How to boost your students’ interest in social sciences

One strategy you can adopt to help foster your students’ interest in social sciences is project-based learning. As you know, this approach promotes students’ involvement and autonomy (as well as teamwork when working on group projects) by allowing them to learn through experience and find more meaning in the concepts being taught. Here are a few ideas for projects your students can do.

Elementary school:

• Create an interactive notebook or scrapbook. This project allows your students to translate concepts into words they understand by giving free rein to their creativity.
• Create mind maps to relate historical events to their causes and protagonists.
• Stimulate students’ imagination when teaching geography by having them come up with travel stories that are accurate representations of the territorial concepts being covered.
• Etc.

High school:

• Write a text or letter that reflects the style of a particular era (e.g., the colonial era).
• Record a podcast about a geographic region.
• Write imaginary historical narratives.
• Etc.

For elementary and high school students:

• Create historical timelines.
• Organize an exhibition of historical objects.
• Draw a comic book or make a fanzine about a historical topic. For example, students could get inspired by Raif Badawi, 1792, or the story of Lac-Mégantic (links in French only).
• Etc.

You can expand your resource materials by exploring various technological methods that foster learning and by holding discussions about social science topics. Here are a few ideas you can try.
For elementary and high school students:

• Introduce students to educational games such as Allo Monde (French only), a geography game that allows students to explore the world through a variety of challenges.
• Use podcasts (or relevant excerpts) to pique students’ curiosity about a historical or present-day event. Here are a few examples:
  • History Storytime - For Kids (for younger listeners)
  • Forever Ago (for younger listeners)
  • The Secret Life of Canada
• Visit historical sites and museums without going anywhere by taking advantage of the many virtual tours available:
  • Digital Museums Canada virtual exhibitions
  • Pointe-à-Callière virtual visit
  • Sistine Chapel virtual visit
  •  Etc.
• Use testimonials. Testimonials are a great way to learn about history by hearing from someone who lived through it. They also foster historical empathy. Here are a few examples of testimonials you can access online:
  • Survivors’ Stories – Montreal Holocaust Museum
  • Témoignages des As de la guerre 1939 – 1945 (French only)
  • Etc.
• Learn all about historical figures honoured by toponymy (link in French) and how streets, metro stations, and public transit lines got their names.
• Make subjects and biographies more accessible through images, interviews, and documentaries:
  • Use National Film Board of Canada resources such as films, documentaries, and shorts, as well as the organization’s Education initiative.
  • Show historical images that provide students with a different perspective than what is typically available in textbooks. You can also pair them with interesting facts that will get students’ attention. For ideas, try browsing the national archives (Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec).
  • Analyze and interpret demographic data in real time on websites such as Worldometer.
  • Etc.

Works of literature and comic books of all kinds are a wonderful window on the world and can be a great lens through which to examine history and current events. Historical narratives and documentaries can both help spark students’ interest in social sciences. The following reading lists are a good place to start:
 
Elementary school:

• Must-read books by Indigenous authors
• Recommendations for French books about history
• 10 books to read in honour of Black History Month
• Book recommendations about archaeology
• Book suggestions for travelling while staying at home
• Etc. 

High school:

• Must-read books by Indigenous authors
• Recommendations for books about history
• 10 books to read in honour of Black History Month
• Book suggestions for travelling while staying at home
• Etc.

The key to making historical events and contemporary world topics more engaging for students involves adopting the right teaching approach. For instance, you could have students take part in historical re-enactments to learn more about various historical events and encourage them to imagine what it was like to live through them. Here are a few examples of activities you can do:

• Put on a play. For instance, you might ask your Secondary III and IV students to portray how people’s rights and freedoms were suppressed during the intercolonial wars between France and England.
• Have discussions about Indigenous realities or schedule virtual meetings with young people from Indigenous communities.
• Do a budget creation exercise where students are encouraged to make a personal budget based on different socio-economic contexts.
• Have discussions about democracy and citizenship.
• Hold simulated votes, elections, or referendums.
• Etc.