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Activity
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Methodology
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Resources
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1. What Is the Environment?
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a. Values and the environment
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Brainstorm 16 different elements that make up the environment, and construct a definition of what this means. Complete an organizer with several parts of the environment distinguishing its ecosystem and instrumental values. Write a short essay with clear supporting evidence answering the question: What wilderness means to me.
Create a brainstorm with the class of groups of people who use and enjoy the wilderness (e.g. Native people, loggers, miners, hunters, fishermen, trappers, tourists, environmentalists, snowmobilers, etc.).
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What Is the Environment? worksheet
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b. Wilderness
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Complete a worksheet that describe various ways of seeing the wilderness (e.g., three different viewpoints on forestry in the boreal shield — logger/miner, bush resident, environmentalist). Students then do a short role play in groups of three, with each one taking a different viewpoint. They must respond to each situation (flooding due to dam, clearcutting, selective harvesting, etc.). Finally, they write a day in the life of one of these characters, which shows what the character thinks about the wilderness, and the issue (logging of a sensitive area of wilderness).
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A Day in the Bush worksheet; case study info from Perspectives p. 144-147
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2. Ecological Footprints
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a. What are they?
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Add the terms ecological footprint, carrying capacity, and sustainability to the glossary.
Examine the meaning of an ecological footprint, by examining data on various country's footprints, and filling in a flow chart which shows the things the contribute to a footprint. Use ecological footprints as a window to all the ways humans impact on the environment to be reviewed in this unit.
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Ecological Footprints Canada (based on Wahsa Mod6 p. 8-12)
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b. Determining your ecological footprint
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Complete an ecological footprint questionnaire to determine one's own ecological footprint.
Design an ecological footprint questionnaire to be given to residents of local community. Use a fill-in-the-blank empty survey with questions to be developed in categories including housing, food, transportation, purchases and waste.
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Ecological Footprint Questionnaire (e.g., Recycling Council of Ontario)
Treading Lightly Survey assignment sheet
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3. Preview of Natural Resources
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a. What are they?
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Complete an overview worksheet package which introduces the major natural resources in Canada (fish, minerals, forestry, soil/agriculture, water, and furs). Distinguish renewable and non-renewable resources using a glossary.
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Natural Resource Industries Canada based on Ontario's Natural Resources (fact sheet) (source unknown)
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b. Extractive industries
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Complete an organizer with a list of common products that come from natural resources. Determine the natural resource used, and name the extractive industry chosen from a list provided. Include an environmental concern associated with each industry.
Examine various data sources on natural resources in Canada, and determine the rank importance of that industry in each province/territory.
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Natural Resource Industries Canada worksheet
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c. Where the resources are
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Examine an atlas map including ecozones and determine one resource in each ecozone and determine if that resource is renewable or non-renewable. Using a blown-up 11x17 copy of the ecozones map of Canada, create a graphic representation of the main resources in each ecozone on the map. Use full colour.
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Where the Resources Are worksheet package; exemplar of map with colour graphics (use standard Canada ecozones map)
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4. Natural Resources in Depth
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*N.B. the following overviews of each resource may be introduced in class, but are intended as homework assignments to be done at the same time as activities in the previous and subsequent sections of the unit.
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About Our Natural Resources Package includes checklist/dates due for all the following natural resource question sheets
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a. Forestry
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Complete an overview worksheet package which introduces forestry, distinguishing hardwood and softwood industries, products, and location of forestry operations in Northern Ontario. Complete a short reading assignment on the forest industry, and answer several questions.
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Forestry Canada worksheet; readings from Perspectives p. 60-63
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b. Mining
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Complete an overview worksheet package which introduces mining, distinguishing types of mining, and products of mining. Complete a short reading assignment on the mining industry, and answer several questions about types of mining, prospecting, and mine development.
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Mining Canada worksheet package (readings from Perspectives p. 76-82
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c. Fishing
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Complete an overview worksheet package that introduces fisheries, distinguishing inshore, offshore fisheries, methods and types of fish caught and east vs west coast fisheries.
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Fisheries Canada worksheet; readings from Perspectives p. 54-59
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d. Agriculture
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Complete an overview worksheet package that introduces agriculture, distinguinshing livestock and crop farming.
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Agriculture Canada worksheet; readings from Perspectives p. 66-69
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e. Oil & Gas
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Complete an overview worksheet package that introduces the oil and gas industry, introducing the terminology pipeline, oil field, gas field, and the importance of Alberta's oil sands.
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Oil & Gas Canada worksheet; readings from Perspectives p. 70-71 |
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5. Natural Resources Quiz
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Complete a quiz assessing knowledge of the major natural resources and their effects economically and enviornmentally. Option: students create questions themselves as in Unit 1 (Ecozones Super Quiz)
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Natural Resources Quiz
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6. Water
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a. Water sources
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Create a mind map about sources of water in Canada. Create a second mind map map about how these sources of water are used.
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b. Water conservation
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Each student completes an assessment of their house's water use. Class data is collected, summarized, and interpreted graphically. Students write their opinion about how water use could be reduced in their residences.
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Household Water Use assignment sheet
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c. Hydroelectric dams
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Students are introduced to the role of hydroelectric dams and their impacts. A brief case study of the James Bay Cree is given where students fill in the details from a class discussion and a viewing of a short video, they then complete a table of benefits and disadvantages.
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James Bay Cree Case Study Map and information organizer; (see NAC2O course page); video Cree Hunters, Quebec Dams
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7. Evaluating a Resource Deal
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After reading an imaginary case study of a hydroelectric dam to be built adjacent to a northern First Nations community, and the deal proposed to the First Nation, students evaluate the benefits and costs associated with signing this deal for the community and the natural environment.
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Evaluating a Resource Deal assignment sheet
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8. The Impact of the Hamburger
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Complete a multistep assignment investigating the environmental impacts of the hamburger (e.g. beef production, packaging etc.) Begins by reading the information from the Life of a Hamburger Game on cards, continues with creating a life cycle flow chart for each component of the hamburger, connecting it to natural resources used. Summarize this information and write a press release defending one of two positions (fast food restaurants are environmentally friendly OR fast food restaurants are environmentally damaging).
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The Impact of the Hamburger assignment package based on Wahsa Mod8 p3-19 and fact sheets cards obtained from the now defunct website on the Life of the Hamburger
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9. Unit Review & Test
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Complete a review of knowledge and skills developed in the unit
Write a paper and pencil test including at least 25% higher-order thinking questions developing concepts and skills in the unit
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Unit 3 Test Review worksheet
Unit 3 Test
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