One Country, Multiple Regions | Historica Canada Education Portal

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Overview

This lesson offers students an opportunity to explore Canada's regional treasures and heritage. They will compare their own life in their own community and province to life in another province. This activity could also serve to offer opportunties for art and geography lessons.

Aims

This project is designed as a vehicle that will be applicable to any grade level or expectation within the Social Studies Curricula.

Students will develop the following skills:
• Research
• Presentation
• Citizenship
• Compare & contrast
• Inferring & synthesizing
• Using technology

Activities

Procedures:

Introduction:

Have students explore Google Earth images of two different provinces. One can be your home province. Anticipate that they will make very basic comparisons and later discover that there are many more. Hold a class discussion with use of a Venn Diagram to make the comparisons. The conversation can begin broadly (geography, size of cities, density of population, roads, use of land etc.). Eventually, try to focus the topic of discussion: "If you were planning to move to a different city, what characteristics would you be looking for?"

Students will create a photo story about a personal visit to another province (if they have visisted another province before, they can use this experience. Otherwise, encourage the use of imagination!). If students are comfortable with a computer, they can create a digital photo story. Otherwise, any art medium they are comfortable with can be used. In addition to the illustrations, students will fill out a chart comparing their home province to the one discovered on the trip. Both similiarities and differences should be listed.

Task:

Step 1: Students are divided into groups of two or three.

Step 2: Students will establish the focus of their project - which province will they be comparing to their own? Where will they travel in that province? If they wish, students may select an "imaginary" home province (for example, the student actually lives in Ontario, but wishes to pretend they live in PEI and are travelling to BC. This will simply require more research).

Step 3: Students are directed to research resources so that they can begin gathering information on chosen destinations.

Step 4: Students choose which points of comparison they wish to use. Students should select at least 5 different points of comparison. There should be illustrations for each. Depending on the age of students, teachers may wish to brainstorm possible points of comparison.

Step 5: Students create a storyboard of their project.

Step 6: Students are to write and submit a rough draft of their project.

Step 7: Students have time to edit their project.

Step 8: Students present the final product and are given an opportunity for self, peer and teacher evaluation.

Evaluation:

Students will have the chance to assess themselves and each group member. They will be formally evaluated by the instructor through a rubric.

Resources

Google Maps

Canadian Geographic

The Canadian Encyclopedia

Students should be encouraged to use library resources as well, such as maps and atlases.