B. People and Environments · Global Communities

Living With the Land and Climate

B1 B3.6 B3.7About 40 minutes

Learning goals

I can describe how people adapt their homes, travel, work and play to the land and climate where they live.
I can explain how some communities prepare for things like floods and earthquakes.
I can describe ways people change the environment, and ways to take care of it.

Words to know

adapt
To change the way you do things so they work well where you live.

environment
Everything around us: land, water, air, plants, animals and the things people build.

permafrost
Ground that stays frozen all year, even in summer. It is found in the Arctic.

earthquake
When the ground suddenly shakes because huge pieces of rock under Earth's surface move.

transportation
The ways people and things get from place to place, like cars, buses, boats, bikes and planes.

recreation
Things people do for fun in their free time, like sports and games.

People adapt

When you go outside in January, you put on a snowsuit. When you go to the beach in July, you put on sunscreen. You are adapting: changing what you do to fit the weather.

Whole communities adapt too! People change the way they build, travel, work and play to fit the land and climate where they live.

Homes: building on frozen ground

In the Arctic, like in Iqaluit, Nunavut, a layer of ground called permafrost stays frozen all year. If a warm house sat right on the ground, its heat could melt the permafrost. The ground would get soft and muddy, and the house could tip or crack!

So many buildings there stand on posts (called piles) that go deep into the frozen ground. Cold air flows under the house and keeps the ground frozen.

A row of colourful wooden houses in a snowy Arctic town, each standing on metal posts above the ground. — Look underneath the houses: they stand on posts so that cold air can flow below and keep the frozen ground from melting. AI-generated image

A house built on posts over permafrost. Air flowing underneath keeps the frozen ground from melting.

How people adapt	Example community	Why
Travel by snowmobile in winter and by plane all year	Iqaluit, Nunavut	There are no roads connecting Iqaluit to the rest of Canada, and the land is snowy much of the year.
Travel by boat on canals	Venice, Italy	The city is built on islands in a lagoon. Canals are its "streets", and water buses carry people.
Travel by cable car	La Paz, Bolivia	The city is built in the steep Andes mountains. Cable cars carry people up and down like a bus in the sky.
Travel by bicycle	the Netherlands	The land is very flat, so biking is easy. Many people ride bikes to school and work.
Play: skating, hockey and skiing	many communities in Canada	Cold winters bring ice and snow.
Play: surfing and swimming	coastal towns in Australia	Warm weather and ocean beaches.
Work: fishing	coastal communities in Newfoundland and Labrador	They are beside the Atlantic Ocean.
Work: growing wheat	farms on the Prairies	Large, flat plains are good for big fields.

Communities adapt their travel, play and work to their land and climate

Being ready for nature

Some communities adapt to big events in nature.

Japan has many earthquakes. Many buildings there are specially built to bend and sway a little instead of breaking. Children practise earthquake drills at school, just like you practise fire drills.
In the Netherlands, a lot of the land is lower than the sea. People built long walls of earth called dikes, and they use pumps to keep the water out. Long ago, windmills helped pump the water.
In Ontario, communities get ready for winter storms with snowplows, salt trucks and snow days.

In the Netherlands, a dike (a long wall of earth) holds back the sea, and pumps lift extra water from the low land back over the dike.

People change the environment too

The environment changes how people live. But people also change the environment. People cut down forests to build towns and farms, dig mines, build dams and make garbage and pollution.

Some changes help people, but they can hurt plants, animals, water and air. So communities around the world try to take care of the environment: planting trees, keeping water clean, recycling, and protecting parks.

Many First Nations, Métis and Inuit people teach that we should respect the land, water and animals, take only what we need, and think about how our choices will affect the people who come after us. These are good lessons for everyone.

Funny but true

Imagine if your school bus were a boat! In Venice, Italy, that's real: people ride water buses along the canals.

Worked example

Let's think like a community planner

A new town will be built on a flat plain beside a river that sometimes floods in spring. Winters are cold and snowy. How could the town adapt?

Floods: Build houses on higher ground, away from the river's edge. Keep the land by the river as a park, so it can flood without hurting homes.
Cold winters: Build warm, well-heated homes. Buy snowplows to clear the roads.
Flat land: It is easy to build roads, bike paths and farms.
Fun: In winter, make an outdoor skating rink. In summer, people can canoe or fish on the river.
Care for the environment: Plant trees and keep garbage out of the river.

The town adapts by building away from the flood zone, preparing for snow, using the flat land for roads and farms, and enjoying and protecting the river.

Hands-on activity

Adapt-a-house challenge

You need: a shoebox or small box, paper, tape, craft sticks or straws, and crayons.

A grown-up picks a card (or just tells you) one of these places:

Arctic (frozen ground, very cold)
near a lake that floods every rainy season
hot, dry desert
a place with earthquakes

Turn your box into a house adapted to that place. For example: add posts or stilts, a big roof for shade, small windows to keep heat in, or a strong, wide base.
Explain to your family: "My house is adapted to ____ because ____."

Test it: If you built stilts, put your house in a tray and pour in a little water. Does it stay dry?

Your turn

What does adapt mean?

What is permafrost?

Why do many buildings in Iqaluit stand on posts?

How do many people get around in Venice, Italy?

Why do children in Japan practise earthquake drills?

Name one winter sport people play in Canada because of the cold climate.

Name one way people can take care of the environment.

More practice: warm-up

Is putting on a snowsuit in winter a way of adapting?

What are dikes?

Which country is very flat and has lots of bicycles?

Name one way to travel to Iqaluit from Ontario.

Name one way people change the environment.

More practice: on your own

Why do people in La Paz, Bolivia, ride cable cars?

Why are many people in Newfoundland and Labrador coastal communities fishers?

How do people in the Netherlands keep the sea from flooding their low land?

Give one way the environment affects people, and one way people affect the environment.

What do many First Nations, Métis and Inuit people teach about the land?

Challenge

If the permafrost under a house melts, what could happen? Why?

Your family moves from Toronto to a town in Australia beside the ocean. Name two ways your family might adapt.

A town wants to build a parking lot by cutting down a forest by the river. Give one good thing and one problem. What could they do instead?

Check your understanding

Quiz

To adapt means to...

Why do many buildings in Iqaluit stand on posts?

In Venice, Italy, many people get around by...

Which country builds dikes to keep the sea out?

Why do schools in Japan have earthquake drills?

Which is a way to take care of the environment?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Communities adapt to their land and climate in how they build, travel, work and play, and some prepare for natural events like floods and earthquakes. People also change the environment, so caring for it matters.

How to help at home:

Notice adaptations in your own community: snowplows, salted sidewalks, air conditioners, flood barriers, bike lanes.
Look at photos or short videos of Venice, La Paz's cable cars or Iqaluit with your child and ask, "Why do you think they do it that way?"
Do one environmental action together this week (pick up litter, plant something, sort recycling).

Common difficulties and sensitivities:

Natural events can be scary. Keep the focus on how people prepare and stay safe (drills, strong buildings). Reassure your child about your own family's safety plans.
Thinking adapting is only for faraway places. Point out that Canadians adapt to winter every year.
Indigenous perspectives. The lesson describes, in general terms, teachings shared by many First Nations, Métis and Inuit people about respect for the land. Teachings differ between Nations and communities; if you live near a First Nation or Métis or Inuit organization, its website or cultural centre may share local teachings.