Dear Teacher,
The Historica-Dominion Institute is pleased to present a Black History in Canada Education Guide which will be arriving in high school classrooms across Canada in January 2011. Get your students thinking about Black History just in time for Black History Month in February!

The largest independent organization dedicated to Canadian history, identity and citizenship, The Historica-Dominion Institute is committed to bringing the stories and experiences of Canada into the classroom. This innovative Education Guide explores seminal events and personalities in Canadian Black History through engaging discussion and interactive activities. It was made possible with the generous support of TD Bank Group.

The purpose of this Guide is to enhance your students’ knowledge and appreciation of the Black Canadian experience, drawing from Lawrence Hill’s award-winning historical fiction, The Book of Negroes, the remarkable journey of Aminata Diallo and the historic record the “Book of Negroes”. Structured around themes of journey, slavery, human rights, passage to Canada and contemporary culture, this Guide asks students to examine issues of identity, equality, immigration, and nation-building in both a historical and contemporary context.

a Sample Spread from the Education Guide

a Sample Spread from the Education Guide

The tools provided here in this Guide are supplemented with additional activities and resources at the Black History Portal www.blackhistorycanada.ca.

Available in January 2011, this Guide will assist you in teaching this important aspect of Canadian history in your English, Social Studies, History or Law classroom.

This unique Guide will include:

Activities on evaluating sources and using primary sources
A message from award-winning author Lawrence Hill
An activity on mapping family genealogy in partnership with Ancestry.ca
Activities on The Historica-Dominion Institute’s national immigration speaker’s bureau and Digital Archive, Passages to Canada, including information on how to invite a speaker into your classroom
Activities that engage Canada’s contemporary cultural landscape, including musician K’Naan, opera singer Measha Brueggergosman, author Austin Clarke, filmmaker Clement Virgo, Olympic runner Donovan Bailey and many others.
Online supplement includes excerpts from The Book of Negroes along with related activities
Much more!

For more information please contact:

Davida Aronovitch
The Historica-Dominion Institute
43 Front Street East, Suite 301
Toronto, ON, M5E 1B3
Phone: 1-866-701-1867 ext. 222
daronovitch@historica-dominion.ca
www.historica-dominion.ca