Browse through this collection of resources to find some that may work in your classroom. If you know of other resources you'd like to share, make sure to contact us.

Download or order free resources created by the Peel District School Board.

Environment

International development

Trade

Field trips and travel

Leadership

Games and activities for the classroom

Workshops for the classroom

Other resources

Environment

Green Teacher Magazine
Green Teacher Magazine is a quarterly maganzine that provides activities and ideas to help you green your classroom. The magazine is available in print or electronically through e-mail. The website also has ordering information for Green Teacher's books for use in elementary, middle and secondary classrooms.

Ecokids

EcoKids is an environmental action program that educates and inspires young Canadians from ages 7-12 with topical environmental information, interactive games, and hands-on activities.

PBS Teacher Source
PBS is an American organization; therefore, the lessons posted on this site align with the American curriculum. However, the site features a substaintial number of resources. By clicking on a subject area from the navigation on the left, you can sort resources by grade level and topic. The lessons are based on PBS documentaries.

An Inconvenient Truth (AIT) in the Classroom
AIT in the Classroom is designed for secondary school science courses such as Earth science, environmental science and physics, but the materials are adaptable for use in civics classes, middle school science classes. This is an American resource, but can fit with the Ontario curriculum. In order to access this resource, you must create a username and password.

Peel Water Story
Available in all libraries in Peel schools, the Peel Water Story looks at the history of water use in the region of Peel. With lessons designed for all grade levels and to supplement both the science and social science curriculum, this is a valuable resource to any teacher in Peel. The Peel Water Story was created by the Region of Peel and was launched in spring 2006.

Water is Life
Created by World Vision, this resource supports the Ontario science, language arts and geography curriculum in grades 7 to 12. The resource is free and will help teachers bring the issue of water shortage into the classroom, including the question about whether water is a human right.

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International development

AMREF

The African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF) has developed a series of activities on HIV/AIDS and water issues. The activities are free downloads from the site. The organization also offers classroom visits.

Oxfam's Cool Planet
This site includes a number of teaching resources. You can order a series of posters for your classroom to promote the Millennium Development Goals. Although produced in the United Kingdom, you'll find many of the resources relevant for use in Ontario.

Educating for global citizenship in a changing world - OCIC

This resource provides teachers and other educational stakeholders with a range of ideas and practices for teaching and learning about citizenship within today's global context. The ideas and practices were investigated, developed, and piloted by practicing teachers and teacher educators in school settings in the Toronto area.

Water is Life
Created by World Vision, this resource supports the Ontario science, language arts and geography curriculum in grades 7 to 12. The resource is free and will help teachers bring the issue of water shortage into the classroom, including the question about whether water is a human right.

Adopt-A-Minefield
This series of lesson plans were designed by a former teacher with over 30 years experience teaching in Ontario schools for Grades 5 – 10. The lessons highlight the global crisis of landmines and Canada's historic role in the effort to ban landmines.

Global Education Network manual
Global Education Network is a manual for teachers and those creating curriculum units for all grade levels and subject disciplines.

Taking It Global (TIG)
Taking It Global is an international, youth-led, technology empowered charitable organization. It offers a range of teaching resources with an international flavour and in ways that are relevant and engaging for students. You must create a user profile to access the resource. Taking IT Global also has an online discussion board that educators can use to share exciting project ideas.

Teacher Zone by Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)
CIDA's Teacher Zone serves as a portal for curriculum-based educational resources and for new ideas to help bring international development to the classroom and motivate students to become active global citizens. It allows teachers to search for educational resources organized by theme, grade level, province or territory, and for professional and development activities.

Tools for Learning – Canadian Physicians for Aid and Relief (CPAR)

Tied to the Ontario curriculum, CPAR has created a series of units, each containing three lessons. These lessons are intended for secondary school teachers, but can be adapted to apply to an intermediate classroom. The resources include a PowerPoint presentation and homework assignments. Let CPAR know that you are using the resource and they will send you materials for your classroom walls.

Canadian Geographic

The Canadian Geographic website offers a searchable database of lesson plans that focus on a number of topics around global development, including poverty and hunger. You can also order a copy of the A Developing World map created by Canadian Geographic and the Canadian International Development Agency.

Global Voices – Free the Children

In partnership with the Toronto Star and Nipissing University, Free the Children has developed the Global Voices program. Aligned with the grade 6 and 10 Ontario curriculum, Global Voices uses a bi-monthly column and a complimentary lesson plan to help teachers bring current world issues into the classroom. Students will have the opportunity to become junior journalists by submitting their article about social justice issues on the Global Voices website. Sign up online to begin receiving columns and curriculum by e-mail.

Right to Play Canadian School Program

This new resource by Right to Play provides lesson plans for grades 4 to 6 with a focus on global issues and active play. The kit is free and comes with a red Right to Play soccer ball.

War Child Canada – Get Loud – Educator's Resources

War Child's new website, Get Loud, includes 21 different lesson plans for teachers. In order to access the resources, you must register as a user. War Child has created lessons with links to curriculum across Canada.

CHF - partners in rural development

CHF is a Canadian non-profit organization dedicated to enabling poor rural communities in developing countries to attain sustainable livelihoods. They have created a series of lessons for grades 1 to 6. The lessons are designed to align with the Ontario curriculum.

Elephant Thoughts

Elephant Thoughts exists to promote a high standard of education everywhere, regardless of economic or geographical barriers. By providing a number of programs including school workshops and professional development for teachers, they are helping to get young people excited about learning. Check out their website for downloadable games and experiments.

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Trade

PaPaPaa - Fair trade and chocolate
A project created by UK-based organization, Comic Relief, this website contains free resources for teaching students age 9 to 14 about the linkages between fair trade and chocolate. This site includes facts and slide shows for use in the classroom.

Transfair Canada

Transfair Canada is a national certification and public education organization that promotes Fair Trade Certified products. Their website for teachers and students features resources on how to incorporate fair trade issues and products into curriculum and schools. The site includes a trivia challenge in PowerPoint format you can try with your students.

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Field trips and travel

Casa Canadiense
Casa Canadiense (literally "Canada House") was founded in 1992 by a group of Canadian teachers. This unique initiative takes a class trip to a whole new level by providing an opportunity for secondary students and teachers to visit Nicaragua. A typical trip lasts for one or two weeks.

Canada World Youth (CWY)

Canada World Youth offers a number of programs to help youth become more engaged in world issues through travel and volunteering. Their core program is an exchange program for youth who are 17 to 24 years of age.

AFS Interculture Canada

AFS offers exchange programs that last up to one year. Student live with a host family in a AFS partner country and go to school. Canadian schools may choose to work with AFS to run an international co-op program for students.

Leaders Today

Leaders Today offers a number of trips for students interested in exploring another culture and developing their leadership skills. Offered during the summer, students can choose to visit China, India and Kenya, among other countries.

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Leadership

Leaders Today

Leaders Today is an organization for youth who want to change the world. They offer speakers and a number of workshops including Global Leadership Seminars and Teachers Today, a workshop specifically designed for teachers on how to engage students.

Absolute Leadership

Absolute Leadership exists to help young people realize their value and potential, and to empower them to change the world. They travel across Canada giving highly inspirational school presentations which include a live band and cover topics like bullying, self-worth, substance abuse and global citizenship.

Games and activities for the classroom

FreeRice

While playing FreeRice, you can donate food to the hungry while increasing your vocabulary. For each word you get right, FreeRice will donate 20 grains of rice to the United Nations World Food Program to distribute to the hungry.

Food Force

Food Force is the first humanitarian video game about global hunger presented by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP).  This project has been developed specifically to help children learn about the fight against world hunger. Food Force is available as a free Internet download from its dedicated website which is available in French and English. The game is designed for children between 8 and 13 years of age.

Stop Disasters simulated game

Developed by the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, Stop Disasters will help you understand how to prevent disasters from happening. Browse the site to learn more about natural disasters and play the game to make it onto the high score chart.

Miniture Earth

Watch this short video depicting what the world would be like if it were a village of only 100 people. Consider showing it to your class.

Salto-Youth Resource Centres

Need a simulation game or ice-breaker. Looking for activities on a specific topic? Salto-Youth's toolbox is a database full of ideas and activities to use with youth. Select the type of resource you're looking for, then the topic you're interested in, and a list of useful resources will be generated. Happy hunting!

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Workshops for the classroom

Engineers Without Borders
Engineers Without Borders is targeted at students aged 12 to 18 as a key group to educate about sustainable development issues. EWB provides interactive workshops on topics such as Water for the World and Food for Thought. If you are a teacher and would like an EWB volunteer to visit your classroom, contact the EWB's Director of Education, Sophia Wong at sophiaw@ewb.ca.

Kawartha World Issues Centre (KWIC)
Since 1989, KWIC has served the Peterborough community and Kawartha region by promoting awareness and analysis around issues of vital importance in the world today. KWIC supports classroom teachers by developing and facilitating global education workshops in local high schools, as well as for community groups.

Elephant Thoughts

Elephant Thoughts exists to promote a high standard of education everywhere, regardless of economic or geographical barriers. By providing a number of programs including school workshops and professional development for teachers, they are helping to get young people excited about learning. Through their Schools for Schools program, your school can earn free workshops by fundraising to support a school in a developing country.

Teachers TV

Teachers TV is a collection of interviews, videos and television programs on a variety of topics. Make sure to check out the section on Africa to look for resources that may be useful in your classroom.

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Other resources

Off the shelf - writers for change, readers with a difference

Produced by the Ontario Council for International Cooperation, this book club kit provides descriptions of novels by various female authors from around the world. It also lists some questions for discussion. The novels in this book may be appropriate for high school students, but also check it out for your own reading pleasure.

UNESCO - Institute for Statistics

Searching for stats on a specific country? This database of information will allow you to look up country-specific, up-to-date information under the following main headings:

• education
• science and technology
• culture and communication
• literacy

OneGlobalTribe

OneGlobalTribe is a new program that connects young people around the world through meaningful service projects.  It provides youth with concrete opportunities to create lasting change on a global scale, and in turn, make a real difference on issues critical to our planet. OneGlobalTribe is an initiative of Creative Visions, a U.S.-based public foundation that uses the power of media - including books, websites and documentaries - to inspire positive social change.

Youthlinks

Created by HISTOR!CA, a Canadian organization that exists to help Canadians learn about Canadian history, Youthlinks is a site for high school students and teachers. It provides ready-made activities around specific topics and also runs an online debate forum. Students can submit articles or videos, which may be posted on the site.

Relief Web

Daily papers don't always report on the many humanitarian crises that are occuring around the world. Keep up-to-date on current global issues by accessing Relief Web's extensive database of information.  You can search by issue or location.

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