This material was assembled to provide support for the classroom teacher who plans on teaching coal mining in Cape Breton. It has many activities, and is designed to cover many required curriculum outcomes in a number of disciplines. These disciplines include Social Studies, Science, Language Arts, Math, Health, and Fine Arts. The kit contains reproductions of newspaper and magazine articles, photographs, pay envelopes, and many other materials that would facilitate “hands on” instruction. All the printed materials have been included on the web site. A Glossary is included in the Word Search section.

Suggested activities for use with individual components of the kit are included. Teachers are encouraged to use as many of those that they see as helpful, depending upon individual classroom situations. Teachers may also choose to design their own activities in conjunction with materials in the kit. There are also “challenge activities”, designed for classroom enrichment on an individual or small group basis. The teacher may also wish to use these with the whole class.

Although not required in order to make effective use of the kit, a class trip to the Miners Museum is strongly encouraged. The included activities could be used before or after a class trip, but the first hand knowledge of coal mining in Cape Breton gained by a class visit would be an unforgettable educational experience for all students. Many learning activities could be designed around visiting the exhibits, walking through a company house, taking a virtual modern mine tour, traveling an underground mine, and talking to experienced coal miners.

One of the historical cornerstones of industrial Cape Breton, and to an extent, Cape Breton in general, is coal mining and its legacy. It is the intention that this kit would assist educators in this important area of study and thereby enhance the learning experience of students.