USES OF WATER: PAST AND PRESENTNUNAVUT - ELEMENTARY

Uses of Water: Past and Present

Lesson Overview:

The lesson investigates the uses of water by the Inuit over time and the changes experienced due to the settlement of communities and the retention/alteration of traditional values.

Grade Level:

Grades 1-3 (Elementary)

Time Required:

30–60 minutes

Curriculum Connection (Province and course):

Nunavut Inuuqatigitt - page 98

Link to Canadian National Geography Standards:

Essential Element #1: The World in Spatial Terms

  • Local and provincial maps and atlases
  • Description of places, what’s old and what’s new

Oceans Scope & Sequence Standard #1: The World in Spatial Terms

  • Location of nearby bodies of water and watersheds
  • Location of major world oceans, seas, and gulfs

Essential Element #3: Physical Systems

  • Basic components of Earth’s physical systems

Oceans Scope & Sequence Standard #3: Physical Systems

  • Relationship of rivers, estuaries and oceans and the concept of watersheds

Essential Element #4: Human Systems

  • Patterns of land use and economic activity in the community
  • Human settlement patterns

Oceans Scope & Sequence Standard #4 Human Systems

  • The role of oceans in the migrations of human populations, trade and human settlement patterns
  • Traits of various sea-going groups

Essential Element #5: Environment and Society

  • Physical environment influences human activity

Geographic Skill #1: Asking Geographic Questions

  • Where is it located?

Geographic Skill #5: Answering Geographic Questions

  • Use methods of geographic inquiry to acquire geographic information, draw conclusions and make generalizations

Additional Resources, Materials and Equipment Required:

  • Black Line Master map of Nunavut
  • Atlases
  • Local volunteers to visit the classroom
  • Chart paper
  • Student Activity Sheet (if applicable), equipment such as overhead projectors
  • Highlighters or coloured pencils
  • Large political map and/or globe depicting Nunavut and its 28 communities.

Main Objective:

The goal of the lesson is to have the students recognize and compare the past and current role of water in Inuit life.

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:

  • Read and label a map of Nunavut while highlighting important sources of water.
  • Understand that water has been important to the survival of the Inuit.
  • Understand that some traditions continue in their lives today.
  • Compare life of the past to modern facilities in their own homes

The Lesson:

Teacher Activity / Student Activity
Introduction / Show the class the “Oceans for Life” pamphlet and have the students brainstorm how water systems play a role in human settlement patterns and culture.
Discuss with the class the uses of water in everyday life.
Guide students to think about life long ago for their parents, grandparents and older and what water was used for. Instruct the students to work through questions 1 and 2.
Introduce a map of Nunavut to the students and point out how the territory’s 28 communities are located mostly on water.
Instruct students to work through questions 3 and 4.
Indicate to the students that an elder has been invited to the class to speak on the past and present uses of water by the Inuit.
Instruct the students to work through questions 5 on the worksheet. / Students respond to brainstorming session.
Students work through question 1 and 2 on the Student Worksheet
Students work through questions 3 and 4.
Students work through question 5.
Lesson Development / Invite local elders into the classroom to explain traditional life and the uses of water.
Elder makes class presentation.
Make note on chart paper for students to refer back to after the visit. / Students listen and ask questions to the elder/s that they wrote on question 5 on their worksheet.
Conclusion / Review with the students the information and answers given by the elders.
Revisit the map of Nunavut and discuss the new information.
Instruct students to work though questions 6 to 8. / Students discuss the new information they have learned with the class.
Students work through questions 6 to 8.

Lesson Extension:

Pose these topics as a brainstorming session or a research project:

  • How did the seasons affect the Inuit’s uses of water?
  • How does water affect traditional aspects of life such as hunting?
  • What is the difference between fresh water and salt water sources?

Assessment of Student Learning:

  • Evaluate the student worksheet
  • Observe students as they ask questions and interact with the elders.
  • Evaluate follow-up assignment

Further Reading:

Inuuqaitigiit: pages 96-103

Student Worksheet

Inuit Uses of Water: Past and Present

Carefully follow the instructions given by your teacher and answer all questions.

  1. How do you use water in everyday life?

______

  1. How do you think people, such as the Inuit, used water in the past? Consider these questions:
  • How was water collected?
  • How did the seasons affect the uses of water?
  • How were waterways used as transportation routes?
  1. On the map provided of Nunavut, locate and indicate the 28 communities found in the territory. Use an atlas as reference. The 28 communities are:

Arctic Bay ArviatBathurst Inlet Cambridge Bay Cape Dorset Chesterfield Inlet Clyde River Coral Harbour Gjoa Haven Grise Fjord Hall Beach Igloolik Iqaluit Kimmirut Kugaaruk Kugluktuk Nanisivik Pangnirtung Pond Inlet Qikiqtarjuaq Rankin Inlet Repulse Bay Resolute Bay Sanikiluaq Taloyoak Umimmaktuuq Whale Cove Baker Lake

  1. Why do you think that most of Nunavut’s communities are situated near or on water? Provide three reasons.

______

  1. You will have the pleasure of having an elder from our community visit our classroom to talk about the traditional ways of Inuit life and the uses of water.

In the spaces below, please write three questions that we can ask him/her in regards to traditional uses of water by the Inuit:

  • Question 1:
  • Question 2:
  • Question 3:
  1. Now that we have thanked the elder for his/her visit and have learned much (and your teacher has recorded the elder’s teachings on chart paper for the class to review), answer the three questions you asked above.
  • Answer 1:
  • Answer 2:
  • Answer 3:
  1. Write two statements that contrast Inuit uses of water in the past and today.

______

  1. On your map of Nunavut that you have located and indicated the 28 communities on, highlight or trace Hudson Bay and other major sources of water that have and continue to be used by the Inuit.

Canadian Council for Geographic Education (1

Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society