Course Title: Issues in Canadian Geography, Academic

Course Code: CGC1D

Course Type: Open

Credit Value: 1.0

Textbook: Clarke, Bruce W. “Making Connections: Issues in Canadian Geography, Third Edition”.

Published in Toronto, ON by Pearson Canada, 2015.

 

Course Description

This course examines interrelationships within and between Canada’s natural and human systems and how these systems interconnect with those in other parts of the world. Students will explore environmental, economic, and social geographic issues relating to topics such as transportation options, energy choices, and urban development. Students will apply the concepts of geographic thinking and the geographic inquiry process, including spatial technologies, to investigate various geographic issues and to develop possible approaches for making Canada a more sustainable place in which to live.

 

Unit Titles and Descriptions Time Allocated
Introduction to Canadian Geography

This unit defines geography as an academic discipline, describes the subject matter that geographers study, and identifies the tools that geographers use in their investigations. Students learn about Canada’s geography and apply geographic thinking concepts to questions relating to Canada’s size and location, the natural environment, physical landscapes, and the people that have made Canada home, including where Canadians choose to live and work.

 10 hours
Canada’s Natural Environment

This unit discusses various aspects of Canada’s natural environment, including: physical landscape and regional variation, weather and climate, Canada’s ecology, biospheres, vegetation, ecozones, and how these elements of the natural environment affect human geography, and vice versa.

 

 

 22 hours
Canada’s Economic Development

The third unit explores Canada’s natural and human resources. It examines various industries in Canada and how resources and industries contribute to the economic development of Canada. Specifically, students learn about renewable and non-renewable resources, and Canada’s various economic sectors: primary, secondary, energy, as well as the service and knowledge sectors.

 30 hours
Canada’s Changing Population

This unit provides an in-depth look at Canada’s population, including subjects such as: demography, population trends, interpreting statistics, immigration, global influences, a history of the various Aboriginal populations in Canada, settlement patterns, urbanization, and land use.

 18 hours
Livable Communities

Unit five addresses important topics such as sustainability and globalization. Students assess their own ecological footprints, as well as Canada’s footprint compared to other countries. The emphasis on sustainable food and resource practices prepares them for their final assessment project.

 20 hours
Final Assessments
Project

For their final project, students apply course concepts to analyzing a global issue collaboratively with a partner.  They will apply their research skills and consult a variety of media and literature to substantiate their claims. They will create a final media piece to present their findings (documentary, video presentation, powerpoint, prezi, etc.) This assignment is worth 15% of the student’s overall grade.

 8 hours
Exam

This is a proctored exam worth 15% of your final grade.

 2 hours
Total 110 hours

 

 

 

 

 

Overall Curriculum Expectations

A. Geographic Inquiry and Skill Development
A1 Geographic Inquiry: use the geographic inquiry process and the concepts of geographic thinking when investigating issues relating to Canadian geography
A2 Developing Transferable Skills: apply in everyday contexts skills, including spatial technology skills, developed through the investigation of Canadian geography, and identify some careers in which a background in geography might be an asset
B. Interactions in the Physical Environment
B1 The Physical Environment and Human Activities: analyse various interactions between physical processes, phenomena, and events and human activities in Canada
B2 Interrelationships between Physical Systems, Processes, and Events: analyse characteristics of various physical processes, phenomena, and events affecting Canada and their interrelationship with global physical systems
B3 The Characteristics of Canada’s Natural Environment: describe various characteristics of the natural environment and the spatial distribution of physical features in Canada, and explain the role of physical processes, phenomena, and events in shaping them
C. Managing Canada’s Resources and Industries
C1 The Sustainability of Resources: analyse impacts of resource policy, resource management, and consumer choices on resource sustainability in Canada
C2 The Development of Resources: analyse issues related to the distribution, availability, and development of natural resources in Canada from a geographic perspective
C3 Industries and Economic Development: assess the relative importance of different industrial sectors to the Canadian economy and Canada’s place in the global economy, and analyse factors that influence the location of industries in these sectors

 

 
D. Changing Populations
D1 Population Issues: analyse selected national and global population issues and their implications for Canada
D2 Immigration and Cultural Diversity: describe the diversity of Canada’s population, and assess some social, economic, political, and environmental implications of immigration and diversity for Canada
D3 Demographic Patterns and Trends: analyse patterns of population settlement and various demographic characteristics of the Canadian population
E. Livable Communities
E1 The Sustainability of Human Systems: analyse issues relating to the sustainability of human systems in Canada
E2 Impacts of Urban Growth: analyse impacts of urban growth in Canada
E3 Characteristics of Land Use in Canada: analyse characteristics of land use in various Canadian communities, and explain how some factors influence land-use patterns