I want students to get familiar with the actual land space between Canada and the United States. Not only do they often not realize how close Canada, especially French-speaking Canada, is to the U.S. and especially to us in New England, but they often lack a strong grasp of U.S. geography. So comparing maps over time can give them a sense of change over time at the same time as it helps reinforce geographic awareness.
Use "Map of New France, 1750" and "Map of United States," found under the heading "Images" in the
Classroom Resources
section. Be sure to label the year on both maps.
Students may work in pairs, although be sure each student has his or her own maps, for ease of use as well as so that they may be marked up in ways that are meaningful to each student. First hand out copies of "Map of New France, 1750" and project it with an overhead or LCD projector.
Indicate the date –
C'est l'année 1750 en Amérique du Nord.
Point out Canada and the United States, generally.
Voilà le Canada. Voilà les États-Unis.
Start at Washington state and move eastward, marking the modern border between Canada and the U.S.
Voilà la frontière moderne entre le Canada et les États-Unis. Voilà le Washington, le Idaho, et le Montana. Et voilà la frontière. Dessinez-la.
Have students clarify what is the present-day border between Canada and France.
C'est le Canada ou les États-Unis?
And students will be able to answer
C'est le Canada. / C'est les États-Unis.
Continue eastward….
Ici c'est le Dakota du Nord, le Minnesota.
Along the way, ask for verification –
Attendez, c'est le Montana or le Minnesota? Beh oui, c'est le Minnesota. Merci.
To identify the Great Lakes
(Les Grands Lacs)
, point at them, individually, and ask what each mass is.
Qu'est-ce que c'est?
Students will likely answer in English, and you can affirm in French, giving each name in order and labeling them on the projected map as students label their own (
Lac Supérieur, Lac Michigan, Lac Huron, Lac Érie, Lac Ontario.)
Students may just know that they are the Great Lakes and not the individual names. In that case, give them options –
Est-ce que c'est le Lac Supérieur ou le Lac Huron?
Give them a silly memory tool (
un aide-mémoire)
for remembering the order by just pronouncing the first sounds of each lake name –
SM-HEO
. By exaggerating the nonsense word, it will likely actually stick in their heads!
Once that present-day border has been clarified for students, pass out "Map of United States." Make a help sheet for students regarding U.S. state names in French. Since most state names are masculine and are spelled the same in French, I would break it down like I do below, in lists of the feminine state names and names that are similar but different from English to French. Be sure to space it out well on a page so that it is clear and easy to process.
Les États-Unis d'Amérique qui sont
FÉMININS
: LA Californie/ LA Caroline du Nord/ LA Caroline du Sud / LA Floride/ LA Géorgie / LA Louisiane / LA Pennsylvanie / LA Virginie / LA Virginie-Occidentale
Les États-Unis d'Amérique qui ont l'orthographe different:
LES ÉTATS FÉMININS + Dakota du Nord / Dakota du Sud / Hawaï / l'état de New York / Nouveau-Mexique / l'état de Washington
It would be fun to have students brainstorm memory strategies for those groups, like taking the first syllable of each feminine state name to create a new "nonsense" word –
calcarocaroflogéoloupennvirgivirgi
for example!
Next, guide students in pairs through a series of questions that compare the geography of today with that of 1750. The basic sentence structure will be as follows: What is (state name) in 2013 was a colony of (country name) in 1750.
-
Ce qui est X en 2013 était une colonie de Y en 1750.
-
Ce qui est Ohio en 2013 était une colonie de France en 1750.
Note: When discussing the Maritime Provinces, this activity and these maps can be revisited, using the map of Maritime Provinces located in the
Classroom Resources
section to place the locations on the map of New France.