A2. Inquiry: Ways of Life and Relationships with the Environment
Specific Expectations
A2.1
formulate questions to guide investigations into ways of life and relationships with the environment in a few early societies, including at least one First Nation and one Inuit society, with an emphasis on aspects of the interrelationship between the environment and life in those societies (e.g., connections between the local environment and settlement, art, medicine, religion, spirituality, types of work; the impact on the environment of agriculture or the development of towns, cities, settlements, communities, and/or villages)
- What are some ways in which societies along the Nile or in Mesopotamia had an impact on the environment?
- What role did religion or spiritual beliefs play in the daily life of the early Haida or Norse, or in ancient Egypt? In what ways were beliefs connected to the society’s view of and relationship with the environment?
- Why did people settle in the Indus Valley?
- In what ways did the environment and traditional ecological knowledge shape hunting and gathering practices in the societies you are investigating?
A2.2
gather and organize information on ways of life and relationships with the environment in a few early societies, including at least one First Nation and one Inuit society, using a variety of primary and secondary sources in both print and electronic formats (e.g., images depicting the daily life of different social classes; religious or spiritual stories that provide evidence of a society’s view of the environment; agricultural artefacts; traditional stories, creation stories, legends, and/or oral history shared by Elders, community members, and/or knowledge keepers; virtual field trips to museums and to First Nations cultural centres to view artefacts and images)
- Where might you look for information on how different people lived in rural Europe in medieval times? What do you think paintings from the time could tell you about how different people lived and their relationship with the land?
- Where might you find information on the art work of Indigenous societies in what would become North America? What do you think petroglyphs, birch bark scrolls, hide paintings, beadwork, and/or quillwork from the time could tell you about how Indigenous people lived and their relationships to the land?
- What might a society’s architecture or art tell you about its relationship with the natural environment?
- What do the creation stories of a local First Nation tell you about its traditional relationship with the land and with all living things?
A2.3
analyse and construct print and/or digital maps, including thematic maps, as part of their investigations into interrelationships between the environment and life in a few early societies, including at least one First Nation and one Inuit society (e.g., analyse thematic and/or physical maps showing rivers, vegetation, volcanoes, soil types; create a thematic map showing traditional trade routes of the Cree, Algonquin, or Haudenosaunee; analyse a climate map to determine the climatic challenges facing early settlements; construct soil and vegetation maps to determine the connection between soil type and agricultural activity; analyse maps to determine the proximity of early settlements to water; construct a map showing the location of some traditional First Nations and/or Inuit territories; use a decolonial map or atlas to determine the Indigenous names of the places they are investigating)
- What does this map tell you about why the Nile was so important to ancient Egypt?
- What type of thematic map might help you make connections between local plant life and the development of medicines?
- What type of information would you need to include on a map that shows seasonal camps of the early Inuit or Ojibwe?
- What kinds of maps might provide clues about the sustainability of a society?
A2.4
interpret and analyse information relevant to their investigations, using a variety of tools (e.g., use a graphic organizer to help them determine the relationship between soil type, availability of water, and agricultural activity; analyse the content of paintings on the Internet or at a local gallery for information on a society’s religious practices; analyse artefacts found in a museum or on a website for information on a society’s daily life and relationship with the environment; use a Venn diagram or a T-chart to help them compare historic hunting customs, including giving thanks to animals, between an early First Nation and an early Inuit society; analyse petroglyphs and rock formations for information on sacred sites and their location)
- What do these works of art reveal about the religious and spiritual beliefs and practices of this society? Do they tell you anything about the connection between these beliefs and the environment?
- What does the Inuksuk tell you about the relationships between Inuit societies, the land, and the environment?
- Given the information you have found, what are some similarities and differences in the clothing of the early Haudenosaunee, Anishinaabe, and Inuit? In what ways do the materials used in the clothes relate to the land and the environment?
- What does the archaeological evidence reveal about the way these people lived? What materials did they use to build their homes? What do these materials reveal about the local environment?
- What do these hunting tools tell you about the historic hunting practices in Mi’kmaq and Odawa societies? What is similar about these practices? What is different? How do these practices compare to those in early Inuit societies?
A2.5
evaluate evidence and draw conclusions about ways of life and relationships with the environment in a few early societies, including at least one First Nation and one Inuit society, with an emphasis on aspects of the interrelationship between the environment and life in those societies
- What did you find out about religious beliefs/practices in medieval Japan? In what ways were these beliefs related to the physical features of the land?
- What did you find out about traditional medicines used by some early First Nations and Inuit societies? How were traditional medicines reflected in the ways of life and ceremonies of these societies? In what ways were these medicines related to the environment?
A2.6
communicate the results of their inquiries, using appropriate vocabulary (e.g., peasant, serf, merchant, noble, Elder, clan mother, faith keeper, knowledge keeper, Inuk shaman, medicine man, healer, healer’s helper, feudalism, god/goddess, privilege, hierarchy, culture, civilization, rural, urban, resources/gifts) and formats (e.g., an annotated map showing how a society situated on a flood plain was affected by and responded to its environment; an interactive map that highlights traditional territories of some early Indigenous societies in what would become North America, along with key natural features of the environment; an oral presentation on the impact of medieval cities on the environment; a stop-animation video on the lives of children in a society that followed seasonal migration routes or lived in different locations during different seasons; a chart and presentation comparing farming techniques of different societies)