TOPIC B EARLY CANADA: EXPLORATION AND SETTLEMENT

Students investigate some of the historical events and issues relating to the discovery, exploration and settlement of New France and the Hudson Bay area. Major emphasis should be placed on the intercultural contact that occurred among Natives, explorers, missionaries and settlers in these two areas. The Native groups to be studied should include examples from Eastern Canada with whom the French and British interacted during this time. Explorers studied should include Cabot, Cartier, Champlain, Hudson, Frobisher, Kelsey, Radisson and Groseilliers. The study should focus on the French settlers in New France and the British settlers in the Hudson Bay area. The intent of the study is to develop an understanding of the intercultural contact between Europeans and the Natives, and to develop an awareness of the origin of the bilingual nature of Canada. It should also develop an appreciation of and an interest in our Canadian heritage, as well as an understanding of how learning from history can help us better understand Canada today. This topic is not a chronological study of Canadian history; rather, it is a selected study of several events with an emphasis on the people of that time period (a social history up to the 1800s). Political history will be a topic of study in Grade 8.

QUESTIONS AND ISSUES FOR INQUIRY Questions and issues can provide a focus for teachers to organize knowledge, skill and attitude objectives for instructional purposes. Several questions and/or issues must be addressed in each topic, using appropriate inquiry strategies. Teachers are encouraged to adapt these, and to develop other questions and issues for inquiry. Questions Why did people become explorers? What were the reasons for exploration? How did topography influence exploration? Settlement? How and why did the Natives contribute to exploration and settlement? How and why did the Natives oppose settlement? How did the Natives, explorers, missionaries, fur traders and settlers in Canada's early history affect each other? How did the history of New France and the fur trade in the Hudson Bay area determine the way Canada is today? Issues How should we treat newcomers? Should people try to influence each other?

KNOWLEDGE OBJECTIVES	The student will demonstrate an understanding of the following:

MAJOR GENERALIZATION: Exploration and settlement cause groups to have influence on each other, resulting in changes in the way people live.
GENERALIZATIONS	CONCEPTS	RELATED FACTS AND CONTENT
Contact between people in Canada's early history prior to and during exploration and settlement brought changes to their lives.	history exploration settlement	lifestyles of Native groups prior to settlement, such as Algonquin, Huron, Iroquois and Cree contact between Native groups resulted in advantages and disadvantages for each group reasons for exploration lifestyles of the explorers reasons for settlement lifestyle in the settlements in the Hudson Bay area (fur traders) and in New France; e.g., settlers, seigneurs, fur traders, missionaries the way physical features; e.g., landforms, waterways, climate, influenced discoveries, exploration and settlement of Canada problems faced by the Natives, explorers, missionaries and settlers in the initial settlement era
Contact between people in Canada's early history frequently resulted in competition, cooperation and conflict.	competition cooperation conflict	contact between Natives and Europeans; i.e., explorers, settlers, missionaries; resulted in advantages and disadvantages for each group (cooperation, competition, conflict) the role of competition in the fur trade; i.e., Hudson Bay Company and Northwest Company
Our history contributed to shaping Canada into a bilingual nation.	bilingual	awareness of the origins of the bilingual nature of Canada

 

SKILL OBJECTIVES	The student will be able to do the following:

PROCESS SKILLS

Locating/Organizing/Interpreting Information

• distinguish between fact and fiction
• acquire information by reading history books, facsimiles of historical documents and historical fiction
• gather information by using library skills to locate and choose resources; e.g., dictionaries, encyclopaedias, reference books, atlases; appropriate to the purpose
  • - Dewey Decimal System
  • - card catalogue and call numbers
  • - table of contents, index, glossary
  • - picture/pamphlet file
  • - key words, letters on volume, index and cross-references in an encyclopaedia
• gather information by:
  • - identifying time and place relationships (settings)
  • - identifying cause & effect relationships
  • - calculating the length of time between two given dates
  • - using definite time concepts, such as decade, century
• classify pictures, facts and events under main headings and in categories
• arrange historical events, facts and ideas in sequence
• on a simple time line, record dates and events showing the exploration and settlement period

Geography/Mapping

• interpret historical maps showing European voyages of discovery and the location of early British and French settlements in Canada
• make a simple map with accompanying legend to show a specific area
• use maps and globes to explain how geographic relationships and settings have influenced historical events; e.g., direction of river flow affected voyages of exploration

Analyzing/Synthesizing/Evaluating

• identify the different perspectives held by Natives, settlers and other groups, and the reasons for these perspectives
• draw conclusions on how contact between people brought changes to their lives
• create a set of guidelines for behaviour of groups of strangers when they interact

COMMUNICATION SKILLS

• write a summary of main points and/or supporting points encountered in oral, written or viewed presentations
• role play historical situations involving interaction between groups of people, and/or role play applying the guidelines developed for interaction when groups of people meet
• orally present information using prepared notes describing conflict and cooperation in Canadian history, recognizing main ideas and sequencing
• write a page of a diary, journal entry, letter, biography or autobiography, imagining one to be a Native, explorer, settler, and/or missionary communicating feelings and relating some events from that time
• make a simple table of contents to organize the unit
• in a final product, apply the skills of revising and editing by considering content, organization, vocabulary, sentence structure and mechanics of writing

PARTICIPATION SKILLS

• accept and abide by the decision of the class or group, or share and defend a different point of view
• learn from criticism and suggestion; and give constructive criticism and suggestions
• participate in a small group discussion or activity by following established rules
• accept the role of leader and follower as the situation requires

ATTITUDE OBJECTIVES	The student will be encouraged to develop:

• appreciation for the accomplishments of the Natives, explorers, settlers, missionaries and fur traders in shaping Canada
• objectivity by demonstrating an ability to examine problems from more than one perspective
• appreciation for the history of our country
• pride in one's country
• appreciation for the bilingual nature of Canada