News from Alberta / NWT
Social Studies Council Conference
October 16 - October 18, 2009
Alberta, Canada
Sponsor(s): The Provincial ATA/Social Studies Council
Website: http://ssc.teachers.ab.ca
Contact: Ron Jeffery (President), (403) 708-3605 (phone), (403) 282-9233 (fax),
rajeffery@gmail.com OR Karen
Kahler (Conference Director), (403) 301-0815 ext 2243 (phone), (403) 301-0821 (fax),
karen.kahler@cssd.ab.ca
News from Manitoba
A program entitled The Green Schools Initiative has been developed to assist schools
in Manitoba on their way to becoming more green and sustainable. The goals of the program
include the reduction of waste generation and water and energy use, and reduced greenhouse
gas emissions from schools. Schools are at very different stages in the greening process,
and this program affords school divisions’ flexibility in using the funds
to achieve the greatest benefit for schools, and to build on many years of green initiatives already underway.
For more information on the initiative visit:
www.greenschoolsmb.ca
Manitoba Education, Citizenship, and Youth has prepared a Social
Studies Field-Based Experience Guidebook to support the implementation of the
new Manitoba Kindergarten to Grade 12 social studies curriculum. It provides examples
of field-based experiences for various grades, including the new Grade 10 Geography course,
and lists relevant specific learning outcomes (SLOs) for each activity. To access field-based
guide see:
www.edu.gov.mb.ca
News from Nunavut
The Nunavut Department of Education, in association with the Nunavut Department of Sustainable
Development offers a stand-alone module for teachers to access on their website entitled The
Science of Rocks and Minerals: An introduction to Geology for use in Nunavut classrooms and
Science Camps. The module is a blend of the best of modern science and Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit
and is meant to be used as a resource for science camps. To access the module see: www.gov.nu.ca |
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News from Saskatchewan
The book Saskatchewan: Geographic Perspectives by Thraves,
B., Lewry, M.L., Dale, J. E, and Schlichtmann, H. eds. (2007) (
Regina: CPRC) is now available. It is the first broadly based publication
on the geography of Saskatchewan since 1981. Four major sections cover
the physical background, cultural and historical geography, demographic
and social geography, and economic geography. It represents the effort
of more than forty scholars and examines the past, present and future
of Saskatchewan’s people, land and economy. For more information
contact:
Canadian Plains Research Center
University of Regina
Tel: (306) 585-5488
Toll Free: (866) 874-2257
Website: www.cprc.uregina.ca
This Atlas of Urban Aboriginal Peoples is available online
at gismap.usask.ca
The Atlas is part of the research on Aboriginal people and
cities associated with the Canada Research Chair on Identity and Diversity:
The Aboriginal Experience held by Dr. Evelyn J. Peters at the University
of Saskatchewan. It attempts to make some information about Aboriginal
people in urban areas in Canada available to a wide audience.
News from Quebec
The Association québécoise pour l'enseignement en univers social (The
Québec Association of Social Universe Teachers) will hold its 2008 conference on the
23 rd (afternoon only), 24 th and 25 th October at the Hotel Clarion in Québec City.
This year’s theme is: “What Histories for What Futures?”
All details concerning the 2008 Social Universe Conference will be available in the near
future on the official website: www.recitus.qc.ca/congres/ |
News from British Columbia
The British Columbia Teachers Association 2008 fall conference will be held at Riverside Secondary
School in Coquitlam on October 24th. Geography workshops include Strategies
for Teaching Geography, Population
Activities K-12, What’s
All the Fuss About Climate Change?, Integrating
GPS into the Classroom, Plate Tectonics in Action, and Sustainable High Schools - Planning
Your School Year. For more information check out the conference website at www.bctf.ca
J. Lewis Robinson, founding head of Geography at UBC and long-time member of the UBC community died
this past July. If you knew Lew or took one of his classes you are invited to pay respects
and celebrate his life. A Memorial Service to celebrate Lew Robinson's life and contributions
to UBC on Friday October 3, 2008 at 1:00pm in Cecil Green Park House.
This past summer BC CCGE member Matteo Babini, from Panorama Ridge Secondary School in Surrey,
was selected to attend the American Meteorological Society's workshop: Project Atmosphere. Anyone
interested in weather resources for their geography classroom can contact Mr. Babini or
BC/YT rep Andrew Young at we_ride@hotmail.com
The Western Division of the Canadian Association of Geographers will have their annual meeting
in March 2009 at Vancouver Island University in Nanaimo. For more information check out the
WDCAG website at http://www.geog.uvic.ca/wcag/index.html
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Undergraduates in Classrooms
Project Explorer with the University of Calgary, Department of Geography
Project Explorer is
supported by CSN, the Calgary Public and Separate School Boards, and the University of Calgary.
A third or fourth year undergraduate is placed in an adopted school for a semester (usually
January to April) to work with the teachers and students as a geography content specialist.
Resource materials developed during the project are left in the school. So far projects have
been on such varied topics as glaciation, ecology field trips, natural structures and mapping
software. Space in this program is limited this year so apply early!
Contact - Trisha Carleton
Email:
coordinator@calgarysciencenetwork.ca
Ph: (403) 263-6226 – during office hours |
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Alberta Provincial Great Canadian Geography Challenge
Alberta Provincial Great Canadian Geography Challenge will be hosted on Saturday, April 18
th, 2009 at Ottewell Junior High, 9435 - 73 Street, Edmonton Provincial Coordinator - Sheila
Shortt. Registration information available at: www.geochallenge.ca |
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Association of American Geographers
The Association of American Geographers invites you to join 8,000 geographers, GIS specialists,
and environmental scientists from around the world in Las Vegas for the very latest in research,
policy, and applications in geography, sustainability, and GIScience, during our annual conference,
to be held March 22–27, 2009.
The program will feature 4,000 presentations by leading scholars and
researchers from more than 60 countries. To register for the meeting
or submit a paper, visit www.aag.org/annualmeeting.
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Canadian Atlas Online
The Canadian Atlas Online
is growing again with the addition of twelve (12) new themes. Supported by a third grant from
the Canadian Culture Online Program of Canadian Heritage, The Royal Canadian Geographical Society
is drawing on the highly-regarded Historical Atlas of Canada ( University of Toronto
Press) for topics ranging from early trading networks to urbanization. These historical topics
will be complemented by two current ones. The Canadian Space Agency’s Youth Awareness
program is funding a theme on earth observation satellite technology. And in conjunction with
the Canadian Wind Energy Association, CAOL will examine wind energy in Canada – past,
present and future.
The Canadian Council for Geographic Education is once again partnering with the RCGS to
produce high-quality lesson plans to complement the new CAOL themes. Written by CCGE members,
these lesson plans will come online in winter and spring 2009.
In the coming weeks, the CCGE will be seeking your opinions on the CAOL lesson plans. When
you receive the electronic survey, please take a few moments to fill it out. Your feedback
will help strengthen the educator resources on the website. And your name will be entered
in a draw to win a copy of the book that began it all: The Canadian Atlas: Our Nation,
Environment and People (an $80 value). |
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International Polar Year and the Canadian North
The ever-increasing focus on Canada’s North can be attributed not only to political interests,
but also to International Polar Year (IPY), a two-year global scientific research initiative
which began in 2007. To commemorate IPY, the CCGE launched a set of Northern lesson plans which
are highlighted on the website of the Canadian IPY. For more information, please see www.ipycanada.ca/web/guest/education
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Geography Awareness Week
Geography Awareness Week – Nov. 17-21, 2008
In 2007 the Canadian Association of Geographers (CAG) tested the idea
of using “Theme Days” during Geography Awareness Week (GAW)
to demonstrate the importance of geography to all Canadians. The experiment
was so successful that it received international attention, and is being
expanded for GAW 2008. To read about the exciting new program for GAW
2008, visit the CAG website at cagacg.ca/en/geography_week.
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