Social Studies

Early Communities in Canada: Letter Home




Dear Parent or Guardian,



The grade three classes are studying Early Communities in Canada. We will be investigating communities between 1780–1850, including First Nations and Métis communities and newcomer settlements in Upper and Lower Canada. Your child will learn about the relationships among various groups and the consequences of their interactions.



This unit will focus on the following core principle of Catholic Social Teachings: the person as a part of a family and a community, as well as the following Catholic virtues: faith, hope, love, justice, self-discipline, and courage.



To help your child become a more active and responsible Catholic Canadian citizen, consider the following activities:

• Discuss how different groups can work together to get along and respect one another.

• As a family, think of actions you can take to help your community.

• Encourage your child to make personal connections to events that happened long ago.

Your child will also be developing inquiry and mapping skills as we work on this unit: how to ask questions; how to gather and organize information; how to interpret and analyze images; how to evaluate information and draw conclusions; and how to analyze maps. To help develop your child’s skills, consider the following activities:

• With your child, ask questions about Canada’s history. For example: When did people first settle in our community? How were people’s lives then different from ours?

• Look for sources of information together that you can trust.

As we work on this unit, I will be sending home other activities that you and your child can work on together.


Thank you for your partnership in your child’s learning.

Communities in Canada, 1780 - 1850

Pioneer Life in Upper Canada - a web site specifically designed for grade 3 students of Ontario.  (English and French)
                                                                Web-based student learning activities for this site.

Great Upper Canada Pioneer Adventure - "Try your hand at life as a settler on the Sydenham River.  It is the 1800's and you have been recruited to the new world."  This online adventure is a Virtual Museum of Canada web site.  (version française)

The Kid's Site of Canadian Settlement - explores early settlement groups in Canada (Library and Archives Canada)  (version française)

18th Century Clothing in Colonial Williamsburg

Canadian History Exhibition Canada Hall at the Canadian Museum of Civilization Covers the years 1000 to 1890 - scroll down the page to find the links  -  (version française)
Pioneer Town Activity - Print out templates for assembling your own pioneer town.
Upper Canada Village - Sections on Daily Life, Agriculture, Communications, Music, Religion, Transportation, Manufacturing, and Major Events of the Decade. (The reading level of some sections is above grade 3.)

Framing Questions

In what ways are our lives similar to and different from the lives of people in the past? What are some challenges faced by people in the past? How did people in the past relate to the environment?  How were the lives of children different in the past to your life now?