Blackline maps for Canadian History--help!

[Alana in Canada]

I don't think what I need exists, yet!

For example, for the lesson I'm making up tonight, I need a nice close-up map of James Bay. Bonus marks if it has Fort Charles (or Fort Rupert), Moose Fort (or Monsoni), and Fort Albany (Quichichouane) marked on it.

I want the beautiful black-line maps like those in the SoTW Activity Books. I have looked at the items offered by the company (Truthquest wasn't it?) But given its inevitable US slant, I'm afraid it just isn't going to have enough of what I need to justify the expense.

Black-line maps do exist--and I have a list of sites I can share if anyone's interested: but the political boundaries by which they are categorized and displayed are completely unsuitable for my purpose. I don't want a map of Ontario when studying the Jesuit missions (though that's where they were); I need a map of Ontario AND Quebec to show their relationship to the St. Lawrence and Quebec City!

Any help would be much appreciated! (I've tried taking outline maps of "Canada" and enlarging them in my photo manipulation software, but the resolution is lousy, as you would expect.)

Any help would be MUCH appreciated!
TIA.

Edited to add: too exciting: I found a map of Iberville's campaign against the HBC here: http://www.cmhg.gc.ca/cmh/en/image_84.asp?page_id=75 Gotta love Google. It's not a blackline, though!

[Colleen in NS]

I've searched for Canadian blackline maps, too, to no avail.

[Sunkirst]

Not sure if this will help, but we use National Geographic's Map Machine for all sorts of maps. Just select continent, country, and the level of detail you prefer. I don't think they offer any historical maps however.

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/atlas/

[Alana in Canada]

Colleen, I think you are right! ;)
(but probably not a lot of $$!)


Here are the sites I do know of, since you are looking too: Again, they are subdivided by political boundaries--though there is one for the "Maritimes" at the first one which is helpful.

1)http://www.canadainfolink.ca/blankmap.htm

2)(look under C for Canada) http://geography.about.com/library/blank/blxindex.htm

3)Here's a great one of the Great lakes region. I used my "clone" tool to "erase" all the state lines:
http://worldatlas.com/webimage/testmaps/glkoutline.htm

4) http://worldatlas.com/webimage/testmaps/maps.htm

5) and here is a whole slew of "reference" maps for Canadian History. http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/historical/exploration#exploration

Oh and Enchanted Learning has more reference type maps for explorers.

Thanks for the Nat'l Geographic site. I had it bookmarked--and had forgotten about it! I'll try saving, resizing and cropping and see how the image resolution holds up! If it works well, I may have a solution. (Though, still a lot of work).:eek:

[Karin]

Yes, missing, just like a really good Canadian history book for kids doesn't exist yet--we had that discussion once, right? Maybe with different Canadians. But I suggested one be written that traces the lives of interesting Canadians through history with info on their times. It doesn't exist. I wonder if anyone is now writing it? We're waiting:)!!! We didn't do a lot of mapwork when my girls did their Canadian stuff in Gr. 4. I still haven't found a good middle school one and am guessing it will have to wait until high school.

[Alana in Canada]

There is actually quite a bit out there when you start looking.

I haven't finished this yet--and it isn't "perfect" but I've put together a course syllabus using an old edition of Dickie's My First History of Canada as a spine. I'm up to Lesson 10 (her chapter 9--I decided to spend a week on Vikings just for fun).

Just to give you an idea of what's what: Lesson 10 deals with d' Iberville's attacks on the HBC forts in James Bay, Frontenac, and the story of Madeleine Vercheres.

Anyway, I'll link to it for you: it's in blog format so I could keep track of links and resources and so on. The "blog entries" are the lesson plans.

Anyway, here's the link to what I'm working on:
http://elementaryhistoryofcanada.blogspot.com/

The resouces sidebar links to several great sites containing all kinds of info in biographical form. The Virtual Museum of New France, the History site of Hudson's Bay Company, and Pathfinders and Passageways come to mind.

Canadian History, by the by, is very difficult. It makes the most sense when organized by region--but then it isn't chronological--so it jumps around from place to place a lot! That's why I want the maps so badly!

As for doing it by person: there are biographies out there.
Famous Canadian Stories by George Tait. (I've just come across it, I haven't seen it)
and for youngsters: Great Canadian Lives by Karen Ford

As well, for high school, there's a lot of original source material available, though I haven't looked into it in depth. It's quite exciting.

[Karin]

Excellent. I'm going to look at your blog. Did you post on the old boards? If so, you must have missed our lament. I hated Canadian History in high school, but did study some of it at SFU--2 Canadian history courses in regular history and a few Canadian women's history courses. Personally, I don't care much for the political history, but the fur trade is interesting, as well as other aspects of Canadian history.

[Alana in Canada]

Thanks Karin.

I post in spurts--sort of intensely for a few months and then, silence.

I never studied Canadian History--at all. I jumped around three different provinces and sort of missed it. Grade 10 was a sort of "How the Government got this way" but nothing intrigued me until a class I took in journalism school on Journalism law. I happen to think the division of powers between the Federal and provincial governments (and the role of Great Britain in the whole "amending" mess) quite interesting. But, I was in my twenties when I learned about all of that.

Yeah, when I graduate the kids, I might try and take a few courses in Constitutional law. Maybe.

[Karin]

What's funny is that my favourite teacher in all of high school is the one who taught the Canadian History part of Social Studies in Gr 10. He now teaches Philosophy of Education at my alma mater, of all things. I can honestly say that I don't remember a single thing I learned in that class even though I did well in it. I do remember him telling us about his home country and singing the song "Dream, dream, dream, dream, dream, Dream." We thought he was cool, anyway!