Kristas Random Thoughts: Canadian Social Studied :: Canadian Symbols (via Canadian Coins)

I decided recently that it's time to teach our boys about Canada! We are a Canadian/American family that lives in Poland. Our boys go to Polish school (grades K, 1 & 2) and I also homeschool them (in English, math and social studies). This little unit I put together to help them better understand Canadian symbols and Canadian money. I'm posting it here for future reference and in case it may help anyone else who is looking for a fun, free social studies unit for grades 1-2.

Objectives:

to introduce kids (age 5-8) to Canadian money and Canadian symbols.
to familiarize kids with Canadian money and grow math skills in counting by 1s, 5s, 10s, 25s & adding coins
to be able to name 6 Canadian symbols and tell someone why they are important

Lesson 1: Introduction to Canadian Coins & Canadian Symbols & Penny/Maple Leaf
Lesson 2: Nickel/Beaver
Lesson 3: Dime/Schooner
Lesson 4: Quarter/Caribou
Lesson 5: Loonie/Loon
Lesson 6: Toonie/Polar Bear
Lesson 7: Other Canadian Symbols - Mounties & the Canada Goose
Lesson 8: Other Canadian Symbols - Innushuk & the Totem Pole
Lesson 9: Canada DAY

Canada in my Pocket
by Michael Mitchell

I've got Canada in my pocket
A little bit of history
A penny, and a nickel
And a quarter and a dime
Mean a lot to you and me
It's more than pocket money
They're the symbols of our land
They're pictures of important things
For which this country stands

The maple leaf, the maple leaf
Is a beautiful sight to see
It waves 'hello'' to us below
From the top of a maple tree
And with every year that passes
It grows like you and me
So should we all grow straight and tall
Like the lovely maple tree

The beaver, oh the beaver
Is a beautiful sight to see
He's a happy, furry animal
Like a teddy bear with teeth
He's never ever lazy
He works all night and day
Building houses for his family
He's got no time to play

The schooner, oh the schooner
Is a beautiful sight to see
It's a great big wooden sailing ship
That can sail across the sea
It brings to other countries
The things their people need
And brings back things
Like chocolate bars
And books for us to read

The caribou, the caribou
Is a beautiful sight to see
He's a really big strong animal
I'm sure you'll all agree
He looks like Santa's reindeer
And he loves it when
The wind blows cold
So he lives up north
With the polar bears
'Cause he likes the ice and snow

The loon, the loon… (?)

The polar bear, the polar bear (?)

Lesson 1: Introduction to Canadian Coins & Canadian Symbols

play Canada in my Pocket video and talk about the different coins and symbols
print out Canadian Money mini-book and have kids write the names of the coins (this turned out really neat! cut on the dotted lines and glue into mini-book) i've been using this for review each lesson as well.

print out this Canada booklet (pages 2-10) - free 8 page symbols of Canada, complete the following pages

talk about the maple leaf and where we can find it
watch CANAdooDAday | The Maple Leaf | CBC Kids (3 min)

make a craft => paint a Canadian Flag on white poster board with red paint (after a difficult first attempt, i sketched a maple leaf in the middle and our 8 year old did much better!)

OR make Maple Cream Cookies (recipe here) {don't these look amazing?!?!} i'll let you know how they turn out!

Lesson 3: Nickel/Beaver

review by watching Canada in my Pocket video and referencing the coin mini-book
talk about the nickel & the beaver (finish page 4 from Canadian booklet)
watching National Geographic | {North} American Beaver | Awesome Animals (25min) it isn't specifically 'Canadian' produced but an excellent resource for teaching about beavers for kids!

make a craft! => paper plate beaver
if your kids are interested, search a local library or online for books about beavers!
print these free Canadian Money (Coins) worksheets (we did pages 3-5 while we were waiting for the paint to dry on the beaver!)

Lesson 3: Dime/Schooner