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)
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)
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."
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
Fostering Inclusion Through Games explores how play and physical education can serve as a universal language to promote belonging, cultural understanding, and equity in schools. Beginning at the classroom level, the presentation demonstrates how culturally responsive games can reflect students’ identities, empower them to share their cultures, and build inclusive learning environments. It then connects this work to community partnerships and data-informed practices, showing how local insights can inform school-wide approaches and, ultimately, support district-level planning, resources, and teaching and learning structures. Participants are encouraged to consider how small, intentional classroom practices can scale to create systemic, sustainable inclusion across schools and the district.
Global crisis’, rights and equity issues are entering, and sometimes disrupting, classrooms with increasing frequency, leaving both students and educators feeling overwhelmed and hopeless. In this session, the Be an Upstander program and other approaches to create environments where they can explore complex topics and equip students with tools to address injustice. Participants will also examine how classroom culture, courage to engage in complex conversations and project-based learning, can be used together to help students find hope and equip them with skills to take action.
