Have your students use their creative, critical and historical thinking skills to learn about life in Early Canada as people migrated west and colonized the prairies in this low prep task. Students take on the role of documentarian reporting on the life of a family as they live on a homestead on the Canadian prairies.
This project-based learning task includes:
a complete lesson plan for teachers to help complete the project with students.
quick modifications for differentiation and flexibility.
conceptual learning activity about the challenges of living on the prairies during the westward expansion.
student planning pages.
tips for project-based learning
three differentiated student task checklists.
background information about prairie life for teachers.
assessment rubrics.
student examples of the map, visual representation and written portions..
student reflection pages.
a blank Alberta map.
suggested web links to use for reference.
In this task students will:
create a map of the location
develop a visual representation of what the homestead looks like.
write a report outlining the family's move to starting a homestead. They will describe nearby towns and Indigenous People nearby, access to water, how and what they will build, potential animals or crops that can be raised and explain the chores and responsibilities of the family.
Students need to have a basic understanding of the basic geographic knowledge of prairies in order to be successful. Having an understanding of the basic homestead life will help.
This activity has been tested with eight different groups of grade four students and is a HUGE hit. Students have made homesteads that included diagrams, Lego®, Minecraft®, cardboard and even one made of sticks and moss.
If you teach in Alberta, be aware this resource was written for the old Social Studies Program of Studies. It has not been reviewed or adjusted for the new Alberta social studies curriculum which is being piloted in the 2024-25 school year. To learn about how we plan to address the changes, visit our site https://brainninjas.ca/social-studies-in-alberta/
This task aligns with:
the Alberta Program of Studies for Grade 4 Social Studies
Canadian Studies Lessons on westward expansion.
Ninja Note:This file is a PDF and requires printing for students to use the student pages. Printing the entire file is not required.
