THE CANADIAN ATLAS ONLINE YUKON – GRADE 12

Infrastructure in the North

Lesson Overview

In this lesson, students will learn about the impact of climate change on the infrastructure of communities in northern Canada. First, they will find and map several communities in northern Canada that have experienced changes to their infrastructure from climate change. Next, they will visit the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy (NRTEE) website to research the different types of impacts to infrastructurethat occur from climate change. In the culminating activity, students will use information from interactive satellite images to describe and explain the specific changes that have occurred in each community that they have mapped. They will refer to the Canadian Geographic/NRTEEA Changing Climateposter-mapto identify the temperature change required for each of these impacts, when possible to draw such a link.

Grade Level

Grade 12

Time Required

Two sixty minute classes

Curriculum Connection (Province/Territory and course)

Yukon, Geography 12 (British Columbia Curriculum)

Additional Resources, Materials and Equipment Required

  • Chart paper or use of a blackboard or whiteboard
  • A class set of atlases and copies of a blank map of Canada

(A reference map of Canada is available from the Atlas of Canada at

  • Access to computers and the Internet

Websites:

Government of Yukon – Climate Change Strategy

NRTEE - True North: Adapting Infrastructure to Climate Change in Northern Canada – How Climate Change Affects Infrastructure

NRTEE - True North: Adapting Infrastructure to Climate Change in Northern Canada – Interactive Satellite Images

  • Canadian Geographic/NRTEEA Changing Climate poster-map
  • Infrastructure in the North Student Activity

Main Objective

The goal of this lesson is for students to understand how climate change will affect the infrastructure of communities in northern Canada.

Learning Outcomes

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

  • Locate, map and label communities in northern Canada;
  • Conduct research using secondary sources of information;
  • Describe and explain how climate change affects infrastructure in northern Canada.

The Lesson

The Lesson

Teacher Activity / Student Activity

Introduction

/ Use a projector to show students the first page of the Climate Change Strategy website by the Government of Yukon. This page has 8 images that relate to the impacts of climate change in the Yukon.
Ask students if they can guess what has happened in each photo and how it is related to climate change.
Record the guesses on chart paper or on the board. Ask students to group or categorize the guesses. Introduce the term infrastructure and give examples to students.
Inform students that they are going to map and research several communities in northern Canada to learn more about how infrastructure is affected by climate change.
Distribute the student activity and decide if students will work individually or in groups. Review the instructions. / Look at the images from the Government of Yukon website.
Guess what has happened in each image.
Classify and categorize the types of impacts listed.
Review the student activity.

Lesson Development

/ Monitor and assist students with the activity as required. / Complete the student activity.

Conclusion

/ Review the answers to the activity as a class or collect for assessment. What did students notice about the changes taking place in the North? Ask them to make inferences about temperature changes and impacts that are currently being realized in the North.
Go back to the Government of Yukon site. Each image featured on the first page is described later in the document. Show students the images with the description and see if their guesses were accurate.
Ask if they have observed changes to the infrastructure in your community. / Share responses from the student activity or submit the assignment for assessment.
Participate in the class discussion.

Lesson Extension

  • Photo-document changes to the infrastructure in their community or local area that are due to climate change.
  • Research other communities in the Yukon that are experiencing changes to their infrastructure due to climate change. Present findings on a poster or as presentation to the class.

Assessment of Student Learning

Collect the student activity for accuracy and completeness.

Further Reading

Climate Prosperity thematic module in the Canadian Atlas Online

National Roundtable on the Environment and the Economy (NRTEE) web site:

Link to Canadian National Standards for Geography

Essential Element #1: The World in Spatial terms

  • Map, globe and atlas use

Essential Element #2: Places and Regions

  • Regional analysis of geographic issues and questions

Essential Element #5: Environment and Society

  • Environmental issues

Essential Element #6: The Uses of Geography

  • Local, regional and world policies and problems with spatial dimensions

Geographic Skill #3: Organizing geographic information

  • Use a variety of media to develop and organize integrated summaries of geographic information.

Infrastructure in the North

Student Activity

Section A: Mapping Northern Communities

Instructions:

  1. Use an atlas to match each of the communities below to the correct coordinates.

Community / Matching
Letter / Coordinates
(Latitude/Longitude)
Pangnirtung, Nunavut / A)67N, 139W
Dawson, Yukon / B)64N, 110W
Churchill, Manitoba / C)66N, 65W
Lac de Gras, Northwest Territories / D)64N, 139W
Gjoa Haven, Nunavut / E)68N, 95W
Old Crow, Yukon / F)58N, 94W
Rankin Inlet, Nunavut / G)69N, 133W
Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories / H)62N, 92W
Tasiujaq, Quebec / I)58N, 69W
Hall Beach, Nunavut / J)68N, 81W
  1. Map and label each community on a blank map of Canada. Remember that your map should have a title, legend and follow all other proper mapping conventions.

Section B: How Climate Change Affects Infrastructure

The NRTEE (National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy) has developed a list of 6 impacts that describe how the infrastructure of communities in northern Canada will be affected by climate change. Visit their website, and briefly describe and explain each impact below.

Website:

Impact / Description
A)Warmer temperatures and changing precipitation patterns
B)Permafrost degradation
C)Flooding and streamflow changes
D)Sea-ice loss and coastal erosion
E)Weather extremes
F)Wildfires

Section C: Putting it all together

Each of the communities that you mapped in Section A has been profiled by the NRTEE because their infrastructure is vulnerable to climate change. In this culminating activity you will find each community and record the impacts of climate change to their infrastructure.

Website:

Instructions:

  1. Go to the interactive satellite images map and click on the name of each community from Section A.
  2. Read about the impact of climate change on their infrastructure.
  3. Choose the appropriate category from Section B and record it in the organizer below. (Use your judgement to decide which impact is the best fit.)
  4. Explain your choice of category, using details about the community.
  5. Finally, refer to the Canadian Geographic/NRTEEA Changing Climate poster-map and indicate the temperature increase that is predictedfor these changes to occur. An example has been provided.

Community / How Climate Change Affects Infrastructure / Temperature Increase
EXAMPLE
Old Crow, Yukon / Category C: Flooding and streamflow changes
Explanation: Silt build-up in the Porcupine River is disrupting boat access to the town. / 1 degree
Dawson, Yukon / Category ___:
Explanation:
Churchill, Manitoba / Category ___:
Explanation:
Lac de Gras, Northwest Territories / Category ___:
Explanation:
Gjoa Haven, Nunavut / Category ___:
Explanation:
Pangnirtung, Nunavut / Category ___:
Explanation:
Rankin Inlet, Nunavut / Category ___:
Explanation:
Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories / Category ___:
Explanation:
Tasiujaq, Quebec / Category ___:
Explanation:
Hall Beach, Nunavut / Category ___:
Explanation: