Social Studies, Grade 8

Unit 1: Canadian Identities

What shapes Canadian identity in the 20th century: human and physical geography, factors that shape an individual's understanding of identity, and demographic changes and the movement of people.

• Human and physical geography and identity

• Factors that shape individual identity

• Demographic changes in Canada
• The movement of people to and within Canada

Unit 2: Citizenship, Power & Governance

Power, injustice, and change in 20th-century Canada: inequalities of power and authority, the impact of government policies and the legacy of historical injustices on Indigenous Peoples and reconciliation, and the impact of technology and socio-economic conditions.

• Inequalities of power and authority
• How an evolving society changed who held power

• Government policies of assimilation and their impact
• Advocacy, self-governance, and reconciliation

• Technological change in the 20th century
• Socio-economic conditions and differing prosperity

Unit 3: Decades of Challenge and Change

Canada in a changing world: participation in global conflicts and its effect on Canadian society, and the internal and external forces that transformed Canada in the later 20th century.

• Canada's participation in global conflicts
• The effect of conflict on Canadian society

• Internal forces transforming Canada
• External forces transforming Canada

Unit 4: Contemporary Canada

Continuing and emerging issues in Canada's history.

• Continuing and emerging issues

Unit 5: Inquiry

Evaluating issues, events, and developments of historical importance using the inquiry process and the Concepts of Historical Thinking.

• Using inquiry and historical thinking