Exploring coastal communities

Explore the following images of some coastal communities in Canada.

Description

In a notebook, or using another method of your choice, answer the following questions. If possible, share your thoughts with a partner.

• What region of Canada are these communities located in?
• What do you notice about the geography of the communities?
• How are they like or unlike the community you live in?
• How do you think weather and climate might impact these communities?

The two communities shown in the images are the East Coast towns of Twillingate and McCallum, Newfoundland, Canada. Both of these towns are outports, small coastal communities with harbours, or ports, for fishing, or sending and receiving goods by sea.

In this learning activity, we will learn how sustainability issues have impacted and changed the lives of some Atlantic (or East Coast of Canada) fishing communities.

Exploring Atlantic fishing communities

The Beothuk and Mi’kmaq were the original people and fishing communities within the province we now call Newfoundland. These communities had lived along the coasts for several thousand years before the arrival of European settlers. The Atlantic Ocean supplied the Beothuk's and Mi’kmaq’s diet with fish, birds, seals, and other sea mammals.

European settlers first came to the Atlantic coast in 1497 to extract natural resources: fish. At first, they fished cod in the warmer months and then returned to England with their catch over winter. By the 1700s, permanent year-round settlements of English and French settlers started to grow along the coast of Newfoundland. This had a huge impact on the Beothuk and the Mi’kmaq, who were forced inland, away from their ancestral territories. They now had to compete with the increasing number of settlers for access to both the land and the ocean. This competition for natural resources contributed to the eventual end of distinct Beothuk communities in Newfoundland as many Beothuk were, in turn, absorbed into Mi’kmaq communities to ensure their survival.

Fishing has always been central to life in Newfoundland: it is an important part of its history, economy, and culture. Fishing was a tradition passed down through generations in many families. Numerous small coastal communities depended on fishing as their primary economic activity. However, from about the 1950s on, intense overfishing led to some species of codfish (or “cod”) becoming extinct. In 1992 the Government of Canada banned cod fishing to prevent this species of fish from becoming extinct. The ban was supposed to last for only two years to allow the cod fish population to increase, but it is still in effect today.

Consider:

Record your thinking in a notebook or using another method of your choice.

Check out the following short film titled Last Fish, First Boat to learn about the creative and innovative solution that one person developed when faced with the end of cod fishing in Eastern Canada.

Post viewing questions

Now that you’ve watched the short film Last Fish, First Boat, it’s time to check what you’ve learned!

For each of the following questions, select the correct answer from the options provided. After making your choice, click Check Answer to see the result.

Reflect:

Record your answers to the following questions in a notebook or using another method of your choice. If possible, discuss your thoughts with a partner.

1. How did Eugene Maloney demonstrate a creative, innovative, and entrepreneurial solution to the cod fishing ban?
2. In your opinion, do you think this was an effective solution? What other solutions might there be?
3. What more would you like to know about the fishing ban in Newfoundland?

When you are done, press Possible Answers to review some examples of how Eugene Maloney demonstrates creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship in Last Fish, First Boat.

Possible Answers

Writing a summary

A summary tells the essential parts of a story’s plot, without giving too much detail. Sometimes, a summary can turn into a retelling if we do not limit the information we choose to include.

Let's explore a strategy that is an effective way to summarize the main points of a story without retelling it. It is sometimes known as the “Five-Fingers Summary”.

Let’s practice using the “Five-Fingers” strategy by summarizing Last Fish, First Boat. Use the following Graphic Organizer or another method of your choice to practice summarizing the main points.

When you’re done creating your summary, press Possible Answers to compare your work to a modelled example. Did you capture all of the necessary details?

Possible Answers

Exploring a fictional text

Last Fish, First Boat was a nonfiction example of a story about the impacts of the ban on cod fishing in Eastern Canada. Nonfiction means that the details in the story represent real life and a real person’s perspective of what happened.

Next, let’s explore a fictional text on the same topic. Fictional means that the characters and what happens to them in the story are made up (not real) even though the banning of cod fishing was a real event.

Before you begin reading, let’s preview some vocabulary from the text.

Read the following fictional short story called Duncan’s Way by Ian Wallace, about a Newfoundland family adjusting to the effects of the ban on cod fishing.

Learning check!

In a notebook, or using another method of your choice, answer the following comprehension questions about the fictional short story “Duncan’s Way” by Ian Wallace.

1. Describe how the end of fishing has impacted Duncan’s family.
2. What is Duncan’s goal in this story?
3. Duncan’s plan has several benefits for his family. What are some benefits you can think of?
4. How does Duncan’s plan demonstrate creativity, innovation , and entrepreneurship?

When you are finished, press Sample Answers to compare your answers with some modelled examples.

Sample Answers

Grammar routine: nouns as direct objects

Examine the following sentences:

1. The Government banned cod fishing.
2. Eugene built boats for the coastal communities.
3. Duncan helped his family.
4. Duncan created a plan for his family.

The easiest way to identify the direct object in a sentence is to first identify the verb, or action, in the sentence. Next, ask the question “who or what does the verb apply to?”

Let’s reexamine one of the sentences and break it down so we can identify the direct object.

Putting it all together

Let’s review some of the vocabulary explored in this learning activity.

For each vocabulary term, select the correct definition.

Writing a summary for “Duncan’s Way”

In this learning activity, you explored how people in some Canadian communities found creative solutions when they were affected by big changes. You also learned a strategy for summarizing a literary text efficiently.

Now it's your turn to write a paragraph summary for the story “Duncan’s Way” by Ian Wallace that you read in the Action section of this learning activity.

Complete the fillable and printable Five-Finger Summary Activity in your notebook or using the following document. If you would like, you can use speech-to-text or audio recording tools to record your thoughts.

Reflection

As you read through these descriptions, which sentence best describes how you are feeling about your understanding of this learning activity? Press the button that is beside this sentence.

Now, record your ideas using a voice recorder, speech-to-text, or writing tool.