Social Studies Research Projects
May 2015
Grade 5 Presentation Topics
Partners
The Fur Trade
Rebecca Andrew & Olivia Smith
Trading Places
Elise Ericsson & Charlotte Hay
Pierre Radisson and Médard Chouart Des Groseilliers
Cameron Jones & Gavin O'Regan
Jacques Cartier
Evan Meagher & Matthew Speranzini
Les Filles du Roi – The King’s Daughters
Charlotte Barnett & Jordyn Head
Huronia
Darcy D’Souza & Wyatt Fryer-Wilson
Samuel de Champlain & the First Nation Wars
Aidan Jackson & Nick Ripley

Each student had the opportunity to choose their own topic from the period in Canadian history before 1713.
Below, you will find the detailed outline for each of the grade 5 social studies projects.
Although the success criteria applies to all projects, I have given some background and context to each of the
groups as well as some questions to guide their inquiry.
If, in the course of your research, you find yourself wondering and asking other questions related to your
topic, by all means pursue that line of inquiry.
Just keep in mind that our overall goal for each of these topics is to;
 analyse some consequences of interactions among and between First Nations and European explorers


and settlers in New France prior to 1713
investigate aspects of the interactions among and between First Nations and Europeans in Canada prior
to 1713 from the perspectives of the various groups involved
describe significant features of and interactions between some of the main communities in Canada
prior to 1713, with a particular focus on First Nations and New France
(The Ontario Curriculum, Social Studies, 2013)


The Fur Trade
Rebecca Andrew & Olivia Smith
When the European fishing crews came in contact with the local First Nations people,
began to trade or barter. The Aboriginal people were especially interested in the sharp
metal knives and iron kettles that they saw the Europeans using. The Aboriginal people
traded furs in exchange for European items. The fishing crews soon realized that, back
home in Europe, furs were more valuable than fish. The beaver was nearing extinction
in Europe and the price of furs had risen there. But beaver was plentiful in North
America. The French saw a chance to make a lot of money. They realized that they
could obtain a plentiful supply of beaver pelts from Aboriginal trappers in Canada. The fur trade soon became the main
reason for Europeans to cross the Atlantic to North America.
Three Main Contributors to the Fur Trade
There were three main groups taking part in the fur trade in New France; the First Nations, the merchants, and the
coureurs de bois.
First Nations men hunted and trapped the fur bearing animals. The women skinned the animals and prepared the
pelts. In the spring, when the ice melted, the men and women loaded their bark canoes with furs and paddled down
the ricers to the trading posts where they bartered the furs for goods.
Merchants financed and organized the trade. They purchased trading foods in Europe and shipped them to Canada.
Then they shipped furs back to Europe for sale.
Coureurs de bois were the French traders who paddled into the wilderness to trade for furs with the First Nations.
The phrase coureurs de bois means “runner of the woods.” The earliest coureurs de bois were sent by Samuel de
Champlain to live among the First Nations, learning their hunting and canoeing skills. Sometimes they married First
Nations women and became part of the communities learning to speak First Nations languages.
Guiding Questions and Prompts
1. Why were some young French settlers attracted to the Aboriginal way of life? Would you also find the way of
life of a coureur de bois attractive?
2. Why would some people object to the coureurs de bois?
3. What do you think the coureurs de bois contributed to New France?
4. At the end of the fur trade era, the beaver almost became extinct because of over-trapping. Find out want
rules apply to the trapping of the beaver today. What animals are presently on the endangered species list?
5. Why is the beaver recognized as an emblem of Canada?
6. Why was the beaver so important in Canada’s early history?
7. How did the quest for beaver help to open up this country?
8. Why do you think the First Nations trappers wanted the items they obtained in trade? How do you think each
item changed the way of life of the Frist Nations peoples?
Project Possibilities
Role-play an answer to this question - Who should control New France – the fur traders or the settlers? Why?
Imagine you are one of the following people in New France.







a farmer
a fur merchant
a coureur de bois
an Ursuline nun
a Huron trader
a Jesuit priest

Trading Places – Brûlé and Savignon
Elise Ericsson & Charlotte Hay
Étienne Brûlé was one of the first coureurs de bois in New France. In 1610, when Brûlé was only 17
years old, he begged Samuel de Champlain to allow him to go and live among the Wendat. In
exchange, a Wendat boy named Savignon went on a trip to France with Champlain.
In France, Savignon learned to speak French but he was not happy there and was relieved to return to
North America the next year. When he told the other Wendat about some of the things he had seen –
a clock, for example, and a wagon pulled by six horses – they did not believe such things existed.
Meanwhile, Brûlé was asked to find out more about the Huron or Wendat: the areas where they lived,
their language, and their customs. Any information he could learn would be vitally important to the
French.
Brûlé faced danger and death many times but eventually, the Wendat turned against Brûlé. No one knows why. In the
summer of 1633, he was killed by the people with whom he had lived for years. His death is shrouded in mystery.
Guiding Questions
1. Why do you think the Wendat welcomed Brûlé into their homes?
2. Why did the French send young Aboriginals such as Savignon to France?
3. What role did Brûlé and the other coureurs de bois play in the fur trade?
4. What characteristics and traits made Brûlé a trailblazer?
5. What would other people in the colony, for example, fur merchants, the habitants, Champlain, the king of
France, and the Wendat (Huron) think about Brûlé?
6. Why do you think Brûlé was eventually rejected by his First Nations community?
7. Why would Brûlé have been important to Champlain?

Pierre Radisson and Médard Chouart Des Groseilliers
Cameron Jones & Gavin O'Regan
Two of the most adventurous coureurs de bois were Pierre Radisson and his brother-in-law, Médard Chouart Des Groseilliers.
With the help of the First Nations, they travelled widely, even reaching the far end of Lake Superior where no European had
ever been before. In 1660, Radisson and Des Groseilliers reported that they had travelled to Hudson Bay, where they found
the country rich with furs. Ten years later, as a result of the reports of these two explorers, British merchants created a furtrading business called the Hudson’s Bay Company. They would not have been able to make their journey without the
permission and the help of their First Nations guides.
Guiding Questions & Prompts
1. Because Radisson and Des Groseilliers helped the British to develop their trading posts, they were considered French
traitors.
2. Describe the differences between the Hudson’s Bay Company’s trading methods and those of the fur traders from
New France. Why would these differences be important in the conflicts between the two countries?
3. Why would the presence of British traders on Hudson Bay be a threat to the colony of New France?
4. What might a British newspaper have said about the issue?
5. Both France and Britain have a lot at stake. What do you think each country will do to preserve its interests?
6. What advice would you give each country about how to resolve these differences?
Look for the painting, Radisson & Groseilliers by Frederic Remington, 1905
1.
2.
Why do you think Radisson is standing up and not paddling?
Why do you think the canoe is often seen as an important symbol of Canada?
Project Possibilities
Travel Trunk
Create a Travel Trunk that illustrates the travels, adventures and trading interactions of your explorer.
Dramatic Monologue
In the character of Radisson & Groseilliers, tell the class the story of your explorations, where you travelled, who you met, and an
important event that changed your life. Take into account, historical accuracy, conflict that may have resulted from the event, and
how you feel.

Jacques Cartier
Evan Meagher & Matthew Speranzini
Cartier set out with two little ships on April 20, 1534. After lasting 20 days, his crew
reached Newfoundland. They skirted the shores of Newfoundland, surveying the
coastline. His first contact with Aboriginal people was probably the Montagnais,
also known as the Innu, on the Labrador coast.
Cartier then turned west and began to search for the passage to Asia. He explored
many straits and inlets. On July 3, 1534, the ships entered Chaleur Bay. The
expedition landed at Gaspe. From there, the ships sailed north and east around the
eastern end of Anticosti Island. Twice Cartier missed the entrance to the St.
Lawrence River because he thought the inlet led to a land mass. He thought that
Anticosti Island was a peninsula. This great river would have taken him into the
interior of North America. However, since winter was coming, the two little ships
had to return to France.
Cartier made three trips to Canada altogether. Among his accomplishments were; exploring the St. Lawrence River
which allowed France claim the lands that would become Canada, mapping and describing the St. Lawrence River,
starting a colony, and establishing the L’Ordre de Bon Temps (The Order of Good Cheer) to keep the settlers’ spirits
up.
Guiding Questions & Prompts
1. Why would people leave their homeland in the early 1600’s and set out for Canada?
2. What kind of preparations would you have to make before a journey to Canada in the early 1600’s?
3. Why do people move to Canada from other countries today?
4. Why were the Europeans looking for a shorter route from Europe to Asia? What were the advantages of finding
this route?
5. List the reasons why each of Jacques Cartier’s voyages was important.
6. Explain how European fishing trips to the east coast eventually led to the development of the fur trade.
Project Possibilities
Imagine you are one of Donnacona’s sons. Cartier had brought you back to France. Describe how you feel and what
you will do.
Imagine you are the king of France. Make a list of questions you would ask Donnacona’s sons.
With a partner; role-play the first meeting between the king and Donnacona’s


Les Filles du Roi – The King’s Daughters
Charlotte Barnett & Jordyn Head
Very few French women were interested in going to the colony; it was far from home and life
was harsh. The colony needed women to marry the single men so that families could form and
the population could grow. The government came up with a plan. Between 1665 and 1673,
about 900 single women and girls were sent to New France to become wives. Some of the
women were orphans, and others were poor. They came looking for a better life. If they
married, the king promised to give each couple a purse of money and some animals to start a
farm. The women were known as the filles du roi – the “king’s daughters.”
Guiding Questions and Prompts
1. How would an increase in population help the colony to become stronger?
2. Imagine you are young women arriving in New France as filles du roi. How would you feel being picked as a
wife for someone you had never seen before?
3. Imagine you are an unmarried man in New France. Talon is pressuring you to marry. How would you feel
about marrying someone you just met for the first time?

Samuel de Champlain & the First Nation Wars
Aidan Jackson & Nick Ripley
When Samuel de Champlain returned to New France in 1608, he built a settlement along the St. Lawrence. Champlain
chose the same site near Stadacona that Cartier had occupied in 1535. Since Cartier’s visit, the Iroquois of Stadacona
and Hochelaga had mysteriously disappeared.
An unpopulated area lay between two opposing groups: the Iroquois of present-day New York and the Algonquin of
the Ottawa River Valley. Here, Champlain started to build the first permanent settlement along the St. Lawrence. He
called it Kebec (Quebec) which means “Where the river narrows” in Algonquin.
Champlain built alliances with the Innu and Algonquin First Nations to the north and east , and with the Wendat Huron
to the west (now central Ontario).
In 1609, Champlain’s Aboriginal friends requested his help. The Algonquin, a few Wendat (Huron), and the Innu
(Montagnais) asked him to join them in an attack on their enemies, the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois). They were testing
Champlain’s friendship. Champlain and two French settlers paddled south in to Haudenosaunee territory with about 60
of their allies and helped them win victory.
This is the beginning of Champlain’s involvement in the affairs between the allied Algonquin, Wendat (Huron), and
Innu (Montagnais) and their bitter enemies, the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois).
*Note – the Wendat were the main providers of furs to the French. They not only trapped furs themselves, they also collected them
from other First Nations societies to bring back to the French traders. This brought them in to conflict between the Haudenosaunee,
who were the main suppliers of furs to the English and Dutch colonies to the south.
Guiding Questions & Prompts
1. Why did certain Fist Nations peoples want to make alliances with the French? What did they stand to gain from
such alliances?
2. From Champlain’s point of view, what benefits do you think came from his alliances with the First Nations
peoples?
3. What dangers did his policy of creating alliances create for the colony?
Helpful Websites
http://huroniamuseum.com/
http://www.saintemarieamongthehurons.on.ca/sm/en/Home/index.htm
http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/home/
http://www.historymuseum.ca/home
Presentation Possibilities
Based on what you know about Champlain, make a list of words that would describe what kind of person he was. Create a role-play.
When portraying Champlain, think about his character traits and point of view. When portraying a First Nations person, think about
their perspective. Base your role-play on the events related to the wars between the Wendat and Haudenosaunee.


Huronia
Darcy D’Souza & Wyatt Fryer-Wilson
Huronia was the name given to the entire area where the Huron people lived. Between 1639 and 1649, the Jesuits
built permanent mission churches and schools in Huronia.
The Huron people were farmers and traders. Their alliance with the French had brought them new materials and tools,
but it had also brought them into contact with many European diseases, especially smallpox and measles. From 1634
to 1640, more than 12 000 Huron – nearly half of the population - died of these diseases.
The disease problem compounded hostilities between the Huron and the Iroquois. In the late 1640’s, the Iroquois
attacked fur brigades of the French and the Huron. The Iroquois traded with the Dutch, who supplied them with guns.
The French did not supply their allies, the Huron, with many guns because the laws in New France forbade it. The
French supplied guns only to those Huron who had converted to Catholicism. Consequently, the Huron, who were
already weakened by disease, were at a double disadvantage compared to the Iroquois.
In 1648 to 1649, the Iroquois began attacking and destroying Huron settlements. By 1649, only the mission of SainteMarie was left.
Guiding Questions and Prompts
1. What happened to bring an end to Huronia?
2. How did interaction between the French and the Huron change both groups?
3. In 1649, most of the Huron villages were destroyed by the Iroquois. Where did the Huron escape to?
4. Are there any Huron descendants left today? If so, what are they doing to revive their language and culture?
Helpful Websites
http://huroniamuseum.com/
http://www.saintemarieamongthehurons.on.ca/sm/en/Home/index.htm
http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/home/
http://www.historymuseum.ca/home
Presentation Possibilities
Do a role-play incorporating the perspectives of the Huron and the Iroquois.
