Grade 5 · Social Studies
Explore
Seven worlds, two big questions: who was here, and who decides. In each world the numbered LESSONS teach first — a map, a timeline, a story, a worked example — before they ask you anything, and they remember what you build. Labs, games and stories are pure play: nothing there is recorded, ever.
Nations of This Land
Who lived here first — and how did they live, trade, and make peace?
Before 1713 this land was home to many nations. They lived by the lakes, in the northern forest, on the Atlantic coast and in the Arctic. Each had its own language, homes and government. They traded with each other and made peace with each other.
Open this world — tap a nation to find its homeland →Learn — lessons that teach first, best in this order
- 1Lesson 1Start hereMany nations, many waysLonghouses, seasonal camps, snow houses. Meet the nations who were here first, and see why each home fit its landTeaches: Nations of this land before 1713
- 2Lesson 2ReadyBefore the shipsCorn went north and furs came south. Find the trade routes, the Great Law of Peace, and how nations differed from each otherTeaches: Trade, treaties and differences before the ships
Play with it — labs, games and stories, any time, nothing recorded
- LabJust playSeasons LabPlan a family’s year: sugar bush, fish camp, rice beds, winter hunt. Do the stores last until spring?
- GameJust playNation MatchA home, a food, a council. Match eight ways of life to six nations — the clue is always the land
- StoryRead and decideThe Sugar BushThe sap is running. So is the calendar.
Why the Ships Came
What made people cross an ocean — and who was in charge when they got here?
Fishing boats came first, then fur traders, then priests, then families. This world asks why. It also meets the people who ran New France: the governor, the intendant, the bishop, the seigneur. Then the wars in Europe that reached here.
Open this world — tap an arrival to see where it landed →Learn — lessons that teach first, best in this order
- 1Lesson 1Start hereFish, fur, and faithFish, fur, faith or land? Sort the reasons Europeans came, put the arrivals in order, and do the numbers on a ship sent westTeaches: Why Europeans came: fish, fur, faith, land
- 2Lesson 2ReadyRunning New FranceKing, governor, intendant, bishop, seigneur: who did what in New France. Then the wars from Europe, and what they did hereTeaches: How New France was run — and Europe's wars here
Play with it — labs, games and stories, any time, nothing recorded
When Worlds Met
What happened when Indigenous peoples and Europeans met — and what is still happening now?
A beaver hat in Paris and a kettle in a Cree village were joined by a canoe. This world follows the fur trade, meets the Métis, weighs who gained and who lost — and shows how treaties made then still matter now.
Open this world — tap a route to trace it →Learn — lessons that teach first, best in this order
- 1Lesson 1Start hereThe fur tradeWho trapped, who paddled, who profited. Follow a hat to an empty pond, and see how the Métis Nation was bornTeaches: The fur trade and the birth of the Métis
- 2Lesson 2ReadyWho gained, who lostKettles and alliances. Smallpox and lost land. Weigh what contact caused, and hear the same day from four sidesTeaches: Who gained, who lost, and what it cost
- 3Lesson 3ReadyStill here todayLand claims, treaty rights, caring for the land. Place three centuries of agreements on a line and see why a 1700s treaty won a case in 1999Teaches: Then and now: treaties, land, stewardship
Play with it — labs, games and stories, any time, nothing recorded
- LabJust playTrade LabSet how many pelts a family trades each year. Watch the beaver on its stream over decades
- GameJust playThen and NowA 1600s event and a headline today. Name the thread that joins them
- StoryRead and decideThe Trading SeasonSixty pelts, a French trader, and a stream that can only give so much.
Detective of the Past
How do you find out what really happened when the people who were there disagree?
A priest, a trader and a Wendat Elder describe the same village. Who do you believe? This world teaches how to ask a good question, weigh a journal against a wampum belt, read a map as evidence, and tell what you found.
Open this world — flip a source →Learn — lessons that teach first, best in this order
- 1Lesson 1Start hereWhose story?Three people describe one village. Ask a good question, sort primary from secondary, and weigh Champlain against a Wendat ElderTeaches: Whose story? Questions, sources, perspectives
- 2Lesson 2ReadyMaps and evidenceRead a map as evidence, put the steps of an inquiry in order, conclude fairly, and tell it in two voicesTeaches: Maps, evidence, conclusions — and telling it
Play with it — labs, games and stories, any time, nothing recorded
- LabJust playSource BenchPick sources for a comparison chart. The bench shows which side you have not heard yet
- GameJust playSource DetectiveA journal, a belt, a website, a map. Call each one: primary, secondary, or not checked
- MakerCreateTimeline MakerPick the events for your line, name it, and sign it with a code
Who Decides
Who picks up the garbage, who runs the hospital, and who gets to say?
Canada has more than one government. The town, the province, Ottawa, band councils and school boards each have their own jobs. This world sorts out who does what, which jobs are shared, and what a citizen can claim and owes.
Open this world — tap a job to find its desk →Learn — lessons that teach first, best in this order
- 1Lesson 1Start hereThree governments, one garbage dayWho plows the road, who prints the passport, who runs the hospital? Sort the jobs, sit at a council meeting, and find the jobs two governments shareTeaches: Levels of government and who does what
- 2Lesson 2ReadyRights, responsibilities, and nationsWhat every citizen can claim and what you owe. Then a day at a band council, and the First Nations, Métis and Inuit governments of todayTeaches: Rights, responsibilities, and Indigenous governments
Play with it — labs, games and stories, any time, nothing recorded
Having Your Say
How does a government find out what people think — and what can you do when you disagree?
How does a government find out what people think? Elections, town halls, hearings — and a duty to consult First Nations, Métis and Inuit. This world also asks why people disagree, and what a citizen can do about it.
Open this world — asking, or telling? →Learn — lessons that teach first, best in this order
- 1Lesson 1Start hereHow governments listenElections, town halls, hearings, nation-to-nation talks. Be the mayor, run a real consultation, and learn the duty to consultTeaches: How governments listen — and the duty to consult
- 2Lesson 2ReadyDifferent views, real actionWhy a farmer and a miner honestly disagree. Six things a citizen can do — five of them before you can voteTeaches: Different views, and how citizens act
Play with it — labs, games and stories, any time, nothing recorded
- LabJust playConsultation LabChoose how the town listens. See which groups are really heard — the least-heard group is the score
- GameJust playHave Your SayEight situations, six kinds of action. Pick the one that reaches the people who can change it
- StoryRead and decideThe Council MeetingTwenty-eight kids, no votes, one dangerous corner.
Making Change
When something is wrong, who fixes it — and how would you?
Governments act on problems: blue boxes, clean water, the Far North. Did it work? This world judges real actions with evidence, builds a plan of action, and runs a full inquiry into one issue from every side.
Open this world — then and now, on one line →Learn — lessons that teach first, best in this order
- 1Lesson 1Start hereDid it work?Blue boxes, clean-water promises, the Far North. Judge what governments did with a goal and a count, not a moodTeaches: What governments did, and whether it worked
- 2Lesson 2ReadyA plan of actionName the issue, find who decides, gather support, act, check. Build a plan for a social issue and one for the creekTeaches: A plan of action for an issue
- 3Lesson 3ReadyInvestigating an issueClimate change in the Arctic from every side: Elders, scientists, Ottawa, a shipping company. The whole inquiry, ending in a report to your MPTeaches: Investigating an issue from every side