Glossary

Colonization
The settlement and control of a territory by a population. In social studies, colonization refers to European migration and settlement of North America.

United Empire Loyalists
Name given to the American Loyalists who moved in British North America and other British Colonies out of loyalty to the British after the American Revolution.

Critical Thinking
Critical thinking is about understanding connections between ideas, considering the consequences of decisions and actions, and making informed choices. To do this, the child must learn to assess the value or accuracy of information, distinguish fact from opinion, and make reasonable judgements. The general goal of critical thinking is to have a better and more complete understanding of a situation or problem and use that information to explore alternatives in order to develop solutions.

Industrialization
Process that happens in a country when it increasingly depends on machines and mass production.

Contemporary world
The world as it is today.

Urbanization
Urbanization is the movement of an increasing number of people from the countryside to live in urban areas.

Indigenous
Indigenous peoples are the descendents of the original inhabitants of a territory. Indigenous peoples have unique cultures and ways of being, and are distinct from the dominant, non-Indigenous populations that now live on their traditional territories. Indigenous peoples are determined to keep and to develop their cultures and to pass them on to future generations. Indigenous peoples exist world-wide. The Indigenous peoples of Canada include First Nations, Métis, and Inuit. The term is also used by the United Nations in its working groups and in its Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2007).

Global village
Expression invented by Marshall McLuhan and referring to the international exchange of ideas, resources, workers and goods facilitated by information technologies and resulting in the world being seen as one community.

Physical map
a map showing rivers, lakes, mountains and other physical features

Political map –
a map showing the location of borders between countries, provinces and territories; cities and towns