Unit 1 Targets

Click on the coloured tabs to view the learning goals for each chapter.

At the end of Chapter 1, you should be able to answer the following questions.

  1. What were the various ways the Mi’kmaq, Haudenosaunee, and Anishinabe societies were structured?
  2. What were the values and beliefs of the Aboriginal societies?
  3. How did their structure influence decision-making?
  4. What were the similarities and differences of the societies?


Lesson 1 is about understanding the creation stories and values and beliefs of the Mi’kmaq, Anishinabe, and Haudenosaunee people.

You should be able to answer the following questions at the end of Lesson 1.

  • What were some of the shared values and beliefs of the Mi’kmaq, Anishinabe, and Haudenosaunee?
  • How are the stories of creation from these societies similar or different?
Lesson 2 is about developing an understanding of the cultural societies of the Mi’kmaq, Anishinabe, and Haudenosaunee people.

You should be able to answer the following questions at the end of Lesson 2.

  • How were the societies of the Mi’kmaq, Anishinabe, and Haudenosaunee people the same?  How were they different?
  • What was the structure of each of these societies?
Lesson 3 is about Aboriginal economies. The term economy refers to the ways people meet their basic needs such as food, clothing, and shelter.

You should be able to answer the following questions at the end of Lesson 3.

  • What type of economy did each society have?
  • What were the pros (pluses) and cons (minuses) of each type of economy?

At the end of Chapter 2, you should be able to answer the following questions.  

  1. What characterized the societies and relationships of the Aboriginal and French peoples in early Canada?
  2. Who were the key figures in the French exploration and settlement?
  3. How did Aboriginal groups and Europeans interact with each other?
  4. What was the effect of imperialism on the First Nations’ societies?
  5. What kind of societies did the French colonists develop in their North American colonies?

Lesson 1 explains the concept of imperialism and explains reasons other countries wanted to develop settlements in North America.

You should be able to answer the following questions at the end of Lesson 1.

  • What were the reasons the imperial countries of Europe wanted to establish colonies in North America?
  • Who was Jacques Cartier, and what did the Aboriginals think about the first contact with the Europeans?
Lesson 2 explains how France expanded its empire and how the settlement of Quebec was established.

You should be able to answer the following questions at the end of Lesson 2.

  • Who was Samuel de Champlain and what was his part in establishing Quebec?
  • What were the positive and negative economic aspects of the colonies from the perspective of the people who lived there?
Lesson 3 explains the government of New France and the people who lived in New France.

You should be able to answer the following questions at the end of Lesson 3.

  • Why was the Sovereign Council created to govern New France?
  • Who were other key people living in New France?
  • What was the social structure of New France?

At the end of Chapter 3, you should be able to answer the following questions.

  1. What were the similarities and differences between French and British colonies in North America?
  2. What effects did colonization have on First Nations people?
  3. Who were the key figures in the British exploration and settlement of North America?

Lesson 1 explains the benefits and drawbacks of the mercantile system from the perspectives of the home country, colonists, and the First Nations people.

You should be able to answer the following questions at the end of Lesson 1.

  • Why and where did the British establish colonies in North America, and how did that conflict with the French in New France?
  • Who was John Cabot?
Lesson 2 explains how the Hudson’s Bay Company was founded.

You should be able to answer the following questions at the end of Lesson 2.

  • How did Groseilliers and Radisson establish the Hudson’s Bay Company?
  • Why was the Hudson’s Bay Company important?
Lesson 3 provides more details about the fur traders who traveled west into the interior.

You should be able to answer the following question at the end of Lesson 3.

  • Who were the key explorers who traveled to the interior of Canada, and what were their accomplishments?

At the end of Chapter 4, you should be able to answer the following questions.

  1. How did the various peoples in North America both work together in the fur trade and compete to control it?
  2. How did economic competition shape the fur trade?
  3. What roles did the First Nations, French, and British have in the fur trade?
  4. What effects did the fur trade have on diverse people?

Lesson 1 explains how the First Nations and the Europeans traded with each other at trading posts.

You should be able to answer the following question at the end of Lesson 1.

  • How did the First Nations and Europeans trade with each other at trading posts at the beginning of the fur trade?
Lesson 2 explains some of the differences between the English and French fur trade.

You should be able to answer the following question at the end of Lesson 2. 

  • What were some of the major differences between what the English and the French wanted from the fur trade?
Lesson 3 explains the Nor’Westers who continued to expand the fur trade.

You should be able to answer the following questions at the end of Lesson 3.

  • Who were the Nor’Westers men, and what did they do?
  • What were some negative aspects of the fur trade for the First Nations?