Ontario Gr. 5/6 Social Studies Strand B Canada at Home & in the Global Community

Are you a Grade 5/6 Ontario teacher tired of teaching two separate social studies units? Would you love to use ready-made three-part blended lesson plans that allow you to teach both grades together? This Canada’s Actions at Home and in the Global Community resource is a split Grade 5/6 inquiry-based unit that supports the 2023 Strand B Ontario Social Studies Curriculum for Grade 5 and Grade 6.

This resource blends the content from:

1. Grade 5: Role of Government and Responsible Citizenship
2. Grade 6: Canada’s Interactions with the Global Community

The entire unit revolves around the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, as students explore how these rights are protected or violated in Canada and in the global community.

This 273-page resource is structured so that teachers are able to teach ONE lesson to both grades, using an inquiry approach. Both grades are examining how governments, organizations, and individuals are active participants who deal with important issues. Students and teacher learn together about the issues surrounding the Syrian Refugee Crisis. They examine how the Canadian government and NGOs deal with these issues on the global stage (meeting Grade 6 expectations) and how federal, provincial/territorial, and municipal governments, groups and individual citizens work together to help the Syrian refugees who have come to settle in Canada (Grade 5 expectations).

Students then form Expert Groups to examine other issues. Each group explores a different issue, and then shares their knowledge with the class.

Grade 5 Topics:

• First Nations Education
• First Nations Water Crisis
• Lac Megantic Rail Disaster
• Ottawa Area Tornadoes

Grade 6 Topics:

• Education in Afghanistan
• Clean Water in Haiti
• Ukraine Crisis
• Indian Ocean Tsunami
• Human Rights and the Holocaust (new for 2023)

NOTE: In February 2021 the Covid-19 Pandemic was added as an additional issue. This topic is not specifically directed at either specific grade, but could be best used with a high-functioning group of students from both or either grades

A key component of this unit are the Knowledge Building Circles where the Expert Groups come together to share information and ideas, and to build on the ideas of one another. The joyful part of this is that YOU don’t need to be the source of all knowledge; you’re part of the learning journey!

Students learn to look at the people, places, and events surrounding these issues as they:

✔ determine which people, places, and events are most significant.

✔ explore the causes and consequences of events and actions.

✔ learn about the interrelationships between levels of government, NGOs, and individual Canadian citizens.

✔ explore issues from various perspectives.

✔ explore patterns and trends to see similarities between the issues.

This unit includes:

• 19 complete three-part blended (one lesson for both grades!) lesson plans
• 9 Expert Group Topic Text Sets
• Video links
• QR codes for students to access additional sources easily, if technology is available
• Assessment information
• Learning Goal Posters
• Success Criteria Posters for the Concepts of Disciplinary Thinking
• Flipbook templates and examples
• NEW: A modified booklet perfect to use with students with IEP accommodations has been added. The booklet contains simpler vocabulary and tasks.

Because this is an inquiry-based unit, there are no specific answer keys provided. There are, however, general assessment tools.

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