Lesson #5

Title/Focus

Homesteaders: How will you Survive?

Project

Date

November 25th
December 9th, 2014 (2
weeks)

Subject/Gra
de Level

Social Studies, Grade 5

Time
Duratio
n

60 Minutes each class

Unit

5.1 Physical Geography of Canada

Teacher

Miss Julia Adolf

OUTCOMES FROM ALBERTA PROGRAM OF STUDIES

General
Learning
Outcomes:
Specific
Learning
Outcomes:

5.1- Students will demonstrate an understanding and appreciation of how the physical
geography and natural resources of Canada affect the quality of life of all Canadians.
5.1.1 - Value Canadas physical geography and natural environment

Appreciate the variety and abundance of natural resources in Canada (ER, LPP)
Appreciate how the land sustains communities and the diverse ways that
people have of living with the land (GC, LPP)

Appreciate the diversity of geographic phenomena in Canada (LPP)

5.1.2 - Examine, critically, the physical geography of Canada by exploring

and reflecting upon the following questions and issues:

How do landforms, bodies of water and natural resources affect the quality of
life in Canada? (LPP)

What are the differences and similarities among the geographical regions of
Canada? (LPP)

How is the geographical region they live in different from other regions of
Canada? (LPP)

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Students will:
5.S.1 develop skills of critical thinking and creative thinking:

generate original ideas and strategies in situations of individual and group activities

5.S.2 develop skills of historical thinking:

use photographs and interviews to make meaning of historical information

5.S.4 demonstrate skills of decision making and problem solving:

determine when a decision needs to be made in dealing with problems and issues

collaborate with others to apply strategies for decision making and problem solving

use data gathered from a variety of electronic sources to address identified problems

5.S.5 demonstrate skills of cooperation, conflict resolution and consensus building:

work collaboratively with others to achieve a common goal

retrieve data from available storage devices, such as a shared folder, to which a group has
contributed
5.S.7 apply the research process:

draw and support conclusions, based on information gathered, to answer a research question

access and retrieve appropriate information from the Internet by using a specific search path
or from given uniform resource locators (URLs)

ASSESSMENTS
Observations:

Can students understand what factors pioneers needed to

consider when starting a new life in a new land?
Can students identify what life will be like on their proposed new
homestead?
Can students identify what region of Canada their homestead is
located?
Can students identify what pioneers needed to plan for in order
to survive?
Do students understand how landforms, bodies of water, and
natural resources affect the quality of life of these homesteaders
in Canada?
Do students understand how the land sustains the communities
built on it?
Can students identify the natural resources available to them on
their homestead?

Key Questions:

Learning Goal: what does it take to survive as a homesteader in

different regions of Canada how does quality of life differ from region to
region across Canada?
What factors would pioneers need to consider when starting a
new life in a new land?
What will your life be like on your new homestead?
In what region of Canada is my homestead located?
What did pioneers need to plan for in order to survive?
How do landforms, bodies of water, and natural resources affect
the quality of life of these homesteaders in Canada?
How does the land you settled on sustain the community you are
building on it?
What natural resources are available to you on your homestead?

Products/Performan
ces:

Where is my Homestead? Worksheet

Survival Plan Organizer
Presentation on Survival Plan

LEARNING RESOURCES CONSULTED

Alberta Program of Studies for Social Studies
Black Gold Regional School Division Homesteaders: How will you survive?
http://content.blackgold.ca/ict/AISI/DivII/Grade5/S
S5_Homesteaders/index.html

MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT

Smart Board, laptops, Our Land Our People
textbook, and worksheets

PROCEDURE
Prior to lesson

Attention Grabber
Assessment of
Prior Knowledge

Configure students into 6 groups and assign each group a letter A through
F (use their table groups). Have the laptops available for the class. Have the
Smart board ready to go.
Introduction
Grade 5s, what are Homesteaders? Where did they come
from? Why did they come here?

Time
4 Minutes

The Homesteaders are people who immigrated to Canada to

start a new life for their families; the Homesteaders came from
Europe and other areas across the Atlantic Ocean; they came
here to escape persecution, bad living conditions, over
population, among other things and reasons.

Expectations for
Learning and
Behaviour
Advance
Organizer/Agenda

Students should follow classroom rules and raise their hands if

they wish to speak.

Transition to Body

Now that we know what Homesteaders are we are going to

discuss what it would have been like to move here with little to
nothing and start a life from scratch.

Learning Activity
#1
Day 1

1. Prior knowledge worksheets from last classes and quiz

2. Learning Goal (what does it take to survive as a
homesteader in different regions of Canada how does
quality of life differ from region to region across Canada?)
3. Introduction
4. Brainstorming and group assignment
5. Survival Plan
a. Identify Homestead Region
b. Where is my homestead? Worksheet
c. Build Criteria for Survival Plan
d. Survival Plan Creation Survival Plan Organizer
6. Build Criteria for Presentation
7. Create Presentation
8. Group Presentations

Body
1. Introduce the scenario to students. (5 minutes)
2. With an their small group of three, students brainstorm key
words that describe what it must have been like for families
to have to start their lives from scratch What factors
would pioneers need to consider when starting a new
life in a new land? (5 minutes)

1 Minute
Time
60
Minutes

3. Student share their best ideas with the class (perhaps

jotting their best idea on the board or an iPad). (5 minutes)
4. Introduce the idea of the Pioneer Family Groups. Introduce
the focus for the web-quest: What will your life be like
on your new homestead? (5 minutes)
5. Assign students their family groups in preparation for
beginning the web-quest next day. (5 minutes)
Homestead Legend:
A = Interior Plains
B = Cordillera
C = Canadian Shield
D = Atlantic
E = Great Lakes
F = Arctic
NOTE: Student groups should not know the region where their
homestead is located. They must deduce their location based
on the geographical characteristics of their region.
6. Together with their group members, students will examine
materials to learn about the geographical traits of their
homestead land. As they look at the resources available for
their homestead, students should discuss the question: In
what region of Canada is my homestead located? (30

minutes)
Teacher Notes:
Assessments/
Differentiation

Get students to pick their region letter out of a hat. Once they
know their family name, let them announce it to the class. Read
the steps one by one on the main homestead page. Have the
students repeat this back to make sure they understand the
task at hand.
It may be helpful to have students take notes on the
characteristics they notice about their region. That way, they
have a hard copy of information to refer to during the next task.

Learning Activity
#2
DAY 2

Look at the SURVIVAL PLAN page on the website for the

lesson progression.
#1 Identify Homestead Region Students may need to do
additional research to identify the region in which their
homestead is located.
#2 - Where is my homestead? Worksheet this is an
opportunity to give comment-only feedback to students
regarding their conclusions. Feedback may come in the form of
written comments or a quick student/teacher conference.
#3 Build Criteria for Survival Plan Together with their
small group of 3, students brainstorm ideas for the question:
What did pioneers need to plan for in order to survive?
Student groups share ideas as a class Teacher records ideas
on the board. As a class, narrow ideas down into ESSENTIAL
elements of a survival plan. Teacher transcribes the list onto a
class poster and/or student handout so that they may use the
criteria as a self-assessment checklist.
- Example co-created criteria:
o Type of shelter/materials available in the area to
build it
o Food/Water sources:
Available plants/trees
Animals found in the area
Water sources (for drinking and
transportation)
o What job will we do to survive in this area?
Ex. farmer, miner, fisherman
o Climate how does it affect our life?
o Plan needs to include ONLY stuff available in my
region

60
Minutes

#4 Survival Plan Creation Survival Plan Organizer is

designed for students to identify the reasons for why they are
making specific survival choices.
Teacher Notes:
Assessments/
Differentiation

ICT Connections:
Use iPads for brainstorming
o If students complete brainstorming electronically,
they may be less likely to lose it.
ICT Extension: Students can create a list of keywords to
assist their internet research.

Learning Activity
#3

Look at the PRESENTATION page on the website for the

lesson progression.

120
Minutes

Day 3 & 4
#1 Build Criteria for Presentation Together with their
small group of 3, students brainstorm ideas for the question:
What makes a great presentation that shows our
pioneer lifestyle? Student groups share ideas as a class
Teacher records ideas on the board. As a class, narrow ideas
down into ESSENTIAL elements of a great presentation.
Teacher transcribes the list onto a class poster and/or student
handout so that they may use the criteria as a self-assessment
checklist.
NOTE: Tailor presentation criteria to coverage of
Program of Studies learner outcomes. Criteria can then
be used to create a rubric for assessment.
ASSESSMENT SUGGESTION: Students should be
marked INDIVIDUALLY based on their personal
contribution to the survival plan/presentation. E.g., Sally
was responsible for making decisions about food and
water sources, and also completes that part of the
presentation. Sallys mark should not be affected by her
peers contributions to the presentation.

(two
classes
periods)

NOTE: If the project format is open to student choice,

students may choose the format that is most
appropriate for their survival responsibilities (e.g., diary
format, photo-story presentation, diorama and
explanation, skit, etc.)
Teacher Notes:
Assessments/
Differentiation

Formative:

Build periodic opportunities for comment-only feedback

into the project:
o Peer collaboration
o Structured student self-assessment activities;
prompt students to show specific evidence from their
work that proves their self-assessment is accurate
o Quick conferences with teacher
o Students submit draft work or worksheets for
comment-only written feedback
Assess student progress via co-creating criteria Do the
students seem to be identifying ideas that are on-track?

Summative:

Consolidation of
Learning- Day 5

Assess the presentation in terms of whether or not the

student demonstrates a deep understanding of the
learning outcomes.
Assess the presentation in terms of whether or not the
student demonstrates a deep understanding of the
appropriate skills outcomes.
Use the co-created criteria lists to create an outcomebased assessment rubric

Distribute this rubric to students BEFORE summative

assessment, and allow them to use the rubric to make changes
to their work.
Closure
Allow students to give presentations to the class on their
survival plan for their region.

Time
60
Minutes