Études sociales: Le Canada dans la communauté mondiale 6e année immersion

This unit is based on the grade 6 Social Studies curriculum for Ontario (2013). I found the curriculum as being a little bit all over the placed and I went through great length in order to attempt to organize the curriculum in as logical and coherent of a way as I was able to. This unit has been tried and tested and has been written for the very multicultural group of students that I teach- all while keeping things relevant to Canada and lining up with the very broad curricular expectations.

I embark on this unit by doing 2 graffiti activities, and by completing a KWL chart. I then go on to do a vocabulary study with the students and to discuss some broad preliminary questions in order to get the students thinking. I felt that some basic geographical knowledge was essential in discussing world affairs, so I do begin by touching on continents, oceans, countries, capitals and longitude and latitude. I then go on to discuss Canada’s role in the global arena and to discuss some international organizations that Canada is part of. We do touch on NGO’s as well. The unit further progresses by discussing trade, our trading partners and trade organizations. It concludes with a class-wide activity touching on where our products come from, as well as some issues related to the environment.

At the end of the unit, there are weekly questions that the students are to research. These questions are taken out of the curriculum document. The package ends with two rubrics: one for the weekly questions and another for the completion of the package.

There are a lot of opportunities for students to think critically and to research. I would ensure that students know how to successfully research things before giving them this package. My classes have always been fairly independent and on the stronger side, so these types of activities are perfect for them.