B3. Understanding Context: Physical Features and Communities
Specific Expectations
B3.1
demonstrate an understanding that there are a variety of countries, continents, physical features, and bodies of water around the world and that their locations can be represented in different ways (e.g., using globes; print, digital, and/or interactive maps; mapping programs; electronic images)
- Look closely at this map. Where are the continents? Where are the countries? Where are the bodies of water? How does the map show you these things?
- “North America is a continent. Canada is a country.”
- “Canada looks different on the wall map and the globe, but it’s really the same.”
B3.2
identify continents, significant bodies of water, the equator, poles, and hemispheres, using a globe, print, digital, or interactive maps, and/or a mapping program
- Where is North America on this globe?
- Who can place the label for the Atlantic Ocean on the interactive map?
- “Some Indigenous peoples refer to North America as Turtle Island. When I look at the map, I see that the outline of the continent looks like the shape of a turtle.”
B3.3
identify cardinal directions on a map (i.e., N, S, E, W), and use these directions when locating selected communities, countries, and/or continents
- What continent is south of North America?
- In what direction would you be going if you were travelling from Toronto, Canada, to Beijing, China? Can you go in different ways?
- In what direction would you be going if you were travelling from Moose Factory to Atikameksheng Anishnawbek First Nation near Sudbury?
- In what direction would you be going if you were travelling from Sault Ste. Marie to Thunder Bay?
B3.4
identify the location of selected countries, cities, and/or towns around the world, including at least one contemporary First Nation, Métis, or Inuit community, and describe how their location and climate are related (e.g., Mexico is warm year-round because it is close to the equator; Canada has four seasons because it is far from the equator; Winnipeg is usually colder than Toronto in the winter because it is farther north)
- Approximately where is our community on the globe in relation to the equator and the poles? How does this relate to our climate?
- Let’s find Brazil on this map of the world. Where is it in relation to the equator? Do you think it’s hot or cold in Brazil? Why?
- Let’s find Nunavut on a map. Do you think it’s cold in Nunavut in the winter? Why? Why would Igloolik have very little sun in the winter?
- Find Iqaluit and Windsor on a map. Which city do you think is colder in the winter?
- “This is Mumbai, the city where my parents were born. It is by the equator. It is hot there all the time.”
- “Norway gets lots of snow in the winter because it is so close to the North Pole.”
- “Nunavut would be colder in the winter because it is farther north.”
B3.5
demonstrate the ability to extract information on the location and climate of a region from photographs and print, digital, and/or interactive maps
- Where might this photograph have been taken? Why do you think that?
- Where might the communities shown in these photos be located in relation to the equator and the poles? Why do you think that?
- Let’s look at this online aerial map. Where do you think it is? What pieces of information in the map support your answer?
B3.6
identify basic human needs (e.g., for food, water, clothing, transportation, shelter), and describe some ways in which people in communities around the world meet these needs (e.g., food: hunting, fishing, farming, shopping at grocery stores; water: taps, water treatment facilities, wells, rivers, freshwater lakes; transportation: on foot, using animals, using motorized vehicles, using bicycles, by water)
- Do all people have the same needs?
- How does your family meet the need for food?
- How might an Inuk person living in a community in Arctic Canada meet the need for food?
- “We can just turn on a tap to get our water. But in many First Nations communities, they don’t have clean water for drinking and washing. We need to tell more people about this so people can do something to fix it.”
- “My mom and I take the bus to my sister’s preschool every morning. Then we come here to my school. Then my mom picks me up in the afternoon, after she gets my little sister.”
B3.7
describe selected communities around the world, including at least one contemporary First Nation, Métis, or Inuit community, with reference to their major physical features, wildlife, and some aspects of their culture (e.g., physical features such as mountains, lakes, rivers; native animals; cultural practices related to food, clothing, recreation, the arts; structures such as houses)
- In what ways is ice important for the Inuit as a resource? How does the Arctic landscape relate to Inuit culture?
- How is the melting and freezing of permafrost affecting housing and other structures in the north?
- “In Canada, the land is mostly flat in Saskatchewan, but there are mountains in British Columbia. The Great Lakes are in Ontario. Canada has oceans on the east, west, and north.”
- “The Amazon is a very long river in Brazil. There are jungles near it. The river has fish that can eat animals. There are very big snakes, too.”
- “I looked at pictures showing masks from Mali and Cameroon. I like how they made animal masks. Most were carved out of wood and some also had shells.”
- “There are not very many trees in the Arctic. Sometimes, the Inuit use the ice and snow to build shelters when they go hunting. Other times, they use tents when they hunt.”
- “The Métis lived close to waterways because they transported goods for trading posts.”
B3.8
describe similarities and differences between their community and a community in a different region in the world (e.g., with respect to food, clothing, housing, beliefs, climate, flora and fauna, recreation, agricultural practices)
- “We went to Florida last winter. It was cold here, but in Florida we swam and ran on the beach.”
- “In parts of Canada we have bears and moose, but in parts of Kenya they have lions and elephants. But both countries have foxes and vultures.”
- “In Ontario we have sweetgrass, berries, and wild rice. In British Columbia we can find buffalo sage and abalone shells.”