Page 79 - THE ONTARIO CURRICULUM, GRADES 9 AND 10 | Canadian and World Studies

B3. The Characteristics of Canada’s Natural Environment
FOCUS ON: Spatial Significance; Patterns and Trends
By the end of this course, students will:
B3.1 explain how various characteristics of Canada’s natural environment (e.g., landforms, such as mountains and hills; drainage basins; bodies of water) can be used to divide the country into different physical regions
Sample question: “What determines whether a certain area can be considered a physical region?”
Using spatial skills: Students can identify regional boundaries and develop their under- standing of regional characteristics by using overlays of various thematic maps, such as those showing physical features, types of vegetation, and climate patterns. Features on large-scale maps of a community can be related to regional features by using successively smaller-scale maps. A waterway flowing through a municipality, for example, can be identified in this way as part of a watershed within a larger drainage basin. Cross-sectional profiles can be used to illustrate differences
in elevation between regions. Climate graphs can be used to compare temperature and precipitation differences between regions.
B3.2 explain how geological, hydrological, and climatic processes formed and continue to shape Canada’s landscape (e.g., folding and faulting formed and continue to shape Canada’s western mountains; glacial recession left scoured landscape in Ontario’s north and fertile landscape in the south and shaped the Great Lakes drainage system; winds continue to change landform features in the badlands of Alberta)
Sample questions: “How have climatic processes influenced the physical features of the area in which you live? What evidence illustrates that climatic processes are continuing to affect the landscape?” “How do the climatic characteristics of Canada’s prairie region influence the types of vegetation within the region?” “How do the rock types in different regions of Canada affect the topography of the Canadian landscape?” “How did glaciation affect drainage, soil quality, and vegetation in the Canadian Shield as compared to in the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Lowlands and/or the Hudson Bay Lowlands?”
Using spatial skills: Students can identify areas of potential erosion by layering maps showing the location of waterways with maps showing elevation. A tectonic boundary map can be used to determine where a potential for mountain building or other tectonic activity exists.
INTERACTIONS IN THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
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Issues in Canadian Geography
CGC1D