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Ontario · Grade 8

History and Geography, Grade 8

Ontario’s Grade 8 social studies course, from Creating Canada (1850-1890) to Global Inequalities: Economic Development and Quality of Life.

Learn thisPractice test
Units
4
Lessons
8
Skills
44
Provincial exam
None
Official curriculum
Ontario Ministry of Education

Unit by unit

Every skill in the course, numbered by unit.

Unit 1 · 11 skills

Creating Canada (1850-1890)

Factors, Inequalities, and Actions (1850-1890)

  • Factors in the creation of the Dominion

    I can evaluate the factors behind the creation and expansion of the Dominion of Canada.

    1.1

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  • Legal status and Indigenous peoples

    I can assess how limits on legal status affected First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples.

    1.2

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  • Legal status and settler groups

    I can assess how differences in legal status affected settler and newcomer groups.

    1.3

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  • Actions people took to improve their lives

    I can analyse actions people took between 1850 and 1890 to improve their lives.

    1.4

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People, Events, and Hard History (1850-1890)

  • Key events and their significance

    I can identify what led to key events and explain their significance.

    1.5

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  • Treaties, the Indian Act, and Indigenous peoples

    I can describe treaties and laws affecting Indigenous peoples and explain their consequences.

    1.6

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  • The residential school system

    I can identify why the residential school system was established and explain its impact.

    1.7

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  • Political and legal changes for other groups

    I can identify political and legal changes and explain their impact on non-Indigenous communities.

    1.8

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  • Social and economic changes

    I can identify social and economic changes of 1850-1890 and explain their impact.

    1.9

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  • Cooperation and conflict

    I can describe significant cooperation and conflict in 1850-1890 Canada.

    1.10

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  • Significant individuals and groups

    I can identify significant people of 1850-1890 and explain their contribution.

    1.11

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The official wording · 11 outcomes
1.1
evaluate the importance of various internal and external factors that played a role in the creation of the Dominion of Canada and the expansion of its territory
1.2
assess the impact that limitations with respect to legal status, rights, and privileges had on First Nations, Métis, and Inuit individuals and/or communities in Canada between 1850 and 1890
1.3
assess the impact that differences in legal status and in the distribution of rights and privileges had on various settler/newcomer groups and individuals in Canada between 1850 and 1890
1.4
analyse some of the actions taken by various individuals, groups, and/or communities, including First Nations, Métis, and Inuit individuals and/or communities, in Canada between 1850 and 1890 to improve their lives
1.5
identify factors contributing to some key events or developments that occurred in and/or affected Canada between 1850 and 1890 and explain the historical significance of some of these events for different individuals, groups, and/or communities, including First Nations, Métis, and Inuit individuals and/or communities
1.6
describe key political and legal developments that affected First Nations, Métis, and Inuit people during this period, including treaties, government policies, and the Indian Act and other legislation and explain some of their short- and long-term consequences
1.7
identify some key factors that contributed to the establishment of the residential school system and explain the impact of this system on Indigenous individuals and communities
1.8
identify key political and legal changes that occurred in and/or affected Canada during this period and explain the impact of some of these changes on various non-Indigenous individuals, groups, and/or communities
1.9
identify key social and economic changes that occurred in and/or affected Canada during this period and explain the impact of some of those changes on various individuals, groups, and/or communities, including First Nations, Métis, and Inuit individuals and/or communities
1.10
describe significant instances of cooperation and conflict in Canada during this period
1.11
identify a variety of significant individuals and groups in Canada during this period and explain their contributions to heritage and/or identities in Canada

Key ideas

  1. Internal factors included the Red River and North-West Resistances, the transcontinental railway, and the Manitoba Act of 1870.

  2. Key events included Confederation, the Red River Resistance, and the North-West Resistance.

  3. External factors included the doctrine of Manifest Destiny, the American Civil War, and Fenian raids.

  4. The creation of the NWMP, the settlement of the Northwest, and the construction of the CPR reshaped Canada.

  5. The purchase of Rupert's Land, the Numbered Treaties, and the Indian Act shaped the Dominion's expansion.

Watch out for

  • Naming factors without weighing their importance.
  • Naming events without their causes.
  • Treating Confederation as inevitable rather than driven by factors.

Every skill’s key ideas, worked examples and checks are in MapleMind.Practise this unit

Unit 2 · 10 skills

Canada, 1890-1914: A Changing Society

Experiences, Challenges, and Actions (1890-1914)

  • Experiences then and now

    I can compare the experiences of groups in 1890-1914 Canada with their experiences today.

    2.1

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  • Challenges to Indigenous families and communities

    I can analyse how treaties, the Indian Act, the reserve system, and residential schools affected Indigenous families, and how the effects continue today.

    2.2

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  • Challenges for other communities

    I can analyse challenges for non-Indigenous communities in 1890-1914 and compare them with today.

    2.3

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  • Actions people took to improve their lives

    I can analyse actions people took to improve their lives and compare them with today.

    2.4

    Learn itPractice testActivities

People, Events, and Developments (1890-1914)

The official wording · 10 outcomes
2.1
analyse key similarities and differences in the experiences of various groups and communities, including First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities, in present-day Canada and the same groups/communities in Canada between 1890 and 1914
2.2
analyse some ways in which challenges affected First Nations, Métis, and Inuit individuals, families, and communities during this period, with specific reference to treaties, the Indian Act, the reserve system, and the residential school system
2.3
analyse some of the challenges facing various non-Indigenous individual, groups, and/or communities in Canada between 1890 and 1914 and compare some of these challenges with those facing present- day Canadians
2.4
analyse actions taken by various individuals, groups, and/or communities, including First Nations, Métis, and Inuit individuals and/or communities, in Canada between 1890 and 1914 to improve their lives and compare these actions to those taken by similar groups today
2.5
identify factors contributing to some key issues, events, and/or developments that specifically affected First Nations, Métis, and Inuit in Canada between 1890 and 1914 and explain the historical significance of some of these issues, events, and/or developments for different individuals and/or communities
2.6
identify factors contributing to some key events and/or developments that occurred in and/or affected Canada between 1890 and 1914 and explain the historical significance of some of these events and/or developments for various non-Indigenous individuals, groups, and/or communities
2.7
identify key political and legal changes that occurred in and/or affected Canada during this period and explain the impact of some of these changes on various individuals, groups, and/or communities, including First Nations, Métis, and Inuit individuals and/or communities
2.8
identify key social and economic changes that occurred in and/or affected Canada during this period and explain the impact of some of these changes on various individuals, groups, and/or communities, including First Nations, Métis, and Inuit individuals and/or communities
2.9
describe significant examples of cooperation and conflict in Canada during this period
2.10
identify a variety of significant individuals and groups in Canada during this period and explain their contributions to heritage and/or identities in Canada

Key ideas

  1. Between 1890 and 1914, groups such as workers, farmers, recent immigrants, and different Indigenous communities had distinct experiences.

  2. Indigenous peoples were treated as 'wards of the state', with Indian agents regulating life on reserves.

  3. The urban poor, the unemployed, women, children, and the elderly experienced society very differently.

  4. Laws forbade ceremonies including the potlatch and powwows, and land was expropriated from reserves.

  5. Comparing then and now reveals both change and continuity.

Watch out for

  • Assuming past experiences match today's.
  • Naming developments without their significance.
  • Comparing only differences and ignoring continuities.

Every skill’s key ideas, worked examples and checks are in MapleMind.Practise this unit

Unit 3 · 10 skills

Global Settlement: Patterns and Sustainability

Physical Environment and Where People Settle

  • How the environment shapes settlement

    I can analyse how the physical environment has influenced settlement patterns.

    3.1

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  • Future physical processes and settlement

    I can analyse how future physical processes may affect human settlements.

    3.2

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  • Features of a sustainable community

    I can describe features of a sustainable community and analyse the challenges of building one.

    3.3

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Settlement Patterns and Their Impact

The official wording · 10 outcomes
3.1
analyse some of the ways in which the physical environment has influenced settlement patterns in different countries and/or regions around the world
3.2
analyse how processes related to the physical environment may affect human settlements in the future
3.3
describe possible features of a sustainable community in the future and analyse some challenges associated with creating such a community
3.4
identify significant spatial patterns in human settlement on a global scale
3.5
identify and describe some ways in which the physical environment can influence the general location and patterns of human settlements
3.6
identify significant land-use issues and describe responses of various groups to these issues
3.7
identify and describe significant current trends in human settlement
3.8
describe various ways in which human settlement has affected the environment
3.9
describe some practices that individuals and communities have adopted to help make human settlements more sustainable
3.10
demonstrate the ability to analyse and construct choropleth maps on topics related to human settlement

Key ideas

  1. Climate, landforms, soil type, vegetation, and natural resources all influence where people settle.

  2. Human settlement follows patterns — linear, scattered, and clustered.

  3. In Brazil, climate, vegetation, and resources shaped settlement; in Japan, landforms did.

  4. Global patterns appear in population density and distribution.

  5. In Egypt, landforms, climate, and soil types shaped where people live.

Watch out for

  • Thinking settlement location is random.
  • Thinking settlement is spread evenly across the globe.
  • Overlooking one environmental factor among several.

Every skill’s key ideas, worked examples and checks are in MapleMind.Practise this unit

Unit 4 · 13 skills

Global Inequalities: Economic Development and Quality of Life

Factors in Quality of Life and Responses

Measuring Development and Quality of Life

The official wording · 13 outcomes
4.1
analyse some interrelationships among factors that can contribute to quality of life
4.2
analyse how various factors have affected the economies of specific developed and developing countries around the world and explain the interrelationship between these factors and quality of life in some of these countries
4.3
assess the effectiveness of various programs and policies aimed at improving the quality of life in various countries
4.4
assess the effectiveness of media in improving the quality of life in some countries/regions around the world
4.5
identify and describe the significance of several indicators that are commonly used to measure quality of life on a global scale
4.6
compare findings with respect to selected quality of life indicators in some developing and more developed countries
4.7
demonstrate the ability to analyse and construct scatter graphs, both on paper and using a graphing program, when studying global development and/or quality of life
4.8
demonstrate the ability to analyse and construct population pyramids, both on paper and using a graphing program, when studying demographic patterns and trends in developed and developing countries
4.9
identify various groups and organizations that work to improve quality of life and describe their focus
4.10
identify different types of economic systems and describe their characteristics
4.11
explain how the four main economic sectors are related to global development
4.12
identify and describe various factors that can contribute to economic development
4.13
describe the spatial distribution of wealth, both globally and within selected countries/regions

Key ideas

  1. Factors that shape quality of life are connected, not isolated.

  2. Indicators include infant mortality, life expectancy, birth and death rates, and literacy rate.

  3. Lack of access to clean water raises disease and death rates, including infant mortality.

  4. Economic indicators include per capita income, GDP, GDP per capita, and unemployment rates.

  5. Equal access to education raises literacy and employment and lowers birth rates.

Watch out for

  • Treating quality-of-life factors as unrelated.
  • Naming an indicator without its significance.
  • Naming a factor without its effects.

Every skill’s key ideas, worked examples and checks are in MapleMind.Practise this unit

The official curriculum

This page follows Ontario’s own curriculum for History and Geography, Grade 8.

The Ontario Curriculum, Social Studies Grades 1-6; History and Geography Grades 7-8Ontario Ministry of Education · dcp.edu.gov.on.ca · Read July 31, 2026

Textbooks

The textbooks Ontario Ministry of Education lists for History and Geography, Grade 8:

  • D2L Ontario Geography 8D2L Corporation · 2021
  • D2L Ontario History 8D2L Corporation · 2021 · in classrooms until August 31, 2028

From the Trillium List, read October 27, 2026. ontario.ca

Study it in MapleMind

MapleMind teaches History and Geography, Grade 8 one skill at a time. Each skill gets a short lesson, practice as you go and a check worth up to three stars. It remembers where you stopped.

Geography of Canada, Grade 9 in the MapleMind app on a tablet: its units, Unit 2 open, and the skills done so far with their starsGeography of Canada, Grade 9 in the MapleMind app on a phone: its units, Unit 2 open, and the skills done so far with their stars
Pictured: Geography of Canada, Grade 9, another Ontario course, partway through Unit 2.

Practise it

Course Companion

Your year in one workbook

A fun way to keep History and Geography, Grade 8 organized, get to know your child better and see early when they need a hand. Fill it in on a screen, or print it.

Pages
31
Fillable fields
1,619
Price
$4.99
See the Course Companion

Questions about History and Geography, Grade 8

What is History and Geography, Grade 8?

Ontario’s Grade 8 social studies course: 4 units and 44 skills, from Creating Canada (1850-1890) to Global Inequalities: Economic Development and Quality of Life.

What units are in History and Geography, Grade 8?

1. Creating Canada (1850-1890), 2. Canada, 1890-1914: A Changing Society, 3. Global Settlement: Patterns and Sustainability and 4. Global Inequalities: Economic Development and Quality of Life.

Is there a provincial exam for History and Geography, Grade 8?

No. Ontario gives no provincial exam for History and Geography, Grade 8.

What textbook does History and Geography, Grade 8 use?

The textbooks Ontario Ministry of Education lists for History and Geography, Grade 8: D2L Ontario Geography 8, D2L Corporation and D2L Ontario History 8, D2L Corporation.

What comes after History and Geography, Grade 8?

Geography of Canada, Grade 9.

Can MapleMind help with History and Geography, Grade 8?

Yes. MapleMind teaches every skill of History and Geography, Grade 8, step by step, with practice and checks, and its tutor answers questions about any of them. It’s free with daily limits, on iPhone, Android and the web.

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