Mrs. Gelasco's "Canada" Class

*photos are thumb nailed - click on picture to see larger image

I felt that it was very important that the children had Canadian symbols in their classroom. I wanted to try to bring ‘Canada’ into our classroom. While I was brainstorming the different items to bring in, I thought that they should see a map of their world and a map of Canada. With the 2 maps, children were able to comment on the size difference between their World and their Country. We had a lot of discussion on the maps and referred to them periodically. One of our students went away to New Zealand for 5 weeks, and we were able to look at our World and visually track the distance he traveled. One child said "he went to the other side of the World!"

I was able to find material that had the Canadian flag and other symbols on it. I placed the material around the classroom on desks and tables that the children use. I also put many different posters on the walls and placed our Canadian flag throughout our room.

In Canada, we have a lot to be proud of. We can be especially proud of the animals that live in Canada. We brainstormed together many different animals ranging from spiders to the Polar Bear. We had a vote, and decided that our main classroom research would be on the Elk and Caribou.

The children worked hard to research the Elk and Caribou. I also wanted the children to be aware of the different wildlife that live here in Canada. I did not want them to feel limited in their research. I found some ‘real life’ pictures and posted them on a wall near the children’s work tables. The children used these pictures as part of their centers, journal writing and more. Having pictures of animals on the wall helped the children to see the different animals that live in Canada.