Basic Needs
Students will review the cardinal directions while looking at Canada's location relative to other countries.
Canada is the second largest country on earth (3,851,790 square miles). It is north of the United States and east of Alaska. Glaciers covered parts of the northern plains and sculpted rolling landscapes with thousands of lakes including the five largest, which are called the Great Lakes. Canada also has more freshwater areas than any other country (10% of total land area). One of the major rivers that runs from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes is the St. Lawrence River.There are many mountain ranges and glaciers in Canada. Mt. Logan is the highest mountain in Canada.
As large as Canada is, the majority of Canada's population lives within two hundred and fifty miles of the Canadian-United States border. In the northern area, Inuits (Eskimos) live.
There are many natural resources in Canada, including mineral deposits, fertile land, forests, and lakes.
The climate varies from coast to coast, and from northern parts to southern parts. On the Pacific coast, summers are cool and dry, and winters are mild and wet. The central plains are snow-covered in the winter and fertile cropland in the summer. On the eastern coastline, it is common to see snow in the winter and fog in the spring. The Arctic is known to have cold winters and cool summers.
Tell the class that the country they are going to be learning about next is located north of the United States and that it touches the United States border. Tell them that it is also north of Florida. Ask if a volunteer might point to a country that it could be. When s/he does, repeat; is this country larger than the United States? Is this country north of Florida? Does it border the United States? Is there any other country that borders the United States to the north? Does anyone know the name of this country? Write the word Canada on the vocabulary chart. Move to a class map of North America. Have a volunteer point to Canada.
Students will examine Inuit (Eskimo) lifestyles by reading the story Whiteout. (thinking and listening skills, vocabulary, language arts)
In the past the Inuit were referred to as the Eskimo. The people themselves consider Eskimo a derogatory term and prefer Inuit.
Students will take a journey through Canada to the Atlantic Ocean by reading the story Paddle to the Sea. (thinking and listening skills, geography, reading, art)
Tell the students that they are going to hear a story of an Indian boy who learned in school that when snow melts, the water flows to a river, which then flows out to the Atlantic Ocean. Have a volunteer locate Canada on the map. Then have another student locate the Great Lakes, and the Atlantic Ocean. Read the story to the students and have them draw and color a picture that shows what happened to the snow when it melted.
Students will learn to count to ten in French (vocabulary, thinking skills, fine motor skills).
English is the major language of Canada, but French is the official language of the Canadian province of Quebec. Many of the products produced in Canada have both English and French writing on the labels.
Students will learn how people obtained supplies without currency. (critical thinking, math)
Before there was currency, people traded skills or items for materials they needed. In Canada European fur traders set up trading posts and traded beaver fur for materials they needed to survive (guns, clothing, food, etc.). The beaver fur was used to make hats that were very popular in earlier times. Most of the furs were traded by the Indians. Materials were transported on the St. Lawrence River.
Students will build a house out of logs or sticks.(fine motor skills, critical thinking)
Tell the students that in certain parts of Canada, houses were made out of logs from nearby forests. It is much easier and faster (also less expensive) to build a house out of logs than to purchase materials hundreds of miles away and have the materials delivered by truck.
Show the students pictures of people's log homes (from catalogues, magazines, etc.). Using the lincoln logs in a learning center, students work in small groups to build a log cabin. Then they can draw pictures of their log cabins.
The children will hear and learn a Canadian folksong told in story form. They will also make "the old lady who swallowed a fly" and eight animals.(language arts, reading, critical thinking, motor skills)