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52 Weeks of Non Fiction Reading About Canada Curriculum Map

Click the buttons below to download our Grades 4 to 5 Curriculum Map. There are two versions of the map. The outline and map are also both viewable on this page.

Curriculum Map (Doc)
Curriculum Map (PDF)

The 52 stories are designed to familiarize and develop student awareness of Canada while they practice their reading comprehension skills. Each topic contains an information story, and a follow-up exercise designed to review and develop strong reading and phonetic skills. The material in this book can be used in a variety of ways. Use as bell ringers, or for students who are done their work early or for extra practice. 

There are 11 sections covering these topics:

  1. Canadian Historical Sites
  2. Famous Historical Canadian Men
  3. Famous Historical Canadian Women
  4. Famous Canadian Athletes
  5. Famous Canadian Inventors and Inventions
  6. Famous Canadian Animals
  7. Famous Canadian Attractions
  8. Famous Canadian Festivals 

Introduction and Teacher Notes

  • At A Glance – List of Skills
  • Teaching Objectives
  • Teaching Strategies 

Answer key provided with each section.  

STORY TOPICS and SKILLS COVERED 

Section 1 Canadian Historical Sites

Answer Key for Section 1: Canadian Historical Sites 

Story #1: L’Anse Aux Meadows – A UNESCO World Heritage Site

SKILLS: Recalling Details | Proper Nouns | Synonyms 

Story #2: Dawson City, Yukon – Home of Canada’s Gold Rush Days

SKILLS: Cause and Effect | Collective Nouns | Antonyms 

Story #3: Fort Macleod – Oldest Town in Alberta

SKILLS: Noting Details | Classifying Nouns | Homonyms 

Story #4: Pier 21 – Canada’s National Museum of Immigration

SKILLS: Fact/Opinion | Word Meanings | Verbs 

Section 2 Famous Historical Canadian Men

Answer Key for Section 2: Famous Historical Canadian Men 

Story #1: Louis Riel (1844-1885): Hero With a Cause (Print and PowerPoint)

SKILLS: Fact/Opinion | Classifying Verb Tenses | Singular/Plural Words 

Story #2: Billy Bishop (1894-1956): Canada’s World War I Flying Ace

SKILLS: Cause and Effect | Kinds of Sentences | Plurals 

Story #3: Timothy Eaton (1834 -1907): Canada’s Famous Entrepreneur

SKILLS: Expressing Ideas and Opinions | Subject and Predicate | Word Meanings 

Story #4: Sir John A. Macdonald (1815-1891): First Prime Minister of Canada

SKILLS: Recalling Details | Bare Subject & Bare Predicate | Word Meanings 

Story #5: Robert Samuel McLaughlin (1871-1972): Businessman and Philanthropist

SKILLS: Recalling Details | Phrases | Verb Suffixes 

Story #6: Josiah Henson (1789-1883): Hero of Uncle Tom’s Cabin (Print and PowerPoint)

SKILLS: Recalling Events and Details | Adverbs | Antonyms/Synonyms 

Story #7: Walter Rolling (1873-1943): An Early Black Educator

SKILLS: Classifying | Prepositions | Syllabication  

Story #8: John Ware (1845-1905): A Famous African-American Cowboy (Print and PowerPoint)

SKILLS: Sequential Ordering | Adjectives | Root Words 

Story #9: Elijah McCoy (1843-1929): Canadian-American Inventor

SKILLS: Recalling Events/Details | Pronouns | Prefixes 

Story #10: Lincoln Alexander (1922-2012): A Multicultural Believer (Print and PowerPoint)

SKILLS: Locating Details | Simple/Compound Sentences | Root Words 

Section 3 Famous Historical Canadian Women

Answer Key for Section 3: Famous Historical Canadian Women 

Story #1: Laura Secord (1775-1868): A Woman of Courage

SKILLS: Cause/Effect | Personal Pronouns | R-controlled Vowel Sounds 

Story #2: Lucy Maud Montgomery (1847-1942): Canada’s World Famous Author

SKILLS: Expressing an Opinion | Parts of Speech | Homonyms 

Story #3: Molly Brant (1736-1796): A Prominent Mohawk Loyalist

SKILLS: Finding Proof | Personal Pronouns | Synonyms 

Story #4: Mary Ann Shadd (1823-1893): Educator, Abolitionist, Feminist

SKILLS: Sequential Development | Interrogative Pronouns | Word Meanings 

Story #5: Anna Haining (Swan) Bates (1846-1888): Canada’s Gentle Giantess

SKILLS: Context Clues | Demonstrative Pronouns | Homonyms 

Story #6: Harriet Tubman (1820-1913): Slave, Conductor, Black Moses

SKILLS: Recalling Details | Indefinite Pronouns | Descriptive Words 

Story #7: Emily Pauline Johnson (1861-1913): Poet, Writer, Mohawk Princess

SKILLS: Recalling Details/Opinions | Pronouns | Root Words

 Story #8: Rose Fortune (1774-1864): Slave, Entrepreneur, Policewoman

SKILLS: Recalling Details | Subject/Predicate | Alphabetical Order 

Story #9: Shawnadithit (1800-1829): The Last of the Beothuk

SKILLS: Recalling Details/Events | Subject/Predicate | Syllabication 

Story #10: Madeleine Jarret Tarieu (1678-1774): Heroine of Vechères

SKILLS: Brainstorming | Sequential Development | Word-Group Modifiers | Vowel Combinations 

Section 4 Famous Canadian Athletes

Answer Key for Section 4: Famous Canadian Athletes 

Story #1: Silken Lauman: A Determined Sculler

SKILLS: Classifying Details | Nouns/Pronouns | Word/Meaning Matching 

Story #2: Hayley Wickenheiser: One of Canada’s Finest Athletes

SKILLS: Fact and Opinion | Kinds of Nouns | Verb Tenses 

Story #3: Joannie Rochette: The Performance of a Lifetime

SKILLS: Giving an Opinion | Classifying | Verb Tenses | Antonyms 

Story #4: Jennifer Jones: Canada’s Curling Star

SKILLS: Locating Information | Phrases | Word Meanings 

Story #5: Kaillie Humphries: Bobsledding Olympian

SKILLS: Recalling Events | Phrases | Word Meanings | Syllabication 

Story #6: Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir: The King and Queen of Ice Dancing

SKILLS: Classifying Vocabulary | Expressing Ideas/Opinions | Parts of Speech | Root Words 

Story #7: Eric Lamaze: Canada’s Top Equestrian Rider

SKILLS: Recalling Details |Opinions | Parts of Speech | Antonyms/Synonyms 

Story #8: Alexandre Despatie: A Diver with Passion

SKILLS: Recalling Events | Parts of Speech | Long/Short Vowels 

Story #9: Steve Nash: A Basketball Wonder

SKILLS: Cause and Effect | Parts of Speech | Word Meanings 

Story #10: Sidney Crosby: A National Hockey League Star

SKILLS: Giving an Opinion | Recalling Details | Parts of Speech | Antonyms 

Section 5 Famous Canadian Inventors and Inventions

Answer Key for Section 5: Famous Canadian Inventors and Inventions 

Story #1: The De Havilland Beaver: A Traveller’s Saviour

SKILLS: Recalling Details | Parts of Speech | Vowel Combinations 

Story #2: The Trans-Canada Highway: The World’s Longest National Highway

SKILLS: Context Clues | Adjectives/Adverbs | Syllabication 

Story #3: The World’s Tallest Totem Pole: A Beautiful First Nation Carving

SKILLS: Recalling Details | Phrases | Blends/Digraphs 

Story #4: The Inventor of Insulin: Doctor Frederick Banting

SKILLS: Recalling Details | Adverb/Adjective Phrases | Suffixes 

Story #5: New Tools to Perform Body Functions: The Prosthesis

SKILLS: Sequential Ordering | Objects | Root Words 

Section 6 Famous Canadian Animals

Answer Key for Section 6: Famous Canadian Animals 

Story #1: World War I Horses: Morning Glory: Canada’s War Horse

SKILLS: Making Inferences | Parts of Speech | Word Meanings 

Story #2: Big Ben: Canada’s Show Jumping Hero

SKILLS: Recalling Details | Parts of Speech | Word Meanings 

Story #3: The Newfoundland Dog: A Gentle Giant

SKILLS: Cause and Effect | Parts of Speech | Root Words 

Section 7 Famous Canadian Attractions

Answer Key for Section 7: Famous Canadian Attractions 

Story #1: Percé Rock: World’s Largest Natural Arch

SKILLS: Sequential Ordering | Adverbs | Syllabication, Synonyms 

Story #2: Niagara Falls: One of Nature’s Wonders

SKILLS: Finding Proof | Capitalization/Punctuation | Compound Words | Double Consonants 

Story #3: Hoodoos and the Alberta Badlands: Stunning Natural Wonders

SKILLS: Classifying; | Conjunctions | Vowel Combinations 

Story #4: The Rideau Canal: UNESCO World Heritage Site

SKILLS: Recalling Facts | Parts of Speech | Root Words 

Story #5: Québec City: A Historic Canadian Place

SKILLS: Locating Facts | Parts of Speech | Homonyms, Synonyms, Antonyms 

Story #6: The R.C.M.P. Academy and Heritage Centre: Canada’s Early Police Force

SKILLS: Recalling Details | Parts of Speech | Word Meanings 

Story #7: A Mennonite Heritage Village: Early Settlers of Manitoba

SKILLS: Recalling Facts | Kinds of Sentences | Antonyms, Homonyms, Synonyms 

Story #8: Fort Henry: A Popular Military Museum

SKILLS: Main idea | Paragraph Writing | Double Consonants 

Section 8 Famous Canadian Festivals

Answer Key for Section 8: Famous Canadian Festivals 

Story #1: The Calgary Stampede: The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth

SKILLS: Expressing an Opinion | Writing a Paragraph | Spelling 

Story #2: The Québec Winter Carnival: Largest Winter Festival in the World

SKILLS: Recalling Details | Writing a Paragraph | Antonyms 

Story #3: The Santa Claus Parade: The World’s Finest Christmas Parade

SKILLS: Noting Details | Writing a Paragraph | Antonyms, Synonyms, Homonyms

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