Overview
Students identify and describe Canada’s economic, political, social, and physical links with
the United States and other regions of the world. They use a variety of inquiry methods
and research tools to investigate the importance of international connections for Canada’s
well-being and influence in the world. Students identify current international issues that
concern Canada, and describe Canada’s response to them.
Overall Expectations
By the end of Grade 6, students will:
• identify and describe Canada’s economic, political, social, and physical links with the
United States and other regions of the world;
• use a variety of resources and tools to gather, process, and communicate information about
the domestic and international effects of Canada’s links with the United States and other
areas of the world;
• explain the relevance to Canada of current global issues and influences.
Specific Expectations
Knowledge and Understanding
By the end of Grade 6, students will:
– identify some countries with which Canada has links– describe some of the connections Canada
shares with the rest of the world– identify products that Canada imports and exports (e.g.,
imports: fruit, vegetables,chemicals, motor vehicles; exports: newsprint, grain, machinery, timber, telecommunications, natural gas);
– identify the countries to which Canada exports goods (e.g., the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, China, Germany);
– identify the countries from which Canada imports goods (e.g., the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom,Germany, other European countries,Taiwan, South Korea, Mexico);
– identify some important international organizations/agreements in which Canada participates and describe their purpose (e.g., the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the North American Free Trade Agreement, the World Health Organization, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization,
the Commonwealth of Nations, la Francophonie, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation [APEC] association);
– describe distinguishing characteristics of a country in another region with which Canada has links (e.g., climate, physical features, political system, economic activities, international influence, celebrations).
Inquiry/Research and Communication Skills
By the end of Grade 6, students will:
– use a variety of primary and secondary sources to locate and process relevant information about Canada’s links with the world (e.g.,
primary sources: statistics, field trips, interviews, original documents; secondary sources: maps, illustrations, print materials, videos, CD-ROMs, Internet
sites);
– use and construct a variety of graphic organizers and graphs to sort, classify, connect, and interpret information
;– observing bibliographic conventions, use media works, oral presentations, written descriptions, illustrations, tables, charts, maps, and graphs to communicate main ideas, with supporting evidence, about the various regions of the United States and about one other country from another
region of the world;
– use appropriate vocabulary