Saskatoon Public Schools - Grade Four - Fort Construction Activity Sheet

Student Activity Sheet Name____________________

Print out this page to answer the questions.

1. Throughout the fur trading days a series of fur trading posts were built. These activities will give you an idea of how they were built and what life was like at one of these forts.

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Read the third paragraph.

Make a list of the tools the fort builders would need in order to construct a fort.

______________________ _______________________

Put a star beside the tools that are still used today to construct a building.

2. Read the final paragraph. This is an example of how one type or fort was built. In order to build a fort you had to follow directions carefully.
Printed below are five buildings that were constructed in this fur trading fort. List the buildings in the order in which they were built. Beside each building, tell what it was used for.

Victual House
men’s quarters
palisades
Blacksmith’s House
Trading House

(1) ________________ - _______________________________________________

(2) ________________ - _______________________________________________

(3) ________________ - _______________________________________________

(4) ________________ - _______________________________________________

(5) ________________ - _______________________________________________

3. The First Nations People would bring the furs they trapped to the fur trading forts to trade for things for things that they could use.

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Scroll down to the set of two pictures which are side by side. Enlarge each picture and study the details.

Read the two paragraphs following the pictures.

Make a list of some of the goods that the First Nations People traded for their furs.

___________________________ _____________________________

___________________________ ______________________________

4. When the fur traders arrived they knew little about how to live in this new land. Many of them depended on the First Nations People for their survival. Some of the tools that the Europeans required for their new life were introduced to them by the First Nations People.

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Scroll down to the bottom picture and highlight the following artifacts for a closer view:
numbers 5, 7, 8 and 9. List these as some of the contributions the First Nations People made to the fur trade culture.

5._______________________________ 7. ______________________________

8._______________________________ 9.______________________________

Additional Student Activities

Think about and review all the things you have learned about a fur trading fort. Choose one of the activities from below.

A. Construct a model of a fur trading fort. You may make a diorama, use popsicle sticks, or make a two-dimensional drawing.

(Evaluation Rubric)

B. Make a report based on the things you have learned about a fur trading fort. This report can be completed in paper and pencil format or on a word document. Be sure to use the jot notes you have made and the information you have read to help you with your report. You may use the following outline to write your report:

A. construction of a fort
B. jobs in the fort
C. First Nations Peoples’ contributions to the fur trade

(Evaluation Rubric)

C. Produce a power point presentation based on the things you have learned about a fur trading fort. Be sure to use the jot notes you have made and the information you read to help you with your presentation. You may include the following ideas:

construction of a fort
jobs in the fort
First Nations Peoples’ contributions to the fur trade

(Evaluation Rubric)

back to Lesson 3: Fur Trading Forts
back to Grade Four - Fur Traders Project Page