colonization

Definition: Colonization is when one country takes over another land, often already home to people, and forces its own way of life, rules, and beliefs on them.

When European settlers came to North America, they took over the land where Indigenous peoples lived and forced them to follow new laws.

How to teach this in 30 seconds

Try this analogy: Colonization is like if new kids came to your favourite playground, took it over, and made everyone play by their new, unfair rules.

Ask your child: How would you feel if someone changed your game's rules?

Common mix-up: Kids may think the land was empty before new people arrived. The key idea is that people were already living there with their own homes, rules, and ways of life.

Examples

Forcing Indigenous children to go to schools where they could not speak their own language.
Taking land from Indigenous communities to build farms and cities for the settlers.

colonization is a term used in Ontario’s Kindergarten to Grade 8 curriculum.

+1 more mention across the curriculum

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The descriptions on this page are SmartStudy’s own original, plain-language writing — not the Ministry’s wording. They are aligned to the Ontario Curriculum, © King’s Printer for Ontario. For the Ministry’s official wording, see the source link below. SmartStudy is an independent service and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the Government of Ontario or the Ministry of Education. Ontario Curriculum and Resources ↗

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