Resources for Schools

The Cabbagetown People Program for Schools in a Nutshell

The Cabbagetown People Program basically has 2 components:

• Online biographies of remarkable Cabbagetowners to be used for student research ahead of or after the tours
• Walking tours: trained guides take students on walking tours through Cabbagetown and tell the stories, often complemented by students who will have done their research on people ahead of time

The Tours

Student tours have been custom-designed by age and grade level and are available in French and English:

• Primary classes (Grades 1, 2 and 3) – 5 stops of interest, 25 minutes;
• Junior classes (Grades 4, 5 and 6) – 7 stops of interest, 35 minutes;
• Senior classes (Grades 7 and 8) – 10 stops of interest, some in the Necropolis, 45 minutes
• Secondary – 10 stops of interest, some in the Necropolis, 45 minutes

Each walking tour can be customized to feature various aspects of the Ontario school curriculum. We ensure that there is easy coordination between teachers and tour guides; in advance of the tours, topics covered on the tour route can be discussed, so students can prepare for an interactive tour experience.

The walking tours are fun outings for the students and they learn a lot. Parents are invited to attend the walking tours and those who have done so in the past have provided very positive feedback.

How to Use This Program in Your Class

Clicking the “Biographies” button in the top right of this page will take you to a unique resource for your use – already assembled. When you go through the list you will find that these most interesting people complement your existing resources and are a natural fit with a number of courses. Examples would include: geography, social studies, native studies, urban history, science, English literature, and the arts.

You might begin with a Cabbagetown People-guided walking tour. As the plaques are spread over a wide area, you may wish to divide this into a few walks.

This program is useful in classroom projects – theme-related biographies, reading and novel studies, occupations, and researching a chosen individual (through web and library searches).

The program offers opportunities to explore several important issues and themes, such as:

• Values and ethics – cultural, social and humanitarian.
• Leadership – leaving a legacy, leading-by-example and inspiring others to do the same.
• Volunteerism– the benefit to one’s community and beyond, the excellent opportunity volunteerism affords a young person to develop, test, and hone skills to employ later in his/her working life, as well as the great sense of satisfaction one derives from making a contribution, bringing about change and truly making a difference.
• The Hero – a theme which repeatedly comes to mind in the stories of these people, their accomplishments and contributions, particularly when viewed in the context of the times and circumstances in which they lived. Each one of us has the potential within us to also be a hero, regardless of the circumstances into which we were born, or the conditions of our environment, and Cabbagetown People underscores the ability of ordinary people to do extraordinary things. As we have previously said, in our description of the program, true heroes, who are ordinary citizens, stand alongside famous, legendary and historical figures.

Scavenger Hunts

We are developing Scavenger Hunts that will cover Cabbagetown and its two historical cemeteries. the first one is Part 1 of the Toronto Necropolis. You can find it HERE.