Teacher's Guide

Download the Teacher's Guide in PDF format (PDF)

Introduction
Objectives
Enrichment
When Should I Use the Teacher's Kit?

Introduction

This guide contains useful information for both teachers and students. The first sections are specific to the teacher, while the following pages contain background information on the Census of Canada (Census of Population, the Census of Agriculture and Census vocabulary) that will be helpful to both students and teachers. There is also a set of Quick Census facts. Teacher-ready activities have been divided into three suggested grade levels: elementary, intermediate, and secondary. Some activities have classroom extensions to enrich students' comprehension.

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Objectives

1. Create awareness and understanding about the importance of the census and the information it will provide.
2. Increase awareness among teachers and students about census information as a valuable tool for student and teacher research projects.

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Enrichment

In addition to the enrichment exercises in each activity, here are some additional ideas:

1. Send the message home. The 2006 Census logo with its slogan “Count Yourself In!” appears on the back of this guide. The logo is a drawing of three people with the year of the census in front of them — 2006. This image reflects how important people are to the census. Quick Census Facts and the Census logo can be reproduced and sent home with students to help spread the census message.
2. Get students involved. Motivate students to actively participate in the census by having them generate community awareness projects. Ask them for their ideas on what they can do to make area residents aware of the upcoming census. A variety of school communications vehicles could be used to generate awareness among the student body: announcements on the public address system, posters in gymnasiums and school buses, messages on the school's cable TV or radio station, displays on classroom bulletin boards, census stories in the school newspaper, and announcements on the school's Website.
3. Take a look at the 1911 Census of Canada (Elementary level). Students can examine a few pages from the 1911 Census of Canada. (Print pages from www.collectionscanada.ca/archivianet/1911.) Students could be led in a class discussion about the types of information that are found and what that information may tell them about the people who are listed. For example, students can take a look at the size of families, the age of parents when they had their first child, what occupations people had and who they worked for, how old the children were who worked, how many children went to school, how many people could read and write, etc.
4. Research the changes in population in your community (Intermediate/Secondary levels). Students can research a street in their community using the 1911 Census of Canada and compare it with what they would find on the same street today. If the community did not exist in 1911, students can select a near-by community that is listed in the 1911 Census. (Students can print the relevant pages from www.collectionscanada.ca/archivianet/1911.) By examining the data contained in the census pages, students can create a snapshot of the way life was in 1911. What were the people like who lived in the students' chosen area? How are the people listed similar to the people who live there today? How do they differ? (Students can compare a wide range of interesting factors, such as the number of households, the number and ages of the people who live there, their occupations and employer, where they were born, the language they spoke, etc.)
5. Research family history (Secondary level). Working in groups, students can research various ancestors of members of the class. Only ancestors who were living in Canada in 1911 should be chosen. Each group should select several names to search, as some names may not be found in the census records. Those without ancestors living in Canada in 1911 can “adopt” a classmate's ancestor to research. To search the 1911 Census of Canada online at www.collectionscanada.ca/archivianet/1911, students will need to know where in Canada (town, city, etc.) an ancestor was living in 1911. Once students have located an ancestor, they will be able to check the census record to find such interesting information as: other family members and their ages, occupations, employers, religion, place of birth, whether they could read and write, etc. Each group could compile this information in a brief report for a family history. Students may wish to find additional information by checking other genealogical sources such as passenger lists, military records, immigration records, etc. A good place to continue the search is the Canadian Genealogy Centre under “Databases”.

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When Should I Use the Teacher's Kit?

Allow yourself time to prepare for the project you undertake. The best time to conduct these activities is in early May 2006. This will coincide with Statistics Canada's national, provincial and local census awareness campaigns, and with the delivery of the census questionnaire to every household in Canada. (However, after Census Day, May 16, 2006, people still have time to respond to the census.) Send the message: It's not too late.

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