THE CANADIAN ATLAS ONLINE
NEW BRUNSWICK – GRADE 9
Weather Extremes in Canada: Understanding the Sources
and Dangers of Weather
Lesson Overview
This lesson will focus on the extremes of weather and how they affect Canada. Important
meteorological factors such as air masses, warm fronts and the thunderstorms associated with cold
fronts will be covered. The lesson will also look at some of the dangers associated with weather
extremes in Canada.
Grade Level
Grades 9-12 (secondary school)
Time Required
90-120 minutes
Curriculum connection
New Brunswick, Grade 12 Canadian Geography and/or Grade 11 Physical Geography
Link to Canadian National Geography Standards
Essential Elements #3 (Grades 9-12) – Physical Systems
 Physical processes shape Earth’s surface and interact with plant and animal life to create, sustain
and modify the cultural and natural environment. Physical systems include such things as wind
and ocean currents, plate tectonics, erosion, deposition and water
Geography Skills #2 (Grades 9-12) – Acquiring Geographic Information
 Systematically locate and gather geographic information from a variety of primary and secondary
sources
Geography Skills #4 (Grades 9-12) – Analyzing geographic information
 Makes inferences and draw conclusions from maps and other geographic representations
 Use the process of analysis, synthesis, evaluation and explanation to interpret geographic
information from a variety of sources
Primary Resource
The Canadian Atlas p.14-15. You can also use the related pages of The Canadian Atlas website at
www.canadiangeographic.ca/atlas.
Additional resources
 Student worksheet (provided)
 CBC Archives of Hurricane Hazel (Toronto 1954)
http://archives.cbc.ca/300c.asp?IDCat=70&IDDos=77&IDLan=1&IDMenu=70
 Hurricane Juan (Halifax 2003) with photo gallery:
http://novascotia.cbc.ca/features/HalifaxHurricane/
 CBC Archives of the Quebec Ice Storm of 1998:
http://archives.cbc.ca/IDD-1-70-258/disasters_tragedies_extreme_weather/ice_storm/
 White Juan snowstorm (Halifax 2004) with photo gallery:
http://www.atl.ec.gc.ca/weather/severe/2003-2004/whitejuan_e.html
Canadian Council for Geographic Education
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THE CANADIAN ATLAS ONLINE
NEW BRUNSWICK – GRADE 9
 Red River Flood (Manitoba 1997):
http://archives.cbc.ca/IDD-1-70-670/disasters_tragedies/manitoba_floods/
Main Objective
The main objective of the lesson is to introduce students to the various factors that influence weather
and create weather extremes in Canada.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
 Use the Canadian Atlas
 Identify the air masses that affect Canada
 Distinguish between a cold front and a warm front
 Find the causes of weather extremes in Canada
 Research various weather extremes in Canadian history
 Identify the dangers associated with various weather extremes
Lesson
Teacher Activity
Canadian Council for Geographic Education
Student Activity
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THE CANADIAN ATLAS ONLINE
NEW BRUNSWICK – GRADE 9
Introduction
 Introduce the lesson by having
students suggest important storms in
Canadian history
 Students will brainstorm to identify
some famous weather storms in
Canada
Lesson
Development
 Introduce p. 14-15 from the Canadian
Atlas by reviewing the Climate Zones
of Canada and the climate graphs. The
teacher will mention that climate
zones are characterized by
temperature and precipitation. The
teacher will ask the students what are
some of the factors that influence the
climate zones: such as elevation,
latitude, nearness to water, physical
barriers.
 Students will collect the Canadian
Atlases and review the section on p.
14-15 with their teacher. The
students will speculate on what
factors influence climate and
participate in class discussion as
required in the introduction
Lesson
Development
 Assign the questions in the Student
Activity Sheet provided.
(cont’d)
 Review the answers with the students
in class or assign as homework for the
following class
 Students will answer the questions
from the Student Activity Sheet
provided using the Canadian Atlas
Conclusion
 Assign a follow-up assignment that
looks at specific storms in Canada’s
history. Have groups of three or four
students research one of the storms
listed to the right in the student
activity. Each group can prepare a
power point presentation on a
Canadian storm. See Additional
Resources for Web Sites. Each
presentation should last 15 minutes.
 Students use the additional resources
to research famous storms such as
Hurricane Hazel, Hurricane Juan, the
Quebec Ice Storm, White Juan
snowstorm and the Red River Flood.
 Conclude with a comparison of
weather extremes with other natural
disasters that are not of a
meteorological origin such as
earthquakes or volcanic eruptions
 Students participate by suggesting
weather events for comparison and
speculating on the relative danger of
each type of natural disaster
Assessment of Student Learning
 The teacher shall review the next day by asking questions concerning the lesson covered
 The teacher may prepare a quiz covering the principal points of the lesson
 The teacher shall assess the follow up assignment by using the rubric on the next page
Rubric for Follow Up Assignment
Power Point
Rubric
Excellent
Proficient
Introduction
The introduction
draws the
audience into the
presentation using
The introduction is
clear and coherent
and relates to the
topic.
Canadian Council for Geographic Education
Acceptable
The introduction
has structure but
does not entice
the audience.
Incomplete
The introduction
does not orient
the audience to
what will follow.
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THE CANADIAN ATLAS ONLINE
NEW BRUNSWICK – GRADE 9
an interesting
fact, a compelling
question, image or
video clip.
Script
(presentation)
The content is
clear and concise
with a logical
progression of
ideas. Information
is accurate and
comes mainly
from primary
sources.
The content has a
logical progression
of ideas.
The content is
vague in
conveying a point
of view that does
not create a
strong sense of
purpose.
The content lacks
a clear point of
view and a logical
sequence of ideas.
Does not include
enough
information.
Text Elements
(words with
the slides)
The fonts are easy
to read and point
size varies
appropriately for
headings and text.
The background
enhances the
readability of the
text.
Sometimes the
fonts are easy to
read, but in a few
places the use of
fonts, italics,
animation, colour
or busy
background
detracts from the
text.
Overall readability
is difficult with
lengthy
paragraphs, too
many different
fonts and a busy
background.
The text is difficult
to read with long
blocks of text and
small fonts,
distracting
animations,
inappropriate
contrasting
colours and poor
use of headings
and subheadings.
Slides
(graphics
sounds and
videos)
The graphics,
sound and/or
video make visual
connections that
enhance
understanding of
concepts, ideas
and relationships.
Original images
are created using
proper size and all
images enhance
the content.
The graphics,
sound and/or
video assist the
audience in
understanding the
flow of information
or content.
Original images
are proper size
and resolution.
Some of the
graphics, sound
and/or video seem
unrelated to the
topic and do not
enhance the
overall concepts.
Images are poorly
cropped.
The graphics,
sound and/or
video are
unrelated to the
content. Graphics
do not enhance
understanding of
the content or are
distracting
decorations that
detract from the
content.
Student Activity Sheet
Part A – Meteorological Factors
1. a) Name the five air masses that affect Canada’s weather in column 1 of the table below.
b) Why are some air masses dry while others are humid? Use the names of the air masses and
what you have learned about each to identify their characteristics.
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
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THE CANADIAN ATLAS ONLINE
NEW BRUNSWICK – GRADE 9
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
c) Check off the characteristics of each air mass in columns 2, 3, 4 and 5 of the chart.
Name of Air Mass
Moist
Dry
Warm
Cold
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
2. a) Explain the difference between a cold front and a warm front.
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
b) How do clouds and precipitation differ between a cold front and a warm front?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
3. a) What are the factors needed for a thunderstorm to develop?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
b) What triggers the electrical discharge (lightning)?
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
c) What causes the thunder?
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
4. How can a tornado develop within a thunderstorm?
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
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THE CANADIAN ATLAS ONLINE
NEW BRUNSWICK – GRADE 9
5. Why does freezing rain freeze?
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
Part B – Meteorological Danger
1.
What is the greatest threat of ice storms? What was the cost (in lives and in dollars) of the
Quebec Ice Storm of 1998?
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
2.
Which regions of Canada are most prone to tornadoes? Why?
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
3.
What was Canada’s deadliest twister? What damage did it do?
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
4.
What was Canada’s deadliest hurricane? What damage did it do?
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
5.
When is the hurricane season? Why? Where do hurricanes strike Canada most often?
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
Canadian Council for Geographic Education
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