School is just around the corner and we’ve created a list of resources to ease into the new year, covering topics in the Ontario curriculum including civics, languages, English, music, business, STEM and more! You can always look up the Curriculum and Resources on the Government of Ontario website and search our catalogue for specific topics.
Civics and Citizenship
If you have Civics and Citizenship course this year, you may want to check out some of the resources about election resources including analyses of the Canadian government, democracy, nonpartisan resources, the history of voting, memoirs, and opinion pieces about Canadian democracy. There are a lot of documentaries about democracy on Kanopy and the National Film Board of Canada. Quick read: Discovering and Understanding Democracy in Canada, Ancient history: Athenian Democracy, Canadian History: One Hundred Years of Struggle or 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act, Arts: The Compassionate Imagination, Sustainability: Local Governance in Transition.
Guidance and Career Education and Business Studies
We added a list on finance for teens including How to Money, Future Millionaire, and A Quick History of Money. For a wealth of resources on business studies and technology, check out Udemy which “offers thousands of on-demand video course taught by world-class instructors across 75 categories”.
Art
You might like see our list on crafting with a Cricut. Canada has a strong presence in the animation world and hosts one of North America’s largest comic arts festivals along with a host of awards dedicated to graphic novels from the Forest of Reading to the Governor General’s award. Check out our lists of graphic novels in Canada for adults, teens, and kids for inspiration including popular series PAWS and The Racc Pack, the fantastic Spirit of Denendeh series or the classic Scott Pilgrim. Foolproof Perspective Drawing applies simple techniques to tackle the art of perspective!
Music
We have just added a new digital resource called ArtistWorks which “provides world-class instruction for the most popular string and band instruments through self-paced video lessons from professional musicians”. Or check back later on our calendar for our fall music program.
English
Last year we published a blog about back to school assigned reading for teens with a related list which includes various film and graphic novel adaptations and retellings of the classics we all know and love from high school curriculums. Also check out our list on Freedom to Read for Teens which covers some of the books that have been challenged in Canada.
Languages
There are so many great resources for learning languages at the library. We added many visual dictionaries for several different languages. The 5 Language Visual Dictionary compiles Spanish, French, English, Italian, German into one volume. But we also have dedicated volumes for each. Be sure to check out the online resources associated with the DK French English illustrated dictionary which is free. Our list on Learning French takes an in-depth look at learning one of Canada’s official languages. We’ve just added a fantastic digital resources called Pronunciator which “offers 164 human-translated and human-voiced languages” accessible through Brainfuse HelpNow. Speaking of HelpNow, did you know that it offers real-time online tutoring 24/7? Check them both out in our digital library page.
STEM
If you’re interested in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, visit our Margaret Dunn Valleywood branch with a dedicated collection to these topics and a makerspace. Or search in our catalogue for whatever you’re interested in, we have no shortage of books on STEM!
Socializing
Making friends is just as important as classes. Hosting get-togethers is a great way to meet people and to teach yourself to cook and bake. Mixtape Potluck is Questlove’s book of his guests who offer recipes and the songs they inspired. Illustrated Step-by-Step Baking is great for beginners and The Food Lab will teach you how to cook just about anything.
