Online Lesson Plans from the Archives of Ontario Organized by Theme
Along with workshops and online exhibits, the Archives of Ontario provides History and Social Studies lesson plans that align with the Social Studies, History, and Canadian and World Studies curricula for grades 3 to 12. Developed by historians and classroom teachers, these plans feature primary source material from our extensive collections. View by theme or click here to browse by grade.
Black Canadian History
Lesson Plans
- Grade 8: Family Ties: Ontario at the Time of Confederation (Word, PDF)
- Grade 10: Youth & Ethnic Conflict in 1960s Toronto (Word, PDF)
Online Exhibits
Children
Lesson Plans
- Grade 10: Post-War Life: Girls, Boys, and Their Toys (Word, PDF)
- Grade 10: Youth & Ethnic Conflict in 1960s Toronto (Word, PDF)
Online Exhibits
Early Ontario
Lesson Plans
- Grade 3: Travels with Elizabeth Simcoe (Word, PDF)
- Grade 10: Youth & Ethnic Conflict in 1960s Toronto (Word, PDF)
Online Exhibits
Lesson Plans
Conflict and Change
Lesson Plans
- Grade 7: The War of 1812: Who Has the Advantage? (Word, PDF)
- Grade 8: Family Ties: Ontario at the Time of Confederation (Word, PDF)
- Grade 10: Centennial Ontario: Conflict, Change, and Identity in 1967 (Word, PDF)
- Grade 10: Youth & Ethnic Conflict in 1960s Toronto (Word, PDF)
- Grade 12: The War of 1812: Loyalty and Treason In Upper Canada (Word, PDF)
Online Exhibits
- The Great Toronto Fire
- Documents from the Front: The American Civil War and Fenian Raids in the 1860s
- The Archives of Ontario Remembers Children's Art from the Spanish Civil War
Lesson Plans
- Grade 6: Making Treaty (Word, PDF)
- Grade 9-12: Height of the Land: Natural Resources and the James Bay Treaty
(Treaty No. 9) (Word, PDF)
Online Exhibits
- ANIMALIA: Animals in the Archives
- Note: this exhibit contains video content from Deyohahá:ge: The Indigenous Knowledge Centre at Six Nations Polytechnic on the “Bears: Majestic Creatures” page.
- French Ontario in the 17th and 18th Centuries
- The James Bay Treaty (Treaty No. 9)
- The War of 1812
Interwar Years
Lesson Plans
- Grade 10: Don’t Worry, Keep Your Feet Warm:’ The Spanish Flu in Ontario (Word, PDF)
- Grade 10: Letters from the Depression (Word, PDF)
Online Exhibits
Diaries and Letters
Lesson Plans
- Grade 3: A Gentlewoman’s Sketch of Upper Canada (Word, PDF)
- Grade 7: Anne Langton: Gentlewoman, Pioneer Settler, and Artist (Word, PDF)
- Grade 7: The War of 1812: Should I Go OR Should I Stay? (Word, PDF)
- Grade 7: The War of 1812: Tweeting the Past (Word, PDF)
- Grade 10: A Diary of World War I (Word, PDF)
- Grade 10: ‘Don’t Worry, Keep Your Feet Warm:’ The Spanish Flu in Ontario (Word, PDF)
- Grade 10: Letters from the Depression (Word, PDF)
Online Exhibits
- Story of an Ontario Veteran - Excerpts from the John Mould Diaries
- The Archives of Ontario Remembers Our Canadian War Heroes
- Anne Langton, Gentlewoman, Pioneer Settler and Artist
- A Lifetime – Day by Day, Five Women and Their Diaries
- David Thompson, Map Maker, Explorer and Visionary
Geographic History
Online Exhibits
- Yours to Discover - Tourism in Ontario through Time
- The Archives of Ontario Celebrates Our Agricultural Past
- The Changing Shape of Ontario
- Eyewitness: Thomas Burrowes on the Rideau Canal
Lesson Plans
- Grade 3: Travels with Elizabeth Simcoe (Word, PDF)
- Grade 9-12: Height of the Land: Natural Resources and the James Bay Treaty (Treaty No. 9) (Word, PDF)
Politics
Lesson Plans
- Grade 8: Family Ties: Ontario at the Time of Confederation (Word, PDF)
- Grade 12 :The War of 1812: Loyalty and Treason In Upper Canada (Word, PDF)
- Grade 12 : Political Cartoons and Foreign Pressures: Continuity & Change (Word, PDF)
Online Exhibits
Post-World War 2
Lesson Plans
- Grade 10: Post-War Life: Girls, Boys, and Their Toys (Word, PDF)
- Grade 10: Centennial Ontario: Conflict, Change, and Identity in 1967 (Word, PDF)
- Grade 10: Youth & Ethnic Conflict in 1960s Toronto (Word, PDF)
Online Exhibits
Posters and Pamphlets
Lesson Plans
Online Exhibits
Upper Canada
Lesson Plans
- Grade 3: Travels with Elizabeth Simcoe (Word, PDF)
- Grade 3: A Gentlewoman’s Sketch of Upper Canada (Word, PDF)
- Grade 7: Anne Langton: Gentlewoman, Pioneer Settler and Artist (Word, PDF)
- Grade 7: The War of 1812: Who Has the Advantage? (Word, PDF)
- Grade 7: The War of 1812: Should I Go OR Should I Stay? (Word, PDF)
- Grade 7: The War of 1812: Interpreting Evidence (Word, PDF)
- Grade 7: The War of 1812: Tweeting the Past (Word, PDF)
- Grade 12: The War of 1812: Loyalty and Treason In Upper Canada (Word, PDF)
Online Exhibits
War of 1812
Lesson Plans
- Grade 7: The War of 1812: Who Has the Advantage? (Word, PDF)
- Grade 7: The War of 1812: Should I Go OR Should I Stay? (Word, PDF)
- Grade 7: The War of 1812: Interpreting Evidence (Word, PDF)
- Grade 7: The War of 1812: Tweeting the Past (Word, PDF)
- Grade 12: The War of 1812: Loyalty and Treason In Upper Canada (Word, PDF)
Online Exhibits
Women
Lesson Plans
- Grade 3: Travels with Elizabeth Simcoe (Word, PDF)
- Grade 3: A Gentlewoman’s Sketch of Upper Canada (Word, PDF)
- Grade 7: Anne Langton: Gentlewoman, Pioneer Settler and Artist (Word, PDF)
- Grade 10: Working Women on the Homefront: World War II (Word, PDF)
Online Exhibits
World Wars 1 & 2
Lesson Plans
- Grade 10: A Diary of World War 1 (Word, PDF)
- Grade 10: ‘Don’t Worry, Keep Your Feet Warm:’ The Spanish Flu in Ontario (Word, PDF)
- Grade 10: Evaluating Wartime Posters: Were they Good Propaganda? (Word, PDF)
- Grade 10: Working Women on the Homefront: World War II (Word, PDF)
Online Exhibits
- Preparing for Departure - Panoramic Photographs from the First World War
- Canadian Posters from the First World War
- Story of an Ontario Veteran - Excerpts from the John Mould Diaries (World War 1)
- The Archives of Ontario Remembers Our Canadian War Heroes (World War 1)
- The Archives of Ontario Remembers the Home Front (World War 2)
Grade Three | Grade Seven | Grade eight | Grade Ten | Grade Twelve