Grade Level

Grade 3

Time Required

Five, 20 to 30 minute periods. The number of periods will depend on the length of classes devoted to the lesson.

Curriculum Connection

Quebec Social Sciences (Elementary), 7.1 Geography, History and Citizenship Education

• Competency 1 – to understand the organization of a society in its territory

Link to Canadian National Geography Standards

Essential Element #1 – The World in Spatial Terms

• map elements ( title, scale, symbols, legend, grid, cardinal and intermediate directions)

Geographic Skill #4 – Analyzing Geographic Information

• use maps to observe and interpret geographic relationships

Atlas of Canada Resources

Go to the Atlas of Canada Web site found at: atlas.gc.ca The following parts of the Web site will be accessed by students during the lesson:

• Explore Our Maps

History » Aboriginal Peoples circa 1630, 1740 and 1823 » Aboriginal Peoples circa 1630 Map

History » Aboriginal Peoples circa 1630, 1740 and 1823 » Aboriginal Peoples circa 1740 Map

History » Aboriginal Peoples circa 1630, 1740 and 1823 » Aboriginal Peoples circa 1823 Map

Reference Maps » International Outline » The World with Names Map

Reference Maps » Canada » Political Divisions Map

Reference Maps » Provincial and Territorial » Quebec Map

• Learning Resources

Quizzes » Shapes of Canada

Additional Resources, Materials and Equipment

• computer lab with Internet access and printer
• print atlases
• tourist maps
• road maps
• student activity sheets
• map of Canada printed from the Atlas of Canada
• print copies of some or all of the other maps used in the lesson
• paper cut outs of the shapes of Canada as used in the Atlas of Canada quiz
• data projector (optional)

Main Objective

The primary goal of the lesson is to have students view printed and online maps in the Atlas of Canada as they interpret geographic relationships. They will use proper geographic terminology (map elements) to answer questions about these maps.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:

• read and interpret maps by using map elements
• answer questions related to the maps they observe

Introduction

• Teacher will collect several samples of maps: road, city, tourism, printed atlases.
• Teacher will print map of Canada, map of the world and map of Quebec from Atlas of Canada Web site.

Student Activity

• Students will bring to class copies of any maps they have at home.

Lesson Development

Teacher Activity

• Teacher will show students how to access the Atlas of Canada Web site at atlas.gc.ca
• Teacher will use maps: print atlas, road maps, website, etcetera, to teach about the following map elements:

– grids (city maps are good examples),
– title (The World Map from the Atlas of Canada site is good for this)
– scale,(for example, Quebec: 1 centimetre = 100 kilometres from the Atlas of Canada Web site)
– symbols (map of Quebec: symbols for provincial capitals, other populated areas, Trans Canada Highway, copyright ©
– legend
– compass rose
– cardinal and intermediate directions

• Teacher will introduce project and pair students.
• Teacher will guide students in the reading of the questions, finding the information and interpreting the answers.
• Teacher will provide a printed copy of the map of Canada for students to use when doing the quiz and a print map for the distance measurement question on the worksheet. Print copies of other maps may be provided as appropriate.
• Teacher may provide copies of the shapes of Canada used in the online quiz so students can check answers using their map of Canada.

Student Activity

• Students will look at many samples of maps on the Atlas of Canada Web site comparing legends, scales and other information found on maps and discussing what they see.
• Students will record the parts of a map in their notebooks.
• Students will follow instructions on worksheet, with teacher’s guidance.
• Students will work with a partner.
• Students will access Web site to gather and interpret information from maps.

Conclusion

Teacher Activity

• Teacher will evaluate projects.

Student Activity

• Students will complete project.
• Students may do the lesson extension.

The student worksheet is printed separately for distribution to students.

• Student Worksheet – Organization of a Territory, Map Elements

Student’s Bedroom Map

Teacher will teach how to draw a room to scale, using the classroom as an example as well as placing windows, doors desks etcetera, using a legend. Students will draw a map of their bedroom. They will draw the shape of the room, add a scale for room measurements, include a legend to represent the furniture and include a title.

• Students will be assessed on their completed project.
• Evaluate lesson extension map if assigned or use as fun activity.

• PDF version (Adobe Acrobat Reader required)