How has the geography of the West shaped who we are? Well, after completing our first humanities project on the power of geography, I have developed my answer to that question. 

This is a special project because we got to go on a 9 day field trip through the West. We stopped at important historical sites (like the Last Spike, Cave & Basin national historic site, Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump) as well as new developments (like the Golden Skybridge) to gather evidence for our project. Being out in the field made the learning much more engaging and relevant. I was able to ask questions to our guides, as well as continue questioning how this site made and makes the West. 

In the few days of school we had before the first half of the class left for Alberta, we started learning about the 5 themes of geography. There I was thinking that geography was just capitals, countries and maps. Now I know that it’s so much more; we actually categorize it into the 5 themes of geography. You can learn more about each theme in the first few pages of my ebook, but I thought I’d include my full comic page on the 5 themes of geography, before it gets separated on my ebook pages. 

And then on September 9th, half the class embarked on the Seycove bus for our trip. We drove through B.C., and stayed in hotels and hostels in Golden, Banff, Calgary & Revelstoke. Everyday had a fun itinerary— we visited and explored the West, all while gathering information and photographic evidence. This evidence would further help you answer the driving question, and would be helpful when making our ebooks, the final product for this project. 

Here are some photos that a not featured in ebook!

When we returned, the other half of the class left. While they were gone we made comics on the five themes of geography and read, and answered question about the history and geography of Canada. 

When the rest of the class came back, we were nowhere close to beeing finished the project. On the other hand, we were just getting started. There was a lot more knowledge we needed to learn on what made and makes the west before being able to answer the driving question. In this stage of the project, I applied what I learned about the buffalo, the Canadian Pacific railway, the history of colonization and the Economics of B.C, into my ebook reflections. For example; I added what I learned about the near extinction of the buffalo and it’s impact on the Blackfoot First Nations, to my reflection about Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump.

We edited and revised, and critiqued and revised. We did a speed dating peer critique protocol, where you present a short part of your book to a partner, they give you quick feedback, and then you repeat with a different partner. This way, you can get multiple people’s perspectives in a short amount of time. I quickly learnt that I had too much text on my pages, but good details and information. I found it hard to narrow down text though.

Then, as a class, we came up with 3 different answers to our driving question. They were economy, diversity and history. Then we each chose which we felt most answered the driving question. I chose economy, because I thought I could clearly explain this in most of my book reflections.

The people who chose economy formed a group, and came up with a short, clear and precise sentence to answer the driving question. So, how has the Geography of the West shaped us? The geography of the West has shaped us by allowing us to have a thriving economy with multiple industries that have helped us settle and develop. 

So here’s my ebook!!! This is the final product after this whole project. All our notes, research and evidence that we collected on our field study, or in the classroom has gone in to this book. I used my critical thinking skills to carefully choose which information to include in my book, tying everything back to my answer to the driving question. There are also some fun bonus videos that I made on the trip featured at the end of my ebook. Please take a few minutes to check it out!

My favourite pages of are the ones of the Badlands, the Last Spike, and the Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump site, because they have the strongest photos and reflections in my opinion. I feel like it’s still text heavy, but I did a good job at explaining what made and makes the West, as well as constructing personal connections with the geographical place or location.

To wrap up the project, we presented our ebooks to a live audience at a mini exhibition about the Power of Geography. Parents and friends came to our stations and asked us about the 5 themes of geography, the significance of different important stops from our trip, how each place made and makes the West, and answered our driving question. The exhibition was a good way to share what we learnt with an audience. The exhibition night went by quickly, I must have presented to about 7 parents. I didn’t know exactly what to say, but my book was always there to guide me. I quickly learnt that I had too much text on my pages, but I knew what I was talking about, after doing this project for about 2 months. It was easier with some audience members than others, because some shared connections with the location as well.

Here are some photos from the exhibition!

This project helped me push my inquiry skills to a next level. Whereas some projects we’ve done in grade 8 were more planned out for us and less open for us to develop our own way to find answers, this project was more open for us to question and answer our questions through our own research. One of the main curricular competencies we were working on in this project was questioning. The questioning competency is described as “beeing able to share ideas, ask questions, and research information from a variety of sources”. 

I did well at asking smart questions to the guides and experts that we met at important locations on our trip to Alberta. Asking questions and sharing my thoughts helped me further understand or connect with that location. I also thought it was easier to reflect in my ebook about the stops where we had a fun or memorable guide; they made taking in information so much more interactive and entertaining. I came back from our trip with more knowledge about BC and the history of the West, but also more questions to be answered in my further research. All in all, the economy group shared their ideas to come up with our one-sentence answer to the driving question, to do peer critique on our ebooks and to plan out our exhibition room. 

Acquiring new skills (being more independent in my research and inquiry) and building on old ones (questioning, collaborating, creatively organizing information, sharing ideas, presenting) has helped me grow as a learner throughout the course of this project. My perspective has changed on how I view geography and also the beautiful British Colombia I live in.

Thank you to the teachers for planning and taking us on a fun field study beyond the classroom to enhance our learning. I really enjoyed the trip!!

See you soon for another Humanities post. Next project is all about revolutions!