Kumtuks BC Curriculum

Lesson Plans: Resources for Teachers

Early History of British Columbia

Proto British Columbia.

Each area of the world has a political culture that is the result of historical events. Political culture has a profound effect on our daily lives. Learn about the early history before British Columbia was established. In 1821, Britain extended the governance of the Hudsons Bay Company up to the Pacific coast. Students can learn about the predecessor to the British Columbia government and the formative events that led to the establishment of the province.

Founding of British Columbia and its Original Ideals

James Douglas and the Founding of British Columbia.

What brought about the founding of British Columbia? Who were the key players and what were their motivations? This will help students understand some of the pressures and circumstances that motivated people at the critical moments that led to the province we know today.

Chinook Jargon

Chinook Jargon is the indigenous trade language that was developed as a hybrid or ‘pidgin’ language as a result of contact. It contains both indigenous and non-indigenous words and was spoken widely throughout the province and beyond. This provides an opportunity to learn about the history of British Columbia, and at the same time participating in the revitalization of an indigenous language. Chinook Jargon has less than 1000 words and is easy to learn. Appropriate for high school students.

Legacy of Early Surveyors of BC

Gunther’s Chain and the Legacy of the Early Surveyors.

Why is Metro Vancouver the way it is today? Why are the streets and blocks and buildings the dimensions that they are? What about the borders of the cities? How do the decisions of people hundreds of years ago affect us to this day? This lesson will help students make more sense of the urban world they live in.

Development of Metro Vancouver and BC Electric

How the Streetcar led to the Development of Metro Vancouver.

Learn about how the BC Electric Company used market forces to develop the region we now call Metro Vancouver. Discovers the interplay between government and the private sector in deciding how humans would populate the area.

Glorious Inflection

For hundreds of thousands of years humans lived in terrible poverty. It is only in the last 200 years that we have experienced unprecedented prosperity and freedoms. We live a quality of life that people from the past could not even imagine. To what do we owe these benefits? Where, when and how did they come about? This lesson will help students understand why they live far better lives than the wealthiest people 200 years ago, even 100 years ago.