The impact of environment on where and how Canadians live today

QUESTIONS FOR STUDY

ISSUES FOR INQUIRY

PROJECTS AND STUDIES

Canada's Physical Makeup
• Arctic Tundra and Ice fields
• Northern Forests
• Open Lands - Mountain Tundra and Wetlands
• Agricultural Land
• Urban Areas

Physical Map of Canada
Study the physical map of Canada below. 
Record our discussion responses to the questions at the right:

• Which areas of Canada have the lowest elevations or relief?
• Which of these have the highest population and why?

PROVINCIAL REPORT ASSIGNMENT

Provincial Reports
• Use your Canadian resource books to create a scrapbook/poster report on a chosen province.
• You may of course use illustrations and cut outs to supplement your written and typed material.
• You may also use Inspiration and other clip art resources in the computer lab for illustration sources.
• A great source of good pictures for these reports would be Travel agency magazines on Canadian Provinces.
• Don't forget about the large number of Canadian links below.
• Each assigned area of inquiry must have at least 100 words of your own written or typed text.  Topics that you must cover are assigned right. 
• You will be able to work with your math groups on the report and each group will have an opportunity to share their findings with the other groups.
• You will get evaluated on both the poster/scrapbook assignment and your oral presentation to the class. 
• I'll provide large laminated maps of Canada that you can use in conjunction with your reports.
• 3D models of distinguishing features of the province are recommended.

Inquiry Topics
• Describe the  physical geography of your province.
  • Include a map showing the location within Canada.
  • Include pictures of distinguishing physical features of your province such as landscape (rivers, lakes, mountains, deserts, etc.)
  • Description (using charts) of the climate and weather of your province.
  • Resources of your province.
• Describe the human geography of your chosen province.
• What have men done to the land? (highways, cities, dams, irrigation, large bridges, etc.)
• How have people in your province adapted to the conditions or limitations of the geography of the province?
• What are the major occupations and lifestyle choices of people in this province? (jobs, recreation)
• What are the major issues and concerns of people in this province? (pollution, crime, unemployment, natural disasters, etc.) and how have people in this province handled these issues and concerns.

A SAMPLE STUDY

• Nunavut is not a province but will serve as a sample approach to study Canadian geography.
• Here's a great link to follow: Nunavut
• Here's a great travel guide to the territory.
• Travel terrific! is a good general link to use.
• Travel and tourism provides a lot to see and read.
• Nunavut covers over 2 million square kilometers which is one-fifth the size of Canada.
• Twelve of the 20 largest islands in Canada lie entirely within Nunavut.
• In the Inuit language of Inuktitut, Nunavut means "Our Land".
• The Inuit have lived here for thousands of years so becoming a Territory of Canada is quite historic.

• The colors of the flag, blue and gold, symbolize the riches of the land, sea and sky. Red is a reference to Canada. The Inuksuk symbolizes stone monuments which guide people on the land and mark sacred and other special places.
• The star is the Niqirtsuituq, the North Star and the traditional guide for navigation. The North Star is also symbolic of the leadership of elders in the community.

• Precipitation levels are generally low, and only a small part of the territory receives more than 300 millimeters per year.
• For the most part Nunavut is considered a polar desert, getting less precipitation than parts of the Sahara Desert.
• The permafrost and very short growing season for plants creates an ecosystem that is very fragile.
  An oil spill or tanker accident off shore would be severely disastrous.
• Plant life damaged by tire treads or other manmade activities would take centuries to recover from.

• Nunavut covers the northernmost and coldest parts of Canada with average January temperatures ranging from -20° C to -37° C degrees Celsius.
• July mean temperatures range from above 10° C in the southern part of the mainland to less than 2° C in the north.
• Due to the low average temperatures there is continuous permafrost throughout the territory; only a shallow surface layer (15 to 150 centimeters) thaws every summer and refreezes during the following winter.
• The cold, dry arctic climate of Nunavut often makes it a difficult place to live. In fact, the Arctic was the last habitable region in the world to be occupied by people.

• The dominant colors of blue and gold symbolize the riches of the land, sea and sky.
• In the base of the shield, the Inukshuk symbolizes the stone monuments which guide the people on the land and mark sacred and other special places.
• The qulliq, or Inuit stone lamp, represents light and the warm of family and the community.
• The concave arc of the five gold circles refers to the life-giving properties of the sun arching above and below the horizon.
• The star is the Niqirtsuituq, the North Star, which is the traditional guide for navigation.
• In the crest, the iglu represents the traditional life of the people and the means of survival.
• The Royal Crown symbolizes public government for all people of Nunavut and establishes Nunavut as a partner in Confederation.
• The tuktu (caribou) and qilalugaq tugaalik (narwhal) refer to land and sea animals which are part of the natural heritage of Nunavut.
• The base of the crest is composed of land and sea and features three species of Arctic wild flowers.
• The motto in Inuktitut – Nunavut Sanginivut – means "Nunavut, our strength."

• The Nunatsiaq News - issues in Nunavut.
• The Legislative Assembly of Nunavut.
• Crisis in Nunavut. - housing crisis, labor problems, high suicide rate among the young, poverty among the Inuit, endangered species...
• The disaster of Nunavut...high population growth outstripping the resources of the territory.
• Hansard debates in Nunavut.

• The culture of the Inuit is based on a life dominated by nature while modern production is rooted in the efficient organization of human labor resources, sophisticated technology, and a much greater control over the environment.  The disciplines of industrialization are alien to the culture of the aborigines.
• Their subsistence based culture makes them unable to make credible political demands.

• What was the date of the creation of Nunavut as a separate territory within Canada?
• What percentage of the population of Nunavut is not Inuit?
• How many communities are there in Nunavut?
• What percentage of Canada’s land mass is this new territory?
• What poles are found within the boundaries of Nunavut?
• How many people live in the capital of Nunavut?
• What is special about their court system?
• How long is the main highway ?
• How do people usually travel long distances in Nunavut?
• What kind of stone do Inuit artists/carvers usually work in?

Answer key to quiz at left.
• 1^st April, 1999
• 25%
• 28
• One fifth
• North Pole & Magnetic North Pole
• 4500
• The use of traditional punishment
• 21 km
• Fly or by snowmobile
• Soapstone.

• Create your own personal coat of arms based on your own values, beliefs, personal history, etc.  Explain the purpose of every symbol in your coat of arms.

• Debate topic: Are Native Canadian and Inuit social problems are barometer of the materialistic values that the rest of Canadians subscribe to?