Alberta Social Studies Systms Unit | Paper and Digital

Use this unit to teach all out the reasons and impacts of the fur trade and confederation so you can be ready to teach in minutes. This unit has all our systems social studies activities, projects, and complete lessons. Stop searching for resources for the new Alberta social studies curriculum. We've done everything for you.

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This unit designed for Alberta teachers includes:

• lesson plans with step-by-step instructions and options for modifications.
• instructions for how to use our activities with and without technology so you can be flexible for your students and classroom environment.
• instructions for printing student workbooks while still offering differentiated options.
• detailed outlines of each activity with a list of materials along with a centralized list and reminders in each section of the lesson plan.
• optional Teacher Slides to support instruction and content delivery. You can choose to teach with or without them.
• vocabulary list with phonetic pronunciations and definitions to help support your students.
• “I can” statements written in student-friendly language so students can self-assess their learning.
• student pages and templates.
• answer keys and suggested answers.
• photos of student examples.
• activities to support learning content specific vocabulary.
• background information for teachers so you don't need to be an expert.
• simple assessments like quizzes. Rubrics are included for teachers to use for marking projects.
• ideas for how to use this resource in the classroom, online, or a mix.
• digital versions of all the student reading and writing pages that use Google Slides. You must download the PDF files and use the access links in the files to get your digital copies.
• an alignment guide for Alberta Outcomes in each resource broken down by lesson and activity.
  

The unit includes additional bonus materials:

• a unit plan to assist with sequencing.
• a list of Alberta Social Studies outcomes to help with planning.
• a list of materials outlined for each activity.
• vocabulary support materials: word wall words, glossary pages, definition worksheets, digital flashcards, word with with phonetic pronunciations and definitions.
• extra assessments to assess student learning of the whole unit.

These resources are included in this unit:

• Fur Trade Drama Circle: how the fur trade started; competition between the Hudson’s Bay Company and North West Company; the importance of beaver pelts; different roles within the fur trade including voyageurs, coureurs de bois, women, trappers, First Nations and Métis; different buildings in trading posts; impacts of the fur trade on the development of Canada
• Design a Fur Trade Project Based Learning (Best seller!): A project where students will create a map showing the location of a fictional fur trading fort, design a visual representation of what the fort may have looked like, write a detailed report about daily life in the fort, including weather conditions, defense strategies, trade routes and goods, natural resources in the area, a plan to transport furs back to Europe, Indigenous People who may have lived (or still live) in the area.
• The Fur Trade in Canada: reasons for the fur trade including why the beaver was the most desired pelt; competing companies: Hudson’s Bay Company and North West Company; voyageurs and coureurs de bois; roles of women in the fur trade including the Filles du Roi and Indigenous Women; contributions of the first nations and Métis people; trade activities to demonstrate how trading posts worked; life at a fur trading post including different roles, challenges and opportunities for the people who lived and worked in them; buildings found in trading posts; lasting impacts for Canada from the fur trade.
• Confederation in Canada: Rupert’s Land (and how it contributed to more land in Canada); problems in the colonies: trade, economy, distance, railway, currency, laws, expansionism of the United States; reasons for and against joining Confederation; the process and purposes of the Charlottetown Conference, Quebec Conference, and London Conference; French and English perspectives; introduction to the Parliamentary system: Member of Parliament, Prime Minister, Governor General, Sovereign; changes in government then and now; importance of The BNA Act, Also known as the Constitutional Act of 1867; original members of Confederation: Province of Canada (Ontario, Quebec), Nova Scotia, New Brunswick; a general timeline of Confederation including when all the other provinces and territories joined
• Confederation Drama Circle: issues in the colonies leading to Confederation: trade, defence, economic factors, railway, government, protection of French language and culture, expansionism of the USA; Fathers of Confederation: Macdonald, Cartier; Charlottetown Conference, Quebec Conference, London Conference; passing of The BNA Act; terms of The BNA Act: joining of Province of Canada (Ontario, Quebec), Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, parliamentary system, constitution, agreement for future colonies; basic information for the other provinces and territories joining Confederation; lasting impacts of Confederation
• Confederation Collaborative Poster: a collaborative poster with the dates for each province and territory's joining into Confederation.

Ninja Note: If you teach in Alberta, this resource has been written for the new social studies curriculum. Learn more about how we're writing and adjusting resources for the new curriculum. https://brainninjas.ca/social-studies-in-alberta/

This activity aligns with:

• the Alberta Social Studies Curriculum Grade 4 ©2025
  

This activity supports:

• the reasons and impacts of the fur trade in Canada
• the reasons and impacts of Confederation
• early Canada
• Canadian history

Looking for more social studies for Alberta teachers? Our unit plans include extra vocabulary supports and assessments.

• Time and Place Unit for Alberta Social Studies Grade 4 
• Systems Unit for Alberta Social Studies Grade 4
• Citizenship Unit for Alberta Social Studies Grade 4 COMING SOON!

COMING SOON! Our Grade 4 Social Studies Full Year is here!

Ninja Note: This file is a ZIP file. It requires downloading and extracting before opening the individual PDF files. Each resource contains the digital links and instructions for using the file. 

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