Social Studies Grade Three

Module 2: Activity Guide

Communities around the world

Use a globe and other resources to find various countries and regions on the earth. Identify the oceans and continents, mountains, hills, islands, lakes, rivers, and plains. Find examples of each on the world map. In pairs, peruse atlases and other resources to find pictures of each. Share favourite pictures with the class.

Conduct an ongoing study of the world map throughout the year, using current events to provide a source of places to locate.

Have students look for maps in different places like newspapers and magazines. Make a collection of the maps students bring and use them throughout the year.

Continue the "journey" theme of the grade three curriculum, using a variety of resources to explore places all over the world. Structure activities based upon student interest which develop understandings about their world.

Do activities that will increase the students' knowledge of world geography, for example:

• compile a list of place names they hear throughout the year, and use an atlas to locate these places;
• collect stamps and/or postcards;
• collect news stories;
• collect environmental projects from around the world.

Oral Tradition in Saskatchewn and Abidjan communities

The griots, a group of poet- musicians, used to sing and pass on the oral African literature. When the Europeans imposed writing, this practice came to an end. The griots, over the generations, passed on the history and genealogy of the African people by word of mouth.

All over the world, before writing was introduced and many people learned to read and write, passing along information and stories was done orally. Explain to the students that a similar method of transmitting information took place in their community.

Although when many people learned to read and write, they tended to place little value on the oral tradition. However, this is changing. People are again learning the value the rich stories and different kinds of information available through the oral tradition.

Language

Explore with students the importance of language to culture and identity. Learn words from other languages. Use the community as a resource. Make a collection of ways of saying Grandmother and Grandfather, please, thank you, hello, good-bye, how are you, numbers, and the days of the week in another language. Learn songs or chants from other languages. Learn about an alphabet which is structurally different. Learn about nonverbal methods of communication.

Language in Saskatchewan and Abidjan communities

A community is unique because of its culture and its language. Language is acquired by learning and exposure.

The official language of the Ivory Coast is French. Like the rest of Africa, Ivory Coast has many ethnic groups spread throughout the country. Each group has its own language, religion, habits, and customs. Some of the languages spoken are "Dan", "Attie", and "Kulango". These people speak their language when they are in small groups, but speak French for official business. Abidjan reflects this situation.

In Saskatchewan, English is the official language of the province (April 25, 1988). Like in Ivory Coast, each community has grown with its distinct culture and language. In some communities German, Ukrainian and French are spoken in small groups, but English is used for official communication. Is your community following that tradition?

Bring to class a fairy tale written in French. Show the students the pictures and ask them to identify the tale. What clues helped the students?

• Show the students a video of the Three Bears in French (available through NFB). After showing the video, talk about the story. How long before they could identify it? Explain to the students that pupils attending French schools speak French and that they are taught in French.
• Have students listen to a French radio station (CBC) at home. Students may recognize some familiar songs that were translated into French.
• Learn a French song.
• Watch part of a children's television show. Ask the students to tell you what is the main idea. How did they arrive at that conclusion?
• Visit a French Immersion school with your students. Plan an exchange and an outing with the class.

A proverb is a short saying in common use that expresses some form of truth or familiar experience. Many proverbs come from Latin and were translated without being modified. When we say Dura lex, sed lex, we say in French, "La loi est dure, mais c'est la loi", and in English, "The law is the law".

We cannot translate every proverb or saying in the same manner. The saying in English, "A little bird told me," is translated in French, "Mon petit doigt me l'a dit," which translates to, "My little finger told me".

Choose some expressions in English and ask students to explain their meaning. In the expression, "It's raining cats and dogs," or "This is cool," the students could use their imagination for drawing the picture.

Here are some French expressions with their literal meaning followed by the English equivalent. Students could draw these pictures and then guess the meaning in English.

• "Se mettre le doigt dans l'oeil" - To put one's finger in his/her eye - "To have another thing coming."

• "Sans tambour ni trompette" - Without drum and trumpet - "Without any fuss."

• "Couper les cheveux en quatre" - To cut one's hair in four - "To split hairs."

• "Vendre la peau de l'ours avant de l'avoir tué" - To sell the bear's skin before killing it - "To count one's chickens before they are hatched"

• "Avoir du pain sur la planche" - To have bread on the board - "To have a lot to do"

• Donner sa langue au chat" - To give one's tongue to the cat - "To give up"

It could be useful to include the parents with this unit. Ask the parents to help out with an African dish. Divide the class into small groups and with the help of the parents, prepare the following meal from Côte d'Ivoire.

Kedjenou (Chicken and Vegetables)
Serves 8 persons

Ingredients

• 2 chickens, cut into pieces
• 3 large onions, chopped
• 6 ripe tomatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 piece of ginger root, peeled
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed
• 1 bay leaf
• salt
• hot red pepper

Place the chicken, onion, tomatoes, ginger, garlic and bay leaf in a heavy casserole. Add salt and pepper. Then cover with a thick, tight-fitting lid that will not let any steam escape. Put the casserole on medium high heat. When the ingredients start to simmer, turn the heat down to medium low. Remove the casserole from the heat and without removing the lid, shake the casserole well to stir up the contents, so that it cooks evenly. Repeat this procedure every 5 minutes for 35-40 minutes. Place the contents of the casserole on a warm platter and serve with rice.

Abidjan, a French speaking community

The students may compare their community in Saskatchewan with an African community. Abidjan is a metropolis located in Ivory Coast, on the West Coast of Africa.

Before talking about Abidjan itself, it might be necessary to compare the two countries in which the two communities are situated.

• Enlarge World Map. This map shows Canada and Ivory Coast (shaded).
  • Compare the size of Ivory Coast and Canada as shown on the map.
• Give the students copies of the other two maps. These maps represent North America and Africa.
  • Looking at the maps, point out the name of the continents.
  • Compare the size of the continents. Africa is bigger than North America.
  • Again, point out that Canada has a greater area than Ivory Coast.

Show the students a very large rubber ball. Tell them that this ball represents the size of Canada. Show them a very small ball. Point out that the small ball represents the size of the Ivory Coast. Compare the two countries.

Enlarge the map of Canada and Ivory Coast. Cut out the outline of Canada and Ivory Coast. Photocopy copies of the map of Ivory Coast. Ask the students to cut out the outline of Ivory Coast and to paste the outlines on the map of Canada. They will realize the difference in sizes of the two countries. With the students, compare the two countries.

Use two plastic pails of different sizes (one large and one very small). First, ask the students to fill the small pail with coloured water (use food colouring). Second, ask the students to empty the small pail into the large one. Repeat the first step until the large pail is completely filled up. Make sure that the students count the number of pails it took to fill up the large pail. Ask the students to tell you what happened when they filled up the pails. (Took more water, took longer). Compare the pails to the countries. Canada is about 31 times bigger than Ivory Coast.

Instead of using water, styrofoam packing might be used or any other materials less messy!

The next step could be the comparison of Saskatchewan and Ivory Coast. The area of Saskatchewan is roughly twice the size of Ivory Coast. The population of Ivory Coast is 11 times greater than Saskatchewan:

• population - Ivory Coast 11 200 000 - Saskatchewan 1 000 000

• area of Ivory Coast - 323 463 km2 Saskatchewan - 651 900 km2

• more room to move in the larger circle;
• less room to move in the small circle;
• less people in the small circle;
• more people could fit in the larger circle;

• modern metropolis;
• located near the water, Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean;
• has an important harbour (seaport);
• population of 1 850 000;
• used to be the capital of the country;
• official language is French;
• it has an important industrial area;
• a university is located there;
• is a progressive city;
• has a tropical climate;
• 20% of the population lives there;
• it has the only museum of the country;
• the city has many canals;
• it has the only ice- skating rink on the African continent;
• remains the capital for administrative purposes.

• Abidjan is a large city. Compare that city to your community:
  • What are some of the services that your community shares with Abidjan? List them on the board and discuss these points with the students.
  • Do the same with the services that may not have been mentioned.
• Abidjan is a port city. Talk about the advantages, such as:
  • easy access to transportation;
  • industries located there;
  • the importance of water transportation;
  • all year transportation;
  • tourist area, beaches, etc.
• Comparison with your community:
  • mainly land transportation;
  • fewer industries;
  • weather plays a role in attracting tourists;
  • cold winters cause problems for transportation;

Guide students in planning a celebration in this unit. Celebrations may take the form of one or a combination of the following:

• choose one Indigenous group and build a celebration around one of their traditional celebrations; or
• plan a celebration taking elements from many cultures and including food, dance, and regalia in the celebration.

While it is important to recognize the cultures of the students represented in your classroom and school, students can also use cultural celebrations to develop understandings about people in other communities in the world. Use a variety of resources including print, non-print, and human. Has anyone on the staff or in the community attended a celebration? Could immigrants speak about celebrations in their cultures? Choose celebrations that reflect the students' interests. Learning experiences should be as experiential as possible.

Celebrations and holidays selected may include:

• Spring Celebrations

• Winter Festivals

The tea boiling event has several variations. In one community the contestants are given one log and one match. They must use an axe to chop up the log. Of course they will have to use the axe to shave some splinters off the log because they need kindling to light the fire. They then boil water on their fire and make tea. They use mint gathered in the woods in northern Saskatchewan. These days they also put a tea bag in with the mint leaves. Traditionally the tea was made only with leaves gathered in the wild.

Another event is the choosing of the best buckskin outfit. The outfits are decorated with beadwork, furs, bells, and sequins.

Anyone can compete for points. The woman and man who collect the most points become the King and Queen of the winter festival.

Bannock is served.

Have a celebration of light. Learn about light festivals in various cultures. Explore light through various art forms. Integrate with a study in science about light.

Guide students to learn about Winter Festivals in northern Saskatchewan. Compare these winter festivals to the winter festival in your community or school. What events are the same? What events are different?

Learn how to do a jig. Jigging was and is a dance enjoyed by the Métis peoples. It came from their French, Scottish, and Irish ancestors, and was easily assimilated into the new Métis culture that is developing.

Learn about Treaty Days, pow wows, Indigenous Games, and other Indian and Métis celebrations.

Learn about New Year's Celebrations in Asian countries such as Korea, China, Hong Kong, and Vietnam. Compare them to New Year's Celebrations in Canada.

Guide students to connect holidays with certain dates during the year. Some holidays fall on the same day each year, for example, Christmas is always on December 25th. Other holidays are determined by factors such as the phases of the moon. The date of Easter changes every year because it is celebrated on the Sunday closest to the first full moon after the spring equinox. Have the students use a calendar with the phases of the moon marked to determine the dates of Diwali, Chinese New Year, and Easter.

Compare celebrations identifying similarities such as:

• cleaning and decorating;
• buying new clothes;
• exchanging greetings;
• giving presents;
• cooking special foods; and
• attending parties.

Use resources such as Come Dance With Me to develop empathy and understanding of issues such as discrimination.

Suggested Resources
(listed in other bibliographies and catalogues)

Bringing the Rain to the Kapiti Plain Verna Aardema (ELA) - Nandi people of Kenya

Resources - children around the world

Children Of The World (MHP, series, p. 3)
Costa Rica (MHP, V8430)
Families of the World: The Americas and the Caribbean Helene Tremblay (Gr.6 SS)
How My Parents Learned to Eat Ina Friedman (ELA)
Kuumba: Simon's New Sound (MHP, V8322)
Matchbox Menagerie (MHP, V5052)
Paka'a (MHP, V2218)