Natural resources research project

Overview

Students will learn to locate and access data relating Canada's primary industries to their ecozones.

Where computers can be made available, students may practise electronic research and electronic document creation.

Students will create a report on how Canada's natural resources are connected to their ecozones. This report may be in the form of a newspaper article for regional media.

Objectives

• To make the connection between an ecozone and its primary resource industry
• To integrate the use of technology into the curriculum by
  • producing graphs and charts using computer programs (Excel, ClarisWorks); and
  • accessing the Canada Year Book 1999 on CD-ROM and using other online resources

Suggested grade levels and subject areas

Secondary
Geography, Social Science, Science, Economics, World Issues

Duration

Grade 9, 10 – minimum of two 75-minute periods for research and class work. Senior or more advanced students could do the work independently where CD-ROM access or multiple copies of the print version are available.

Materials

• Canada Year Book 1999
  Print version: copies of Chapter 1 (The Land) and Chapter 10 (Primary Industries)
  CD-ROM version: go to The Environment > The Land The Economy > Primary Industries
• grid paper, lined paper and pencils for each student
• computer software for electronic calculations (ClarisWorks Spreadsheet, Excel, etc.)
• computer software for word processing
• Internet access for all students
• Student worksheet

Resources

• Canada Year Book 1999 on CD-ROM, preferably networked
• Statistics Canada website
• Natural Resources Canada website
• National Atlas of Canada website
• Canadian Newspapers Association
• Sources suggested in print version of the Canada Year Book 1999 pp. 21, 55, 351

Classroom instructions

1. If this activity is used as a follow-up to "Introduction to Canada's ecozones level 1 activity," have students work independently to apply their knowledge of the ecozones to discover where Canada's natural resources exist and how they are utilized.
2. If this activity is not used with the "Introduction to Canada's ecozones level 1 activity," introduce or review the concept of ecozones and assign ecozone(s) and primary resource industries to students or groups of students.
3. Distribute materials from the list for each research individual or group.
4. Have students complete Student worksheet.

Evaluation

Natural or primary resource industries include

• Agriculture (Central Plains, Mixedwood Plains, Montane Cordillera, Mixedwood Plains)
• Fishing and Trapping (Atlantic and Pacific Maritime, Mixedwood Plains, Boreal Plains)
• Forestry and Logging (Pacific Maritime, Boreal Plains, The Shield)
• Mining (Taiga Shield, Taiga Plains, Hudson Plains, Boreal and Montane Cordilleras, Boreal Plains)
• Petroleum and Natural Gas (Arctic Ecozones, Boreal Plains)
• Water (Hudson Plains, Pacific Maritime)

Problems of environmental impact include

• Resource depletion (overfishing, clear-cutting, etc.)
• Pollution (air, water, land)
• Land and vegetation changes (habitat destruction, open-pit mining, forest fires, etc.)

The index to the print version is useful for drawing together the material on each resource industry. For example,

Agriculture

Farming

Fishing

Forestry

Mining

Natural resources

Natural gas

Primary industry

Trapping

In the Canada Year Book 1999 CD-ROM, the Tables Index to Section 1, Chapter 2 provides additional material for the teacher to use as a guide to the impact of resource industries on the environment.

Refer to

• areas seeded and planted with seedlings
• carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel combustion
• consumption of energy commodities
• registered motor vehicles
• consumption and recovery of paper, aluminum and glass.

The Canada Year Book 1999 CD-ROM Supplemental Texts to Chapter 10 include many articles about alternative energy sources, agricultural trends, and new sources of fossil fuels.

Please e-mail comments or examples of how you used this exercise in your class.