On Friday I had the opportunity to join an online workshop discussing the National Film Board of Canada and how it is a handy resource for educators to use in the classroom. As Social Studies is my main teachable topic I found this workshop to be useful and interesting. Utilizing the NFB as a teaching resource is a perfect way to draw in alternative learners in the classroom. It adds an additional layer to multimodal learning, moving past the traditional lectures and textbook work that can have the tendency of boring students. I think it is safe to say that the vast majority of people, adults and kids, enjoy watching films and or documentaries as they often tell stories and provide information to us in a visually engaging manner. The NFB as a resource is perfect for teachers, especially in Social Studies, as it has a vast catalog of films relating to Canadian history, both at domestic and international levels. I recall a university course that I took on American History Through Film and it was extremely engaging. We would study films that detailed significant events and periods in history, often comparing and contrasting between the film and the actual event. This class was a perfect way to engage students and also encourage them to think critically about the film and its portrayals/messages. Could we assess any sort of biases? Films are an extremely beneficial tool that can be used as an entry point for engaging students that otherwise may not be initially interested in a topic. Utilizing the NFB for an exploratory Canadian History project in an upper-level high school history course is an exciting idea. As there are so many different stories and topics within the NFB database, students could research assignments and report on their chosen films, while integrating additional resources. How does this film/event contribute to Canadian history? Consider the film and when it was released? How does it fit within the timeline of our country? What is the cultural significance of the topic?
https://www.nfb.ca/film/ice-breakers/ – Mini-documentary detailing the history of Afro-Canadian hockey in the Maritimes.
