Fur Trading Post | Project Based Learning | Early Canada Activities

Keep your students engaged in learning about life in Early Canada through this Canadian Fur Trade activity. Students are hired by archeologists to scout out the location of a fictional fort from the past in this project based learning activity.

Students present a map of the location of the fort, a visual representation of what the fort looked like and a written report outlining life in the fort, including the weather, defense, trade, natural resources and how furs were transported back to Europe.

Ninja Note: Students need to have a basic understanding of the fur trade and basic geographic knowledge of Canada in order to be successful, but this can be learned as students work on this project.

This project based learning task includes:

• a complete lesson plan for teachers explaining how to do the project with students
• modifications for differentiation
• student planning pages
• tips for project based learning
• three different student checklists: so you can choose the best one for your students
• assessment rubric
• student examples of the map, fort (visual representation) and written portions
• teacher background information by category for easy reference
• student reflection page
• suggested web links to use for reference

This is a very open-ended task, with a clear rubric outlining the content which is expected to be addressed. Students are kept engaged in their learning for 2-3 weeks of social studies classes. We've done this project for as long as a month.

This activity has been tested with five different groups of grade five students and is a HUGE hit. Students have designed forts that included diagrams, building blocks, video games, cardboard and even one made of sticks and mud.

Ninja Note: This project can be done with paper and pencil. Students do not need to build dioramas or elaborate forts to be successful.

This task aligns with:

• Alberta Program of Studies for Grade 5 Social Studies: Early Canada

This task supports:

• any lesson covering Canada's fur trade. The materials are designed to be used for the Canadian fur trade, but they can easily be adapted to use in the United States as well. The background information is specific to Canada.

Details about how to use this activity as a project based learning task are included.

Check out our other Social Studies resources.

Ninja Note: This resource was updated in November 2020. We changed the perspective of the task to be more mindful of how taking on the role of a fur trader is insensitive to our students who identify as First Nations, Metis or Inuit. There are changes throughout to better align with our commitment to Truth and Reconciliation. While the activity is generally the same, the fur trader role play has been removed. Please use this version from now on.

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What our ninjas have said about this resource:

***My sixth graders enjoyed this as an at-home project during our Canada unit. The requirements were flexible enough to address my students' needs. They especially loved the Minecraft option. Looking forward to doing it again. (Thank you FebMommyof2)

***This is the perfect resource. I have a combined 4/5 class and I was able to accommodate my grade 4s (fur trade in Alberta) and my grade 5s (fur trade in Canada). They are really excited to start social class every day. (Thanks Deanna F)

Thank you for your consideration! Happy learning from the Brain Ninjas!