo men and men have shaped hu man history. Wo men’s history seeks to write wo men back into the parts of the narrative fro m which they have been o mitted, with the g oal of telling a more co mplete story. Wo men and girls were(and are) agents of change, andignoringtheirroleleaves history biased,inco mplete, and misleading. Wo men’s historyinthisland began withIndigenous wo men, andlater French, British, and African wo men arrived. Overthefollo wing centuries,i m migrantsfro m aroundthe world beganto arrive, finding a ho me and shapingthelandthat would beco me Canada. Wo menfro m every corner ofthe world no w sharein creating Canada’s history. This education guide exa mines key mo ments and figures, ackno wledging broad changes over ti me and the diversity this entails. Class, race, ethnicity,language,religion, genderidentity, sexual orientation, politics, and geography allinfluence wo men’s experiences. No single guide can capture thefullrange of hu man experience, butthese pagesintroduce Canada’s on-going story of diversity, with a focus on girls and wo men. They provide sna psh ots of i mportant mo mentsin wo men’s history,thoughthousands of other stories are left unexplored. Ourjob as historians and studentsisto continuetoinvestigate those stories after we put do wn our texts. This guide ai mstoincorporate diverse perspectives on wo men’s history. The activities weavetogether keyideas and methodologiesthatteachers may wantto unpack with students. The Historical Thinkin g C once pts help students analyze the past and understand what happened and what those events mean. For more on the Historical Thinking Concepts, visit historicalthinking.ca. Historical Significance is a measure of what makes so meone or so mething i mportantinthe historical narrative. People and eventsinthe past are historically signi ficantifthey created changethat affected many people overti me, orifthey reveal so mething aboutlargerissuesin history orthe present day. Ho wever, historical signi ficanceis subjective: whatis signi ficantto one group may not be to another.

Acco m m odati ons for S pecial Educati on, ELL, and ESL students areincluded under the appropriate sections, andidentified as Modi fication . Many ofthe activitiesinthis guide require advanced reading skills. Consider pairing E L L students with stronger readers.

Reco m mended articles (i n it ali c s) can be accessed by visitingthe Wo menin Canadian History Collection on The Canadian Encyclopedia . Supple mentary worksheets (notedin bold throughout) can be do wnloaded on the Historica Cana da E ducati on Portal . Thefollo winglist of bilingualresources supports educators and students butis not exhaustive.

Having fun during a course on the use of gas masks, Chilliwack, British Colu mbia, 1945(courtesy Aileen Hanger/The Memory Pr oj e ct/ Hi st ori c a C a n a d a).

The Canadian Encyclopedia thecanadianencyclopedia.ca Historica Canada Education Portal education.historicacanada.ca/ Passages Canada passagestocanada.co m/ Dictionary of Canadian Biography biographi.ca/en/ Wo men's History Videos celebrate wo menshistory.ca

On the Cover: Rise Up:International Wo men’s Day,1984 (c o urtesy City of Tor o nto Arc hives/ Fo n ds 111/ S eri es 66 0/ Fil e 1 4). International Wo men’s Day Poster,1982 (c o urtesy City of Tor o nto Arc hives/ Fo n ds 111/ S eri es 66 0/ Fil e 1 4). Stop Violence Against Wo men button. Courtesy Rise Up Fe minist Archive. (riseupfe ministarchive.ca/culture/buttons/stopviolenceagainst wo men/).

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