Grade 4 Social Studies : Regions of Alberta Unit Plan

General Outcomes:
4.1 - Students will demonstrate an understanding and appreciation of how elements of physical
geography, climate, geology, and palaeontology are integral to the landscapes and environment of
Alberta.

Prior Understanding + Where are we going

Grade 3 Social Studies Overview -

Grade 3 students will investigate life in four diverse communities around the world. The
contemporary communities examined will be drawn from India, Tunisia, Ukraine and Peru.
Students will inquire into how geographic, social, cultural and linguistic factors a ect quality
of life in communities in the world. Students will enrich their awareness and appreciation of
how people live in other places. Their understanding of global citizenship will be further
developed and they will recognize Canada's involvement in other parts of the world.

Grade 5 Social Studies Overview -

Grade 5 students will examine how the ways of life of peoples in Canada are integral to
Canadian culture and identity. They will explore the geographic vastness of Canada and the
relationships between the land, places and people. As they re ect upon the stories of diverse
Aboriginal, French, British and immigrant experiences in Canada over time, students will
develop a sense of place and an awareness of how these multiple stories contribute to
students' sense of citizenship and identity.

Speci c Outcomes
4.1.1 - value Alberta!s physical geography and natural environment
4.1.1.1 - appreciative the diversity of elements pertaining to geography, climate, geology and
palaeontology in Alberta

4.1.1.2 - appreciate how Alberta!s fossil heritage contributes to the provinces unique character

4.1.1.3 - appreciate the variety and abundance of natural resources in Alberta

4.1.1.4 - appreciate the environmental signi cance of national and provincial parks and protected
areas in Alberta

4.1.1.5 - appreciate how land sustains communities and quality of life

4.1.1.6 - demonstrate care and concern for the environment through their choices and actions
4.1.2 - examine, critically, the physical geography of Alberta by exploring and re ecting upon the
following questions and issues:
4.1.2.1 - Where is Alberta located in relation to the other provinces and territories of Canada?

4.1.2.2 - What are the major geographical and natural vegetation regions, landforms and bodies of
water in Alberta (eg. Prairie regions, forests, rivers, hoodoos, Rocky Mountains, oil sands)?

4.1.2.3 - What are the factors that determine climate in the diverse regions of Alberta (eg latitude,
mountains)?

4.1.2.4- What are signi cant natural resources in Alberta and where are they located (eg mineral
deposits, coal, natural gas and oil, forests)?

4.1.2.5 - How are Alberta’s provincial parks and protected areas and the national parks in Alberta
important to the sustainability of Alberta’s natural environment?
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 4.1.3 - examine, critically, how geology and palaeontology contribute to knowledge of Alberta’s
physical geography by exploring and re ecting upon the following questions and issues:
4.1.3.1 - How did archaeologists and palaeontologists discover the presence of dinosaurs in Alberta?

4.1.3.2 - What geological features make Alberta unique (eg hoodoos, Rocky Mountains, foothills, oil
sands)?

4.1.4 - analyze how Albertan’s interact with their environment by exploring and re ecting upon
the following questions and issues:
4.1.4.1- In what ways do the physical geography and natural resources of a region determine the
establishment of communities?

4.1.4.2 - How are natural resources used by Albertans (ie agriculture, oil and natural gas, forests, coal)?

4.1.4.3 - How do Albertans deal with competing demands on land use (eg, conservation, solar and
wind power, recreation, agriculture, oil exploration and forestry)?

4.1.4.4- In what was does the Royal Tyrell Museum contribute to scienti c knowledge regarding
Alberta’s fossil heritage?

4.1.4.5 - How can ownership of a discovered artifact be determined?

4.1.4.6 - Whose responsibility should it be to ensure the preservation of national parks, provincial
parks and protected areas in Alberta?

Unit Overview - Critical Inquiry Question

In what ways do Alberta’s regions and landforms contribute to the uniqueness and identity of the
province?

Key Concepts for Unit

- Landforms
- Wildlife

- Geographical Features
- Establishment of communities

- Quality of Life
- National Parks

- Climate
- Bodies of Water

- Vegetation - Major Cities

Materials:
- Scrapbook pages
- Covid permitting - heavy cream, graham
- Project outlines and rubrics
crackers, chocolate, marshmallows,
- Links to YouTube videos
raspberries, blueberries

- Mini tubs of play dough - “The Orange Shirt Day Story”

Rationale :

The Social Studies curriculum holistically includes the concepts of citizenship and identity. This
is done by scaffolding what has been deemed as contributors to identity Ie. sense of self, sense of
community, province, country, and so on. Grade 4 focuses on Alberta including its regions and the stories
of its citizens. This unit primarily focuses on the regions of Alberta, while simultaneously looking at the

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 communities within these regions. Integrating these elements will make students feel more connected to
their province. They will be able to use critical thinking skills to identify a healthy relationship between
sustainability and resource extraction, along with identifying who they believe should be in charge of
protecting national parks and our native species. Students will submit research based opinions and will be
taught the importance of finding scholarly sources. The incorporation of critical thinking, will foster
students sense of identity and ultimately lead to them making informed decisions.

The unit inherently centres itself around pluralistic perspectives by focusing on a number of
different communities across Alberta. The unit also promotes students to consider others perspectives by
asking questions like “Why might people move to Banff?” While we consider each region as a class, I
would also like to go over what treaties overlap with the region so students are familiar with the treaties
and bands in Alberta. When discussing topics of natural resource use students will be asked to consider
the Indigenous perspectives. We will also be spending the entire class on Sept. 15th to focus on Orange
Shirt Day and Indigenous successes and achievements. Ideally I would like to have an Indigenous speaker
but that will be assessed closer to the date due to Covid-19 and budget.

While the unit and textbook have a specific focus on geographical thinking the content presents
many opportunities to address all of the development skills. Critical and creative thinking will be
addressed by using different questioning techniques. The research process will come into play when
students are asked to formulate opinions for our class debate on the oil sands and logging. Historical
thinking will be addressed primarily in the grasslands region when we focus on Drumheller and Alberta’s
fossil history. However I will be incorporating these into the other regions where there are rich historical
elements.

Lesson Overview
Lesson 1 - Our Alberta - Sept 8th

- Students will be introduced to the concepts of the Unit.

- Students will be asked to bring a notebook which can be used for their scrapbook.

- As a class we will discuss what popular landmarks in Alberta the students are already familiar with.
We will also introduce each region.

Lesson 2 - Map Skills - Sept. 9th

- As a class, students will brainstorm everything they know about maps including the purpose, what
kinds, how to use one, a compass etc.

- Using a map of political map of Alberta that will be pulled up on the board, search for ways that the
map communicates information. This includes: colour, shading, compass rose, scales, symbols. Ie.
blue for water, N for north

Lesson 1 - Map Skills- Sept. 10th

- Students will be split into small groups.

- To formatively assess understanding, students will be asked to create a ctional island. The island
can include anything they want, but the map of the island needs to include at least 3 map making
techniques. After instruction students should be left with 20 minutes to complete this activity.

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 Lesson 3 - Map Skills - Sept. 13th

- https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1wTSU-75-gMfCo0NghvcizDS1sU4ImCC3z51KJAhiMTw/
template/preview

- Students will be asked to cut out the provinces and then glue them down in the correct spot.

Lesson 4 - The Rocky Mountains - Landforms and Geographical Features - Sept. 14th

- Students will enter classroom with a camp re and tent video playing on the smart board, nature
sounds will be playing in the back.

- Students have the chance to explore the rocky mountain region. As a class we will engage in
di erent virtual activities such as:

- YouTube video of sulphur mountain gondola ride:

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVKUWJ9G9F8

- “Spy” on di erent rocky mountain attractions through the live webcams using the following link:

- https://www.ban jaspercollection.com/plan-your-trip/webcams/#/0

- As a class we will make a list of landforms and geographic features that are in the rocky mountain
region.

Lesson 5 -Rocky Mountains - Quality of Life - Sept. 15th

- Students will each get two graham crackers, a piece of chocolate and a marshmallow. Teacher will
read a spooky story while we enjoy the treat.

- COVID Alternative - students may take turns telling spooky stories. In their scrapbook students can
summarize which story was their favourite.

- After, students will receive their scrap book page for the rocky mountains. They will begin to ll it out
and colour it.

- Students will watch several videos of winter sports like skiing.

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KENlHb86poE

- As a class we will discuss the following question “How does being close to the mountains a ect
quality of life?”

Lesson 6 -Rocky Mountains - Climate and Vegetation + Wild life - Sept 16th

- Explain to students that the climate in the Rocky Mountains changes with the altitude. As we get
higher up, the temperature gets colder and there is more precipitation.

- Students should include this information on their scrapbook page.

- Students will be asked to sketch speci c vegetation into their journals with the name underneath it.

- Students will watch a video and explore the Jasper animal index website. Students will be asked to
pick a few of their favourites to add to their scrapbook page.

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xmfnjTzXCY

- https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/ab/jasper
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 Lesson 7 -Rocky Mountains - Establishment of Communities + National Parks - Sept. 17th

- As a class, students will brainstorm the answer to the question “After seeing what Ban has to o er,
why do you think that people come from all over the world to enjoy this place? Why do people live in
this region?”

- Possible responses include - mountains, sports, animals, fresh air, camping.

- Teacher will explain the concept of national parks and why they were created including the historical
context. Individually students will answer “Whose job should it be to protect National Parks?”

Lesson 8 - Rocky Mountain Inquiry Project - Sept. 20th

- Introduce the inquiry project for the Rocky Mountain portion of the unit. The project will focus on
provincial

- Students will create a brochure about the provincial and National Parks in Alberta with a slide
template. :

- https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1cGs6SCCkqbsbAYXo79OxUrp2zxAy0UZ7cgsj35N0Y3I/
edit#slide=id.g2c2b7ccf08_0_0

Lesson 9 - Rocky Mountain Inquiry Project - Sept. 21st

- Students continue to work on project.

Lesson 10 - Rocky Mountain Inquiry Project - Sept. 22nd

- Students continue to work on project.

No School - Sept. 23rd and Sept. 24th

Lesson 11 - Foothills - Climate + Quality of Life - Sept 27th

- On the smart board play a scenic video of a forrest. In the background play heavy machinery
sounds to show the contrast.

- Students will watch the following video on Chinooks.

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ak3OJZzlo-E

- Have students write the meaning of the word chinook in their own words on their scrapbook page.

- Watch a video on mountain biking in the foothills region.

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRy88um4jmk

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Lesson 12 - Foothills - Landforms - Sept 28th

- Teacher explains through direct instruction that the region has many forested hills and rolling
grasslands. The closer that you get to the mountains the higher the elevation.

- Watch the following video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tb7xMh7u1NI

- Explain to students that the mountains in the back are apart of the rocky mountain region, not the
foothills.

- Have students sketch the landforms of the foothills region in their scrapbook.

Lesson 13 - Foothills - Animals - Sept. 29th

- Explain to students that woodland caribou are signature to the foothills region but they are in
decline.

- Students watch the following video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxKrsM_vKus

- Have a class discussion as to why the woodland caribou may be in danger. Pose the following
question : Whose job is it to protect endangered animals?

Lesson 14 - Orange Shirt Day - Sept 30th

- Introduce the history behind orange shirt day to students.

- Read the story “The Orange Shirt Story”

- Have students decorate a cut out of an orange shirt with a pledge to the Indigenous community. “I
promise to remember that every child matters."

Lesson 15 - Foothills - Land Use - October 1st

- Explain to students that the foothills region is home to the Brazeau Dam

- Watch the following video to introduce students to hydroelectricity : https://www.youtube.com/

watch?v=kx5rsUnFYmw

- Continue direct instruction continuing on natural resource use. Show students that there is a paper
mill.

- Watch the following video to see how paper is made : https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=rZl7KAESsaA

- Have students research what other natural resources can be found in the region. Possible answers
are : oil and gas, coal, metals, rocks

- Have students include this list on their scrapbook page.

Lesson 16 - Foothills Inquiry Project - October 4th

- Students will be designing an itinerary for a family who wants to visit the foothills region. The project
is outlined in the link below.

- https://www.learnalberta.ca/content/ssoc4/html/travellingtheprovince_cc.html

Lesson 17 - Foothills Inquiry Project - October 5th

- Students continue to work on project.

 Lesson 18 - Foothills Inquiry Project - October 6th

- Students continue to work on project.

Lesson 19 - Foothills Inquiry Project - October 7th

- Students continue to work on project.

Lesson 20 - Grasslands - Calgary Landforms and Geographical Features + Plants - October 8th

- Hang a “Welcome to Stampede” sign in the classroom.

- Through direct instruction explain to students that the grasslands region consists of a lot of gentle
rolling hills, which makes the region perfect for ranching.

- Students will add this to their scrapbook page.

- Explain that the region is mostly ranch land and farm land. Have students write why they think this
happened in their scrapbook.

- After students hypothesize teach the historical concept of ranching in Alberta.

No School - October 11th

Lesson 21 - Grasslands - Calgary Quality of Life - October 12th

- Show students the following videos from the Calgary Stampede:

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ibd3RPOpxdk

- Explain to students that beef farming is a staple to Alberta’s economy.

- Watch the following video to learn about beef farming:

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LHj6CrCCsU

- As a fun class activity students will work together to create homemade butter.

- Pour heavy cream into a small container with a lid. Take turns passing the jar from student to
student, shaking it vigourisly. Pour o the buttermilk and students can sample the homemade butter
on crackers. Students indicate on their scrapbook page if they enjoyed the snack.

Lesson 22 - Grasslands - Drumheller Landforms, Geographical Features, and Natural

Resources - October 13th

- Have a clip from jurassic world playing not he smart board as students enter the classroom.

- Watch the following video to learn about hoo doos in the region:

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-CxiTCTcCE

- As students watch the videos have them sketch the hoo doos on their scrapbook page.

- Through direct instruction explain to students that coal was an extremely important natural resource
in this region. Communities were established in the grasslands region by the coal mines. Today they
are mostly all ghost towns. Have a class discussion with students about how natural resources
in uence where communities are established and the quality of life within those communities.

- Students will add coal as a natural resource on their scrapbook page and answer the prompt about
ghost towns.
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 Lesson 23 - Grasslands - Drumhellar Palaeontology - October 14th

- Watch the following video to introduce students to fossils :

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rkGu0BItKM

- As a class activitiy students will be creating their own fossils using dough and objects to imprint.
They will then sketch these on their scrapbook page.

No class - Money Matters Workshop - October 15th

No School - October 18th

Lesson 25 - Grasslands Inquiry Project - October 19th

- Students will summarize their ndings by creating a magazine about archaeology, palaeontology
and the Royal Tyrell Museum.

- https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Q49VcI_o9M9oIpO4eiy0XSm3I856907m7mya3aImswE/
template/preview

Lesson 26 - Grasslands Inquiry Project - October 20th

- Students continue to work on project.

Lesson 27 - Grasslands Inquiry Project - October 21st

- Students continue to work on project.

Lesson 28 - Grasslands Inquiry Project - October 22nd

- Students continue to work on project.

Lesson 29 - Boreal Forrest - Land Use and Natural Resources October 25th

- Play a video of a forrest but play sound of heavy machinery to show the contrast of the region.

- This region has two main natural resources that contribute to the economic growth: The oil sands
and forestry

- Watch the following video to introduce students to forestry:

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qgi-COXP8vQ

- Introduce the student directed learning we will be doing next class.

- Explain that there is a proper way to research.

Lesson 30 - Boreal Forrest - October 26th

- As a class we will read the article on logging. Students will highlight all of the points in the article
that are pro logging. In another highlighter colour students will also highlight the anti logging points.

- As a class we will vote on what position we want to take.

- Model how to create a position statement.

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Lesson 31 - Boreal Forrest - October 27th

- Have students work in small groups to write the opposite argument to the one that you just wrote as
an entire class.

- Have two volunteers use the arguments that the class and small groups wrote to debate logging.

- Students read and highlight the oil sands article independently. Students choose one position to
argue and write their argument out.

- Match students with a partner and have them debate the issue.
Lesson 32 - Boreal Forrest - Natural resources, Climate, Plants October 28th

- Use direct instruction to explain to students that this region used to be covered by an ocean. There
is a salt bed that is mined for table salt.

- Watch the following video to introduce the concept of salt mining to students:

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBhY347jmgI

- Using direct instruction explain that this region often has permafrost. Have students use the
brainstorm portion of their scrapbook page to determine how permafrost can a ect the
establishment of communities.

- Use the following photo gallery to check out the boreal forrest regions plants:

- https://www.pbase.com/marklevitz/boreal_forest&page=all

- Have students sketch them in their scrap book.

Lesson 33 - Boreal Forrest Inquiry Project - November 2nd

- Introduce the inquiry project to students. Students will be lling out a google slide template that
asks them to formulate a position. The project is outlined in the link below.

- https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1ejQdXMY9HO4r150DvRPRq92Tc6jJnUOBVYvPMBi6w9g/
edit#slide=id.g27fae3c026_0_20

Lesson 34 - Boreal Forrest Inquiry Project - November 3rd

- Students continue to work on project.

Lesson 35 - Boreal Forrest Inquiry Project - November 4th

- Students continue to work on project.

Lesson 36 - Boreal Forrest Inquiry Project - November 5th

- Students continue to work on project.

Lesson 37 - Canadian Shield - Land Use and Natural Resources + Communities November 8th

- The Canadian shield is the smallest physical region of Alberta. However, it covers a huge portion of
the country. Hunting, trapping and shing are very popular in this region, especially along the
athabasca river. Have students add this to their scrapbooks.

- Fort Chipewyan is a small community in this region.

- There are no roads to this community. In the summer people take boats and airplanes into the
region. In the winter there is an ice road that goods are transported on. The region is one of the
coldest parts of Alberta.

- Have a class discussion about how these two factors in uence the development of communities in
this region. Have students add this information to their scrapbook pages.
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 Lesson 38 - Canadian Shield- Landforms and Plants November 9th

- There is a delta in this region that is formed between the Athabasca, Peace and Brich rivers.

- Watch the following video to introduce students to the idea of deltas:

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A47ythEcz74

- Have students draw a delta on their scrapbook page.

- There are many berry bushes in this region. Have students sample raspberries and blueberries and
record which one they prefer on their scrapbook page.

- Head outside to do some bark rubbings with students. There are many Forrests in this region

Lesson 39 - Canadian Shield- November 10th

- Read the story to introduce students to the northern lights :

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A68rDXI3XcE

- Watch the following video to learn how the northern lights are formed.:

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czMh3BnHFHQ

- After that students will watch this video and sketch the norther lights in their scrap book.

- https://vimeo.com/21294655

No School - November 11th and November 12th

Lesson 40 - Canadian Shield Inquiry Project - November 15th

- Introduce the inquiry project to students. Students will create a postcard being sent from the
Canadian shield region.

- https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1QDPrhyF70Z_AMftgB0iRCj4m67OTOO892St54WdZAuY/edit

Lesson 41 - Canadian Shield Inquiry Project - November 16th

- Students continue to work on project.

Lesson 42 - Canadian Shield Inquiry Project - November 17th

- Students continue to work on project.

Lesson 43 - Canadian Shield Inquiry Project - November 18th

- Students continue to work on project.

Assessment Plan:
Formative Assessment Plan:
Formative assessment will be integrated into every class through several different mediums. Students will
be completing a scrapbook that will help them to differentiate between each region, as well as highlight
each regions unique properties. Included on the scrapbook pages are a number of reflection questions to
invoke critical thinking.

SLO’s 4.1.2.1, and 4.1.2.3 will be assessed through formative assessment. 4.1.2.1 will be covered
primarily in our first three classes where we will be completing a formative map skills activity. Other

 means of formative assessment will be a classroom debate, class discussions and self assessments and
reflections.

Learner Title : Rocky Foothills Grasslands Boreal Canadian Unit

Outcomes: Mountains: Forrest Shield Performance
National + Task
Provincial
Park
Brochure

4.1.1.1 - appreciative the X X X X

diversity of elements
pertaining to geography,
climate, geology and
palaeontology in Alberta

4.1.1.2 - appreciate how X X X

Alberta’s fossil heritage
contributes to the
provinces unique character

4.1.1.3 - appreciate the X X

variety and abundance of
natural resources in
Alberta

4.1.1.4 - appreciate the X X

environmental signi cance
of national and provincial
parks and protected areas
in Alberta

4.1.1.5 - appreciate how X X X

land sustains communities
and quality of life

4.1.1.6 - demonstrate care X X

and concern for the
environment through their
choices and actions

4.1.2.1 - Where is Alberta

located in relation to the
other provinces and
territories of Canada?

4.1.2.2 - What are the X X X X X X

major geographical and
natural vegetation regions,
landforms and bodies of
water in Alberta (eg. Prairie
regions, forests, rivers,
hoodoos, Rocky
Mountains, oil sands)?

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 Learner Title : Rocky Foothills Grasslands Boreal Canadian Unit
Outcomes: Mountains: Forrest Shield Performance
National + Task
Provincial
Park
Brochure

4.1.2.3 - What are the X

factors that determine
climate in the diverse
regions of Alberta (eg
latitude, mountains)?

4.1.2.4- What are X X X

signi cant natural
resources in Alberta and
where are they located (eg
mineral deposits, coal,
natural gas and oil,
forests)?

4.1.2.5 - How are Alberta’s X

provincial parks and
protected areas and the
national parks in Alberta
important to the
sustainability of Alberta’s
natural environment?

4.1.3.1 - How did X

archaeologists and
palaeontologists discover
the presence of dinosaurs
in Alberta?

4.1.3.2 - What geological X X X

features make Alberta
unique (eg hoodoos,
Rocky Mountains, foothills,
oil sands)?

4.1.4.1- In what ways do X X X X

the physical geography
and natural resources of a
region determine the
establishment of
communities?

4.1.4.2 - How are natural X X

resources used by
Albertans (ie agriculture, oil
and natural gas, forests,
coal)?
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 Learner Title : Rocky Foothills Grasslands Boreal Canadian Unit
Outcomes: Mountains: Forrest Shield Performance
National + Task
Provincial
Park
Brochure

4.1.4.3 - How do Albertans X X

deal with competing
demands on land use (eg,
conservation, solar and
wind power, recreation,
agriculture, oil exploration
and forestry)?

4.1.4.4- In what was does X

the Royal Tyrell Museum
contribute to scienti c
knowledge regarding
Alberta’s fossil heritage?

4.1.4.5 - How can X

ownership of a discovered
artifact be determined?

4.1.4.6 - Whose X
responsibility should it be
to ensure the preservation
of national parks,
provincial parks and
protected areas in Alberta?
Summative Assessment Plan:

Performance Tasks:

National and Provincial Park Brochure

Due: ________________

The Government of Alberta has reached out to you to create a brochure for one of their
national or provincial parks! Using the outline provided, complete the project on one of the
following parks:

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National:
- Ban National Park

- Elk Island National Park

- Jasper National Park

- Waterton Lakes National Park

- Wood Bu alo National Park

Provincial:
- Canmore Nordic Centre

- Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park

- Kananaskis Country

- Lakeland Provincial Park

- Lesser Slave Lake Provincial Park

- William A Switzer Provincial Park

- Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park

Your brochure should include:

- The contact information for the park including : phone number, website link, mailing address,
Facebook link, and Twitter link.

- Several pictures of the park (Make sure you replace all of the images on the outline)

- Full sentence written answers to the following questions (There will be designated spots on
the outline of the brochure for you to put your answers):

- Why is this a National Park?

- How does this park help people feel connected to the land?

- What can I do for fun at this park? Camping? Sports? Why would you suggest people visit
the park?

- How does the park continue to protect Alberta’s natural environment?

- How does the local community bene t from the park?

Use the outline provided below to get started:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/
1cGs6SCCkqbsbAYXo79OxUrp2zxAy0UZ7cgsj35N0Y3I/edit#slide=id.g4d511b5c9_00

National and Provincial Park Brochure : Rubric

Criteria Excellent Pro cient Satisfactory N/A
3 Points 2 Points 1 Point

The brochure The brochure The brochure The brochure

communicates communicates communicates communicates
relevant relevant irrelevant irrelevant
Ideas/ Research information information information, or information, and
appropriately and appropriately to communicates communicates
effectively to the the intended inappropriately to inappropriately to
intended audience. the intended the intended
audience. audience. audience.
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 National and Provincial Park Brochure : Rubric
Criteria Excellent Pro cient Satisfactory N/A
3 Points 2 Points 1 Point

All of the writing Most of the Some of the Most of the

is done in writing is done in writing is done in writing is not
Conventions complete complete complete done in complete
sentences.
sentences.
sentences.
sentences.

Capitalization Most of the Some of the Most of the

and punctuation capitalization and capitalization and capitalization and
are correct punctuation are punctuation are punctuation are
throughout the correct correct not correct
brochure. throughout the throughout the throughout the
brochure. brochure. brochure.
All of the images Most of the Some of the None of the
on the outline have images on the images on the images on the
Graphics been replaced with outline have been outline have been outline have been
images of the replaced with replaced with replaced with
student chosen images of the images of the images of the
park. student chosen student chosen student chosen
park. park. park.

Battle of the Regions

How do the regions of Alberta contribute to the province’s unique character and
geographic diversity?


As a class, we will be battling the regions against one another to pick the best
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 one. You will be assigned one region to research. Using a PowerPoint format, answer the
research questions seen below. 


Your research (using the textbook, your scrapbook page, or online sources) should include the
following:

1. The Land: An Introduction

Describe the land: geography and geology. What does it look like? What land features would
you nd here? (For example, hilly, rocky, layers of bedrock.) 


2. The Climate

Tell us about the climate of the region. Is it hotter or colder than the rest of Alberta? How much
does it rain?


3. Plant and Animal Life

List some (at least three each) animal and plant varieties found in your region. You may include
images. 


4. Natural Resources

What natural resources are found here? How is the land used to create energy, supplies, and
other resources? What is the environmental impact?

5. Picture this

Draw and colour your best version of the region.


6. Extra, Extra!

Include fun facts, interesting info, or anything else that you think will help convince the class
that your region is the best one!

7. Final Thoughts

Answer the following question : How does your region contribute to Alberta’s unique
character?

Once you have completed your project, you will collaborate with the other students assigned to
your region. As a group, come to a consensus and pick three reasons why your region is the
best in Alberta. You will submit these reasons to Ms. Hirsche, and they will be displayed in a
competitive bracket.

You will have a chance to cast your vote as opposing regions face o one to one. The winning
region will move on to the next bracket. The loser goes home. We will continue until one region
is left standing!

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 Battle of the Regions Rubric
Criteria Excellent Pro cient Satisfactory N/A
3 Points 2 Points 1 Point

I have critically I have effectively I have generally I have not

examined all of examined all of examined the answered any of
the research the research research the research
Ideas/ Research questions and questions and questions and questions.
(SLO’s 4.1.1, 4.1.2, provided detailed provided clear provided basic
4.1.3, 4.1.4, 4.S.7) answers. answers. answers.

I have organized I have organized I have organized I have not

my research, and my research, and my research, and organized my
Presentation presentation in presentation in a presentation in a research or
(4.S.8) an insightful, and purposeful, and adequate, and created a
engaging way.
clear way. simplistic way. presentation.

I have clearly and I have pro ciently I have I have not

persuasively and e ectively conventionally explained how my
Argument explained how my explained how my explained how my region contributes
(4.S.1, 4.S.5) region contributes region contributes region contributes to Alberta’s unique
to Alberta’s unique to Alberta’s unique to Alberta’s unique character and
character and character and character and geographic
geographic geographic geographic diversity.

diversity.
diversity.
diversity.

I did not cooperate

I worked with my I worked with my I worked with my with my group.
group group group
collaboratively to collaboratively to collaboratively to
build a consensus. build a consensus. build a consensus.
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