Activities

There are two types of activities: Package Activities and Object Activities.

Package Activities are project-based activities designed to accommodate one or more classes. These activities involve the use of historical thinking concepts while exploring the whole package, resulting in a more comprehensive experience.

Object Activities are short inquiry-based activities that typically take 5–25 minutes. These activities encourage students to think critically about the objects being presented, and to use historical thinking concepts.

Both types of activities were created with the guidance of educators from across Canada, and incorporate current educational theory and approaches.

Package Activities

Explore project-based Package Activities by scrolling down.

Dr. Ornella Nzindukiyimana characterizes sport for Black people in the following way: “Sport has always been more than just sport and performance for Black people. Black Canadian sport history tells us all kinds of things. Sport for Black people has always been about resistance and struggle and fighting stereotypes and elevating themselves . . . It speaks to the fact that Black people saw their integration in sport and their excellence in sport as a way to claim that dignity that was denied to them.”

Read the above quotation. Thinking about the athletes featured in the documentary, please provide examples of the ideas and themes Dr. Nzindukiyimana speaks about for TWO of the following athletes:

Athlete	Resistance and Struggle	Fighting Stereotypes	Elevating Themselves
P.K. Subban
Sam Langford
A member of the Chatham Coloured All-Stars
Valerie or Harry Jerome

Scholar Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop talks about using analogies of mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors to explain the importance of sharing stories from multiple perspectives. This approach can help us to unlearn biases we might hold and to build a deeper understanding of diverse experiences.

The stories featured in “More Than a Game” shine a light on Black athletes who have excelled in Canadian sport at the national and international levels. Stories of P.K. Subban, Sam Langford, the Chatham Coloured All-Stars, and Harry and Valerie Jerome provide mirrors for Black students into the strengths and highlights of participating and competing in Canadian sport. The stories also provide windows into accomplishment and perseverance in spite of the racism that Black athletes had to endure. The sliding door metaphor offsets stereotypes that people might hold and helps to build empathy in relation to the Black experience, particularly for the experience of Black people in sport.

Fill in the chart below for TWO of the athletes featured in the “More Than a Game” documentary. How might the athletes featured provide mirrors, windows, and sliding doors for those interested in learning more about the experiences of Black athletes in Canadian history? Read the definitions of mirrors, windows, and sliding doors in each box and refer back to the episode segments to fill in the chart with your ideas.