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I. World Geography
Teaching Idea
Discuss with students the pros and
cons of building dams to create reservoirs. Reservoirs can provide water for
bathing, drinking, cooking, irrigating
farms, and industry. However, the construction of dams and reservoirs can
also radically change or destroy the
surrounding area by changing the
course of water, flooding land, and creating environmental problems. For
example, the Three Gorges Dam currently being constructed on the Yangtze
River in China (discussed on p. 109)
will generate electricity, improve navigation on the Yangtze, provide water for
much of China, and help create flood
control. However, the dam will also
cause over one million people to have
to relocate because their homelands
will be flooded when the reservoir is
filled. A number of archaeological sites
popular with tourists will also be flooded. In addition, there are many environmental concerns with the project,
including erosion and water pollution.
If there are any existing or proposed
dams or reservoirs in your area, have
students research the pros and cons
and discuss them.
A reservoir is a lake that forms behind a dam, made by humans to hold water
from one or more streams or rivers. Stream runoff is caught and held for release
into the water systems of communities where people use the water for bathing,
drinking, cooking, irrigating farms, and industry.
A strait is a narrow waterway that joins two larger bodies of water. The Strait
of Magellan joins the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans at the tip of South America.
C. Canada
Geographic Location
Canada is the northernmost and largest country, in area, in North America. It
is both a northern and southern neighbor of the United States. Canada lies south
of the state of Alaska and north of the 48 contiguous states. To the west, Canada
is bordered by the Pacific Ocean and Alaska, to the north by the Arctic Ocean, and
to the east by the Atlantic Ocean.
Hudson Bay is a vast body of water located about midway between the east
and west coasts of Canada. It is named for the English explorer Henry Hudson,
discussed in the American history curriculum for this grade (see pp. 170–171).
The bay dips south to form part of the boundary between Ontario and Quebec
and is joined to the Atlantic by the Hudson Strait and to the Arctic Ocean by the
Foxe Channel. Because it is so far north, the bay freezes and is not navigable for
part of the year.
Part of Canada’s more than 5,000-mile southern boundary with the United
States is formed by one of Canada’s major rivers, the St. Lawrence. This river,
along with the St. Lawrence Seaway, forms a small part of the border with the
United States from New York to the Great Lakes. Many of the earliest settlements
in what is now Canada were along the St. Lawrence, and most Canadians today
live in the southern portions of Canada, within 200 miles of the U.S. border.
The Yukon River (see p. 112) is another major Canadian river. It flows from
British Columbia through Alaska and empties into the Bering Sea between Russia
and Alaska.
The Rocky Mountains run north to south along Canada’s western coast, and
the Appalachians run down the eastern side of the country. The center of the
country is a great plain. The eastern section is part of the Laurentian Plateau, also
called the Canadian Shield.
Canada’s capital is Ottawa. The country is made up of 10 provinces and 3 territories and is a member of the British Commonwealth of Nations. The provinces,
from east to west, are Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia (meaning “New Scotland”), New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba,
Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia.
The Nunavut, Northwest, and Yukon Territories form the western section of
the country. Nunavut was created in 1999 when the former Northwest Territories
was divided into two parts. The eastern part is now known as Nunavut, which
means “our land” in Inuktitut, the official language of the native Inuit tribe.
Nunavut is home to almost 85% of the Inuit population, and the territory is
Canada’s largest, comprising almost 20% of the country.
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Native, French, and British Heritage
Teaching Idea
Today, Canada has two official languages—French and English. This is a legacy of the nation’s dual French and English heritage. Of course, before the British
and French arrived, Canada was populated by native peoples. As was the case in
what is now the United States, there were various culture groups, including the
Inuit in the far north, the Blackfoot on the Plains, the Tlingit, Tsimshian, and
Kwakiutl in the Pacific Northwest, and the Ottawa, Huron, and Iroquois in the
southeast.
In 1764, the British passed the Quebec Act, which added a large section of
territory—south to the Ohio River and west to the Mississippi—to Quebec. The
Act also allowed the French colonists to keep their laws while being governed by
British officials and to continue practicing their Roman Catholic religion. By
rejecting the claims of Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Virginia to parts of the
new province, and by recognizing local laws, the Quebec Act stirred up more
anger against the British government among the British colonists to the south.
BERING
SEA
ARCTIC
OCEAN
Yellowknife
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atc
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wa
n
Churchill
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HUDSON
BAY
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Manitoba
Quebec
Ontario
Calgary
EN
Regina
Winnipeg
UNITED STATES
GREAT
LAKES
LA
U
R
500 Miles
0
500 Kilometers
St. John’s
M
O Québec
Montreal
Toronto
Prince
Edward
Island
U
Ottawa
0
ATLANTIC
OCEAN
Newfoundland
TI
A
IN N
S
Vancouver
E
W
Alberta
Boundary of
Provinces
N
Nunavut
CANADA
Copyright ©Core Knowledge Foundation
Northwest
Territories
TA
Yukon
British
Columbia
N
Whitehorse
n R.
.
PACIFIC
OCEAN
Boundary of
Countries
Yuko
eR
Alaska
(U.S.)
S
The heart of French culture in Canada is the province of Quebec. The original settlement, also named Quebec and founded by Samuel de Champlain (see p.
170), is the oldest permanent community in Canada. The province is home to a
large number of Québécois [kay-bay-KWAH], people proud of their FrenchCanadian culture and institutions. In 1995, a Quebec political party succeeded in
placing a referendum on the ballot in favor of seceding from English-speaking
Canada. It lost in a close vote, and in 1998, Canada’s high court declared that
Quebec could not secede regardless of the outcome of any future vote.
Use the map to answer the questions.
AIN
Canada was ruled directly by the British until 1867, when the Dominion
of Canada was established under the North America Act. Canada became selfgoverning at that time, although its foreign and military policies were set by the
British government. In 1931, Canada became an independent country and a
member of the British Commonwealth of Nations. The British monarch, represented by a governor-general, is the symbolic ruler of Canada, but the real power
is vested in an elected prime minister and parliament, made up of a Senate and a
House of Commons.
Date
Map of Canada
ROCKY MOUNT
Canada was colder than the more southerly English colonies. New
France did not attract colonists. Instead it attracted adventurers who trapped
furs and traded with the Indians. In 1763, as a result of their defeat in the
French and Indian War, the French ceded Canada to the British. During the
Revolutionary War, many American colonists who sided with the British
moved to Canada, which did not rebel against British rule.
Name
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The English explored the coast of Canada in the late 1400s (see Cabot in
Section II of American History and Geography, pp. 169–170) but did not
establish colonies immediately. The French were the first to colonize Canada,
establishing a settlement at Quebec in 1608. (See Champlain in Section II of
American History and Geography, p. 170.) But, unlike the English, French
colonists were slow to come for a variety of reasons.
Distribute Instructional Masters 17a
and 17b, Map of Canada. Have students
use their rulers and the map scale to
measure distances between various
points on their map of Canada.
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Nova Scotia
Purpose: To develop map-reading skills and to read and interpret a map of Canada
Master 17a
Grade 3: History & Geography
Use Instructional Masters 17a and 17b.
Teaching Idea
Have students place their map of
Canada near the top of their desks
and then place a blank sheet of paper
so that the top edge of it touches the
bottom edge of the map of Canada.
Have students sketch in the United
States on the blank sheet. Have them
draw in the continuation of the Rocky
Mountains and the Appalachian
Mountains and label them. Have students label the Great Plains in the
United States as a continuation of the
plains in Canada. If possible, have
students draw the outline of the
United States from memory.
Both the United States and Canada share a diverse cultural heritage. Like
Canada, the United States was first inhabited by native peoples. Explorers and
colonists from Britain and other European countries settled the land. Over the
History and Geography: World
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I. World Geography
Teaching Idea
In teaching about the search for the
Northwest Passage in American
History and Geography Section II (see
pp. 169–171), relate the strong French
influence in modern Canada to the
European interest in finding a northern
route to the Indies.
Teaching Idea
Go to the library to begin some
research. Have students find books on
Canada—specifically, on the major
cities. Compare and contrast the major
cities of Canada with major cities in
the United States. How are they similar? How are they different?
Teaching Idea
Make overheads of Instructional
Masters 18 and 19, Rivers of the
Eastern Hemisphere and Rivers of the
Western Hemisphere, and use them to
orient students to the location of each
world river.
Name
years, a more diverse group of immigrants from all over the world came to the
United States. The native customs and the cultural influence of the immigrants
combined to form a “melting pot,” or a blend of many different ideas, beliefs, and
characteristics that is uniquely American.
Major Cities: Montreal, Quebec, and Toronto
When the province of Quebec made French its official language in 1974, a
number of English-speaking companies and workers left the province, and its
cities, like Quebec, suffered economically. Tourism is a major business today,
however, and Quebec City remains a center for the manufacture of textiles and
clothing. The city, situated on the St. Lawrence River, is also a busy port and the
capital of Quebec province.
Montreal is the largest city in Quebec and the second largest in all of Canada.
It was founded as a mission for Native Americans where the St. Lawrence and the
Ottawa Rivers meet. It is the second-largest French-speaking city in the world.
Today, it is the home of McGill University and of industries such as oil refining,
meatpacking, plastics, and publishing. Montreal is also an important inland port.
Toronto, the largest Canadian city, is the capital of Ontario and the leading
commercial and cultural center of the predominantly English-speaking provinces.
Built on the northern shore of Lake Ontario, Toronto is a busy port. Its industries
include publishing, meatpacking, food processing, and clothing manufacturing.
D. Important Rivers of the World
The source of a river is the point where it begins—often in highland areas.
The source of the Mississippi River is Lake Itasca, Minnesota, 1,463 feet above sea
level. One of the sources of the Nile River is the Luvironza River above Lake
Victoria (Victoria Nyanza) in Burundi. The Nile itself begins as water exits Lake
Victoria near Ripon Falls.
The mouth of a river is the point where it empties into a larger body of water.
The mouth of the Amazon River empties into the Atlantic Ocean. Note also the
term estuary, which is where the fresh water of a river meets the salt water of
the sea.
Date
Rivers of the Eastern Hemisphere
Study the map. Use it to answer the questions below.
A tributary is a river that flows into another river. The Mississippi River has
more than 250 tributaries. Its main tributaries are the Missouri and Ohio Rivers.
ARCTIC
OCEAN
Ob River
Volga River
NORTH
SEA
Rhine R.
A drainage basin is the area through which a major river and its tributaries (a
river system) flow. The Amazon River has hundreds of tributaries, and together
the river system drains 40% of South America, most of it through rainforest. The
Mississippi River basin is some 1.2 million square miles of fertile farmland that
stretches from the Appalachians to the Rockies.
ASIA
EUROPE
Danube R.
Yellow (Huang He) R.
CASPIAN
SEA
ng) R.
sR
.
BLACK
SEA
Indu
MEDITERRANEAN
SEA
Ganges R.
tze
Yang
(Ch’a
YELLOW
SEA
Nile R.
AFRICA
ARABIAN
SEA
Niger R.
GULF OF
GUINEA
EAST CHINA
SEA
Bay of
Bengal
PACIFIC
OCEAN
Congo River
INDIAN
OCEAN
ATLANTIC
OCEAN
AUSTRALIA
ing
S
0
0
1000 Miles
1000 Kilometers
1. Which African river flows north and empties into the Mediterranean Sea?
the Nile River
2. Where are the Darling River and the Murray River located?
in Australia
Purpose: To read and interpret a map featuring rivers of the Eastern Hemisphere
Master 18
Asian Rivers
Murray R.
Grade 3: History & Geography
Use Instructional Master 18.
Copyright ©Core Knowledge Foundation
E
W
R.
rl
Da
N
Ob River
Origin: Russia (Siberia)
Empties Into: Estuary on the Arctic Ocean
Important Facts:
• World’s fourth-longest river
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