Dans cette session, les enseignants exploreront certains verbes clés du curriculum d’Alberta en Études sociales (M à 6) afin de comprendre leur sens profond et comment les élèves peuvent démontrer ces habiletés en utilisant diverses structures linguistiques et nous mettrons l’accent sur l’évaluation continue. Les participants découvriront des routines de pensée, des gabarits et des exemples pratiques pour donner vie au curriculum.
Join us and explore how to leverage digital interactive maps to bring global issues to life in your classroom! Centered on A Sustainable World, an engaging online platform developed by Aga Khan Foundation Canada in partnership with Canadian Geographic, this session introduces an interactive map designed for students aged 12–18.
You will explore how the platform supports inquiry-based learning while deepening students’ understanding of world geography and key global challenges. Through themes such as climate change, health, education, and gender equality—aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—the resource encourages students to think critically and act as informed global citizens.
The session will also highlight the platform’s multimedia and classroom resources, offering practical strategies for integrating global citizenship education into diverse classroom contexts. You will leave with ready-to-use ideas and tools to foster meaningful discussions, enhance student engagement, and connect curriculum to real-world issues.
Can't wait to share this exciting resource with you! (Div 3, 4)
Empower your students to lead, create, and make a difference through the Being, Belonging, Becoming program.
In this interactive session, educators will explore classroom-ready resources designed to support social-emotional learning (Being), build understanding of children’s rights, government, advocacy, and issues impacting youth in Canada (Belonging), and guide students in developing meaningful social action projects focused on issues affecting their communities (Becoming).
Together, we will also tackle some of the questions educators face today such as how to facilitate respectful, constructive dialogue in an increasingly complex political climate, and how to effectively differentiate project learning to meet the needs of diverse learners.
You will leave this workshop with a unit plan and final project you can deliver in your social studies classrooms. (Div 3, 4)
Discover how Traditional Indigenous Games serve as a holistic bridge between mind, body, and spirit. Originally designed to hone survival skills and strategic prowess, these games offer a powerful way for educators to engage students of all abilities today. Participants will dive into the rich cultural heritage, rules, and techniques of the Dene, nehiyawak, Niitsitapi, Inuit, Nakota Sioux, and Saulteaux peoples. By experiencing these traditions firsthand, you will learn to foster physical literacy and deep cultural appreciation in your classroom. (Div 1, 2, 3, 4)
This session will analyze the place of trans women in competitive sports, both contemporarily and historically. Through tracing concurrent historical events and major advances for women’s sports in general, I will position the inclusion of trans women in sport as a quantitative indicator of democratic principles beyond sport. Using an Albertan Social Studies 30 framing of liberalism and illiberalism, I argue that fulsome inclusion of all women in sport is globally intrinsically linked with reduced inequity, citizen engagement, and freedom of the press. This argument will also be situated within the current Albertan context of trans exclusion and feature results from a province-wide study of the implementation of Bill 29. (Div 1, 2, 3, 4)
Gillian Robinson (she/her) was a French Immersion Junior High and High School classroom teacher for many years in the metro Edmonton area. Now, as an Assistant Professor at Campus Saint-Jean, she brings practical strategies for teacher education into her University courses and research... Read More →
Friday October 16, 2026 9:00am - 10:20am MDT Paskapoo 1
Examination of the heroes and villains in the High School social studies curriculum and how they are currently conceptualized. Then, through the implementation of anti-villainification, we will look at how we can reframe the stories we tell and highlight in our classroom. Using this lens, Melissa will then highlight how citizenship can be examined through recentering our heroes and villains, through stories such as the Haudenosaunee lacrosse team, the 1968 Olympics, and others to show how we can both make differences through small acts of resistance (mini heroes) or through our banal actions, we can perpetuate harm (mini villains). (Div 3, 4)
Sport can bring students together, but it can also surface difficult moments around race, culture, identity, and belonging. This interactive session creates space for coaches, teachers, and administrators to openly discuss sensitive issues that often go unaddressed. Through real-world case studies, participants will explore challenges such as the use of the n-word, microaggressions, and religious clothing or accessories. Together, we’ll practice strategies for responding effectively, building inclusive team cultures, and turning moments of tension into opportunities for growth. (Div 3, 4)
This session explores the draft of the new social studies curriculum for junior high, and how to coach a “doing” classroom—one that trains students not just for the next test, but for the long game of life as engaged, informed citizens in an ever-changing world. Like effective athletic training, strong instruction builds stamina, strategy, and teamwork. Participants will examine practical approaches that get students off the sidelines and into action, including cooperative learning structures, visible thinking routines, and ongoing formative assessment. In exploring how skills and procedures are directly connected to content knowledge in the new curriculum, educators will be challenged to rethink their game plan. A variety of strategies will be modeled, giving teachers a clear playbook for how they can be implemented in their own classrooms. *this session will provide all resources in english and in french.* (Div 3)
Cette session analysera la place des femmes transgenres dans les sports de compétition, à la fois contemporaine et historique. En retraçant les événements historiques concomitants et les avancées majeures pour le sport féminin en général, je positionnerai l'inclusion des femmes transgenres dans le sport comme un indicateur quantitatif des principes démocratiques au-delà du sport. En utilisant le cadre du cours d'études sociales 30 de l'Alberta sur le libéralisme et l'illibéralisme, je soutiens que l'inclusion complète de toutes les femmes dans le sport est intrinsèquement liée à l'échelle mondiale à une réduction des inégalités, à l'engagement citoyen et à la liberté de la presse. Cet argument sera également situé dans le contexte albertain actuel de l'exclusion des personnes transgenres et présentera les résultats d'une étude provinciale sur la mise en œuvre du projet de loi 29. (Div 1, 2, 3, 4)
Gillian Robinson (she/her) was a French Immersion Junior High and High School classroom teacher for many years in the metro Edmonton area. Now, as an Assistant Professor at Campus Saint-Jean, she brings practical strategies for teacher education into her University courses and research... Read More →
Friday October 16, 2026 10:35am - 11:55am MDT Paskapoo 4
Passez le micro : Parlons de racisme encourage les élèves à réfléchir à leur relation avec le racisme et à apprendre comment être antiracistes. Ce programme comprend des conversations vidéo avec trois personnes canadiennes issues de communautés racisées qui aideront les élèves à comprendre ce que signifie passer le micro symbolique à d’autres personnes. La présentation permettra aux participants de découvrir le guide pédagogique et de discuter de la manière d’aborder des conversations importantes avec les élèves de façon sûre et constructive. (Div 1, 2)
This interactive workshop introduces teachers to a new classroom resource built around the short documentary King’s Court, which explores masculinity, friendship, and identity through the lens of basketball. Participants will watch the 20-minute education cut of the film together, then experience excerpts from the King’s Court Playbook for Success—an interactive digital resource that uses basketball plays as metaphors for key socioemotional and life skills.
The Playbook invites students to reflect on identity, self-awareness, communication, healthy relationships, resilience, and what it means to “win” in life—on and off the court. Designed for students 12+, the resource blends sport, storytelling, and structured reflection to support meaningful classroom conversations that connect directly to social studies themes such as identity, citizenship, belonging, and personal growth.
Teachers will leave with practical strategies for using documentary film and interactive tools to support student voice, discussion, and goal-setting across social studies, health, and language classes.
Workshop Learning Outcomes
By the end of the session, participants will be able to:
Explore how documentary film can be used to teach identity, belonging, and resilience in social studies classrooms
Experience and evaluate the King’s Court Playbook for Success as a student-centered learning tool
Identify concrete ways to integrate socioemotional learning into social studies instruction
Adapt at least one activity from the Playbook for use in their own classroom context
Understand how sport and storytelling can support discussions about success, relationships, and self-awareness
Friday October 16, 2026 10:35am - 11:55am MDT Paskapoo 1
This session will explore recreational wilderness spaces as paradoxical in that, on the one hand, they provide opportunities for forging meaningful connections with the natural world, while at the same time, they represent modern products designed for extraction and consumption that contribute to Indigenous erasure and undermine Indigenous sovereignty and wellness. Leaning into the concept of "wildernessing," participants will recognize how recreational wilderness spaces are represented, narrated and constructed into Canadian national mythologies and marketing, and will learn how applying historical and geographic thinking skills may help their students to grapple more thoughtfully with these contested, and often understudied spaces. (Div 3, 4)
Dr. Edmondson is an Assistant Professor of Curriculum Studies in the College of Education at the University of Saskatchewan. Her research and teaching are informed by her nearly 20-year long career as a practicing high school social studies teacher in Alberta, as well as her love... Read More →
Friday October 16, 2026 10:35am - 11:55am MDT Paskapoo 2
Sport is often celebrated as a space of teamwork, perseverance, and unity, but it also reflects deeper social tensions around race, gender, disability, and belonging. This session explores the good, the bad, and the ugly of sport as a powerful lens for Social Studies education. Participants will examine historical and contemporary examples where sport has both challenged and reinforced social inequalities, from moments of activism and inclusion to cases of exclusion and discrimination. Drawing on classroom experiences and examples from school athletics, the session will explore how sport can help students critically understand identity, power, and social change. Educators will leave with practical strategies, discussion prompts, and lesson ideas that use sport to engage students in meaningful conversations about fairness, participation, and belonging. By looking beyond the podium, teachers can help students see sport not just as competition, but as a window into society itself.
Et si nous adoptions une approche d'équipe pour faire développer le vocabulaire chez les élèves? Dans cet atelier dynamique destiné aux enseignants de la division 2, les participants exploreront une analogie sportive pour aider les élèves à comprendre, organiser et retenir le vocabulaire clé en études sociales.
L’atelier proposera des stratégies et des activités concrètes ainsi que des routines pour renforcer l’utilisation du langage disciplinaire en études sociales. Les enseignants repartiront avec des idées pratiques et transférables pour rendre l’apprentissage du vocabulaire plus engageant, coopératif et mémorable pour leurs élèves.
En utilisant l'analogie d’équipe, les enseignants découvriront comment faire développer le vocabulaire chez les élèves qui travaillent ensemble comme équipe gagnante. Les participants apprendront comment organiser des « entraînements » de vocabulaire et proposer des activités collaboratives où les élèves construisent leur compréhension ensemble. C’est parti!
Join us in showcasing Indigenous Voices; a dynamic new media-based learning resource from the NFB. Designed by Indigenous educators, this innovative platform offers students across Canada an authentic and meaningful opportunity to engage with themes of history, community, justice, and Reconciliation as they relate to the Indigenous peoples of Turtle Island. Grounded in the powerful lived experiences of young Indigenous mentors, Indigenous Voices is an interactive learning journey in which activities are anchored by the NFB’s rich catalogue of Indigenous-made cinema - bringing storytelling, perspective, and critical reflection into the classroom in a compelling and accessible way. More than a resource, Indigenous Voices is a framework for transformative learning. It has been developed in the spirit of “nothing about us, without us,” through meaningful collaboration with Indigenous leaders and communities, guided by the five R’s of ethical engagement—Respect, Relevance, Reciprocity, Responsibility, and Relationship.
What happens when inclusion in sport becomes a legal issue? This session explores how Canadian law addresses discrimination in athletics, including cases related to gender identity, religious accommodation, and disability rights. Through mock case studies and classroom-ready scenarios, educators will guide students in applying legal principles to real-life sport contexts. Participants will receive adaptable case-study packages designed to foster critical thinking and respectful dialogue.
Across generations, Chinese Canadians have stepped onto the field — as Olympians, professional athletes, community organizers, and devoted fans filling arenas and rallying behind their teams. Yet many of these achievements have remained outside the national narrative. By bringing these stories back into play, the Chinese Canadian Museum reframes sports as a high-stakes field where recognition, citizenship, and belonging are fought for and claimed in their exhibition "Momentum: Power and Identity in Sports", on view in Vancouver Chinatown from June 10, 2026 until September 5, 2027. Presented alongside works by contemporary Asian artists, "Momentum" also treats sport as conceptual terrain and queries ideas of nationalism, political diplomacy, and participation in society. Through athlete stories and historical context, this session will explore the evolving identity and recognition of Chinese Canadians from the 1900s to present day through the lens of sports. (Div 2, 4)
From Jesse Owens in Berlin, Tommie Smith's raised fist in 1968 to Cindy Klassen's quiet groundbreaking for women's speed skating, and the 2026 Winter Olympics, sports moments have cracked open conversations that could not happen elsewhere. This session provides a 7-12 differentiated collection of anchor texts, image-based provocations, and structured academic controversy protocols that teachers can use immediately. The session models each resource at its intended division level, so Div III and Div IV teachers each leave with tools calibrated to their students. Attention is paid to Indigenous athletes whose participation in sports was an act of resistance and sovereignty — a thread that runs through Alberta's history with particular depth. Rick: "The curriculum asks us to teach citizenship, identity, and change. Sports give us moments that are emotionally accessible and historically significant. This session hands you the keys — curriculum alignment, differentiation, and the stories themselves."
Join us and explore how to leverage digital interactive maps to bring global issues to life in your classroom! Centered on A Sustainable World, an engaging online platform developed by Aga Khan Foundation Canada in partnership with Canadian Geographic, this session introduces an interactive map designed for students aged 12–18.
You will explore how the platform supports inquiry-based learning while deepening students’ understanding of world geography and key global challenges. Through themes such as climate change, health, education, and gender equality—aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—the resource encourages students to think critically and act as informed global citizens.
The session will also highlight the platform’s multimedia and classroom resources, offering practical strategies for integrating global citizenship education into diverse classroom contexts. You will leave with ready-to-use ideas and tools to foster meaningful discussions, enhance student engagement, and connect curriculum to real-world issues.
Can't wait to share this exciting resource with you!
From coast to coast to coast, people in Canada are observing a decline in the health of our democracy. Examples like increasing use of the Notwithstanding Clause to circumvent Charter rights and avoid the scrutiny of the courts, threats to judicial independence, and enacting legislation that permits governments to bypass other legal protections point to what many call "democratic backsliding" - governments that are less transparent, less accountable and accessible to the people they serve. This session examines this trend drawing on examples from Québec, Ontario, Saskatchewan, and Alberta, as well as the potential to fundamentally alter the criminal justice system in Canada at the federal level, and underscores the role of educators in pushing back against authoritarian governance by using the classroom as a space to foster democratic resilience.
De plus en plus souvent, les crises mondiales et les questions de droits et d’équité entrent dans les salles de classe et parfois les perturbent, laissant les élèves et le personnel enseignant dépassés et à la recherche d’espoir. Au cours de cette séance, nous explorerons comment le programme Passez à l’action et d’autres approches peuvent être utilisés pour créer des milieux où les enseignant·e·s peuvent aborder des sujets complexes et donner aux élèves les outils nécessaires pour lutter contre l’injustice. Les personnes participantes examineront également comment la culture de classe, le courage d’engager des conversations complexes et l’apprentissage par projet peuvent être combinés pour aider les élèves à trouver de l’espoir et à acquérir les compétences nécessaires pour passer à l’action.
This session explores how sports—from ancient games to modern athletes—can serve as a powerful lens for teaching complex social ideas in upper elementary. Participants will see how literature, historical artifacts, and archaeological evidence can help students investigate culture, identity, fairness, ethics, and social change. By examining the rules, practices, and stories behind sports, students can grapple with questions about power, inclusion, citizenship, and community values, while connecting past traditions to contemporary issues. Attendees will leave with practical strategies, lesson ideas, discussion prompts, and texts that integrate critical literacy, inquiry, and Alberta’s new Social Studies curriculum, helping students think deeply about the ways sport reflects and shapes society.
The key issue to be discussed is the pronounced and structural underrepresentation of women within North American secondary social studies education (SSED). Women's stories in history education account for only 11% of the content; therefore, this interactive session will explore areas within the Alberta social studies curriculum that teachers can integrate contributions of women throughout history in a meaningful way. This session will approach the issue through a lens of sport, highlighting Canadian women in sport and their contributions to our historical narrative. Lastly, teachers will have the opportunity to share their instructional practices and resources that highlight the voices and perspectives of women throughout history.
Alberta's sports history is a largely untold multicultural archive: Japanese-Canadian baseball leagues operating during internment, Black hockey pioneers in the prairie leagues, Ukrainian-Canadian wrestling traditions carried into new communities. This session equips teachers with place-based inquiry resources that use local and provincial sports history to explore identity, migration, and belonging — core threads in the new K-9 curriculum. Resources are structured around Harvard's Project Zero Thinking Routines for accessible, rigorous historical thinking. Participants will build at least one classroom-ready inquiry lesson before they leave.
Div. II (Gr. 4–6) Div. III (Gr. 7–9) New curriculum aligned
