Canada! CANADIAN IDENTITY BUNDLE 4 Resources PRINT and EASEL

Canada! Canadian Identity Bundle of four of my resources includes the following items which can be bought individually. Buy the bundle and save! Please click on the links below to see the individual listings.

Symbols of Canada

“Canada! The Symbols of Canada” includes six activities. They are:

1) a 3-page True or False activity about Canada’s symbols covering eight formal and informal Canadian icons. The symbols are: a) Canada’s flag, b) the beaver, c) Inuksuk, d) Canada’s money, e) the RCMP (Mounties), f) hockey, g) winter, and h) Native art. Students could complete the True or False in class, in groups, or individually. The teacher could assign it as a research unit;

2) 4 general activities that can be completed for each one of the eight symbols mentioned in the True or False activity, making a total of a possible 32 individual assignments. They are:

a. You Make the Questions - students formulate questions about one of the symbols and also research the answers;

b. Create a History Storyboard - students create a 6-part storyboard about

a historical aspect of one of the symbols;

c. Make Your Own Pinning Board - I have created a pinning board layout (students could easily make their own) where students can cut out images from online, and create captions;

d. Compare and Contrast - students compare and contrast Canada’s symbols with that of another country, or if from outside Canada, they can use their own nation’s symbols; and

3) the sixth activity is Finding Words from Words - students find words using the phrase “Symbols of Canada”. This could be done by all students, individually or as a class/group activity. Great for early finishers!

Canada’s Landmarks

“Canada! Canada’s Landmarks”

This resource is designed for students in Canada (and is particularly good for Canadian Identity units) but could also be used by other students in order to learn more about Canada.

Seven activities are included:

(1) a 4-page True or False activity about 11 of Canada’s landmarks. I have chosen landmarks, both man made and natural, from every area of the country. The landmarks are: the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa, Baffin Island, Mount Robson in BC, Dinosaur Provincial Park in AB, Fort Qu’Appelle in SK, Hudson Bay, Niagara Falls in ON, Vieux-Québec, Bay of Fundy in NB/NS, Green Gables in Cavendish, PE,

and Signal Hill, St. John’s, NL.

(2) You Make the Questions - students formulate questions about one of the landmarks which they can use as interview questions to ask someone who has visited one of the landmarks or to research the answers themselves;

(3) Design Two Postage Stamps - students choose two landmarks and create their

own postage stamps:

(4) Make Your Own Pinning Board - I have created a pinning board layout (students could easily make their own) where students can cut out images from online or draw their own pictures, and add captions;

(5) Alphabet Brainstorming - students come up with words that relate to Canada’s

landmarks or landmarks in general (they can choose to do a general list or a list related to one particular landmark);

(6) Ranking the Landmarks - students choose the five Canadian landmarks they

would like to see the most and explain why, and also how the landmark relates to their identity as Canadians;

Quizzes All About Canada

“Canada! 9 General Knowledge Quizzes”: This resource is designed to use in Canadian Social Studies classes during a Canadian Identity unit. It is not meant as a serious academic resource but as a fun way to learn about Canadian history, geography, and achievers. I have designed the 9 quizzes to be progressively more difficult - students in lower grades might find them a challenge, and to be honest, high school students and adults would probably be stumped on some of the questions from the higher numbered quizzes. The higher numbered quizzes could be used as webquests. Each quiz has a complete answer key.

The quizzes are great for days when you need a standby: around holidays, snowy days when several students are away (what could be more Canadian?), or just when you might want to take a fun break. The quizzes could be spread out over time - bring one out as a surprise! Students could do them as a class or in groups. Everyone loves a challenge and the students will almost certainly learn something new.

As a former high school and adult ESL teacher, I would recommend the quiz for older ESL students, both high school and adult. Learning about Canada is often a component of their curriculum.

I composed all the questions myself, and I verified any answers I was not completely sure of.

Canadian Identity 14 Passages and Activities

“Canada! Canadian Identity - 14 Informational Texts and Activities” was created for teachers who have a component on Canadian identity in their social studies or language curriculum. This resource is probably best used for grades 5-7 students and with upper level ESL students (intermediate, high school, and adult).

This resource includes fourteen original passages (written by me) on different aspects of Canada’s culture as it relates to our identity. They run the gamut from light hearted (poutine!) to serious (the history of Chinese Canadians). The passages are organized by provinces and territories and the topics are:

Canada: Our Flag

Newfoundland and Labrador (place names)

Prince Edward Island (potatoes)

Nova Scotia (Scottish heritage)

New Brunswick (Acadian/French heritage)

Quebec (poutine)

Ontario (Niagara Falls)

Manitoba (polar bears)

Saskatchewan (grain elevators)

Alberta (Calgary Stampede)

British Columbia (Chinese heritage)

Yukon (Klondike gold rush)

Northwest Territories (Hudson’s Bay Company)

Nunavut (inuksuk)

Each passage is about 350 words in length and is accompanied by 4 questions which assess understanding of reading and elicit opinions as well. The last question is about language use.

There is pre-reading activity of 8 discussion questions on identity, which I am also offering as a free item. I have numbered them on one page, and not on the second, in case a teacher wants to use just some of the topics. The topics can be used as group work in whatever way works for the class. I have also included a simple recording organizer (students of course can use their notebooks for this). The topics and recording sheet may be utilized in an interactive notebook, too.

Following the passages is a post-reading Vocabulary activity: one word has been chosen from each passage and students much choose from four words which one has been correctly used in each sentence. It goes one step beyond a fill-in-the-blank: three of the words are used correctly (the students are supplied with this hint). The students CAN complete this activity without reading all fourteen of the passages.

A full answer key for the passages and the vocabulary activity is included, as is a page of source references for the websites and books that I used; attribution for images is included as well.

I understand that I have only scratched the surface of what “Canadian Identity” is, and could not possibly include everything that would come under that topic’s umbrella. Hopefully the passages will get your students thinking and talking!

This resource is part of a bundle of four products all relating to Canadian identity.