Grade by Grade
B. People and Environments · Political and Physical Regions of Canada

Political and Physical Regions of Canada: Unit Review

B1 B1.3 B2 B2.1 B2.2 B2.3 B2.4 B2.5 B2.6 B3 B3.6About 40 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can name and locate Canada's provinces, territories and capitals.
  • I can describe Canada's physical regions and how the land connects to people's work.
  • I can explain how industry and the environment affect each other and how people act sustainably.
  • I can compare quality of life across regions and carry out an inquiry.

Words to know

political region
An area with borders made by people and its own government.
physical region
An area where the natural environment is alike.
natural resource
Something from nature that people use.
sustainable
Meeting our needs today while leaving enough for the future.
quality of life
How good life is for people in a place.
inquiry
An investigation that starts with a question.

Let's review!

In this unit you travelled across Canada. You learned the 13 provinces and territories and their capital cities, sharpened your map skills, explored eight physical regions from the Cordillera to the Innuitian Mountains, and met First Nations, Métis and Inuit who live in every region today. You connected the land to natural resources and industries, looked at how industry and the environment affect each other, compared quality of life across regions, and carried out an inquiry like a real geographer.

This review has a few questions from every lesson. Try each one, then press Show answer to check. If a part feels tricky, go back to that lesson.

13provinces andterritories13capitalcities8physicalregions3oceans touchCanada
Canada by the numbers, from this unit: 13 provinces and territories, each with a capital, 8 physical regions, and 3 oceans (Pacific, Arctic, Atlantic).
Land andclimateNaturalresourcesIndustriesand jobsQualityof lifeExample: flat land + fertile soil → wheat → farming jobs→ a strong farm community (but drought is a challenge)
The big idea of the unit as a chain: the land and climate give a region its resources, resources create industries and jobs, and all of these shape quality of life.

Canada's Provinces and Territories

1

How many provinces and territories does Canada have?

2

Name the three Prairie provinces, west to east.

3

Which ocean is on Canada's west coast?

4

Is Nunavut a province or a territory? What does its name mean?

Capital Cities Across Canada

1

What is the capital of Saskatchewan?

2

Whitehorse is the capital of which territory?

3

What is the capital of Newfoundland and Labrador?

4

Is the capital always the biggest city? Give an example.

Map Skills: Political, Physical and Thematic Maps

1

Which kind of map shows elevation, mountains and rivers?

2

A scale says 1 cm = 100 km. Two cities are 7 cm apart. How far is that?

3

What direction is halfway between south and west?

Canada's Physical Regions: The Big Picture

1

What is a physical region?

2

What is the difference between weather and climate?

3

Which region has old, worn-down, rounded mountains?

Just for fun

Riddle: I have 10 provinces, 3 territories, 3 oceans and 8 physical regions, but I fit in your backpack. What am I?

An atlas of Canada!

The West: The Cordillera and the Interior Plains

1

Why does the coast of British Columbia have huge trees?

2

Name two industries of the Interior Plains.

3

Which Indigenous people has its homeland in the Prairies, with its own language, Michif?

The Canadian Shield and the Hudson Bay Lowlands

1

How did glaciers shape the Canadian Shield?

2

What is muskeg?

3

Why is the Shield good for mining but not farming?

The East: The Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Lowlands and the Appalachian Region

1

About how many Canadians live in the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Lowlands?

2

What is the St. Lawrence Seaway?

3

Name one First Nation of the Atlantic provinces.

The North: The Arctic Lowlands and the Innuitian Mountains

1

What is permafrost?

2

Why don't trees grow on the tundra?

3

Name the four regions of Inuit Nunangat.

Natural Resources and Industries Across Canada

1

Is natural gas renewable or non-renewable?

2

Is a sawmill primary, secondary or tertiary?

3

Sort: farmer, nurse, car factory.

Industry and the Environment: Finding a Balance

1

Give one way industry affects the environment and one way the environment affects industry.

2

What happened to the cod off Newfoundland and Labrador?

3

Name one sustainable action by an industry and one by a citizen.

Quality of Life in Canada's Regions

1

What is quality of life?

2

Give one challenge of living in a remote northern community.

3

Give one opportunity of living in a big city.

Be a Geographer: Balancing Human Needs and Environmental Stewardship

1

Name the six steps of the inquiry process.

2

Is a survey you did yourself a primary or secondary source?

3

In a survey of 30 people, 18 chose one answer. Is that more or less than half?

How to use this review

  • Do the review in two or three short sittings. Each section matches one lesson.
  • Keep a map of Canada nearby. Pointing to places while answering helps memory.
  • For "why" questions, ask your child to connect land, climate and resources to what people do: "The land is ___, so people ___."
  • After each answer, ask "How do you know?"
  • Note which sections had mistakes, then revisit that lesson's examples, activity and practice.
Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Which is a territory?

2.

What is the capital of British Columbia?

3.

A map that shows only where people live is a...

4.

Which region is flat with fertile soil and lots of wheat farms?

5.

Which is Canada's largest physical region?

6.

Where do about half of Canadians live?

7.

Treeless land with small plants and permafrost is called...

8.

A car factory is part of which kind of industry?

9.

Which action is sustainable?

10.

Which is the first step of an inquiry?

For parents and teachers

Use mistakes to choose what to revisit. Each review section matches one lesson.

  • Mixes up provinces and territories, or can't place provinces west to east: revisit Canada's Provinces and Territories and redo the Canada puzzle.
  • Chooses the biggest city as the capital, or mixes up Maritime capitals: revisit Capital Cities Across Canada and play the match-up game.
  • Picks the wrong kind of map, mixes up NE/NW, or multiplies scale incorrectly: revisit Map Skills: Political, Physical and Thematic Maps.
  • Confuses weather and climate, or thinks physical regions follow provincial borders: revisit Canada's Physical Regions: The Big Picture.
  • Can't connect mountains and plains to jobs, or mixes up First Nations and Métis: revisit The West: The Cordillera and the Interior Plains.
  • Can't explain thin soil, lakes or muskeg: revisit The Canadian Shield and the Hudson Bay Lowlands and redo the glacier activity.
  • Mixes up the two lowlands regions, or can't explain why so many people live in the south: revisit The East: The Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Lowlands and the Appalachian Region.
  • Thinks Inuit live in igloos, or can't explain permafrost or tundra: revisit The North: The Arctic Lowlands and the Innuitian Mountains.
  • Can't sort primary/secondary/tertiary, or renewable/non-renewable: revisit Natural Resources and Industries Across Canada and do the resource detective activity again.
  • Only sees one direction of cause and effect, or can't name sustainable actions: revisit Industry and the Environment: Finding a Balance.
  • Ranks places as better or worse instead of naming opportunities and challenges: revisit Quality of Life in Canada's Regions.
  • Asks yes/no questions, uses one source, or draws conclusions without evidence: revisit Be a Geographer: Balancing Human Needs and Environmental Stewardship and try another mini-inquiry.

A few mistakes are normal. Praise your child's explanations and connections, not only correct names.