What happens when students evaluate responses instead of answer questions themselves? In our experience, they can be quite forthcoming in their critiques, which can provide a great window into their thinking! 5 new CHATs in the Library debuting new frameworks! #cdnhistory #bced #historicalthinking

Congratulations to Drs. Alan Sears and Carla Peck on the publication of their new book, Rescuing Reason: How History Education Can Help Save Democracy (UTP, 2026)! utppublishing.com/doi/10.3138/... @carlapeck.bsky.social @ualbertaed.bsky.social

Join us on the beautiful UBC campus for the UBC Social Studies Education Winter Professional Development Conference Friday, February 13, 2026 | 9:00– 3:30 (PST) edcp.educ.ubc.ca/social-studi... Registration opens January 5, 2026. #socialstudies #education

Read the recent publication by members of Thinking Historically for Canada's Future titled: Never the two shall meet? Connecting historical and democratic consciousness in Canadian K-12 history textbooks. DOI: doi.org/10.14324/HER.... @carlapeck.bsky.social @ualbertaed.bsky.social

If you are in the Lower Mainland on November 21st, you are invited to join To The Past for a workshop on designing effective formative assessments of historical thinking @ Eric Hamber secondary: Registration link for teachers outside of the VSB: addins.sharepointsapiens.com/training/enr... #bced

Taking in the keynote from Andrew Coyne at the BCSSTA fall 2025 conference. #bced #bcsocialstudies #bcssta

History curious? You don't need to be in London (or the UK) to attend many Institute of Historical Research seminars, although if you're in Bloomsbury you'll enjoy doing so. Most are hybrid (online/in person). They're free, usually fortnightly and open to the public. Starting this week:

Events

Stay up to date with the upcoming events organised or hosted by the Institute of Historical Research

history.ac.uk

“It’s about recognizing how the past is used and how that impacts society today" Grateful for this feature of an excellent teacher guiding students towards a deeper understanding of history as a discipline. I've learned a lot from Carly and use some of the lessons she developed and describes here.

Thinking Historically for Canada's Future@thinkhist.bsky.social · last yr.

Carly teaches at St. George’s School, a large, independent, non-denominational all-boys school in Vancouver, British Columbia. Learn more about Carly's experiences at: thinking-historically.ca/carly-wenner/ @carlapeck.bsky.social @ualbertaed.bsky.social @carlywenner.bsky.social

Teaching history means asking tough questions and uncovering new perspectives. This fall, NCHE is offering back-to-school webinars to put those ideas into action. Please share so history educators in need of great PD can find the support they deserve. Learn more and register here: buff.ly/WhembxH

Canadian Social Studies Educators Network of Canada has released their Fall 2025 Salon Newsletter! @actioncanada.bsky.social shares their Public Policy 101 resources on why policy matters, how it gets created, and the role of citizens in the process: ssencressc.ca/publications... #sschat #bced

Good thinkers having good discussions. As we gear up for another year in the classroom, how can we make our classrooms hubs of rich discussion? #sschat #cdnhistory #historyeducation #historicalthinking #bced

Lightning Jay@lightningjay.bsky.social · last yr.

New podcast!!! You can listen to @abbyreisman.bsky.social and I discuss the importance of discussions in the social studies classroom! It get meta!! visionsofed.com/2025/07/21/e...

Sometimes when conducting research, you get a glimpse into the imaginations of former readers. The legacies of shared textbooks. #Kilroy, bookworms and pencil imprints of pennies❤️. archive.org/details/hist... #cdnhistory #historicalthinking #sschat

The CHA is proud to announce the books that are shortlisted for this year’s Best (English-Language) Scholarly Book in Canadian History prize! #cdnhist #prize

Shortlist: Best (English-Language) Scholarly Book in Canadian History Prize | Canadian Historical Association | Société historique du Canada

The CHA is proud to announce the books that are shortlisted for this year’s Best (English-Language) Scholarly Book in Canadian History prize. (In alphabetical order). Crystal Gail Fraser, By Strength,...

cha-shc.ca

The CHA is proud to announce the books that are shortlisted for this year’s Wallace K. Ferguson prize! #cdnhist #prize

Shortlist: Wallace K. Ferguson Prize | Canadian Historical Association | Société historique du Canada

The CHA is proud to announce the books that are shortlisted for this year’s Wallace K. Ferguson prize. (In alphabetical order). Jacob Blanc, The Prestes Column: An Interior History of Modern Brazil. D...

cha-shc.ca

For the #FIELDGuide primary sources are the heart of Foundational Evidence. How do you use them to bring history to life? Share your favorite primary source and how you use it in your classroom and check out socialstudiesfieldguide.com to learn more #PrimarySources #Inquiry @glennwiebe.bsky.social

Social Studies Field Guide

Foundational evidence, inquiry-based instruction, & edtech tools

socialstudiesfieldguide.com

Working with primary sources is not a "spot the bias" game. Encourage students to attend to source metadata and contextual information to better understand why sources don't always agree with one another: tothepast.ca/contextualiz...

Contextualization: Stalag XI - To the Past

Stalag XI Topic: Canadian History, WWII Historical Thinking Skills: Contextualization Time Period: 1939-1945 Contextualizing a primary source is the process of utilizing an understanding of historical...

tothepast.ca

Support Heritage Fairs in schools

Ariel Troster@arieltroster.bsky.social · 2y ago

Today I went to my kid’s middle school heritage fair, which featured a project on the history of drag in Canada, a Lego reproduction of the Oka Crisis, a display about the history of abortion rights, and two children dressed as different versions of Trotsky. A+, no notes, the kids are alright.

“I always tell my visitors that history is not the past — it is an interpretation of the past…It is fine to have good-faith disagreements about historical figures and events; that is what the historical process is about”

Contingent Magazine@contingent-mag.bsky.social · 2y ago

“'Excuse me,' a visitor asked as they tapped my shoulder . . . 'Is this one of those woke tours?'" Our latest, a new mailbag from Nick DeLuca.

10 years in and I'm still figuring out what sourcing means in the context of historical inquiry. Thinking about assessment often means a rethink of our pedagogy as well: tothepast.ca/blog-what-is... #sschat #canadianhistory #bced #socialstudies

Blog: What is Sourcing? And why are we doing it again? - To the Past

In our previous post, I described how typical historical thinking assessments such as DBQs might just be assessing too much at one time, and that we would do well to break down the component skills, h...

tothepast.ca

A little louder for the people in the back! Sourcing, close reading, and questioning without robust historical knowledge is unlikely to generate robust demonstrations of historical thinking. @lightningjay.bsky.social directing us appropriately towards "skills, practice, AND knowledge".

Lightning Jay@lightningjay.bsky.social · 2y ago

New Article! Better thinking about online information requires skills, practice, AND knowledge. I make the case that this new crisis highlights just how badly we need great history classes. theconversation.com/why-history-...

We're looking for historians and history teachers in Canada to share their beliefs about history and presentism. If you're interested in participating in this study, please click the following link: ualbertauw.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...

"...a lack of pedagogical supports to help teachers use them effectively." That checks out. I remember collecting a few as a new teacher ...and then not knowing what to do with them. Read about the "Rise and Fall of Jackdaws" from the man who has them all (or nearly) @lsgibson.bsky.social

Lindsay Gibson@lsgibson.bsky.social · 2y ago

Delighted to see my open-source article about the history of Jackdaws published in the History Education Research Journal. "The rise and fall of Jackdaws: lessons for designing source collections to teach history" journals.uclpress.co.uk/herj/article... @arthurjchapman.bsky.social

A glimpse into how Canadian teachers from across the country are are tackling the teaching of the past. #canhistory #socialstudies #canada #Canadianhistory #HTed

Thinking Historically for Canada's Future@thinkhist.bsky.social · 2y ago

We are excited to announce the launch of our Portraits of Professional Practice (PPP) webpage! The PPP project focuses on understanding how the context where history is taught shapes educators’ practices. Learn more at thinking-historically.ca/ppp/ @carlapeck.bsky.social

We are excited to announce the launch of our Portraits of Professional Practice (PPP) webpage! The PPP project focuses on understanding how the context where history is taught shapes educators’ practices. Learn more at thinking-historically.ca/ppp/ @carlapeck.bsky.social

World History Teachers Blog: Ten Historians: 10 Different Interpretations on Who Started WWI bit.ly/40AKVcw #sschat

Ten Historians: 10 Different Interpretations on Who Started WWI

Ten historians give 10 different interpretations on who started WWI in this BBC story. Sir Max Hastings - military historian, argues th...

bit.ly

Attention BC Teachers. Check out the "Developing Minds Conference: For the Love of Critical Thinking" that is being offered on the February 14, 2025 Professional Development Day. Note, this is not just for social studies teachers. bcssta.wordpress.com/devminds2025/

Developing Minds 2025

For the Love of Critical Thinking! 14 February 2025 Professional Development Conference Conference Co-Chairs: Dr. Nic Fillion and Dr. Dale Martelli Conference Coordinator: Cem Erkli (devminds@sfu.c…

bcssta.wordpress.com

Specifying exactly what we aim to assess is a trying, but illuminating process. It allows teachers to provide more effective formative assessment for students as they move towards more robust historical inquiry. tothepast.ca/blog-breakin... #HTchat #BCed #socialstudies #Canhistory #Canada

Blog: Breaking Down The Guideposts, OR AT LEAST A FEW - To the Past

This is the assessment triangle. It emphasizes the importance of coherence between what is being assessed, as in what aspect of cognition or thinking, how that cognition will be observed, and how resu...

tothepast.ca

Attention K-12 Educators: Free seminar focused on bringing Holocaust education into the classroom with respect and consideration. Hosted by the Canadian Museum of Human Rights and Dr. Andrea Webb, the co‐director of Survivor‐Centred Visual Narratives project. humanrights.ca/event/webina...

Webinar: Supporting Educators in Holocaust Education | CMHR

This webinar will discuss supports for educators to bring Holocaust education into the classroom.

humanrights.ca

The first of seven sessions for the 2025 Virtual Historical Thinking Institute (VHTI) is coming up soon. There are still a few spaces available in the English and French groups. @canadashistory.bsky.social @thinkhist.bsky.social

Lindsay Gibson@lsgibson.bsky.social · 2y ago

Register for the 2025 Virtual Historical Thinking Institute (VHTI). Seven 1.5 hour online (zoom) sessions available in English & French. First session is January 21, 2025 (French) & January 22, 2025 (English). 7:00-8:30 pm ET. @canadashistory.bsky.social www.canadashistory.ca/education/pr...

Attention Canadian K-12 social studies & history teachers. The Treaty Map includes every Canadian treaty from 1763-present, & challenges the commonly held view of treaties as land surrenders. Includes an interactive learning & teaching tool, grounded in Indigenous perspectives of treaties.