Previous Page (From Saskatchewan Education - Social Studies Curriculum - June 1995)

Suggested Approaches

UNIT ONE: IDENTITY - MODULE THREE - COMPARING CANADAIN COMMUNITIES

  • Review features of the local community which were studied in Grade 2. Include natural features such as climate, seasons, size, the landscape (e.g., hills, vegetation, river, lakes), and constructed features (e.g., streets, buildings, dam).
  • The teacher may choose to deal with information about Saskatchewan and Canada, in order to help students identify with a province and country.
  • The teacher may choose to have the students study and compare two communities from nature (e.g., a nearby swamp and a bluff of trees). Comparisons may involve the life forms and food chains as well as the smells and sounds.
  • Compare the local community (explore the site to learn more about Saskatoon) with one that is quite different but that the students are familiar with. For example, a class in an urban community may compare their city with a nearby rural community, a class in a small town might compare their community with a nearby Hutterite Colony.
  • Brainstorm for similarities and differences. The teacher may choose to have the students web or chart the information (see samples).
  • Read stories or information about other selected communities in Canada (e.g., an Inuit community). Make comparisons with the local community. Chart the comparisons.
  • Compare the climate of the two communities. Make connections between climate and lifestyles of the people.
  • Compare the landforms and environments of the communities. Make connections with how the physical environment affects the constructed environment as well as people's lives.
  • If the community under study has a well-known structure (e.g., Toronto's Sky Dome, Golden Boy in Winnipeg), have the students recreate it.
  • Study a map of the local community as well as maps of the communities under study.
  • Display the map along with pictures of the community. Have the students make connections between the pictures and the maps.
  • In studying maps of cities, compare where the different areas (e.g., downtown, industrial area, parks) are located. Identify various natural features (e.g., river, hills, islands, ocean) and how the city is built on or around them. Compare where certain buildings (e.g., museums, hotels, City Hall, police station) are located. Discuss reasons why they are located in similar or different areas.
  • Use drama in context to help the students express their understandings of the past.

UNIT TWO: IDENTITY - MODULE ONE - COMMUNITIES THEN AND NOW

  • The teacher may select some specific historic events experienced by the local community (watch the Historical Overview Movie of Saskatoon or the Remember Me Movie (local war heroes and memorials)) and by other communities and compare how the communities were affected by them. Make connections with how the experiences have helped shape the community.
  • The teacher may select some specific regions and explore some of the historical experiences and lifestyles of Aboriginal peoples in those regions (e.g., an Inuit community). Make connections with how the experiences have helped shape the community.
  • In studying past experiences, have students make up Then and Now charts, showing how lifestyles have changed and/or remained similar.
  • The teacher may select the local community and some communities where local residents originated. If possible, use stories to compare how children lived in the different communities. Learn songs and games, compare clothing worn and how various tasks were accomplished.

 

UNIT TWO: IDENTITY - MODULE ONE - COMMUNITIES THEN AND NOW

  • Review with the students the services and industries within the local community and how they help meet needs and wants.
  • Review or reread the stories of families and communities that are under study.
  • Identify the services and industries present in those communities and explore how they help meet needs and wants of the people there. Some of the businesses, industries, and services to study may include
    • a manufacturer of a specific product
    • a cottage industry
    • the case study of a company
    • the space industry
    • transportation (development of a rail in Saskatoon (1890) and its influence on the growth of Saskatoon) and communication systems
    • parks
    • zoos
  • In exploring and comparing various businesses, industries and services, consider their environmental impact. Consider questions like:
    • "Do these products or services meet basic needs or are they more geared to meeting wants?"
    • "What sustainable ways to produce the products and provide the services might be used?"
    • "Do the products and services promote the self-sufficiency (rail-line) of the community?"
    • If appropriate, explore sustainable development. Have students participate in one or more of the suggested simulation activities. Debrief the activities with a reflective discussion, making connections with material under study and with the students' own lives.