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Age: Grade(s) 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
Subjects: Geography, History, Language Arts, Social Studies
Skills: mapping, reporting, research, small group work
Duration: 15 minutes class time plus 60 minutes or more of research
Group Size: one to four people
Setting: indoors
Keywords: park, protected area, system, wildlife reserve, values

Related Links

Method

Students do Web-based research to complete a quiz by matching the descriptions of 13 Canadian protected areas to the province or territory where they are found.

Materials

quiz, Internet access, Activity 4 Worksheet (PDF)

Background

The protected areas featured in this quiz represent a broad range of human and wildlife values and cover every Canadian province and territory. The quiz includes different types of protected areas, such as UNESCO biosphere reserves, national parks, provincial and territorial parks, and privately protected areas.

Most protected areas do not stand alone but are part of protected-area systems that safeguard certain values over a larger landscape. All but one of the protected areas featured here is part of a greater system. In Part 2 of the activity, students look into one of the systems of protected areas and the values it protects.

Procedure

Part 1

  1. Set the stage: Ask students if they have visited or know special areas that are officially protected. Use local examples, if available, to discuss special places society has decided to protect such as parks and wildlife reserves. Discuss why each area should be protected and what organization runs it. Give examples of organizations that manage systems of protected areas. (Consult "Protected Places of Canada" for information.)
  2. Have students work in groups of two to four. Hand out the quiz and give them time to research the systems and match the answers.
  3. Take up answers and discuss. Which protected areas are national parks? Which are internationally protected? Which are provincially or territorially protected? Which are privately protected? Which are protected by an environmental non-governmental organization?

Part 2

  1. Have students research and report on one type of system from the examples given in the quiz. They should be able to name the organization, list values the organization protects, name other protected areas this organization has in its system, and create a map of the protected areas in the system.
  2. Have students present their projects.
  3. Discuss why protected areas are best organized in systems.

Answers to Canada’s Special Places Quiz

  1. Alberta
  2. Nunavut
  3. Ontario
  4. Prince Edward Island
  5. Saskatchewan,
  6. Nova Scotia
  7. Manitoba
  8. Quebec
  9. North West Territories and Alberta
  10. New Brunswick
  11. British Columbia
  12. Newfoundland and Labrador
  13. Yukon

Extensions

Research and create maps of other local, regional, provincial, territorial, or national protected places with symbols representing the types of activities or wildlife values they are known for. Create a map of protected areas in your community, and produce a "Guide to Community Parks and Protected Areas," complete with a key to the leisure activities available. Create a virtual tour of local protected areas with a slide show presentation.

Evaluation

Students should be able to name and describe a local protected area, match protected areas from a list to the province or territory where they’re found, give examples of special places that are protected at different levels, and describe why protected areas are organized in systems.

Festival Follow-up
Students can display their illustrated maps of community, provincial, territorial, or national protected areas, or present festival-goers with virtual tours through slide shows.

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