Social Studies 4
Environment

Prescribed Learning Outcomes

It is expected that students will:

• locate and map world continents and oceans using simple grids, scales, and legends
• demonstrate understanding of Aboriginal people's relationship with the land and natural resources
• demonstrate awareness of Aboriginal place names
• identify and compare physical environments and cultures of various BC Aboriginal groups
• analyse how people interact with their environment, in the past and in the present

To view the prescribed learning outcomes for Environment in other grades click on an icon below.

• Ask groups of students to research BC Aboriginal cultures and their physical environment. Then ask them to work individually to organize their research information in chart form using the headings Geography, Food, Shelter, and Art. Have students create maps of the environments using simple grids, scales, and legends. Debrief by asking: How are these cultures similar and different?
• Read a story by an Aboriginal author that describes Aboriginal people's relationship with their environment. Have students web, sketch, or write poems reflecting their understanding of this relationship.
• Give students a description of an environment and ask them to determine how to meet their basic needs within that environment. Ask students to indicate how meeting their needs changes the environment and to explore the impact of these changes. Challenge them to predict consequences that can occur when people's needs are not met.
• Have students identify Aboriginal place names on a map of British Columbia and select one to research. Ask them to research their choices and determine reasons for the names. Invite an Aboriginal resource person to provide a literal translation of local place names.
• Ask each student to choose a natural resource and organize information on a chart under the headings Past and Present. Ensure that students describe harvesting techniques, means of processing and using the resources, and the people involved.
• Provide students with case studies of two BC communities: one dependent on fishing and one dependent on mining. Ask students to research and report on ways these communities influence and are influenced by their environments (e.g., extraction processes, fish shortages). Remind them to include historical and Aboriginal perspectives.

Suggested Assessment Strategies

• Provide students with outline maps of the world and ask them to label the continents and oceans. Develop assessment criteria with students, such as:
  • names all continents and oceans accurately, including correct spelling
  • prints neatly and legibly, with names centred on each feature where possible
  • uses arrows to accurately indicate location if a name cannot be placed on a feature
  • includes a legend where appropriate
• When students use charts and maps to show what they have learned about BC Aboriginal cultures and their physical environments, look for evidence that they are able to:
  • make connections between geography and the other features
  • use simple mapping skills to represent an environment
  • make generalizations about the effects of specific geographic features (e.g., climate, landforms, resources) on food, shelter, and art
  • draw conclusions about the relationship between Aboriginal people and the land and natural resources
• When students determine how to meet their basic needs within a specific environment and predict what happens when people's needs are not met, assess the extent to which they:
  • identify basic needs
  • outline a logical way to meet each need
  • describe the effects of each action on the environment
  • estimate the length of time the environment will be able to sustain the actions identified
  • predict the consequences of not meeting people's needs