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This document provides a summary of information available related to the social studies curriculum for grades 1-6 on the Statistics Canada web site. This web-site contains several sections of materials relevant for the social studies curriculum.

Teaching Resources under Education Resources includes 8 complete teacher’s kits and more than 30 lessons for the social studies, history, and geography curricula. The Census Results Teacher’s Kit contains 13 lessons, many of these appropriate for grade 1-6 social studies related to the theme of Heritage and Citizenship.

Canadian Statistics includes more than 370 tables of continuously updated statistics on significant aspects of Canada’s economy, land, people and government. Many tables have data at the province level. The Canada Quiz on the website provides a fun-filled introduction to using Canadian statistics module on the web site for students in grade 4 and up.

A Statistical Profile of Canadian Communities is one of the most popular components of Statistics Canada’s web site. Researchers, students and the public can obtain a wealth of statistical information for close to 6,000 Canadian cities, towns, villages, and Aboriginal communities free of charge. A simple mapping feature allows users to pinpoint the community in which they are interested. Information is provided for five major topics: population, education, health, income and work, and families and dwellings. Data are available for census metropolitan areas and the smaller census agglomerations. This resource is particularly useful for Canadian Communities Atlas Projects sponsored by Natural Resources Canada.

E-STAT contains Canada wide information from censuses of population (at province, county and community levels) plus the current and historical record of 450,000 business and socio-economic subjects. Teachers and students can use E-STAT to transform these statistics into colourful maps and graphs. This product is provided free on the web exclusively to educational institutions and educators.

The Historical Statistics of Canada is accessible on the Statistics Canada web site as a free downloadable document. The second edition of this unique reference volume was produced jointly by the Social Science Federation of Canada and Statistics Canada in 1983. The volume contains about 1,088 statistical tables on the social, economic and institutional conditions of Canada from the start of the Confederation in 1867 to the mid-1970s. The tables are arranged in sections with an introduction explaining the content of each section, the principal sources of data for each table, and explanatory notes regarding the statistics. In most case, there is sufficient description of the individual series to enable readers to use them without consulting the numerous basic sources referenced in the publication. All text are HTML pages, while each table is an individual spreadsheet in a comma delimited format (CSV), which allows on-line viewing or downloading.

Information and resources available for each social studies course are organized below in three sections: free data, E-stat database, and teaching materials.
 
 

Recommended Publications and Lessons - 

Canada at a Glance (appropriate for grade 5 and up)

Canada at a Glance, catalogue 12-581-XPE, is a free 24-page booklet containing over 60 tables from Statistics Canada, updated once or twice per year. Separate paper editions are available, in English and French, from Statistics Canada’s online catalogue. Educators can order free class sets of this publication, which will be delivered by mail. You can also view or download the booklet in pdf format. There is also a related lesson plan at http://www.statcan.ca/english/kits/glanc1.htm. Students examine the Statistics Canada publication Canada at a Glance. They select data for subjects of their choice to prepare graphs, formulate textual descriptions of data trends and make predictions

Canada Year Book

The Canada year book presents an overview of the social, economic and cultural life of Canada. Complete with 15 chapters, more than 240 tables, charts, graphs and a series of short feature articles, the year book is Canada’s most comprehensive reference resource. Illustrated with more than 125 photographs - many in colour - and written in an accessible and easy-to-understand style, it conveys a clear picture of the trends and issues that dominate contemporary Canadian life. 

The Canada year book first appeared in 1867, the year Canada was founded. Collectively, it forms a body of living history, which has successfully tracked and monitored the progress and development of Canada since Confederation. 

Canada Year Book 1999 Teacher’s Kit

This free kit provides educators with a variety of activities designed to support the integration and use of the book and CD-ROM in curriculum-based classroom applications. A demo of Chapter one and two from the CD-ROM are currently available on the Statistics Canada web site. Activities are included to cover the four sections of the Canada Year Book 1999.

Canada Quiz

Students explore our web-site and learn about Canada and Canadians. It provides a fun-filled introduction to using Canadian statistics module on the web site for students in grade 4 and up.

CANADA AND WORLD CONNECTIONS STRAND

Grade 1 - the Local Community

Skills required: demonstrate understanding that a local community is made up of groups of people and different parks, buildings, etc.

Developing map and globe skills

Free data and local base maps:
Statistical Profile of Canadian Communities on www.statcan.ca under Census

Grade 2 - Features of Communities

Developing map and globe skills

Free data and base maps:
Statistical Profile of Canadian Communities on www.statcan.ca under Census

Grade 3 - Urban and Rural Communities

Developing map and globe skills

Free Data source and base maps:
Statistical Profile of Canadian Communities on www.statcan.ca under Census contains base maps and 6 free tables for over 5,000 communities in Canada

Grade 4 - Provinces and Territories of Canada

Free data: hundreds of tables of updated province level data from various surveys under Canadian statistics and from the latest census under Census / the Nation Series.

Statistical Profile of Canadian Communities on www.statcan.ca under Census contains base maps and 6 free tables for over 5,000 communities in Canada. Table on income and work enables you to characterize communities by type of work.

Canada YearBook and CD-ROM - hundreds of tables by province in this book and on the CD-ROM. The first 2 chapters of the CD-ROM are loaded free on the Internet at http://www.statcan.ca/english/ads/11-402-XCB/discount.htm. Look under Introduction for a summary table on each province, giving the Capital City, and figures of the coat of arms and premier.

Teaching materials:
Population counts. Teaching activity as part of the Census Results Teacher’s Kit.
Students are presented with a map of Canada showing national, provincial and territorial population figures from the 1996 Census. They then compare different provinces and territories, which leads to a realization of what population statistics tell us about where and how we live. 4 pages, 1 class period.

Grade 5 - Canada and World Connections - Aspects of Government in Canada

Overall expectations: identify and describe the electoral process

Free data:
Canadian statistics tables, updated annually, on The State.

E-STAT data: 1997 federal election results

Overall expectations: describe how immigrants become Canadian citizens

Teaching materials:
Immigration and citizenship Teaching activity as part of the Census Results Teacher’s Kit.
Students complete a series of graphs showing the pattern of Canadian immigration over time. They then take on the role of a person applying for citizenship and join their classmates in a mock citizenship ceremony. 12 pages, 2 class periods

Grade 6 - Canada and its Trading Partners

Overall expectations: describe the ways in which Canada is connected to the rest of the world through trade

Expectations: identify major trading partners, products that Canada imports and exports

Free data:
Canadian statistics tables on International trade under The Economy.
Imports and exports of goods by country.

Canada At A Glance - the last two pages of this free booklet have Canadian trade data

E-STAT data: CANSIM matrices 3651 (imports total), 3685 (exports total)

Exports to individual countries (3686-3720)

Imports from individual countries (3887-3913)

HERITAGE AND CITIZENSHIP STRAND

Grade 2: Traditions and Celebrations

Overall expectations: demonstrate an understanding that Canada is a country of many cultures

Teaching materials:
Immigration and citizenship teaching activity as part of the Census Results Teacher’s Kit.
Students make a paper chain to illustrate the different parts of the world that Canadian immigrants come from. They will also explore the contribution immigrants make to Canadian society. 9 pages, 2 class periods.

Linguistic Diversity (by province) Teaching activity as part of the Census Results Teacher’s Kit.
Students study some home language statistics for Canada as a whole and then construct a bar graph to show the statistics for their province or territory. They will also interview a person in their school or community who speaks a language other than English or French at home. 6 pages, 2 class periods.

Grade 3: Pioneer Life

Overall expectations: identify early settlers (especially to Upper Canada) and their origins and describe their lives and contributions

Reference materials:
’Censuses of Canada, 1665 to 1871, Statistics of Canada, Volume IV’ was printed in Ottawa, in 1876. This volume contains about 343 statistical tables on the social and economic conditions in Canada from the earliest settlements to 1871.

Related lesson plans.

Grade 6 - Aboriginal Peoples and European Explorers

Overall expectations: demonstrate an understanding of the social, political, and economic issues facing Aboriginal peoples in Canada today

Free data:
a) Canadian statistics tables under The People on Origins and visible minorities. Select tables on Population by aboriginal group

b) 1996 Census release on aboriginal peoples - Daily release of Jan. 13, 1998 and related tables showing population by age and by Indian nation.

c) E-STAT data: 1991 Census Aboriginal Peoples Survey data, 1996 Census data, 1665-1871 Censuses data has some information on aboriginal peoples.

Teaching materials:
a) Aboriginal population lesson in the 1996 Census Results Teacher’s Kit.
Students examine statistics from the 1996 Census on the Aboriginal population. Topics include distribution of the Aboriginal population across Canada, the three Aboriginal groups, age, and language. The activity provides a basic statistical background for further class study on Aboriginal issues. 10 pages, 1-2 class periods.

b) John Lundy lessons on Aboriginal peoples under APS

Expectations: identify early explorers and their impact on the development of Canda

Free data:
Under About Statistics Canada, info. On Jean Talon and doing the first censuses.

- Tables from the first Census of New France in 1665-66 under the Teaching Activity ’Role Playing Jean Talon’.

- Introduction to the book 'Censuses of Canada, 1665 to 1871' containing background information, plus many interesting facts and estimated populations.

- E-STAT - Censuses of 1665-1871