Teaching the Spanish Influenza

Defining Moments Canada is an organization that helps to tell the stories of Canada’s pivotal historical moments.

Launched in May 2018, Defining Moments Canada website has steadily grown — thanks to a number of valuable additions to our digital offerings. With help from a growing list of partners, Defining Moments Canada been able to bring together all sorts of storytelling tools to help Canadians bring stories to life, and gain a new perspective on the country at the end of the First World War.

Whether you want to skim the surface of Spanish flu history or take a deep dive, we have you covered; and if the Spanish flu isn’t your cup of tea, we have a wealth of resources to help you discover what is:

Spanish Flu Themes

On the other hand, the Spanish Flu Themes section is for you if you already know a bit about the Spanish flu, and now you want to really dig into an aspect of it that fascinates you. How did the flu come to bear on the Stanley Cup final of 1919? What about the end of the war? Why were so many young people killed by this flu, when usually the flu is most fatal to the very young and very old? With contributions from top scholars and flu experts from around the world, this section is bound to get you thinking.

Lesson Plans

We would be remiss not to mention the excellent series of Lesson Plans that have been created for us by top-notch educators from across the country. Available for a wide array of subjects and interdisciplinary in nature, these lesson plans can help you bring the flu to life in your classroom (though not literally!). Among others, there are plans for Indigenous studies, arts, geography, science, and health and nutrition.

Those who are registered for our contest get access to exclusive resources developed in partnership with The Critical Thinking Consortium — all designed to facilitate inquiry into the Spanish flu. These in-depth lessons give you all the tools you need to have your students create meaningful analyses and projects on the Spanish flu.

Creating Great Stories

The foundation of the website, however, is the Creating Great Stories and Fact Finding sections. Unlike the other resources, these are not specifically oriented around the Spanish flu; they are meant to give you the know-how you need to look into any topic of your choosing, and from the information that you collect, weave a compelling narrative in whatever form strikes your interest.

With useful templates, downloadable organizational documents, and an in-depth look at how to make the most of Google, this rigorous and nuanced approach to storytelling and research is the backbone of our project.