Use the interactive and engaging features of these history sites to bring yesterday alive in today’s classroom. For additional resources visit NetWatch online. For additional sites and past editions, click on back issues.
by Greg Enright
Lively history sites
Unsolved Mysteries
The Teachers section of this attractive site offers numerous resources, including Mystery Quests – short, one-lesson plans that allow would-be CSIs to analyze evidence from notable historical Canadian cases and prepare profiles of suspects. Teachers’ notes are included with each cold case. More detailed guides and experts’ interpretations of each mystery are also available, however, users must register to access these.
Historical Atlas
Explore interactive maps from various periods of Canadian history with this cache of cartographic data. The sophisticated software features data-layering capabilities that allow students to overlay information of their choice. To maps covering the Age of Exploration, for instance, users can add locations of French and English trading posts as well as modern geographical information for a sense of how yesterday relates to today.
Framing Canada
www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/framingcanada
This collection of historical photographs from Library and Archives Canada allows students to interpret history through images. The Educational Resources section provides teachers with a tool kit on decoding pictures for historical information and meaning. Use the robust search engine to find photographs on your topic of choice.
Canada in the Making
Crosswords and fun quizzes make this site worth checking out, as do a wealth of activities and lesson plans around three historical themes: Constitutional History, Aboriginals: Treaties and Relations, and Pioneers and Immigrants. Hopefully more themes will be added in the future.
Digital History
This US site is rich in interactive modules, handouts, fact sheets and lesson plans on American and world history. One highlight is the Interactive Timeline, accessible through the navigational mosaic on the site’s home page. It presents major historical happenings graphically on a map, in the US and elsewhere from 1550 to the present.
