Socially-based Curriculum Unit

The social, environmental, and urban development issues covered in this unit, developed for CGC1D (Canadian Geography, Grade 9), allow students to gain an appreciation of how local and regional geographic issues can affect Canada’s natural and human systems. Students are also given the opportunity to demonstrate geographic inquiry results through interaction and debate. A combination of multimedia education, debate, and hands-on learning promotes understanding for students with diverse learning styles.

The unit begins with a multimedia powerpoint lesson outlining the different types of urban land use that we find in cities, such as Mississauga. With this background information, students are then encouraged to work together to think about possible land use conflicts that may arise when different types of land use (i.e. industrial and residential) are located in close proximity to one another.

To emphasize the importance of natural space in our local environment, students spend the third lesson visiting a preserved woodlot near our school. While there, students take responsibility as environmental stewards by cleaning up the woodlot. At the end of the cleanup, we discuss the importance of the woodlot in our community.

For the fourth and fifth lesson of this unit, students return to the classroom and are assigned roles representing local interest groups. The unit concludes with a town hall discussion about whether or not the woodlot should be cut down and replaced by more residential development where students represent "Local Residents", “Environmentalists", "Local Business Owners" and "Property Developers".