By Sheldon Spackman

Mapping Democracy

Barrie Wilson students step into democracy through giant electoral map

Apr 10, 2019 | 7:29 PM

With a federal election happening this fall, students at Red Deer’s École Barrie Wilson Elementary School are getting a close up, big picture look at Canada’s electoral maps.

Mapping Democracy is running all week at the Timberlands school and is made possible in part by Canadian Geographic Education and the Cable Public Affairs Channel (CPAC).

Grade 3-4 French Immersion teacher Susannah Groves says the aim is to engage students in democratic literacy.

“It’s an enormous map and takes up most of our foyer, our gathering area,” says Groves. “We use it as a hands-on learning tool to explore what geography means to students. The map is a beautiful way to give kids hands-on experience with how big Canada is and where the different cities and geographic features are in Canada.”

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Susannah Groves, Grade 3-4 French Immersion teacher at Barrie Wilson Elementary School demonstrates an activity for students to help them better understand the scale and size of Canada.

Groves says the giant floor map details all of Canada’s 338 federal ridings, each with a population of approximately 100,000 people.

“Today, I created a scavenger hunt and kids started in different places in the scavenger hunt and had clues to find different parts or different cities or different features within Canada,” she explains. “It gave them quite a real sense of the scale of Canada and the kids were completely engaged and very hands-on and it looked like they were really having a good time.”

Groves admits it’s a coup for them to have the map at their school.

“We had it two years ago and it’s taken us two years to get it again, it’s in very hot demand in schools because it is such a good hands-on learning tool,” adds Groves. “The nice thing about this map is that grade ones can use it as well as the grade fives and they will each take away what is valuable for them at their learning level.”

School officials say the giant map is accompanied by 11 curriculum-linked learning activities designed to teach students of all ages about the many facets of a democratic society.

In addition to the scavenger hunt, students will be given the chance to map out evolving federal riding boundaries, learn about the electoral and appointment process of key members in a democracy and explore the roles of the media.

For a closer look at the map, click here.