Educational worksheet on residential schools in Canada, featuring true/false questions and reflection prompts.

Looking at the worksheet, it’s about Residential Schools in Canada. The student is asked to circle “True” or “False” for each statement.

Let’s go one by one:

1. “Canada did have residential schools.”
→ This is TRUE. Canada had many residential schools from the 1800s until the last one closed in 1996.

2. “Indigenous kids could come home to visit often.”
→ This is FALSE. Most kids were not allowed to go home often — sometimes not at all for years.

3. “Children were kept safe and always made to return to their families.”
→ This is FALSE. Many children were abused, neglected, and some never returned home.

4. “The last residential school closed in 1996.”
→ This is TRUE. The Gordon Indian Residential School in Saskatchewan closed in 1996.

5. “The Canadian government has admitted that residential schools were wrong.”
→ This is TRUE. In 2008, the government officially apologized. Also, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission said they were part of cultural genocide.

Now, let’s answer the questions below.

Question 1: “Why did the Canadian government create residential schools? What did they want?”
→ They wanted to take Indigenous children away from their families and cultures so they would stop speaking their languages and following their traditions. They wanted to “kill the Indian in the child” — meaning erase Indigenous identity.

Question 2: “Why do you think they cut the Indigenous hair, gave them uniforms, and didn’t let them speak in their Indigenous language?”
→ These actions were meant to strip away their culture and make them look and act like non-Indigenous people. Cutting hair was a big part of many Indigenous cultures — doing it against their will was meant to shame them and break their connection to family and tradition. Speaking only English or French was meant to stop them from passing on their own languages.

Reaction section: “Why would the government want to assimilate Indigenous children? Why did they choose kids? Was this wrong?”
→ The government thought if they changed the children, the whole culture would disappear over time. Kids are easier to influence than adults. And yes — it was very wrong. It hurt families, caused trauma that lasted generations, and violated human rights.

Final Answer:
1. True
2. False
3. False
4. True
5. True