The Parliament of Canada

Here is a link to the youtube channel (PARLyouth) created by the Government of Canada for young learners:

http://www.youtube.com/user/PARLyouth

Parliament Hill - The Changing of the Guard

The House of Commons - The elected members are MP's

The Senate - Senators are appointed by the Prime Minister

Our Country, Our Parliament

As we continue with our Government and Citizenship unit in Social Studies we are learning about a variety of topics related to the Government of Canada. Some of the topics we are learning about are: how Parliament works, Citizenship and Immigration, and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The following is a link to an online resource we have been using in class called:

Our Country, Our Parliament
http://www.parl.gc.ca/About/Parliament/Education/OurCountryOurParliament/index-e.asp

Student Vote 2011 and Election Day at RV

 

On Tuesday, October 4th, two days before the 2011 Ontario Provincial Elections, the students from Room 208 cast their own ballots in a simulated vote. This was part of Student Vote 2011, a national program designed to teach students about this important civic duty.

Using resources provided by Student Vote (e.g., authentic ballot boxes, voting screens and ballots), our classroom was transformed into a polling station. Some students volunteered for various roles including Polling Clerks, Deputy Returning Officers and even Scrutineers representing the various political parties. All the students went through the process of voting and depositing their ballot into the box.


To cap off this wonderful learning experience, our students had the opportunity to observe the real voting in our school gymnasium on Election Day. One of the election officials was gracious enough to answer questions from the students.

Student Vote 2011

In Social Studies, we have been learning about Citizenship and Government. As part of the unit this year, our class has been paying particular attention to the Ontario Provincial Elections. The class is participating in a program called Student Vote 2011. The program's purpose is to increase young people's awareness of the importance of voting and actively participating in a democracy.

For more information, parents and students can go to the Student Vote website

http://www.studentvote.ca/