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@Canada: A Teacher's Guide

Why Should Teachers Be Interested?

In an increasingly interdependent world, it is vitally important that education transcends national borders. Students need to learn about life in other countries and how their people see the world. For American students, what better place to start than with a neighbor? In his 1961 speech to the Canadian Parliament, President John F. Kennedy said, "Geography has made us neighbours. History has made us friends. Economics has made us partners. And necessity has made us allies." These words about the Canada-United States relationship are as true today as they were more than 40 years ago.

Why Canada?

Canada and the U.S. have a complex and interdependent relationship.

• $1.3 billion in trade crosses the U.S.-Canada border everyday.
• Canada is the largest and most reliable source of energy to the U.S.
• Canada is the U.S.'s biggest customer, accounting for 23% of its exports.
• U.S.-Canada trade support 5.2 million U.S. jobs.
• U.S.-Canada history and culture are intimately intertwined.
• Defense and Security partners at home and allies abroad.
• Joint stewardship of the environment.

About @ Canada

@ Canada is an educational tool that will serve as a guideline for American teachers interested in developing students' analytical skills in comparative culture. It is divided into four sections: History, Culture, Government and International Roles, each containing relevant documents that can be useful for further studies and classes.

All of the information used for this project has been found on the Internet. Most of the pages are official Canadian government websites, while some are Canadian university pages and encyclopedias. At the end of every document, there is a link to its original website where you can continue your research of related topics.

@ Canada is designed to be downloaded in PDF version for your convenience.

The Guide

Useful links for teaching about Canada

• K-12 Study Canada (Western Washington University and University of Washington)
• Teaching Canada (University of Maine)
• Canada Valise (University of Maine and Plattsburgh State University)
• Teacher's Corner (University of Vermont)
• Teaching Canada Publications (Plattsburgh State University)

If you are interested in learning more about Teaching Canada in the future, please let us know how to contact you.