Process

With the background knowledge you've gained by watching the video The Geography of Canada, you are ready to begin the serious work of finding out about the province or territory you will be working on.

Before you go off on your own, we need to review the note taking template that will guide you as you compile your information. The template was created as a PowerPoint file but I am giving each team a printout of the template to write down your notes as you complete your research.


The other item we should look at together is the rubric. I will be using to evaluate your  completed project. Click on the Evaluation link in the side navigation. You should print this out to remind yourself of the project requirements.

Now, it's time to get organized! We need to begin by creating a work folder on your computer where you will store all of your files. Name the folder with your class name and your and your partner's name (example: 4M Mariah and Sean) You will be saving all of the images you collect, your weather graph and your PowerPoint file to the work folder.

Unless there are any remaining questions, it's time to begin the webquest!

Compile Your Information

 

Important note: As you compile your information, be sure to write down the name of the site where you got your information, including images.

Slide 1 ~ Title Slide

Your first slide will be your title slide. It must include the following information about your province or territory:

  1. its name
  2. a picture of its flag: you can get this at http://www.inglewoodcarecentre.com/history/flagsarms.htm
  3. a picture of its flower: you can get this at http://members.shaw.ca/kcic1/flowers.html
  4. a picture of its coat of arms: you can get this at http://www.inglewoodcarecentre.com/history/provincecoatarms.htm
  5. your and your partner's names
Save each image to your work folder for later use.

Slide 2 ~ When to go

Your second slide will focus on the weather of your province or territory. You must create a graph in Excel and import it into PowerPoint. The graph must include the average temperature for each month in the capital city. You should also include your thoughts about the best time to travel to your province. Include a weather-related image that will help persuade me to visit.

To find the average temperature for your capital city, visit the following website: Canadian Climate Norms. Enter your capital city's name in the search box and click  search. When you see the name of your city, click on the link to view the weather chart. The very first row gives you the average daily temperature by month. Write down the data in your notes. You might also look at the data for precipitation and snowfall to decide when the best time to visit really is. Consider including this information in your slide as well.

Slide 3 - What to do

What special events or holidays are celebrated in your province? Create a list of events that you think might be interesting to attend. Indicate on your list whether they are national holidays or provincial holidays. The website Answer.com has a list, be sure to scroll down!

This slide should include:

  1. A list of six events (at least 2 provincial)
  2. Some indication that the event is national or provincial 

Slide 4 ~ What to see

Where should I visit? Are there important historical landmarks or national parks that I should see? What can I do when I'm there? Convince me with pictures of three places to visit and a short description of each. Find images at Trail Canada.com website. Remember to save your images in your work folder! You may also need to visit the The Canadian Encyclopedia to find information for your descriptions.

This slide should include:

  1. Three places to visit with short descriptions of each (2 sentences)
  2. Three images to correspond with each place 

Slide 5 ~ What to know

What languages are spoken in your province/territory? What's the economy like? Is it easy to get around? How can I get the news? The Canadian Encyclopedia should help.

This slide should include:

  1. a list of languages spoken (look in Population, communications or education)
  2. major industries in the economy (look in Economy)
  3. The major newspaper for the region (look in Transportation and Communications)
Slide 5 ~ Who's in charge

Is the government the same as in the United States? Who are the political leaders in the province?

This slide should include:

  1. the levels of government
  2. the name of the current provincial leader
  3. an image related to the provincial government
Slide 6 ~ Summary

In this final slide, you should include your final sales pitch on why I should come visit your province or territory. Is it for the beautiful landscapes? the wildlife? the exciting cities? to experience a different language and culture?

What this slide includes is up to you but it should make a final case for visiting!

An additional site that you may want to check out is Come Explore Canada. 


Creating Your Presentation

All of our research is complete. Our images are assembled, our graph is created. It's time to enter all of our data into PowerPoint. We will take up to three class periods to enter this data. The final class will be spent reviewing the rubric to be sure you have included all that is required and that your presentation has all of the finishing touches you feel it needs to convince me to visit your province.

Making Your Pitch

Our oral presentations can begin. Each team will be given up to 5 minutes to open their presentation on the SmartBoard or Projector and present their product. I will be grading your presentations based on the rubric. Remember, you should be energetic, persuasive and thorough. Good Luck!