Multi-disciplinary Topics and Resources
Media
BCTF Media Library
 Films denoted with a * in this document can be borrowed for up to two weeks for
classroom use.
 http://info.bctf.ca/videos/search.aspx
 E-mail video@bctf.ca
Media Education Foundation www.mediaed.org
Media Awareness www.media-awareness.ca
Free Films/Documentaries http://www.freedocumentaries.org/index.php
 Globalization New Rulers of the World
 MONEY as debt: international bankers own the world and this is how
 Sex Slaves
Action Plans or Social Justice Projects
Promise of Place (community based projects for students) http://promiseofplace.org
Critical Challenges Series
Active Citizenship: Student Action Projects
Caring for Young People’s Rights
Globalizing Connections: Canada and the Developing World
General Social Justice Resources and Lesson Plans
BCTF Social Justice Action Groups http://bctf.ca/SocialJustice.aspx?id=18432
 Anti-poverty
 Women’s Issues
 LGBTQ
 Peace and Global Education
 Anti-racism
 Environmental Justice
Social Justice 12 Teacher’s Guide (available on BC Ministry of Education IRPs and
Curriculum Support Materials)
Centre for Social Justice http://www.socialjustice.org/
Global Education Network http://www.global-ed.org
Ontario Council for International Cooperation http://www.ocic.on.ca/
Global Issues www.globalissues.org
Rethinking Schools Journal and Resources http://www.rethinkingschools.org/index.shtml
CBC Archives http://archives.cbc.ca/for_teachers/
Taking it Global www.tigweb.org
Cultivating Peace http://www.cultivatingpeace.ca/
Ted Talks www.ted.com
GUIDING QUESTIONS
These guiding questions aim to synthesize student personal experience and knowledge
with a broad range of social justice concepts. It is anticipated that teachers will use
these questions to help deepen analysis of issues and exploration of the SJ 12 curriculum.
These overarching questions would build upon a sound knowledge of the differences
between social service, social responsibility and social justice.
1. What connections can I make between social justice issues and my own life and
identity?
 How do these ‘isms’ exist in my own world?
 What are my personal experiences? How do they shape my values and beliefs?
In turn, how do my values and beliefs influence or impede my
motivation to participate in particular social justice issues?
 How can I act as an effective agent of social change?
 To what extent am I able and willing to initiate and participate in active
citizenship?
 As an individual, do my actions maintain or reinforce the status quo? How do I
become an agent of change? In what ways can I productively challenge the status
quo?
 End of course personal reflection: Have I experienced any paradigm shifts in my
thinking or actions as a result of the ideas explored in this course?
2. Are social inequalities inevitable or an imposed social arrangement?
3. How is power established or institutionalized in society?
4. What are the causes and consequences of social injustice?
5. When do social justice issues become ‘our’ issues? What are the connections between
oppression in Canada and oppression in the rest of the world?
6. When dealing with complex issues, how do we negotiate the value of certain human
rights over others? Are there universal ethics upon which society can agree or are
they relative to individual cultures, nations, and groups?
7. How is truth and meaning produced in/by society? (media and power structures)
8. Consider a problem or issue. What is the probable future? Possible future? Ideal
future? How do we achieve the ideal future? What obstacles might we face?
9. What is the difference between recognizing, analyzing, and acting for social justice?
10. What does responsible action look like? What are the most effective methods to
foster systemic change? What are some specific skills and actions that are necessary
to become an agent of change?
Women and Children
Possible
Topics to
Explore and
Lesson
Activities
Women’s
Herstory:
Topics and
Resources
Resources
1. Women’s Issues: sexual slavery, prostitution, female genital mutilation,
polygamy, aboriginal women, women and media, women’s rights globally
(Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia), live-in caregiver programs, women and
HIV/AIDS, Sharia law, eco-feminism, reproductive rights, body image,
intersection of sexism and racism, domestic violence, rape, women and
war, education and literacy
2. Children’s Issues: children’s rights, child poverty in BC,
trafficking/slavery (local and global), child soldiers, child abuse, child
labour, education and literacy, infant mortality/malnutrition, standard of
living
 Heroes and activists: Dr. Sunera Thobani, Vandana Shiva, Betty Freidan,
Gloria Steinem, Naomi Wolf, Ani diFranco, bell hooks, Irshad Manji,
Emily Murphy, Nellie McClung, Irene Murdoch, Debbie Stoller, Mary
Two-Axe Early, Malalai Joya, Shirin Ebadi, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Buffy SaintMarie
 Comfort women of Asian heritage (WWII sexual slavery)
 Waves of feminism
 Temperance and Abolition
 Suffragette movement; Person’s Day
 1960s-70s Liberation: Redstockings, deconstructing gender
roles and norms for women
 Current activism: grrls, cyber-grrls, women of colour feminism
 European witch hunts
 Highway of Tears
 Resources
1. Women: Changing Canada (Oxford)
2. The Burning Times (NFB)
3. Iron Jawed Angels (HBO)
 Films
 Child Labour: Costly at any Price, by CODEV
 Scarves of Many Colours, Muslim Women and the Veil, from
Teaching for Change
 Zoned for Slavery *
 Precious
 A Long Way Gone
 Daughters of Afghanistan *
 Tough Guise: violence, media, and the crisis in masculinity *
 Finding Dawn
 Men Speak Up: Ending Violence Together (Teacher Resource)
*
 Leaving Bountiful *
 Killing Us Softly 3 & 4: Advertising’s Image of Women *
 Avenue Zero *
 End Violence: for the Dignity of Every Woman *
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Sex Slaves, Frontline PBS
Human Trafficking, Director: Christian Duguay
Generation M, MEF *
Born into Brothels
Lost Futures: The Problem of Child Labour *
No Time for Play: Working Children in Nicaragua *
Water, Fire, Earth Director: Deepa Mehta (series is appropriate
to course)
 Not without my Daughter
 V-Day: Until the Violence Stops *
Organizations
 Invisible Children www.invisiblechildren.com
 Vancouver Rape Relief www.rapereliefshelter.bc.ca
 Office to Combat Trafficking in Persons (OCTIP)
http://www.pssg.gov.bc.ca/octip/
 Ending Violence Association (EVA BC)
www.endingviolence.org
 Free the Children www.freethechildren.org
 UNICEF www.unicef.ca
 Check Your Head www.checkyourhead.org
 We Can (End Violence Against Women) www.wecanbc.ca
 Status of Women Canada (free resources available)
www.swc/cfc.gc.ca
Texts
 UNCRC
 A Woman Among Warlords: The Extraordinary Story of an
Afghan who Dared to Raise her Voice
 Infidel
 Prostitution: Feminist Perspectives, Élaine Audet
 Rethinking Globalization, Bill Bigelow and Bob Peterson
 Missing Sarah, Maggie de Vries
 No Fat Chicks, Terry Poulton
 Cosmetics Fashion
 The Issues Collection: Gender Issues, Greta Hofmann
Nemiroff
 “Male Privilege Checklist”, adapted from Peggy McIntosh
article
 Canadian Challenges series. Women: Changing Canada
 Social Justice 12 Teacher’s Guide
Websites
 Taking it Global www.tigweb.org
 Free the Children www.freethechildren.org
 Native Women’s Association of Canada www.nwachq.org/en/index.html
 Justice for Girls www.justiceforgirls.org
 Women’s Network Video Collection
http://vodpod.com/womennewsnetworkvideocollection/women
newsnetwork
 Canadian Children’s Rights Council,
http://www.canadiancrc.com
 CBC Lesson Plan: Creating a Magazine highlighting major
issues women have faced and overcome in the 20th century:
http://archives.cbc.ca/for_teachers/717/,
http://archives.cbc.ca/PDF/canadianwomenspdf.pdf
Race and Ethnicity
Possible
Topics to
Explore and
Lesson
Activities
History:
Topics
Resources
1. Acitivities: Segregation simulation, “What are you willing to do? A
Political Action Lesson” (available online), student produced public
service announcements
2. Issues: employment equity, stereotyping/discrimination/prejudice,
multiculturalism/diversity/pluralism, deracialization (surgery and identity),
history of immigration policy, segregated schools, language, racial
profiling, segregated proms, media and representation, eurocentrism,
systemic/institutional and individual racism, “race” as a construction,
Canadian identity
 Heroes and Activists: Mahatma Ghandi, Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, bell
hooks, Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela
 Civil Rights Movement (Jim Crow laws)
 South African apartheid
 connect to a unit on holocaust and genocide
 social Darwinism
 triangular slave trade
 residential schooling; Indian Act
 Anti-asian Vancouver riots, 1907
 Komagata Maru
 Films
 A Time for Justice, (history of the Civil Rights Movement)
 Racism for Reel
 A Class Divided, Frontline PBS *
 Rainbow War, Director: Bob Rogers
 Scattering of Seeds, series of immigrant narratives
 Fallen Feather *
 For Angela *
 Game Over: Gender, Race, and Violence in Video Games *
 Let’s Get Real *
 Not in Our Town *
 Prom Night in Mississippi *
 Steel Toes *
 Crash (see Rethinking Schools for lesson plans)
 Amistad
 Power of One
 Beloved
 The Colour Purple
 Pride and Prejudice, the Road to Multiculturalism in BC
 Texts
 Free at Last, Sara Bullard
 “Profile: Mahatma Ghandi”, Twentieth Century Viewpoints,
2nd Edition
 Reading for Diversity and Social Justice, Maurianne Adams et
al
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 “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Backpack”, Peggy
McIntosh
 Putting the Movement Back Into Civil Rights Teaching, from
Teaching for Change
 Slavery in Canada
http://www.cbc.ca/news/interactives/tl-slaveryincanada/
Organization and Websites
 Racism. Stop It! National Video Competition
www.cic.gc.ca/english/multiculturalism/march21/index.asp
 Black History Canada
http://blackhistorycanada.ca/events.php?themeid=21&id=9
 Teaching Tolerance www.tolerance.org
 Rethinking Schools www.rethinkingschools.org
 www.civilrightsteaching.org
 Facing History and Ourselves http://www.facinghistory.org/
 www.civilrightsteaching.org)
 Attachment Across Cultures; Beliefs, Values and Practices
Sharing Attachment Practices Across Cultures: Learning from
Immigrants and Refugees
http://www.attachmentacrosscultures.org/eindex.html
LGBTQ
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning
Possible
Topics to
Explore and
Lesson
Activities
LGBTQ’s
“Zie”story:
Topics and
Resources
Resources
1. LGBTQ Issues: same-sex marriage, adoption, heterosexism/centrism,
heteronormativity, heterosexual privilege (power in language),
nature/nurture (DSM-V – cross-dressing as a disorder), reparative therapy,
homosexuals in the military, media representations of LGBTQ, gender
identity/social constructions of gender, sexuality/religion debate.
2. Symbols of pride/reclaimed language (history of the rainbow flag).
3. LGBTQ rights and human rights.
4. School culture, homophobic language, curricular integration of LGBTQ
issues and identity, starting GSA clubs in schools
5. LGBTQ issues locally and globally: criminality and punishment, history.
3. Charter of Rights and Freedoms: “sexual orientation” read into s. 15,
misuse of the term “lifestyle”
4. Literature circles with young adult novels.
5. Team up with local elementary schools to write children’s books with the
theme of LGBTQ.
6. Organize events around Day of Silence and Day of Pink.
 China’s Han Dynasty
 Gay Rights Movement
 Stonewall (initiating of Gay Rights Movement in North
America, 1969)
 1960’s Scoop and “Fruitmachine” (Canadian RCMP and government
purge of homosexuals from employment.)
 Holocaust and homosexuals
 Legal Cases and Proposed Legislation
(canlii.org – Canadian Legal Information Institute; information for #1-4)
1. Chamberlain vs. Surrey School Board
2. Jubran vs. North Vancouver
3. Kempling vs. BC College of Teachers
4. Corren vs. Ministry of Education
5. Bill 389 (Bill Siksay; gender identity and expression amendment to the
Charter)
6. Lisa Reimer and Little Flower Academy
 Films
 Dangerous Living: Coming Out in the Developing World *
 Milk (2009)
 The Life and Times of Harvey Milk (1984) Documentary
 For the Bible Tells Me So
 Straightlaced *
 TransAmerica
 The Homophobia Project *
 In Other Words *
 From Criminality to Equality (series) *
 Brokeback Mountain
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 Trembling Before G_d
 A Jihad for Love
 It’s Elementary *
 Let’s Get Real *
 Out in the Silence *
 The Laramie Project
 Laramie Inside Out *
 Ugly Ducklings *
Organizations and Websites
 Pride Education Network (formerly GALE) www.pridenet.ca
 GLSEN www.glsen.org
 Out in Schools (queer-friendly films and discussions)
www.outinschools.com
 PFLAG Vancouver (parent issues) www.pflagvancouver.com
 The Laramie Project (teacher and student guides)
www.time.com/time/classroom/laramie/
 www.gsaforsafeschools.org
 Pink Shirt Day (calendar) www.dayofpink.org
 Day of Silence (calendar) www.dayofsilence.org
Texts
 Children’s Literature (Primary): Asha’s Mums, One Dad, Two
Dads, Brown Dads, Blue Dads, And Tango Makes Three, The
Sissy Duckling, King and King, Who’s in a Family?, ABC
Family Alphabet Book
 Young Adult Literature (Secondary): The Harvey Milk Story,
From the Notebooks of Melanin Sun, Holly’s Secret, The
Misfits, Parrot Fish, Stitches, Totally Joe, The Geography Club,
What if Someone I Know is Gay (non-fiction), Peculiar Chris,
The God Box, Am I Blue? Coming out from the Silence, Hard
Love
 The Slow Fix, Ivan E. Coyote http://www.ivanecoyote.com/
 The Men with the Pink Triangle
 “Heterosexual Privilege Checklist”, available online (adapted
from Peggy McIntosh article).
 PrideSpeak Manual
 Creating Safer Schools for Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Youth
Performances and Workshops
 Nggrfg (Tassles) Berend McKenzie
http://smallbrownpackage.com/
 GAB Youth Services (pridespeak workshops)
http://www.qmunity.ca
Poverty
Possible
Topics to
Explore and
Lesson
Activities
History
Topics and
Resources
Resources
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local and global poverty
o Canadian government legislation and poverty reduction strategies
o globalization and corporate influence and responsibility
o child labour legislation in BC and beyond
o stratification of society
o relative poverty vs. absolute poverty
o intersection between poverty and aboriginal issues
o homelessness, youth homelessness, downtown eastside
Maslowe’s hierarchy of needs, i.e. from the perspective of child poverty
standards of living: connect to women’s issues, children’s issues
analysis of social assistance structures
individual narratives of lived experiences
myths, misconceptions, stereotypes and discrimination
systemic causes and solutions
mental health, addictions
working poor: minimum wage vs. living wage
cycle of poverty: intergenerational
affordable housing
policing and criminality
sex work
Local heroes and activists: Am Johal, David Eby, Jean Swanson
aboriginal poverty issues
legacies of colonization
generational poverty
role and development of the welfare state
Films
 Devil Plays Hardball, CBC documentary
 4Real, series www.4real.com
 Life and Debt
 Hannah’s Story *
 Carts of Darkness *
 Zoned for Slavery: A Child Behind the Label *
 Salvation *
 Poor No More *
 End of Poverty *
 Something to eat, somewhere to sleep, somebody who gives a
damn, www.mission-poissible.ca
Organizations and Websites
 Streams of Justice www.streamsofjustice.org
 Check Your Head
 Habitat for Humanity
 Carnegie Community Action Project
http://ccapvancouver.wordpress.com
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PIVOT Legal Society, http://pivotlegal.org
Justice for Girls www.justiceforgirls.org
Make Poverty History www.makepovertyhistory.ca
Vancouver revitalization Project
http://vancouver.ca/commsvcs/planning/dtes/
 Human Rights Watch, www.hrw.org
 Canadian Council on Social Development,
http://www.ccsd.ca/home.htm
 TED Talks: Hans Rosling's new insights on poverty,
http://www.ted.com
 www.raisetherates.org
 http://nochildlabour.org/
 CBC Archives: Poverty issues facing the Inuit in
Newfoundland
 http://archives.cbc.ca/society/poverty/page/1/
With updates on the community:
 http://www.cbc.ca/canada/newfoundlandlabrador/story/2009/02/02/natuashish-ban.html
 http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/aboriginals/natuash
ish.html
 Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre www.dewc.ca
 Portland Hotel Society www.sharedlearnings.org
 DEYAS – Downtown Eastside Youth Activities Society,
www.deyas.org
 Learning About Homelessness in BC: A guide for senior high
school teachers
http://www.sfu.ca/~pendakur/teaching/homelessness/Learning.
About.Homelessness.pdf
 CTV News Series on Child Poverty in BC, BC’s Shame
http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20090330/BC_
Shame_Hub_090330/20090330/?hub=BritishColumbiaHome

Texts
 Street Stories Written by Michael Barnholden & Nancy
Newman. Anvil Press, Vancouver 2007
 Canadian Challenges: Aboriginal Peoples, Building for the
Future
 Hope in Shadows, calendar and book
 If the World Were a Village, David J. Smith
 Those Shoes, Maribeth Boelts
 The Big Elephant in the Room, Lane Smith
 In Plain Sight: Reflections on Life in Downtown Eastside
Vancouver, Leslie Robertson
 Lesson plans available on the BCTF website for the following
children’s texts:
 Fly Away Home, Eve Bunting
 Late for School, Mike Reiss
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Lily and the Paper Man, Rebecca Upjohn
The Table Where Rich People Sit, Bryd Barlor