Alberta's Six Regions

This week in Grade 3, we continued our Social Studies learning by building our understanding of Canada and where Alberta fits within our country. We were excited to zoom in and begin exploring the six geographical regions of Alberta.

To help us learn, we sang fun songs about Canada and Alberta, which helped us remember important places and features. We also used loose parts (such as rocks, buttons, sticks, and fabric) to create our own maps of Alberta, showing each of the six regions. Students worked together to think about shapes, borders, and textures that could represent mountains, forests, grasslands, and more. The results were wonderful!

We then began learning in depth about the Grassland Region. Students discovered that this region is home to wide open spaces, prairie grasses, unique wildlife, and dramatic landforms like hoodoos and coulees. We had great conversations about how wind, water, and erosion shape the land over time.

We are excited to keep exploring the rest of Alberta’s regions in the coming weeks as we continue to build our knowledge of our province and our country!

How Families Can Support Learning at Home

Here are some easy ways to extend our learning and spark great conversations:

Ask your child questions such as:

• “What are the six regions of Alberta? Which one are we studying right now?”
• “What did you learn about the Grassland Region today?”
• “Can you explain what hoodoos or coulees are?”
• “How did you use loose parts to represent Alberta on your map?”

🌿 Try simple extension activities:

• Look at a map of Alberta together and find the Grassland Region.
• Explore photos or videos of hoodoos (like the Drumheller area) and talk about how they were formed.
• Compare Alberta’s regions—Which ones have mountains? Which ones have lots of trees?
• Take a walk and notice landforms or natural features in your community. How might they be similar to or different from other regions of Alberta?

These small conversations and experiences help strengthen your child’s understanding of our province and Canada as a whole.