Teaching Tips

In his book, Voices of the Plains Cree, Edward Ahenakew wrote that "the place where a man lives can shape his character." This is a worthy thought to remember as we educate our youth. So much of who we are is formed by where we are from. If we want our young people to have pride in our province, to understand the potential that exists in Prince Albert, we have to teach them about the city's past.

Here are a few classroom activities to help your students become Prince Albert patriots.

Grade 1 to 4

1) Make a mural

  • Review the Industry and Timeline sections of the website.
  • Ask students to create a mural using images that represent what Prince Albert means to them.
  • This activity can be done using crayons and paper, or you can make it into a collage by cutting out pictures and words about Prince Albert from newspapers or tourism information.


2) Flag Fun

  • Review the Fast Facts section of the website.
  • Ask students to draw the Prince Albert flag.
  • Ask students to explain what the flags colours and symbols mean.

3) Take a tour

  • Review the People and Places Quiz section of the website
  • Tell students they have been hired as a Prince Albert tour guide and must create a spiel to give on their tour bus.
  • Ask students to each pick one location they would include on their tour. Students then explain why they chose that location, why the location is significant to Prince Albert, and three interesting facts about it.

Grades 5 to 8

1) Create a timeline.

  • Ask students to create a timeline using the information found in the Timeline and Rivers of Trivia sections of the website.

2)Take a trip

  • Spilt the classroom into groups of four.

  • Tell each group their task is to plan a vacation in Prince Albert.
  • Students are asked to come up with four different places to visit in Prince Albert.
  • Students must remember that each person in their group has a different interest. One person enjoys the outdoors, another enjoys the arts. The third member of the group is interested in history, while the fourth person enjoys seeing local points of interest.
  • Each person chooses which interest they want to research. The Prince Albert tourism website (http://www.patourism.ca ) contains all the information students need.
  • After an appropriate amount of time, each group reunites and shares the places they have selected with the rest of the class.
  • Students should be able to answer the following four questions.
1) What is the name of the place you have chosen?
2) Where is it located in Prince Albert?
3) Why did you choose this place?
4) Why is the place important to Prince Albert?

3) Create a collage

  • Review the Industry and Timeline sections of the website.
  • Ask students to create a mural using images that represent what Prince Albert means to them.
  • Students can draw the images or collect them from the newspaper, tourism office, historical museum or library.

Grades 9 to 12

1) Essay Ideas

Industry Essay

  • Review the Industry section of the website.
  • Ask students to research and write an essay on an industry that has been important to Prince Albert.

Identity Essay

  • Start a class dialogue on how a person's physical surroundings can shape their identity.
  • Follow up essays include asking students to write three paragraphs on identity. Students write the first paragraph about a place in Prince Albert that is meaningful to them. Students write the second paragraph about an event in Prince Albert that has changed their perception of the world. Students write the third paragraph about what they would miss if they moved away from Prince Albert.

2) Create a timeline.

  • Ask students to create a timeline using the information found in the Timeline and Rivers of Trivia sections of the website.

3) Quiz class

  • Give students the People and Places, or Rivers of Trivia quiz.

4) Take a Tour

  • Tell students to imagine Tourism Prince Albert has asked the class to design a guided tour of the city.
  • The tour must include; outdoor activities available in the area, notable local artists and art attractions, historical trivia and places, local points of interest and well-known sports teams in the city.
  • Each person chooses a location or trivia tidbit they want to research. The Prince Albert tourism website (http://www.patourism.ca) contains information that will be helpful to students.
  • After an appropriate amount of time, students reunite and share their research with the rest of the class.
  • Students mark the different tour destinations on a city map and decide on the most efficient route.
  • The tour destinations and tidbits are compiled. Photocopies of the final tour route are given to each of the students as a souvenir.