ARCHIVED - Canada: A Literary Tour

Educational Resources

Activity 4

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Unknown Stories of a Landscape

Introduction

There may be evidence of unknown or forgotten stories when a landscape is explored. For instance, a six-metre tree has most likely seen landscape change in different ways and from a different perspective than most people have. By discovering these stories, people have a different way of viewing surroundings and a chance to experiment with perspective in writing. In this activity, students will create the story of their personal landscape. For ideas, the teacher may wish to read a poem or passage of prose that relates to the topic of landscape. For poetry or book suggestions, see the virtual exhibition Canada: A Literary Tour or the Activity Resources section.

Materials

• A picture from a magazine, a photograph, a newspaper or a publication depicting the environment in which students live (for examples, see the Literary Landscapes or Literary Cities sections of the Canada: A Literary Tour website); or
• Photographs taken by the students

Performance and Assessment

The teacher may create an assessment tool or rubric to measure the following:

• Has the student critically assessed the role of an object in the landscape?
• Is the story of the object in relation to its environment revealing and compelling?
• Has the student demonstrated an understanding of how parts of a landscape interact with the world?

Instructions

1. Students will choose one object from the photograph in front of them.
2. Students will write about the relationship this object has with the other objects that occupy its landscape. For instance, how might the dirt road view the clouds or passing cars? Students are encouraged to use their five senses to imagine that object's experience of its environment.
3. After establishing these relationships, students will write a story or poem from the perspective of one of the objects in its landscape.

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