Industry, Land Use, and the Environment
Grades 3-5
Social Studies
Created by Siobhan Prow
Brought to you by the Canadian Industrial Heritage Centre
Overview and Purpose
This lesson considers a broad view of Brantford’s history, emphasizing its industrial history and the environmental effects of industrialization. Utilizing simple maps which reflect the changing landscape, students can see how Brantford developed from a settler village to an industrial city, to a city of brownfields, and finally, a city of hope for the future. Themes such as community, challenges of settlement, how our needs/wants directly impact the land, and environmental issues are discussed in this lesson. Students end by making their own maps of the city, thinking about the future needs and wants of the community and improving the environment.
Education Standards
Due to the broad spectrum of this lesson, it is applicable to the Social Science curriculum for Grades 3, 4, and 5. The teacher may adapt the slides or notes to focus on specific elements if they so wish. For Grade 3 Strand A, the slide regarding early Brantford history is most applicable, but the other slides tell a unique story about Brantford regarding Strand B. For Grade 4, the consideration of the 1900s and present, regarding how industry and human needs have affected the environment is important to Strand B. Finally, for Grade 5, looking at the future plans of Brantford, the government’s role in remediating the spoiled land, and the need for community involvement is a priority of Strand B.
Objectives
1. Become familiar with the history of Brantford
2. Reflect on humans’ needs and wants and the effect these have on the land
3. Consider the cause and reaction of the past and the community needs of the present and future
4. Practice basic map skills
Materials
1. Slideshow presentation
2. Template or blank sheets of paper
3. Drawing materials
a. Pencils, pens, pencil crayons, markers, etc.
Activity
· Draw a map of the future of Brantford
- Template provided if desired
- Make sure to include
- The Grand river
- Any important buildings or neighbourhoods to you
- Maybe your house or your school
- Places for people to live
- Places for people to work
- Transportation
- Evidence of the improved environment
· Eco-friendly forms of transportation, green spaces, clean river
- Will there be
- Factories?
- Farmland?
- Forests?
Curriculum Connections:
Social Studies
Strand A. Heritage and Identity: Communities in Canada, 1780–1850 Grade 3
A1. compare ways of life among some specific groups in Canada around the beginning of the nineteenth century, and describe some of the changes between that era and the present day
A2. use the social studies inquiry process to investigate some of the major challenges that different groups and communities faced in Canada from around 1780 to 1850, and key measures taken to address these challenges
Strand B. People and Environments: Living and Working in Ontario
B1. demonstrate an understanding of some key aspects of the interrelationship between the natural environment, land use, employment opportunities, and the development of municipal regions in Ontario
B2. use the social studies inquiry process to investigate some of the environmental effects of different types of land and/ or resource use in Ontario municipal regions, as well as some of the measures taken to reduce the negative impact of that use
B3. describe major landform regions and types of land use in Ontario and some of the ways in which land use in various Ontario municipalities addresses human needs and wants, including the need for jobs
B: People and Environments: Political and Physical Regions of Canada Grade 4
B1. Assess some key ways in which industrial development and the natural environment affect each other in two or more political and/or physical regions of Canada
B2. use the social studies inquiry process to investigate some issues and challenges associated with balancing human needs/wants and activities with environmental stewardship in one or more of the political and/or physical regions of Canada
B3. identify Canada’s political and physical regions, and describe their main characteristics and some significant activities that take place in them
B. People and Environments: The Role of Government and Responsible Citizenship Grade 5
B1. assess responses of governments in Canada, including First Nations, Métis, and Inuit governments, to some significant issues, and develop plans of action for governments and citizens to address social and environmental issues
B2. use the social studies inquiry process to investigate Canadian social and/or environmental issues from various perspectives, including those of Indigenous peoples as well as of the level (or levels) of government responsible for addressing the issues
B3. demonstrate an understanding of the roles and key responsibilities of citizens and of the different levels of government in Canada, including First Nations, Métis, and Inuit governments
Downloadable Resources
References
The Canadian Industrial Heritage Centre, 2022