Kids' Activities

Jane Lind presents ...

A Child's Story of Canada

Written and illustrated by Karin Moorhouse

Theme: Canada's History, Ages 7 to 10

A Child's Story of Canada

This book begins with the first Canadians and takes the story of Canada through to the end of the eighteenth century and the formation of the Yukon as a Canadian territory. The format is somewhat like an encyclopedia in that each page or two has a new heading and each entry is complete in itself. Examples of headings: Buffalo Hunters; Vikings; Alexander Mackenzie Crosses Canada; The Yukon and the Northwest Territories.

Each spread, made up of a page of text and a black and white line drawing, tells one small, separate segment of Canada's story in the different parts of the vast country. Altogether, the reader gains a sense of the whole which makes up the country's early history.

The technique the author uses works well for young readers--they can absorb one or two pages at a time, with each spread being complete in itself and they can dip into the book for the parts they want without having to read the entire volume in sequence. This book is an excellent resource for the classroom.

Materials

A long roll of paper or sheets of paper and tape
Drawing materials
Tacks
Poster paints

Projects

1. Let the children create a time line to tell the story of Canada's history. Tack or tape a length of paper to the wall and divide it into time periods by centuries or into smaller blocks of time suitable to your students. Using the events from the book, the children can record the lives of the people and the events in history of Canada.

2. As a border above or below the time line, let the children draw or paint appropriate illustrations in the form of symbols for the history they have recorded.

3. On the opposite side of the room, tack or tape another large sheet of paper at least one metre by two metres. Let the children sketch in the shape of a large map of Canada, and then draw in the symbols they developed for the time line in the places where the historical events occurred.

from the
Theme Catalogue and Teaching Guide for Children's Books
written for Penumbra Press by Jane Lind
© Jane Lind

All contents © Penumbra Press and Northward Journal Communications Limited
1 King Ave E. PO Box 20011, Newcastle, Ontario, Canada, L1B 1M3

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