SHBC Education Project

SHBC

Education Plan

Sikh Heritage BC celebrates the contributions and aspirations of all Sikh-Canadians and aims to develop a greater understanding and appreciation of a rich, unique and diverse heritage. These lesson plans aim to incorporate Sikh voices and stories into BC classrooms.

The Sikh Heritage BC Lesson plans are intended for educators in the K-12 system looking to incorporate Sikh Heritage in their classrooms. These lesson plans incorporate aspects of BC’s K-12 curriculum. These lesson plans are created by teachers for teachers and the intention is for this site to be ever evolving with new lesson plans and resources being added throughout the years.

As this project grows, we hope to include the histories of Sikhs from across Canada and we welcome all educators to contribute to this collection.

Group of people standing and sitting on a train platform with luggage and bags in front of a tram or train.
A black and white photograph of a large gathering of people, many wearing turbans, standing in front of a building labeled 'Sikh Temple'. The group appears to include men and boys, arranged in rows, with some on the stairs and others on the ground.
A handwritten page with upside-down cursive writing in a foreign language, showing the alphabet in uppercase and lowercase letters.

SHBC Lesson Plans

  • Dilapidated building resembling a palace with a large white dome, set against a dark sky with orange smoke or clouds in the background.

    1984 Sikh Genocide Unit

    The 1984 Sikh Genocide unit explores the historical context, causes, and consequences of the anti-Sikh violence in India.

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  • A woman wearing a traditional headscarf or shawl, looking directly at the camera, in black and white.

    Partition: Ajj Aakhan Waris Shah Nu

    This lesson plan explores the experience of and sentiments around Partition of 1947 through the exploration of Amrita Pritam’s poem.

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  • A regal crown adorned with large gemstones, featuring a velvet purple interior, surrounded by intricate metalwork and smaller jewels, with a plush white fur trim at the base.

    The Crown Jewel

    These lessons (2) give special attention to the much sought after and infamous Kohinoor diamond, currently resting in the Tower of London, under British possession.

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  • A street scene with people gathered outside shops, including a bakery, photo studio, and a sweets shop, with several parked vintage cars in the foreground.

    Punjabi Market

    This lesson uses the Secret Life of Canada Punjabi Market Podcast as a tool to learn more about the early South Asian community in BC

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  • Black and white historic photo of Indian men and women on a ship, some wearing traditional turbans, with one man standing and gesturing with his arm extended, and another man standing on a platform.

    Komagata Maru Apologies

    This lesson plan explores the impact of an apology for historical wrongs on a community. Students will investigate a brief summary of the Komagata Maru episode and then delve deeper.

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  • Group of five women and girls looking at a damaged brick structure with bullet holes and green foliage in the background

    Jallianwala Bagh

    This lesson plan delves into the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre.

    Students begin by engaging with a PowerPoint and a primary source analysis. They will finish the lesson off by watching Sardar Udham which is a Hindi language film exploring the character Udham Singh

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  • Historical black and white photo of a group of soldiers on a large military boat with a crane or tower in the center, on open water.

    Sikh Soldiers and the Western Front

    This lesson plan delves into Sikh Soldiers on the Western Front in WWI

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  • Cover of a book titled 'Talk to Me, What Do You See? Beauty and Joy from A-Z', featuring diverse illustrations of frontline workers wearing masks, with one holding a sign that says 'Thank You Frontline Workers'.

    Talk to Me, What do you See?

    While using Sandip Sodhi’s picture book, this lesson allows students to explore curiosity and joy in everyday life.

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  • A man in traditional attire praying by a water body with the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India, in the background.

    Identity

    This lesson students will use the Khalsa Identity to understand and explore their own identity. Students first learn about and explore Sikhi and Sikh identity. Then, they turn to themselves and examine what makes them, them.

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  • Illustration of traditional Sikh grooming items including a turban, uncut hair, small turban, dagger, hair comb, iron bracelet, and uniform shorts.

    What is Sikhi?

    This lesson allows students to explore Sikhi through video and textual resources

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  • Text in various scripts and languages, with some characters mirrored or upside down.

    Punjabi Name Poem

    This lesson allows students to explore who they are by using poetry as the means of communication

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  • Large crowd of people gathered on a street, with many wearing colorful turbans, during a festival celebration.

    BC Sikhs

    This lesson encourages students to research prominent Sikhs from BC’s past and present.

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  • Black and white photo of a man wearing a turban, glasses, a beard, and a suit with a tie, looking directly at the camera with a blurred background.

    Sant Teja Singh

    This lesson plan delves into who Sant Teja Singh was and why he was an instrumental figure to the early Sikh community in BC

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  • Book cover titled 'Hair Twins' featuring illustrated man with a beard and two young girls with matching hair buns, one girl wearing a green dress.

    Hair Connections

    This lesson explores the importance of hair and relationship with identity within the Sikh, Black and Indigenous Communities.

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  • Large gathering of people seated outdoors, many wearing colorful turbans, attending a public event during daytime with a building and banner in the background.

    Farmers Protests

    Why is a protest on agricultural rights of importance to the people of British Columbia? These lesson plans explore the proposed laws…

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  • Black and white photograph of a busy city street with vintage streetcars, pedestrians, and historic brick buildings, likely from the early 20th century.

    Who is Canadian?

    The definition of Canadian has evolved over time as we include the histories of minority groups and the stories of their challenges.

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  • A vintage black and white photograph of a family group portrait with six members, including children and adults, posed indoors against a painted landscape backdrop.

    Sikh Migration

    As the community has grown, Sikhs have become an integral part of the fabric of BC and Canada as a whole.

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  • White building with a sign that reads 'GUR SIKH TEMPLE' on top, featuring a large porch with white pillars, blue lower walls, and a stairway on the left side, set against a bright blue sky with some clouds.

    Gurdwaras

    Gurdwaras are the places the community comes together not only for spiritual needs but also to learn new skills from elders, build social connections, discuss and debate issues important to all.

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  • Black and white photograph of two men with beards and turbans, facing opposite directions. The man on the left is shown in profile and the man on the right faces forward. The writing '65-66' is at the top of the image.

    Mewa Singh Lopoke and Criminality

    This lesson is a look into the case of Mewa Singh, who shot and killed a Canadian Immigration Officer, William C Hopkinson who…

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  • Bandi Chorr Divas

    Bandi Chorr Divas

    Students will understand the concept of making connections through learning about Bandi Chor Divas and the importance of this historical Sikh celebration.

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  • A digital illustration of a Sikh ceremonial scene with five men kneeling on grass, dressed in traditional dark blue garments and gray turbans. A bearded man in a gray turban and blue attire is performing a religious ritual, holding a bowl, with a large basin of water in front of him. The background features a tent and a mountain landscape. The text states

    Vaisakhi

    Students will understand the concept of perspective taking through learning about the Sikh celebration of Vaisakhi and the importance of the 5Ks.

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Other Resources

  • Illustration of Sikh people in orange and white traditional attire, holding orange flags with Sikh symbols, participating in a ceremonial parade, with a Sikh drum and landscape in the background, promoting Sikh Heritage BC.

    SHBC Posters

    These posters have been created for educators to use in their classrooms and schools. Please feel free to download them.

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  • A person is flipping through pages of a book on a bed with a striped pillow in the background.

    Textual Resources

    Sometimes your just need a story. Explore this page for books written by Sikh authors and texts that include Sikhs

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  • Historical black and white photo of a large group of people in front of and on the staircase of a wooden building labeled 'Sikh Temple' with some handwritten notes on the top right corner.

    Did You Know...

    Sikhs have been in BC for over 100 years. What do you know about the community?

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Sikh Heritage BC Scholarships

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Acknowledgement

The community involved with this project continues to grow every day.

We would like to recognize the contributions of Amrit Minhas, Anupreet K Bal, Balpreet Kaur, Harjas Kaur, Indervir Kaur Kang, Jasleen K Sidhu, Jassi Kang, Justine Jawanda, Prabh Mann, Prabhjot Kaur, Raman Sarai, Sandip K Sodhi, Sandeep Glover and Sim S Sidhu for developing and supporting these lessons. These teachers have put in countless hours gathering resources, creating activities and materials for the classroom.

Thank you to the Nameless Collective for reviewing these lessons from a historical standpoint and providing us with many primary resources.

Thank you to our review committee which is made up of non-Sikh educators from across the province. Your valuable feedback has been greatly appreciated as we ensure to make these plans the best we can for students and educators.

 

Contact us.

Want to get involved? Have feedback? Questions about the resources?