Objectives
Locate Canada relative to the United States.
Identify the major Canadian cities: Montreal, Quebec, Toronto, Vancouver.
Locate the Canadian Rocky Mountains.
Materials
Classroom-size map of North America or a world map
Suggested Books
Student Titles
The following books contain color photographs of the Canadian landscape
and contain basic facts about the geography of Canada.
Lye, Keith. Take a trip to Canada. New York: Franklin Watts,
1983. (0531037576)
Parker, Lewis K. Dropping In On...Canada. Vero Beach, FL: Rourke
Books, 1994.
Sorensen, Lynda. Canada: The Land. Vero Beach, FL: Rourke Books,
1995.
Tarsitano, Frank. Canada: On the Map. Austin, TX: Steck-Vaughn,
1993.
Teacher Reference
Kalman, Bobbie. Canada: the land. New York: Crabtree Publishing
Comp., 1993. (0-86505-217-4)
MacLennan, Hugh. The Colour of Canada. Toronto: McClelland &
Stewart, 1978.(0-7710-5809-8)
Teacher Note
This lesson should be completed after the history lessons this month.
Procedure
Review with the students information about the hemispheres. Ask: What
divides the Northern Hemisphere from the Southern Hemisphere on a map?
(the equator) Have a student locate the equator on the classroom map.
Direct the students' attention to the map. Ask: Is North America in
the Northern Hemisphere, the Southern Hemisphere or both? (northern) What
countries make up the continent of North America? (Canada, Mexico, and
the United States) Tell the students that although they have learned about
all three countries in previous grades, we are now going to focus on the
geography of Canada. Have a student locate Canada on the map. Ask: What
direction is Canada from the United States? (north) Tell the students that
most people live in the central and southern part of the country because
the northern territories are very cold and therefore without many plants
or animals.
Tell the students that Canada is the largest country in North America
and the second largest country in the world. Explain to the students that
because Canada was first colonized by France and later taken over by England,
both French and English are considered the official languages of Canada.
Explain that in the city of Quebec (point to Quebec on the map) almost
one third of the people speak French.
Direct the students' attention to the classroom map. Have the children
recall that French explorers traveled to the area that is now Canada. The
French called this area New France. At first they came in search
of the Northwest Passage; later they came to set up trading posts. The
French wished to trade European products for animal furs with the Native
Americans who lived
there. Tell the students that a French explorer named Samuel de Champlain
traveled to New France in the early 1600s to set up a colony. Champlain
started a colony at a place the Algonquin Indians called Quebec. Quebec
became the first permanent settlement in New France.
Explain to the students that in the same way the United States is divided
into states, the country of Canada is divided into much larger areas of
land called provinces. Each province is an area of the country that has
its own local government. There are ten provinces in Canada.
Point to each of the following cities on the map as you discuss. Tell
the students that
although the city of Ottawa is the country's capital, the city of Toronto
is the largest city in Canada. Other major Canadian cities include Montreal
and Vancouver.
Tell the students that because Canada is a large country, a variety
of habitats can be found there. Ask: Who can name an example of a habitat?
(forest, desert, mountain, prairie, river, etc.) What habitats would you
predict would be found in Canada? Tell the students that a few of the habitats
you can find in Canada are forests, prairies, rivers, and mountains. Tell
the students that the Rocky Mountains that we have in the western United
States continue up into the western part of Canada. (On the map show the
students where the Rocky Mountains are located. Start in the United States
and show that the Rockies go through New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana,
into Canada through Alberta, British Columbia, and up into the Yukon.)
Have students locate on the map and name the oceans that border Canada.
(the Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic oceans) Tell the students that Canada
borders four of the Great Lakes that the United States also borders. Ask
students to identify the four (Lake Huron, Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, and
Lake Superior). Ask: Which Great Lake is missing? (Lake Michigan) Tell
the students that a good way to remember the names of all the great lakes
is to remember that the word HOMES contains the first letter of each of
the Great Lakes: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior. Write HOMES
on the board. Explain that if you take out the 'M" you have the Great Lakes
that both Canada and the U. S. share. Ask for volunteers to try to name
the lakes as you point to each letter. Next ask for a volunteer to name
just the lakes that border both Canada and the U. S.
Explain that another important water feature is one of Canada's rivers,
the St. Lawrence River. The St. Lawrence River connects the Atlantic Ocean
to the Great Lakes. Trace the path of the St. Lawrence River to the Atlantic
Ocean on the map. Tell the students that there is another body of water
that at first looks like a lake, but as can be seen on the map, is a bay
because it has an opening into the ocean--it is the Hudson Bay. Ask: Who
is the Hudson Bay named after? (Henry Hudson) Have a student locate the
Hudson Bay on the map.
If possible, read selections about the land and culture of Canada from
the Suggested Books. These books also contain beautiful color photographs
of the Canadian landscape. Show the students photographs representing different
habitats and areas of Canada, so they are able to see the variety of geographic
features present in Canada.