Grade 4 · Social Studies · Unit 2 of 9
Jacques Cartier
Voyages up the St. Lawrence and the first French settlements
What your child practises
Cartier made three voyages for France in 1534, 1535 and 1541. Children learn who he met at Stadacona and Hochelaga, where the name Canada comes from, why his settlement attempt did not last, and why Indigenous peoples already lived on the land.
Alberta Curriculum learning outcome: Jacques Cartier and early settlements · Cartier's voyages, the people he met, and the early French settlement attempts
Sample questions
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
A voyage is…
🧭- a kind of food
- a long trip, especially by sea
- a short nap
- a map
Show answer
a long trip, especially by sea
Hint: Cartier made three voyages.
Question 2
Why can we say the land was not “discovered” by Cartier?
🌎- no one lived there
- people had lived there for thousands of years
- the land was empty
- he had been there as a child
Show answer
people had lived there for thousands of years
Hint: Indigenous peoples had always known and used these lands.
Question 3
Cartier's ships set out from which French port?
⚓- Lyon
- Paris
- Saint-Malo
- Calais
Show answer
Saint-Malo
Hint: Saint-Malo is a port on France's northwest coast.
Question 4
Why did trust break down between Cartier and the people of Stadacona?
💔- he took Chief Donnacona and others to France, and they did not return
- he built them houses
- he gave them gold
- he stayed in France
Show answer
he took Chief Donnacona and others to France, and they did not return
Hint: Donnacona never came home.
Question 5
Hochelaga was on the island where which city is today?
🏙️- Toronto
- Montréal
- Calgary
- Winnipeg
Show answer
Montréal
Hint: Cartier named a hill there Mont Royal.
Question 6
Why were journals by Cartier useful to later explorers?
📖- they were maps of Alberta
- they listed hockey scores
- they described rivers, people and places
- they were written in code
Show answer
they described rivers, people and places
Hint: Descriptions helped others plan journeys.