Connections to Society – Grade 5

History Centre Program

The Fort Heritage PrecinctSchool ProgramsConnections to Society – Grade 5

2025/2026 Program Registration will open on June 2, 2025 at 9:00am

This one-day program is designed for Grade 5 students to build curriculum relevant historical thinking and analysis skills through learning about the creation of Canadian society through the expansion of the British Empire in Canada. It includes three hour-long sessions.

Everything You Need To Know

See the Connections Programs Overview for instructions to best prepare your class for your program.

Topics Covered in this Program

  • Homesteading: In this session students learn about homesteading as a tool of expansion for the British Empire. Students build historical thinking skills through a role-playing game about homesteading in Fort Saskatchewan in the late 19th century. Students get hand-on interactions with artefacts and will learn about daily life using both primary and secondary sources. This session is held in the North West Mounted Police Fort Officers’ Quarters.
  • Surveying: Students learn about the making and reading of historic and present-day maps in this session. Instructors show real tools that would have been used to survey the land for homesteading. Students get to try surveying themselves in our scaled-down hands on activity! This session is held in the North West Mounted Police Fort Program Space and Stables.
  • North-West Mounted Police Fort Tour: Students take a tour all around the Fort and learn about the history of the North West Mounted Police, what life would have been like for an officer in the past, and the function of police in a growing Western society. Real artefacts and reproductions teach students about different ways of engaging with the past. This session takes place across the different buildings in the Fort.

Connections to Curriculum

This program is in alignment with the Knowledge, Understanding, and Skills & Procedures outlined in the 2025 Alberta Social Studies curriculum for grade 5. For a comprehensive list of curriculum connections please reach out to the program coordinator at [email protected].

 

 

Registration

Registration is open until filled.

Register Online

Register online by clicking the button above. Alternatively, contact us to book in-person or over the phone.

Cost

362.50

Dates

Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from October through May.

Greyed out dates are unavailable or have already been booked.

"The tour of the Precinct was really interesting and very engaging for the children. There were so many hands on activities for them to participate in that they were always engaged. I love that they are allowed to touch and explore many of the items around the precinct. That makes such a difference to keep them engaged, on task and motivated. The learning connections between what we talked about in school and what we saw were evident in the conversations between the kids and the interpreters."