Lesson Plan

EGP335
Lesson Title: Canada
Day Number: 12
Author: Casey Phelan
Unit: 2- Americas Early Communities
Grade Level: 3rd
Background Information
Expected Duration 45 minutes
Concepts
o Location
o Place
o Culture
o Heritage
o Symbols
o Government
o Natural Resources
Vocabulary
o Heritage, Symbol
Skills
o Comparing
o Contrasting
o Active listening
o Identifying
o Analyzing
o Synthesizing
o Locating
o Evaluating
o Predicting
o Writing
o Speaking
o Participating
o Assuming/Inferring
1.1 Integration of Learning Outcomes/Objectives
Students will compare and contrast heritage, location, history,
geography, and culture between the United States and Canada.
Students will locate and gather information about Canada based
on visuals given to them.
Students will use reading skills to understand facts and ideas
about Canadas heritage and symbols.

1.2 Standards PA Civics, History, Economics, Geography &

NCSS Themes I-X
PA Standards
Geography 7.1.3.A: Identify how basic geographic tools are used
to organize and interpret information about people, places
and environment.
Geography 7.1.3.B: Identify and locate places and regions as
defined by physical and human features.
Geography 7.3.3.A: Identify the human characteristics
of places and regions using the following criteria:
Population
Culture
Settlement
Economic activities
Political activities
History: 8.4.3.A: Identify the elements of culture and ethnicity.
History: 8.4.3.C: Compare and contrast selected world cultures.
NCSS
Standard 1: Culture and Cultural Diversity
NCSS.1.1.c: Describe ways in which language, stories,
folktales, music, and artistic creations serve as expressions
of culture and behavior of people living in particular culture
NCSS.1.1.e: Give examples and describe the importance
of cultural unity and diversity within and across groups
Standard 3: People Places and Environment
NCSS.1.3.c: Use appropriate resources, data sources, and
geographic tools such as atlases, data bases, grid systems,
charts, graphs, and maps to generate, manipulate, and
interpret information
NCSS.1.3.h.: Examine the interaction of human beings
and their physical environment, the use of land, building of
cities, and ecosystem changes in selected locales and
regions
Standard 4: Individual Development and Identity
NCSS.1.4.b.: Work independently and cooperatively to
accomplish goals
1.3 Anticipatory Set
The teacher will introduce the nation of discussion, Canada. He or she
will say Hi class! We are still learning about Americas earliest
communities. We have discussed the history of the United States, but
today I have a new nation to tell you about. This nation is called
Canada. Ask the students if they know anything about this country or

if anyone has traveled there. Mention my mothers side of the family

residing in Canada.
The students will work in pairs to examine some visuals given that
represent Canada. The teacher will hold out a map of the North
American continent and say In front of you is a map of North America.
Take a look at the map and raise your hand to share something
interesting you see. Teacher will ask the students to find Canada.
Where is Canada in relation to the United States? The teacher will
present the same map onto the interactive white board and will hold a
class discussion about what they see. Notes can be written down on
the board if desired. The teacher will mention certain ideas to the class
if they are not brought up into discussion. Examples are the two
countries being connected to each other, having coastlines, and being
separated into sections (states and provinces).
1.4 Procedures
The teacher will tell the students to sit on the rug in front of the
interactive whiteboard. The teacher will share his or her
excitement towards discussing this new country. Say, We are
going to do some fun activities today so I want you to listen
closely.
The teacher will launch a interactive whiteboard activity that he
or she created that covers Canadian Independence.
o The activity/presentation will be interactive. The beginning
of the slides will be informative. There will be a brief review
of how the United States gained their freedom from Great
Britain. Next, there will be slides about Canada gaining
their independence. State that Canada was first controlled
by Great Britain. Then, talk about the country gradually
gaining their freedom over time and not fighting in a war to
gain independence. They had full independence in 1867.
o Once information about Canadian independence has been
discussed, the teacher will lead the class into discussion
about the differences between the two countries gain of
independence. There will be a diagram with one column
labeled Canada and the other labeled the United States.
One by one, students will come up to the interactive
whiteboard to move the correct statement to the
appropriate country. (Canada column: gained
independence over time, did not fight in a war, etc.).
Discuss the similarity that both gained freedom from
Britain.
While the students are still sitting on the rug, hold up a poster/visual of
the first vocabulary word, heritage, history, ideas, and beliefs that
people receive from the past, including the definition. Teacher will say

the word then have a volunteer read the definition out loud. The word
will be hung up in the classroom.
I, the teacher, will bring in a piece of my heritage. I will bring in a
dream catcher and pass it around the circle and explain its
meaning. Have the students briefly brainstorm something they
do in their family to celebrate their heritage.
Before the children go back to their tables, the teacher will write
on the board the three main heritages that are a part of Canada.
(British, French, and Indian). Mainly languages.
Next, the teacher will pull up a PowerPoint. It will have the new
vocabulary word, symbol. Teacher will span through a
PowerPoint of pictures for this topic. Teacher will show pictures of
Queen Elizabeth, the prime minister, and Canadian coins.
Teacher will ask Why do you think these are symbols of
Canada? If the correct answer is not given, teacher will state
that they are the leaders of the country just like the president in
the United States. Refer to the pictures of the coins on the
PowerPoint and ask the students, Do you see any other pictures,
or symbols, on the coins? Have students talk with a partner and
then come back as class to discuss (maple leaf, deer, Queen
Elizabeth). Teacher will hang up a similar poster as he or she did
with heritage. I will ask, Boys and girls, can you think of any
symbols that represent a similar idea in both Canada and the
United States?
Teacher will hang labels of the ten provinces of Canada around
the room. Groups of two or three will be selected to go to a
certain province. Each province section will include a natural
resources map of Canada. That province will be highlighted. On a
desk underneath the label will have props of the natural
resources in that area. Students will fill out a worksheet about
the natural resources found in each province.
Students will return to their seats and complete the last activity.
Each student will get a laptop. The teacher will say, Class, you
are now going to see yourselves some of the great pieces of
heritage that make up Canada! Open up your laptops and launch
the Internet. I have wrote the URL on the board so paste that in
the search engine. Tell the students to explore the virtual
museum. http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/home/ What important
symbols have you come across on the virtual museum? Find
information about previous British, Indian, and French culture.
1.5 Differentiation
For Gifted Students: Have students write a short writing prompt
about Canada. In particular, have them discuss what the natural

resources can be used for and how it could represent their

heritage. These students can create their own map key. Teacher
could also give these students a website scavenger hunt to learn
about the most important symbols of the United States.
For Students in Need of Extra Support: Monitor discussion from
these students. Put them into groups with children that will foster
and encourage their creative thinking. Provide a worksheet
reviewing the information that was discussed about Canada.
They will also be given a worksheet with the key ideas about the
United States during the PowerPoint.
For ELL Students: Send home a list of the new vocabulary words,
heritage and symbol, the night before the lesson. The page will
include pictures. Encourage talk with family members about
these two terms. They can brainstorm things seen in their
heritage or symbols that represent their cultural history.
1.6 Closure
Once the students have finished the natural resources activity, they
will be asked to return to their seats. The teacher will ask the students
something they learned during the lesson that they did not know
before. Teacher will wrap up the lesson with, Class, I had a great time
talking about Canada! I hope you will go home and talk about things
related to your heritage with your family members. You can compare
your heritage to the heritages seen in the United States and Canada.
Also, notice symbols that surround you. Tomorrow, we will play a quick
game of Jeopardy to review material!
1.7 Formative/Summative Assessment of Students (P-12)
Formative assessment will occur throughout the lesson through
teacher observation. Teacher will do this by asking to represent
answers of yes or no by a thumbs up or thumbs down. Teacher will
check for correct answers and understanding throughout the
interactive PowerPoint. The teacher will monitor group discussions and
student interaction. The teacher will look at the natural resources
worksheet completed by the students to check for understanding.
Summative assessment: Students will take a unit test at the end of the
unit.

1.8 Materials/Equipment/Resources
A. STUDENT MATERIALS/ READING RESOURCES:

Interactive whiteboard
Presentation/interactive activity on Canadian and United States
independence
o
Poster/visual of heritage and definition

Heritage
History, ideas, and beliefs
that people receive from
the past

Dream catcher from my heritage or piece of my heritage

PowerPoint on symbols (Queen Elizabeth, prime minister,
Canadian coins)

A
l
b
e
r
t

Labels of ten provinces of Canada on a piece of paper

a
British
Colombia
M
a
ni
to
b
a

New
Brunswick
Newfoundland
and Labrador
Nova
Scotia
O

n
t
a
ri
o
Prince Edward
Island
Q
u

e
b
e
c
Sa
sk
atc
he
wa
n

Ten natural resource maps of Canada

Props of natural resources (forests, fish, wheat, water power, oil,

and iron ore)
Worksheet with information about natural resources found in
each province

Name:___________________

Date:___________

Canada: Natural Resources

Province
Alberta

British Colombia

Manitoba

New Brunswick

New Foundland and Labrador

Nova Scotia

Resources

Computers for each student

Map of North American Continent

Poster/visual of symbol and definition

Symbol
Something that stands for
or represents something
else

B. TEACHER MATERIALS/RESOURCES FOR LESSON DESIGN: List

resources you used to design the lesson plan (teacher materials, to
provide background on the content, etc...)

Sample Teacher Lesson Plan: Americas Early Communities Unit

Plan: Canada
Websites:
o http://www.historymuseum.ca/splash
o http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/home
o http://pm.gc.ca/eng
o http://www.royal.gov.uk/MonarchAndCommonwealth/Canad
a/TheQueensroleinCanada.aspx
o http://canadiancrown.gc.ca/eng/1332788662861/13327887
24918
o http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/explore/countries/canad
a/#canada-playing-hockey.jpg
o http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/canadagoose/#canada-goose-flock-flying.jpg
o http://heindorffhus.motivsamler.dk/shoebox/frameCanadaNatSymbols.htm
o http://www3.sympatico.ca/goweezer/canada/embSASK.htm
o http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Brazil-to-Congo-Republicof/French-Canadians.html
o http://firstpeoplesofcanada.com/fp_groups/fp_groups_origin
s.html
o http://faculty.marianopolis.edu/c.belanger/quebechistory/en
cyclopedia/HistoryofCanadianIndians-1763-1840.htm

D. Attach teacher content notes sheet, SEE Appendix A

1.9 Technology
Interactive whiteboard will be used to display the activity on
Canadian (and review of United States) independence
The Internet and PowerPoints will be used to present visual aids
throughout the lesson
2.1 Reflection on Planning
I enjoyed planning this lesson. My grandparents are from Canada so I
have a lot of background knowledge about the country. I also am 50%
Native Indian so I have many ideas and props to bring forth to my
students. When I first started planning this lesson, I was overwhelmed.

I had no clue where to start. I was utterly surprised to find out that the
Houghton Mifflin Unit Plan Chapter was a life-saver. There are so many
resources and ideas to utilize from this book. It made me realize that I
should heavily consult this book and then add or substitute activities if
desired. I love writing lesson plans knowing that they way I implement
the lesson will affect the students so much. The hard work of planning
the lesson is worth it knowing that it will benefit student learning. I
really enjoyed writing the anticipatory set. This is a crucial part of the
lesson because it sets the whole stage. I try to show the students how
excited I am to talk about the topic so that they are eager to learn. I
struggled most with the teacher materials and resource materials for
the lesson design. I mainly used the book so I had to later explore
resources to give my students additional information. I also spent a
large amount of time on assessment. It is important to make sure the
students understand the main objectives of the lesson and thinking of
interesting ways to test them is difficult for me. Overall, I liked planning
this lesson even though it was extensive.
-YOU DO NOT NEED TO INCLUDE, IT IS JUST FOR YOUR
INFORMATION Lesson Plan Elements
Lesson Plan Details
Integration of Learning Outcomes/Objectives
Standards PA Civics, History, Economics, Geography.
PA Common Core (Language Arts and/or Math), NCSS
Anticipatory Set
Procedures
Differentiation
Closure
Formative/Summative Assessment of Students (P-12)
Materials/Equipment, Resources, Citation of Sources
Technology
Reflection on Planning
Submitted peer feedback and final on time
Content Outline
Total

APPENDIX A: Content Outline

Point Value
Total /30
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Core Lesson 4: Canada

Focus: Canada; how it is alike and different than the United States
Vocabulary:
Heritage: history, ideas, and beliefs that people receive from the past
Symbol: something that stands for or represents something else
Our Neighbor, Canada:
Both countries in North America and carry the same natural resources. The first
people that resided here were North Americans. Europeans sent people over to
colonize these two areas. Show a map of North America and locate United
States and Canada. Discuss how close they are in relation to each other. Talk
about similarities they see on map: close to water, broken into sections (states
and provinces), etc.
-Canadas Independence: Canada gained their independence in a different way
than the United States. Canada gradually gained their freedom over time and did
not fight in a war to gain independence from Great Britain. They had full
independence in 1867.
Canada Today: peaceful gain of independence which is a piece of their heritage.
The two official languages spoken are French and English. The British, French,
and Indian heritage are a large part of the Canadian heritage today. Talk about
what the British, French, and Indians could have brought to Canadian heritage.
Bring in pictures or items that are used in Canada from British, French, and
Indians.
-Canadas Government: It is like Britains government. It has a constitution and a
government leader (Prime Minister) and royal leader (Queen Elizabeth II). show
a picture of the prime minister and Queen Elizabeth II and compare what they
see to the leaders of our government.
-Canadas Symbols: Symbols of Canada are seen on items such as coins. Maple
trees are an important symbol because they grow in areas across Canada. Pass
out Canadian coins to the class and talk about what is seen together as a class.
Point out possible symbols that could also represent Canada. Talk about the
symbols on our dollar bills and coins and mention that we also have symbols of
our heritage and government.
Canadas Resources:
It has an abundance of resources (water, fish, iron ore, wood, and oil). It shares
its resources with the Unites States. Discuss the symbols seen on the resource
map. Compare United States resource map and see which resources we have
that are the same.