How the Geography of the West Shaped us through an Economical Lens

Hello people!

This is the second blog post for this year! I will be talking about the most recent project I have done inside humanities! We were trying to define what geography is an its impact on us. I also chose to relate all my work to economy. We went on a school trip so that we could build our knowledge and gather evidence. I hope you enjoy 😉.

Driving question: How has the geography of the west shaped who we are today?

Within the first few days of entering school, the first batch of PLP 9 kids were sent off to go collect evidence inside of Alberta. While they were there, we had to research a document and answer a questionnaire. It was about the different geographical landscape within Canada. We learnt about the different regions such as the Canadian Shield and St Lawrence Low Land. Places like the Cordillera region have a lot of mountains, rivers and forests.

After completing that, we finally started our 8 night long trip to Calgary. Our first keystone was creating a one paged comic that shows the 5 themes of geography. The 5 themes of geography are different categories that break down what geography means. This includes place (the physical and cultural landscape of a certain area), movement (the movement of people, products and ideas), human environment interaction (how we have adapted, modified and depended in the natural environment), location (the exact/relative place of where it is) and region (if this location has a defined or made-up border). I think that my comic shows each of these themes through a photo and a couple of words. I also added an introductory panel to introduce each of these themes.

Along the way, we visited lots of landmarks/tourist’s attraction and how they affected us through an economical lens. In total, we visited 8 places that we had to include in our book: the Last Spike, Downtown Calgary, the Calgary Zoo, Frank Slide, Head Smashed in Buffalo, Cave and Basin, Columbian Ice Field and the Golden Sky Bridge. During the trip, I think that I demonstrated the thinking competency. While there, I had to ask questions and speculate on the topic to develop my knowledge on the place’s impact on the economy.

We eventually returned back to Vancouver and reflected on all our experiences. Inside our book, we were given a 3-question prompt for each one, how it shows the 5 themes of geography, how and why this place shaped us in an economical sense and my personal connection. I also linked some of my work to a keynote documentation inside my book. We also held a mini exhibition to present all our books in front of our parents. I got to meet multiple parents that I did not know before.

In conclusion, I feel like I have learnt a lot throughout this project. At first, I did not really know how to define what geography is, I thought it just meant the geographic landscape. Now, I know that there are lots of different themes of what geography means. Now, I can give a sophisticated answer towards the driving question. Like mentioned within my book, I think the geography of the West has shaped us by allowing us to have a thriving economy with multiple industries that helped us to settle and develop. I think my reflection pages on the Last Spike also shows valid evidence to the driving question. One thing that I feel like I could have improved on, is gathering more media. I have a Samsung phone and I find it really hard to import the photos I take to my iPad.

If you would like to have a read of my book, here it is: