Social Studies · Grade 6

Active learning ideas

Canada's Energy Resources and Global Demand

Canada’s energy sector involves complex geographic, economic, and environmental connections that benefit from active learning. When students trace energy flows, debate trade-offs, and simulate future scenarios, they move beyond abstract facts to grasp real-world implications of resource management and global demand.

• Ontario Curriculum Expectations
• Ontario Curriculum: Social Studies Grade 6, A3. Understanding Context: A3.3 identify the main factors that helped shape the development of the Canadian identity during this period (e.g., the American Revolution and the resulting influx of Loyalists).
• Ontario Curriculum: Social Studies Grade 6, A3. Understanding Context: A3.1 identify the main reasons why different peoples came to Canada between 1780 and 1850 (e.g., Loyalists and other political refugees seeking safety).
• Ontario Curriculum: Social Studies Grade 6, A1. Application: A1.1 analyse some of the key challenges and opportunities that were associated with the settlement of new communities in Canada during this period.

• 30–60 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Formal Debate
• 45 min · Small Groups

Mapping Activity: Energy Export Flows

Provide maps of Canada and key trading partners. Students in small groups label resource locations, draw export routes, and note economic partners using provided data cards. Groups present one connection to the class, discussing influences on relationships.

Explain how Canada's energy resources influence its global economic relationships.

Facilitation Tip

During the Mapping Activity: Energy Export Flows, have students trace routes with colored pencils and add sticky notes to mark environmental or economic impacts at each stop.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'If Canada significantly increased its export of oil and natural gas, what are two positive economic outcomes and two negative environmental outcomes that might occur, both within Canada and globally?' Facilitate a class discussion, encouraging students to support their points with evidence.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making

Activity 02

• Formal Debate
• 50 min · Pairs

Debate Stations: Resource Trade-offs

Set up stations for economic growth, environmental protection, Indigenous rights, and renewables. Pairs prepare arguments using fact sheets, then rotate to debate at each station. Conclude with a whole-class vote on policy priorities.

Analyze the environmental implications of global demand for Canadian resources.

Facilitation Tip

At Debate Stations: Resource Trade-offs, assign roles based on real stakeholder perspectives to ensure balanced arguments, then rotate groups to hear opposing views.

What to look for

Provide students with a map of Canada showing major energy resource locations and arrows indicating export routes. Ask them to label two key energy resources, one major export destination, and one potential environmental concern associated with that resource's export.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making

Activity 03

• Formal Debate
• 60 min · Small Groups

Future Scenarios Simulation: Climate Role-Play

Assign roles like government official, energy company rep, or environmentalist. In small groups, students predict 2050 energy scenarios based on current trends, using charts to propose actions. Groups share and refine ideas in a class gallery walk.

Predict the future role of Canadian energy in a changing global climate.

Facilitation Tip

In the Future Scenarios Simulation: Climate Role-Play, provide scenario cards with clear variables like carbon taxes or pipeline bans to keep the simulation focused and manageable.

What to look for

On an index card, ask students to write one sentence explaining how global demand for energy affects Canada's economy and one sentence describing a challenge Canada faces in meeting this demand sustainably.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making

Activity 04

• Formal Debate
• 30 min · Individual

Data Dive: Resource Tracker

Students individually analyze graphs of Canada's energy production and exports over 10 years. They identify trends, then pair up to discuss global demand implications and jot predictions on sticky notes for a class chart.

Explain how Canada's energy resources influence its global economic relationships.

Facilitation Tip

With the Data Dive: Resource Tracker, ask students to highlight trends in hydroelectric output versus oil sands growth using a shared digital spreadsheet for real-time updates.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'If Canada significantly increased its export of oil and natural gas, what are two positive economic outcomes and two negative environmental outcomes that might occur, both within Canada and globally?' Facilitate a class discussion, encouraging students to support their points with evidence.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making

A few notes on teaching this unit

Experienced teachers approach this topic by anchoring discussions in concrete data and spatial reasoning, as students often struggle to visualize global connections. Avoid overloading with jargon; instead, use vivid examples like comparing the water use of oil sands extraction to daily household consumption. Research suggests that simulations and role-plays deepen empathy and understanding of systemic trade-offs, so design activities where students feel the weight of decisions rather than just analyze them.

Successful learning happens when students can explain how Canada’s energy resources link to trade partners, weigh economic benefits against environmental costs, and connect their choices to sustainable futures. They should use maps, data, and debates to defend their positions with evidence from multiple perspectives.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Mapping Activity: Energy Export Flows, watch for students who assume pipelines and routes have no environmental impact.

  Direct students to add symbols for spills, deforestation, or water use along their mapped routes, then discuss which communities or ecosystems bear the greatest burden.

• During Debate Stations: Resource Trade-offs, listen for students who claim all energy exports provide equal economic benefits without considering market volatility.

  Provide students with recent price fluctuation data for oil and hydro during the debate, and ask them to adjust their economic arguments based on current trends.

• During Future Scenarios Simulation: Climate Role-Play, notice if students dismiss renewable energy’s role in Canada’s future.

  Include scenario cards that mandate renewable energy growth targets, and have students calculate energy output changes to see how hydro and wind could replace fossil fuels over time.

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Methods used in this brief

• Formal Debate