Grade 8 · Social Studies · Unit 6 of 15
Residential Schools & Truth
What happened, who was affected, and why we learn it
What your child practises
A careful, age-appropriate introduction to the residential school system: why the government and churches set it up, how it harmed children, families and communities, the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and ways Canadians can respond. The questions do not describe abuse in detail. Please talk with your child about this unit, and note that it needs review with survivors and First Nations, Métis and Inuit partners before launch.
Ontario Curriculum expectation: History A3.4, B1.2, B3.1, B3.6 · the origins of the residential school system, its impact on First Nations, Métis and Inuit families and communities, and resistance
Sample questions
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
For how long did the residential school system operate?
- For about ten years
- For about one year
- For well over a hundred years
Show answer
For well over a hundred years
Hint: Many survivors are alive today, which is one reason this history matters now.
Question 2
What does the word 'assimilation' mean?
- forcing people to give up their own culture and take on another
- welcoming new ideas
- learning a new sport
- joining a club
Show answer
forcing people to give up their own culture and take on another
Hint: Residential schools were part of a policy of assimilation.
Question 3
Who operated most residential schools for the government?
- churches
- First Nations governments
- banks
- railway companies
Show answer
churches
Hint: Catholic, Anglican, United and other churches ran the schools with federal money.
Question 4
What is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, on September 30?
- a day for a sports final
- a day to honour survivors, their families and communities and remember the children who did not come home
- a day of voting
- a day of treaties
Show answer
a day to honour survivors, their families and communities and remember the children who did not come home
Hint: It is also called Orange Shirt Day by many.
Question 5
What is intergenerational impact?
- a type of treaty
- a type of map
- a school program
- harm that continues across generations, from survivors to their children and grandchildren
Show answer
harm that continues across generations, from survivors to their children and grandchildren
Hint: Lost language and family ties affected the generations that followed.
Question 6
What does the colour orange represent on Orange Shirt Day?
- a holiday
- a sports team
- a province
- that every child matters
Show answer
that every child matters
Hint: The day began with Phyllis Webstad's story of her orange shirt being taken.