Design A Fur Trading Post Project Based Learning | Paper and Digital

Keep your students engaged in learning about life in Early Canada through this Canadian Fur Trade project based learning activity. Students are hired by archeologists to scout out a location of a fictional fort from the past.

This project-based learning activity includes:

• a complete lesson plan for teachers explaining how to do the project with students.
• modifications for differentiation.
• student planning pages.
• tips for project-based learning.
• three different student checklists: so you can choose the best one for your students.
• assessment rubric.
• student examples of the map, fort (visual representation) and written portions.
• teacher background information by category for easy reference.
• student reflection page.
• a map of Canada (to help with drawing)
• suggested web links to use for reference.
• a digital version of most of the student pages to cut down on printing or make differentiation easier. You must download the PDF to access the digital link.

Students will complete this fur trade post activity by:

• creating a map showing the location of a fictional fur trading fort.
• designing a visual representation of what the fort may have looked like. This can be a drawing, diagram, diorama or even a screenshot of something created digitally. Students have made models with cardboard, building bricks and even video games.
• writing 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.

Students need to have a basic understanding of the fur trade and basic geographic knowledge of Canada in order to be successful, but this can be learned as students work on this project.

This is a very open-ended and flexible task, with a clear rubric outlining the content which is expected to be addressed. Students are kept engaged in their learning for 2-3 weeks of social studies classes. We've done this project for as long as a month.

This activity has been tested with dozens of different groups of students and is a HUGE hit. Students have designed fur trading forts that included diagrams, building blocks, video games, cardboard, and even one made of sticks and mud.

Ninja Note: This project can be done with paper and pencil. Students do not need to build dioramas or elaborate forts to be successful.

If you teach in Alberta, be aware this resource was written for the old Social Studies Program of Studies. It has not been yetreviewed or adjusted for the new Alberta social studies curriculum which is being piloted in the 2025-26 school year. To learn about how we plan to address the changes, visit our site https://brainninjas.ca/social-studies-in-alberta/

This resource aligns with:

• Alberta Program of Studies for Grade 5 Social Studies: Early Canada.

This resource supports:

• Canadian social studies lessons.
  
• learning about the fur trade.

Ninja Note: To access the digital version of this file, download the PDF and click on the access link in that file.

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