Elections Canada’s resources can help teachers build their students’ global competencies, including communication, collaboration and critical thinking.
Educators across Canada have been focusing on preparing learners for the future by helping them to develop the attributes, knowledge and skills they need to thrive in the interconnected and unpredictable 21st century. These are known as “global competencies”. Educators are called upon to design authentic lessons that enhance the abilities of learners to solve problems, think critically, be innovative, be self-aware and be self-directed.
Here are some of the ways that resources from Elections Canada can support the development of global competencies in the classroom:
| Global Competency | Recommended Resource | Description |
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Communication All our resources encourage discussion and active communication in authentic contexts. |
Elections by the Numbers |
In Elections by the Numbers, students work together to represent data on voter turnout by age group. They have to highlight key information and create a graph, an infographic or another meaningful representation. The activity encourages discussion in small groups. Teachers can observe oral skills, such as listening, asking questions or voicing opinions and advocating for ideas. |
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Collaboration Most of our learning resources create opportunities for collaboration, and participation. |
Voting Rights through Time | In Voting Rights through Time, students team up to examine case studies of federal voting rights and reach a consensus on the inclusiveness of historical events. Working together in small groups, students can develop empathy, trust and respectful relationships while learning about sensitive topics. |
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Critical thinking and problem solving Our resources engage students in solving meaningful, complex problems that are based on real federal election processes. |
Mapping Electoral Districts | In Mapping Electoral Districts, students draw the electoral boundaries of an imaginary country. They create a new map that ensures fairness among electoral districts while considering physical and human geographic factors—the same criteria that are used in the real process. There are many ways to create fair electoral boundaries, but there are no simple answers in this activity, which encourages students to practice their critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. |
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Learning to learn / self-awareness and self-direction Each of our lessons includes structures and tools to help students reflect on their own learning. |
Digital Skills for Democracy | In Digital Skills for Democracy, students learn strategies to detect misinformation and disinformation. Using a tracking tool that makes their thought processes visible to them, the students see how their thinking changes as they encounter new information. |
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Global citizenship and sustainability Engaging in global citizenship goes far beyond voting in a federal election. Our resources explore many aspects of elections and democracy, including citizen initiatives that have made a difference. |
Civic Action: Then and Now | In Civic Action: Then and Now, students can see the positive difference that citizens have made in the past. The students can then plan their own civic actions on issues they care about, whether local, national or global. They get the inspiration and a practical tool to plan for change in their schools or communities. |
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Innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship The democratic process provides lots of opportunities for innovation, creativity and leadership. |
Election Simulation Toolkit | In the Election Simulation Toolkit, students design solutions to issues that they care about. They take on the roles of candidates, political party members and election officers and come up with a campaign platform to address their issue. As they learn about the federal election process, the students will demonstrate leadership and spontaneity, ask insightful questions and express opinions |
Elections Canada’s resources bring scenarios into your classroom that are designed to cultivate the attributes, habits of mind, knowledge and skills of a well-rounded citizen. The lessons, which are student-centred and encourage collaboration, provide an easy way for you to help your students build global competencies while they learn about our country’s elections and democracy.
Order your Elections Canada resources now to support the development of global competencies in your classroom.